Storage Device Operation Log Retrieval via Watchdog Timer
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Solution Overview
Problem
In existing storage devices, operation log information cannot be read when the flash translation layer is damaged, leading to difficulties in problem analysis, as it gets formatted during low-level formatting and requires disassembly for access.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a storage device with volatile and non-volatile memory, where operation log information is cached in a buffer area of the volatile memory and repeatedly written to a predetermined storage area in the non-volatile memory, using a watchdog timer to enable force low-level formatting and retrieve the log information during initialization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If operation log information is stored in the file system of the storage device, then the log information can be managed using standard file operations, but the log information cannot be read when the flash translation layer is damaged or during low-level formatting
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the storage structure into two independent parts: the file system area for normal operations and a reserved area for operation log information. This segmentation allows the log information to be stored independently from the file system, ensuring that log accessibility is not affected by file system corruption or flash translation layer damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a reserved area as an intermediary storage location between the flash translation layer and the file system. This reserved area serves as a protective mediator that preserves log information even when the flash translation layer is damaged, allowing log retrieval without requiring a healthy file system or flash translation layer.
2Reliability
If low-level formatting is performed on the storage device to fix issues, then the storage device can be restored to a working state, but the operation log information is formatted and lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the operation log information storage from the main file system area and places it in a separately reserved area. This extraction ensures that when low-level formatting is performed on the file system to restore storage device functionality, the log information in the reserved area remains intact and is not formatted away.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary action by pre-reserving a specific area in the storage device specifically for log information before any potential formatting operations. This preliminary reservation ensures that even if formatting is needed later, the log information has already been protected in a location that will not be formatted.
3Ease of manufacture
If the storage device is packaged in a casing, then the device is protected and compact, but problem analysis requires disassembling the casing which increases complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables the storage device to serve itself by providing self-diagnostic capability through accessible log information. The reserved area allows log information to be read directly without requiring external disassembly or specialized equipment, enabling the device to provide its own diagnostic data for problem analysis while maintaining its packaged state.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a method for maintaining operation log information stored in a non-volatile memory of a storage device. The method includes the steps of: configuring a buffer area of a volatile memory; caching the operation log information into the buffer area; writing the operation log information stored in the buffer area into a predetermined storage area of the non-volatile memory; repeatedly updating the operation log information to the predetermined storage area; and initializing the storage device, which includes the following steps of enabling a watchdog timer in a controller; fetching the latest operation log information by reading the predetermined storage area when the watchdog timer counts a predetermined time and the storage device does not complete the initialization; configuring the storage device to perform a force low-level formatting after the latest operation log information is fetched; and disabling the watchdog timer when the storage device completes the initialization.