UFS Controller Out-of-Order Hint Generation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Universal Flash Storage (UFS) interfaces face limitations in throughput and system performance due to the requirement for in-order data transfers, which increase complexity and size requirements, necessitating a method for out-of-order (OOO) data transfer support to enhance efficiency and reliability.
Innovation Solution
A data storage device with a controller that interacts using UFS protocols, provides hints to the host device indicating the order of data transfer, switches between modes based on bit error rate (BER), and reorders data to match the hinted order, allowing for OOO data transfers while managing BER thresholds to optimize performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If in-order data transfers are implemented, then data transfer reliability is improved, but device complexity and size requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an out-of-order hint as an intermediary information element that mediates between the host's data requests and the storage device's actual data retrieval order. The hint contains metadata that allows the host to understand and correctly process data returned in out-of-order fashion, thereby enabling OOO transfers without requiring complex reordering logic in the storage device itself.
2Reliability
If in-order data transfers are implemented, then data transfer reliability is improved, but throughput decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by providing the out-of-order hint to the host before the actual data transfer occurs. This allows the host to prepare its data processing logic in advance, knowing that data will arrive in a specific out-of-order sequence, thereby enabling efficient OOO processing without compromising reliability.
3Productivity
If out-of-order data transfers are implemented, then throughput is improved, but data transfer reliability may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by providing the out-of-order hint that contains information about the expected data arrival order. This feedback mechanism allows the host to correctly interpret and process out-of-order data, maintaining data integrity and reliability even when transfers occur in non-sequential order, thereby enabling high throughput without sacrificing reliability.
4Reliability
If in-order data transfers are implemented, then data transfer reliability is improved, but size requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the ordering information into a separate hint structure that is provided to the host. By taking out the order information from the data stream itself and providing it as separate metadata in the hint, the storage device can send data in out-of-order fashion without requiring the host to implement complex reordering buffers or structures, thereby reducing overall size requirements while maintaining reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A data storage device includes a memory device and a controller coupled to the memory device. The controller is configured to interact with a host device using Universal Flash Storage (UFS) interface protocols, provide a hint to the host device, switch between a first mode and a second mode, retrieve the data from the memory device, and deliver the data to the host device. The hint includes an indication of what order data will be received from the data storage device. The order of the data will be in a different order than a requested order after providing the hint.