Virtual Elastic Queue Dynamic Memory Allocation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional queues in systems have a fixed size, leading to inefficiencies and dropped data when full, requiring complex special handling by producer threads and impacting communication performance.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a virtual elastic queue that dynamically grows or shrinks in size, using a virtual queue that maps to multiple physical queues, allowing data to be enqueued and dequeued transparently without predefined memory constraints, thereby adapting to changing demand.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a queue is created of fixed size in memory, then the queue structure is simple and predictable, but the queue cannot accommodate more data elements when full, leading to dropped data or complex special handling
Solution Approach 1:
The queue is divided into multiple fixed-size segments (queue elements) that can be dynamically allocated. Each segment is a fixed-size structure, but the number of segments can grow or shrink based on demand. This segmentation allows the queue to maintain simple fixed-size element structures while achieving overall dynamic size through allocation of multiple elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The queue implements dynamic size adjustment by allocating and deallocating queue elements based on current data needs. The system can grow the queue by allocating new elements when space is needed, and shrink by deallocating unused elements, transforming a static fixed-size structure into a dynamic adaptive structure without changing the fundamental element format.
2Reliability
If special handling is implemented in producer threads to manage queue-full conditions, then data communication reliability improves, but the thread complexity and burden multiply with the number of queues
Solution Approach 1:
The queue structure automatically manages its own capacity through dynamic element allocation. When the queue needs more space, the system automatically allocates new elements without requiring producer threads to implement complex retry logic or alternative handling mechanisms. The queue self-regulates its size to prevent data loss, eliminating the need for special producer-side handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The dynamic queue structure provides a universal solution that handles all queue-full scenarios automatically through a single mechanism. Instead of requiring different special handling implementations for each queue or thread, the unified dynamic allocation system serves all producer threads consistently, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining reliability.
3Productivity
If data is dropped when the queue is full, then the queue structure remains simple, but communication performance and system function are adversely impacted
Solution Approach 1:
The queue dynamically adjusts its data capacity by allocating additional elements when needed and deallocating when not needed. This dynamic behavior allows the queue to maintain high communication performance by preventing data drops, while optimizing memory usage by releasing unused elements, thus resolving the contradiction between performance and resource consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the queue capacity parameter dynamically based on current data flow requirements. When communication performance is at risk due to queue-full conditions, the system increases capacity by allocating more elements. When data flow decreases, the system reduces memory usage by deallocating elements, thus adaptively optimizing both performance and resource utilization.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device may implement a virtual elastic queue in memory, where, as needed, the virtual elastic queue grows in size to accommodate more queue elements, or shrinks in size to free up queue-element capacity and space in the memory. The virtual elastic queue may include a virtual queue and one or more physical queues, where the virtual queue provides a mapping to the one or more physical queues, and where a data structure may represent queue elements in the one or more physical queues. Notably, the virtual queue may point to the one or more physical queues, and the one or more physical queues may point to physical queue memory where data elements are enqueued and dequeued. Note that the virtual elastic queue may not have a predefined memory size and, up to a size of the memory, may not be constrained.