Mobile device and data management method of the same

• US 10,642,493 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2016
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Yang, Seung-soo
• Primary Examiner(s): Farrokh, Hashem
• Application Number:
  US15/059,998
• Publication Number:
  US 20160259557A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,524 Days
• Field of Search: 711100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0813 with a network or matrix configuration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/314 In storage network, e.g. network attached cache
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0604 Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. storage management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0608 Saving storage space on storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0647 Migration mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

Provided are a mobile device and a data management method of the mobile device. The data management method that is processed by a central processing unit (CPU) of the mobile device includes: selecting data to be swapped from among data stored in a local memory of the mobile device, in response to a request to perform swapping on the data stored in the local memory; selecting one of at least two external memories which are located outside the mobile device and have different hierarchical levels; and swapping the selected data to the selected external memory.

Claims

1. A data management method processed by a central processing unit (CPU) of a mobile device, the data management method comprising:

waiting for a non-periodic interrupt;

generating first information that indicates a request to perform swapping on data stored in a local memory of the mobile device, in response to the non-periodic interrupt;

selecting data to be swapped from among the data stored in the local memory of the mobile device, in response to the first information;

selecting one of at least two external memories which are located outside the mobile device and have different hierarchical levels;

swapping the selected data to the selected one of the at least two external memories; and

not killing all applications that are executed in the mobile device and maintaining a state where all of the applications are executed while swapping the selected data.

2. The data management method of claim 1, further comprising:

periodically checking a size of a free area in the local memory; and

,

generating the request in response to the size of the free area in the local memory being equal to or less than a reference value.

3. The data management method of claim 1, further consisting of generating the request in response to determining that certain data stored in the local memory is not to be used for a reference period of time or longer, a free area does not exist in the local memory, or an instruction to perform the swapping is received from a user.

4. The data management method of claim 1, wherein the local memory comprises at least two dynamic random-access memories (DRAMs) comprising a first DRAM and a second DRAM,

wherein the data management method further comprises generating the request in response to determining that at least one of the at least two DRAMs is to operate in a low power mode.

5. The data management method of claim 4, wherein the selected data is stored in the first DRAM having a larger free area than the second DRAM, and

wherein the swapping comprises swapping the selected data from the first DRAM to the second DRAM.

6. The data management method of claim 1, wherein the selecting the data to be swapped comprises selecting the data to be swapped based on characteristics of the data stored in the local memory.

7. The data management method of claim 1, wherein the selecting the data to be swapped comprises selecting the data to be swapped based on a unit of the data stored in the local memory.

8. The data management method of claim 1, wherein the selecting the data to be swapped comprises selecting all data which are used in a same application.

9. The data management method of claim 1, wherein the selecting one of the at least two external memories comprises selecting one of the at least two external memories based on a re-use probability of the selected data.

10. The data management method of claim 1, further comprising setting a hierarchical level of each of the at least two external memories based on at least one of a distance between each of the at least two external memories and the mobile device, and a resource used for the swapping.

11. The data management method of claim 1, wherein the data to be swapped is selected according to swap information, and

wherein the swap information includes meta information, which includes real-time information for tracking a swapped page;

remote information about a level of the one of the at least two external memories; and

swap policy information indicating which data to be swapped.

12. The data management method of claim 1, further comprising swapping the selected data to a local storage which is electrically connected to the mobile device before the swapping the selected data to the selected one of the at least two external memories.

13. The data management method of claim 12, further comprising swapping the selected data swapped to the local storage to the selected one of the at least two external memories.

14. The data management method of claim 1, further comprising providing a user interface (UI) indicating a state of the swapping and the selecting one of the at least two external memories to a user.

15. A data management method in a mobile device, the data management method comprising:

determining whether an event has occurred or occurs, wherein the event includes at least a non-periodic interrupt;

generating first information that indicates a request to perform swapping on data stored in a local memory, in response to the event that includes at least the non-periodic interrupt,

selecting data to be swapped from among the data stored in the local memory which is accessed by an application processor to execute a first application in response to the first information;

swapping the selected data to at least one another memory outside the mobile device to change an area occupied by the selected data in the local memory to a free area to be used by the first application without stopping execution of a second application which currently uses the local memory; and

not killing all applications that are executed in the mobile device and maintaining a state where all of the applications are executed while swapping the selected data.

16. The data management method of claim 15, wherein the event further includes at least one of an existing free area in the local memory being equal to or less than a reference value, a command to stop execution of a third application which currently uses the local memory, certain data stored in the local memory being processed not to be used for a predetermined period of time or longer, and an interrupt occurring at a predetermined time interval.

17. The data management method of claim 15, wherein the swapping comprises swapping the selected data to another local memory in the mobile device, and then, swapping at least a portion of the swapped data in the another local memory in the mobile device to an external memory outside the mobile device,

wherein the external memory outside the mobile device is connected to the mobile device through a network.

18. The data management method of claim 15, further comprising selecting the at least one another memory to which the selected data is to be swapped, based on resources required for the swapping to the at least one another memory.

19. The data management method of claim 15, wherein the selected data has a lowest frequency of use by the application processor among the data stored in the local memory.

20. A mobile device comprising:

an application processor configured to control execution of at least one application; and

a local memory to which data requested to execute the at least one application is loaded, wherein the application processor comprises;

a remote swap manager configured to, while maintaining a state where all of the at least one application is executed in the mobile device, control an operation of swapping out data, selected from among data stored in the local memory, to an external memory located outside the mobile device or an operation of swapping in the data, swapped out to the external memory, to the local memory;

a compressor configured to compress the data swapped out to the external memory; and

a decompressor configured to decompress the data swapped in from the external memory,

wherein the remote swap manager does not kill all applications that are executed in the mobile device and maintain a state where all of the applications are executed while swapping the selected data, and

wherein the data is selected in response to first information being generated in response to a non-periodic interrupt occurring, the first information indicating a request to perform swapping on data stored in the local memory.