MEMORY DEVICE MANAGING DATA IN ACCORDANCE WITH COMMAND AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM

• US 20160210052A1
• Filed: 01/19/2016
• Published: 07/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kioxia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: NISHIMURA, Hiroshi, YOSHIDA, Hideki, KANNO, Shinichi
• Granted Patent: US 10,175,885 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0607 by facilitating the process of upgrading existing storage systems, e.g. for improving compatibility between host and storage device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0661 Format or protocol conversion arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0688 Non-volatile semiconductor memory arrays

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a memory device includes a first memory, a control circuit controlling the first memory, and a second memory storing a second program. The second program manages management information associated with the first memory, sends the management information conforming to a specific interface to a first program if a command conforming to the specific interface is an output command to output the management information. The second program receives first information conforming to the specific interface and issued by the first program, translates the first information into second information corresponding to the second program, translates the second information into third information corresponding to the control circuit, and executes processing for the first memory in accordance with the third information.

Claims

1. A memory device comprising:

a first memory being nonvolatile;

a control circuit which controls the first memory; and

a second memory storing a second program which controls the control circuit in accordance with a command conforming to a specific interface and issued by a first program if the second program is executed by the control circuit,

wherein

the second program manages management information associated with the first memory, and sends the management information conforming to the specific interface to the first program if the command is an output command to output the management information; and

the second program which receives first information conforming to the specific interface and issued by the first program, translates the first information into second information corresponding to the second program, translates the second information into third information corresponding to the control circuit, and executes processing for the first memory in accordance with the third information.

2. The memory device of claim 1, wherein

the first to third information are first to third parameters for setting an acceptable latency to access for the first memory, respectively.

3. The memory device of claim 1, wherein

the first program generates garbage collection setting information conforming to the specific interface and used for garbage collection for the first memory, and sends the garbage collection setting information to the second program;

and

the second program executes the garbage collection in accordance with the garbage collection setting information.

4. The memory device of claim 1, wherein

the control circuit includes at least one processor;

and

the second program performs scheduling for tasks executed by the at least one processor.

5. The memory device of claim 1, wherein

the first memory includes a NAND flash memory;

and

the management information includes at least one of the number of erasures from each block of the NAND flash memory, a frequency of erasures from each block, the number of reads from each page, a frequency of reads from each page, the number of writes to each page, a frequency of writes to each page, a block size of each block, the number of pages in each block, a page size, write speed, write latency, read speed and read latency.

6. The memory device of claim 1,

wherein the control circuit comprises:

first to third processors controlled by the second program;

a first management module which corresponds to the first processor, and manages a plurality of execution-waiting processing and an execution order of the execution-waiting processing;

a second management module which corresponds to the second processor, and manages processing to be executed by the second processor and an execution order of the processing to be executed by the second processor; and

a third management module which corresponds to the third processor, and manages processing to be executed by the third processor and an execution order of the processing to be executed by the third processor,

and wherein

if the number of processing managed by the second management module is not more than a first threshold, the second program changes a management destination of the execution-waiting processing managed by the first management module from the first management module to the second management module, and

if the number of processing managed by the third management module is not more than a second threshold, the second program changes a management destination of the execution-waiting processing managed by the first management module from the first management module to the third management module.

7. The memory device of claim 6, wherein

the second program refers to first priority information including priority degrees associated with the execution-waiting processing, and determines processing changed the management destination from the first management module to one of the second and third management modules.

8. The memory device of claim 6, wherein

the second program refers to second priority information including priority degrees associated with execution-waiting processing managed by the second management module, and determines processing executed subsequently among the processing managed by the second management module;

and

the second program refers to third priority information including priority degrees associated with execution-waiting processing managed by the third management module, and determines processing executed subsequently among the processing managed by the third management module.

9. The memory device of claim 6, wherein

if new processing activated subsequent to executed processing is executed by the second processor, the second program manages the new processing using the second management module;

if the new processing is executable by any one of the second and third processors, the second program manages the new processing using the first management module.

10. The memory device of claim 6, wherein

if new processing activated subsequent to executed processing is executed by the second processor, the second program manages the new processing using the second management module;

if the new processing is executable by any one of the second and third processors, and if the number of execution-waiting processing managed by the second management module is not more than the first threshold, the second program manages the new processing using the second management module;

if the new processing is executable by any one of the second and third processors, and if the number of execution-waiting processing managed by the third management module is not more than the second threshold, the second program manages the new processing using the third management module; and

if the number of the execution-waiting processing managed by the second management module is more than the first threshold, and if the number of the execution-waiting processing managed by the third management module, the second program manages the new processing using the first management module.

11. The memory device of claim 6, wherein the processing to be executed by the second processor and the processing to be executed by the third processor do not include a task waiting for accessing the control circuit.

12. The memory device of claim 6, wherein

the control circuit further comprises a shared memory shared among the first to third processors, and

the second program allocates, to processing before execution, a memory area in the shared memory used for the processing before execution.

13. The memory device of claim 6, wherein

the control circuit further comprises a shared memory shared among the first to third processors, and

the second program manages processing associated with hardware identification information indicating part of the control circuit, using a management module corresponding to the hardware identification information among the first to third management modules.

14. The memory device of claim 6, wherein

the control circuit further comprises a shared memory shared among the first to third processors,

first processing is executed by any one of the second and third processors;

second processing is executed by any one of the second and third processors after execution of the first processing, and

the first processing notifies the second processing of area information of at least part of a memory area in the shared memory, if the at least part of the memory area used for the first processing is used for the second processing.

15. The memory device of claim 6, wherein

the control circuit further comprises a shared memory shared among the first to third processors,

first processing is executed by any one of the second and third processors,

second processing is executed by any one of the second and third processors after execution of the first processing,

third processing is executed by any one of the second and third processors after execution of the second processing, and

the second processing receives, from the first processing, identification information indicating at least one of the first and third processing, reads information used for the second processing from a first memory area of the shared memory corresponding to the at least one of the first and third processing, and stores a result of execution of the second processing in a second memory area corresponding to the at least one of the first and third processing.

16. The memory device of claim 15, wherein the second processing reads information used for the second processing from a memory area corresponding to the first processing, and stores a result of execution of the second processing in a memory area corresponding to the third processing.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a control program causing a computer to function as:

a module which controls a control circuit for a nonvolatile memory in accordance with a command conforming to a specific interface and issued by a first program,

a module which manages management information associated with the nonvolatile memory, and sends the management information conforming to the specific interface to the first program if the command is an output command to output the management information; and

a module which receives first information conforming to the specific interface and issued by the first program, translates the first information into second information corresponding to a format between the first program and the control circuit, translates the second information into third information corresponding to the control circuit, and executes processing for the nonvolatile memory in accordance with the third information.