SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF COMMAND AUTHORIZATION

• US 20170075824A1
• Filed: 09/14/2015
• Published: 03/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SanDisk Technologies LLC (Western Digital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sandisk Technologies Incorporated (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: HAEN, RONEN, COHEN, SHMUEL, MARCU, ALON
• Granted Patent: US 10,318,193 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/00 Accessing, addressing or allocating within memory systems or architectures digital input from, or digital output to record carriers, e.g. to disk storage units, G06F3/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4243 with synchronous protocol
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0622 in relation to access
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0659 Command handling arrangements, e.g. command buffers, queues, command scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0661 Format or protocol conversion arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0679 Non-volatile semiconductor memory device, e.g. flash memory, one time programmable memory [OTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0688 Non-volatile semiconductor memory arrays

Abstract

A device includes a non-volatile memory and a controller coupled to the non-volatile memory. The device may be configured according to a mode in which execution of a particular command is unauthorized while the device is configured in the mode. While in the mode, the device may authorize execution of the command to occur during the mod.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

a memory; and

a controller coupled to the memory, wherein, while the controller is in a first mode, the controller is configured to receive, via a first command, an indication to authorize execution of a second command that is classified by data available to the controller as an unauthorized command, and the controller is further configured to, in response to the indication, modify the data to authorize execution of the second command, while the controller is in the first mode.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the first mode comprises a command queue mode.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein, while in the first mode, the controller is configured, based on the data, to execute one or more authorized commands and to discard one or more unauthorized commands.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the indication includes a command index and an enable bit, wherein the command index is associated with the command, and wherein the enable bit indicates to authorize execution of the second command.

5. The device of claim 1, further comprising a set of registers that includes an array of bits, wherein, for each command of a plurality of commands, the array of bits includes a corresponding bit of the data, and wherein each command of the plurality of commands is classified as authorized or unauthorized based on a bit value of the corresponding bit.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein a particular bit of the array of bits corresponds to the second command, and wherein the controller is configured to change a value of the particular bit from a first value to a second value to modify the data to authorize execution the second command.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein the controller is configured to change the value of the particular bit from the second value to the first value to prohibit execution of the second command while in the first mode.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the memory comprises a non-volatile memory that includes a three-dimensional (3D) memory configuration that is monolithically formed in one or more physical levels of arrays of storage elements having an active area disposed above a silicon substrate, and further comprising circuitry associated with operation of the storage elements.

9. A method comprising:

in a data storage device that includes a memory and a controller, performing;

while operating in a first mode, receiving a first command including an indication to authorize execution of a second command, wherein the second command is classified by data available to the controller as an unauthorized command in the first mode; and

in response to the indication, modifying the data to authorize execution of the second command while the controller is in the first mode.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising parsing bits of received commands to determine whether any of the received commands includes the indication.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the indication is included in reserved bits of the first command.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the first command is classified by the data as an authorized command in the first mode.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising, after modifying the data:

receiving the second command; and

executing the second command while in the first mode.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising, after modifying the data:

receiving the second command;

executing the second command while in the first mode; and

after executing the second command, modify the data to classify the second command as unauthorized for execution in the first mode.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the data is modified to classify the second command as unauthorized for execution in the first mode automatically after execution of the second command.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the data is modified to classify the second command as unauthorized for execution in the first mode in response to receipt of a third command.

17. The method of claim 9, further comprising, while the data storage device is configured in the first mode:

receiving the second command;

identifying a command index value of the second command;

identifying a bit of an array of bits based on the command index value, wherein a value of the bit indicates whether execution of the second command is authorized or unauthorized; and

providing the second command to a command queue in response to determining that execution of the second command is authorized based on the value of the bit.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein each bit of the array of bits corresponds to a different command index value.

19. An access device comprising:

a memory configured to store instructions; and

a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured to execute the instructions to cause the processor to determine that a device is configured in a first mode and to send, to the device while the device is in the first mode, an indication that execution of an unauthorized command associated with the first mode is authorized while the device is in the first mode.

20. The access device of claim 19, further comprising an interface to send the indication to the device.

21. The access device of claim 19, wherein the processor is configured to generate the indication.

22. A method comprising:

in an access device coupled to a data storage device, performing;

determining that the data storage device is configured in a first mode; and

sending, to the data storage device while the data storage device is in the first mode, an indication that execution of an unauthorized command associated with the first mode is authorized while the data storage device is in the first mode.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising generating a command that includes the indication, wherein the command is an authorized command associated with the first mode.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the indication is included in a set of reserved bits of the command.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein the indication further indicates that execution of a second unauthorized command associated with the first mode is authorized while the data storage device is in the first mode, and wherein the indication includes a first command index associated the with unauthorized command and a second command index associated with the second unauthorized command

26. The method of claim 22, further comprising sending the unauthorized command to the data storage device.