System and method for memory hub-based expansion bus

• US 8,117,371 B2
• Filed: 09/12/2011
• Issued: 02/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Round Rock Research LLC
• Original Assignee: Round Rock Research LLC
• Inventors: Jeddeloh, Joseph M.
• Primary Examiner(s): KNOLL, CLIFFORD H
• Application Number:
  US13/230,165
• Publication Number:
  US 20120005389A1
• Time in Patent Office: 155 Days
• Field of Search: 710/311, 710/312, 710/316, 711/119, 711/5, 365/230.01, 365/230.03, 370/423, 370/912
• US Class Current: 710/311
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4022 using switching circuits, e.g. switching matrix, connection or expansion network G06F13/4009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4234 being a memory bus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4247 on a daisy chain bus
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 370/912 Packet communications

Abstract

A system memory includes a memory hub controller, a memory module accessible by the memory hub controller, and an expansion module having a processor circuit coupled to the memory module and also having access to the memory module. The memory hub controller is coupled to the memory hub through a first portion of a memory bus on which the memory requests from the memory hub controller and memory responses from the memory hub are coupled. A second portion of the memory bus couples the memory hub to the processor circuit and is used to couple memory requests from the processor circuit and memory responses provided by the memory hub to the processor circuit.

Claims

1. A computer system, comprising:

a processor coupled to a processor bus;

a system controller coupled to the processor through the processor bus, the system controller having a peripheral device port, the system controller further comprising a memory hub controller coupled to a system memory port and adapted to provide memory command packets including information to access memory devices;

a plurality of memory modules each having a plurality of memory devices coupled to a memory hub, the memory hub adapted to receive memory command packets and access the memory devices according to the memory command packets and further adapted to provide memory responses in response thereto wherein the memory modules are coupled to the system controller via a controller/hub interface comprising at least one controller/hub interface bus and wherein the plurality of memory modules are coupled to the controller/hub interface bus;

a first portion of a memory bus coupled to the system memory port and the memory hub on which the memory command packets from the memory hub controller are provided to the memory hub of the memory module and memory responses are provided to the memory hub controller;

an expansion module having a processor circuit adapted to provide memory command packets including information to access the memory devices of the memory module and further adapted to process data included in the memory responses from the memory hub of the memory module; and

a second portion of the memory bus coupled to the memory hub of the memory module and the processor circuit of the expansion module on which the memory command packets from the processor circuit are provided to the memory hub of the memory module and memory responses are provided to the processor circuit.

2. The computer system of claim 1, further comprising at least one peripheral device coupled to the peripheral device port of the system controller and at least one peripheral device coupled to the expansion module, wherein the expansion module peripheral device is not coupled to the system controller.

3. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the controller/hub interface comprises two busses:

a downstream bus having a first portion coupled between the memory hub controller and the memory hub to which memory command packets from the memory hub controller to the memory hub are coupled and further having a second portion coupled between the memory hub and the processor circuit to which memory responses from the memory hub to the processor circuit are coupled; and

an upstream bus having a first portion coupled between the memory hub controller and the memory hub to which memory responses from the memory hub to the memory hub controller are coupled and further having a second portion coupled between the memory hub and the processor circuit to which memory command packets from the processor circuit to the memory hub are coupled.

4. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the expansion module further comprises:

a plurality of memory devices adapted to provide a local memory space; and

a local memory bus coupled to the processor circuit and the plurality of memory devices through which the processor circuit accesses the local memory space.

5. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the processor circuit of the expansion module comprises a graphics controller to process graphics data stored in the memory devices of the memory module.

6. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the processor circuit of the expansion module comprises an input/output processor to process input data and store the same in the memory devices of the memory module and to process output data stored in the memory devices of the memory module.

7. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the memory hub of the memory module comprises:

a switch circuit having a plurality of switch nodes and adapted to couple any one switch node to another switch node;

a plurality of link interface circuits, each link interface circuit having a first node coupled to a respective one of the plurality of switch nodes and further having a second node coupled to either the first or second portions of the memory bus, each link interface circuit coupling signals from its first node to its second node;

a memory controller coupled to a switch node of the switch circuit to receive memory command packets and translate the same into memory device command signals; and

a local memory bus coupled to the memory controller and the memory devices on which the memory device command signals are provided.

8. The computer system of claim 7 wherein the plurality of link interface circuits comprise:

a first pair of link interface circuits having a downstream link interface coupled to a first portion of a downstream bus and further having an upstream link interface coupled to a first portion of an upstream bus, both the first portions of the downstream and upstream buses coupled to the memory hub controller and the memory hub; and

a second pair of link interface circuits having a downstream link interface coupled to a second portion of the downstream bus and further having an upstream link interface coupled to a second portion of the upstream bus, both the second portions of the downstream and upstream buses coupled to the memory hub and the processor circuit.

9. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the memory devices of the memory module comprise synchronous dynamic random access memory devices.

10. A computer system, comprising:

a processor having a processor bus;

a system controller coupled to the processor bus, the system controller having a peripheral device port, the system controller further comprising a memory hub controller coupled to a system memory port and adapted to provide memory command packets including information to access memory devices;

first and second memory modules, each memory module having a respective plurality of memory devices and a respective memory hub coupled to the respective plurality of memory devices, the respective memory hubs adapted to receive memory requests for accessing memory locations in the respective plurality of memory devices and provide memory responses in response to receiving the memory requests;

first and second expansion modules, each expansion module having a respective processor circuit adapted to provide memory requests to the memory hubs to access memory locations in the respective plurality of memory devices and receive memory responses from the memory hubs wherein the expansion modules are coupled to the memory modules in series;

a memory hub controller adapted to provide memory requests to the memory modules to the memory hubs to access memory locations in the respective plurality of memory devices and receive memory responses from the memory hubs, the memory hub controller comprising a controller/hub interface comprising at least one memory bus; and

the memory bus coupled to the first and second memory hubs, the first and second processor circuits and the system memory port, the memory bus configured to couple memory requests to the memory modules and couple memory responses to the memory hub controller and the first and second processor circuits.

11. The computer system of claim 10, further comprising at least one peripheral device coupled to the peripheral device port of the system controller.

12. The computer system of claim 10, further comprising:

a third memory module having a third plurality of memory devices and a third memory hub coupled to the third plurality of memory devices and further coupled to the memory bus in series arrangement, the series arrangement coupling the memory hub controller to the first memory hub of the first memory module, coupling the first memory hub to the second memory hub of the second memory module, coupling the second memory hub to the first processor circuit of the first expansion module, coupling the first processor circuit to the third memory hub of the third memory module; and

coupling the third memory hub to the second processor circuit of the second expansion module.

13. The computer system of claim 10 wherein the controller/hub interface comprises a pair of unidirectional buses having portions coupled between the first and second memory hubs, the first and second processor circuits and the memory hub controller to provide the series arrangement.

14. The computer system of claim 10 wherein at least one of the first and second expansion modules further comprises:

a plurality of memory devices adapted to provide a local memory space; and

a local memory bus coupled to the respective processor circuit and the respective plurality of memory devices through which the processor circuit accesses the local memory space.

15. The computer system of claim 10 wherein the processor circuit of at least one of the first and second expansion modules comprises a graphics controller to process graphics data stored in the memory devices of at least one of the memory modules.

16. The computer system of claim 10 wherein the processor circuit of at least one of the first and second expansion modules comprises an input/output processor to process input data and store the same in the memory devices of at least one of the memory modules and to process output data stored in the memory devices of the memory module.

17. The computer system of claim 10 wherein the memory hub of at least one of the memory modules comprises:

a switch circuit having a plurality of switch nodes and adapted to couple any one switch node to another switch node;

a plurality of link interface circuits, each link interface circuit having a first node coupled to a respective one of the plurality of switch nodes and further having a second node coupled to the memory bus, each link interface circuit coupling signals from its first node to its second node;

a memory controller coupled to a switch node of the switch circuit to receive memory requests and translate the same into memory device command signals; and

a local memory bus coupled to the memory controller and the memory devices on which the memory device command signals are provided.

18. The computer system of claim 17 wherein the controller/hub interface comprises a unidirectional downstream bus and a unidirectional upstream bus, and the plurality of link interface circuits comprise:

a first pair of link interface circuits having a downstream link interface coupled to a first portion of the downstream bus and further having an upstream link interface coupled to a first portion of the upstream bus; and

a second pair of link interface circuits having a downstream link interface coupled to a second portion of the downstream bus and further having an upstream link interface coupled to a second portion of the upstream bus.

19. The computer system of claim 10 wherein the memory devices of the memory module comprise synchronous dynamic random access memory devices.

20. An electronic device, comprising:

a processor having a processor bus;

a memory hub controller coupled to the processor bus wherein the memory hub controller comprises a controller/hub interface comprising at least one controller/hub interface bus;

a plurality of memory modules, each of the memory modules having a plurality of memory devices coupled to the respective memory hub and configured to issue local memory requests in response to memory requests issued by the memory hub controller to only the memory devices coupled to the memory hub and provide memory responses to the memory hub controller via the at least one controller hub interface bus;

an expansion module having a processor unit coupled to at least one of the memory modules in a series arrangement, the expansion module further having a plurality of memory devices coupled to the processor unit and configured to provide memory responses to the processor unit responsive to receiving memory requests from the processor unit, the processor unit configured to provide memory requests to and receive memory responses from at least one of the memory devices of the at least one of the memory modules.

21. The electronic device of claim 20, further comprising first and second devices, the first device coupled to receive data from the memory hub controller but not the expansion module, the second device coupled to receive data from the expansion module but not the memory hub controller.

22. The electronic device of claim 20 wherein the expansion module comprises a plurality of expansion modules each having a processor unit and a plurality of memory devices coupled to the respective processor unit, each expansion module coupled to at least a respective one of the memory modules, memory requests from each processor unit being serviced by the respective memory devices of the respective expansion module and at least one memory device of the respective one of the memory modules.

23. The electronic device of claim 20 wherein at least one memory device of the at least one of the memory modules coupled to the expansion module primarily services memory requests from the expansion module while memory devices of at least one other memory module primarily service memory requests from the memory hub controller.

24. The electronic device of claim 20 wherein the memory hub controller and the expansion module each accesses the memory modules independently.