Dynamic QoS upgrading

• US 8,631,213 B2
• Filed: 09/16/2010
• Issued: 01/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Biswas, Sukalpa, Chen, Hao, Wadhawan, Ruchi
• Primary Examiner(s): Chery, Mardochee
• Application Number:
  US12/883,878
• Publication Number:
  US 20120072678A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,216 Days
• Field of Search: 711/149, 711/E12.001, 711/154
• US Class Current: 711/154
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/1684 using multiple buses
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/1694 Configuration of memory controller to different memory types

Abstract

In an embodiment, a memory controller includes multiple ports. Each port may be dedicated to a different type of traffic. In an embodiment, quality of service (QoS) parameters may be defined for the traffic types, and different traffic types may have different QoS parameter definitions. The memory controller may be configured to schedule operations received on the different ports based on the QoS parameters. In an embodiment, the memory controller may support upgrade of the QoS parameters when subsequent operations are received that have higher QoS parameters, via sideband request, and/or via aging of operations. In an embodiment, the memory controller is configured to reduce emphasis on QoS parameters and increase emphasis on memory bandwidth optimization as operations flow through the memory controller pipeline.

Claims

1. A memory controller comprising:

an agent interface unit coupled to receive a plurality of memory operations from one or more sources, each memory operation of the plurality of memory operations accompanied by a quality of service (QoS) parameter specifying a requested quality of service for the memory operation; and

the agent interface unit comprises a plurality of memory channel interface units configured to schedule memory operations for transmission to a plurality of memory channel units for access to a memory on a plurality of memory channels, wherein the memory channel interface units are configured to arbitrate among the plurality of memory operations responsive to the QoS parameters corresponding to the plurality of memory operations;

wherein, responsive to receiving a first memory operation from a first source that has transmitted one or more previous memory operations and further responsive to a first QoS parameter corresponding to the first memory operation indicating a higher level of service than previous QoS parameters corresponding to the previous memory operations, the memory controller is configured to upgrade the previous QoS parameters to the level of service indicated by the first QoS parameter; and

wherein each memory operation includes a flow identifier indicating a flow of memory operations, and wherein the memory channel interface units are configured to upgrade the previous QoS parameters from the first source only for the previous memory operations that are from the same flow as the first memory operation.

2. The memory controller as recited in claim 1 further comprising the plurality of memory channel units, each memory channel unit coupled to a respective one of the plurality of memory channel interface units, wherein the plurality of memory channel units are configured to retain the QoS parameters for read operations and to eliminate the QoS parameters for write operations, and wherein the plurality of memory channel units are configured to upgrade the QoS parameters for read operations from the first source responsive to the first QoS parameter indicating a higher level of service than the QoS parameters for the read operations.

3. The memory controller as recited in claim 1 wherein the plurality of memory channel interface units are configured, for the previous memory operations from the first source that are not from the same flow as the first memory operations, to provide a push indication to indicate that the previous memory operations are being pushed by a higher QoS operation, and wherein the plurality of memory channel interface units are configured to provide a higher priority for the pushed memory operations responsive to the push indication.

4. The memory controller as recited in claim 3 wherein the agent interface unit comprises a plurality of ports configured to couple to the sources, and wherein the plurality of memory channel interface units are configured to upgrade the previous QoS parameters only for previous memory operations received on a same port of the plurality of ports as the first memory operation.

5. The memory controller as recited in claim 1 further comprising a sideband interface from the first source to the memory controller in addition to a request interface to transmit memory operations, wherein the first source is configured to request a QoS upgrade via the sideband interface, and wherein the plurality of memory control interface units are configured to upgrade the QoS parameters of the previous memory operations responsive to the request on the sideband interface.

6. The memory controller as recited in claim 1 wherein the plurality of memory channel interface units are configured to assign an age counter to each of the memory operations, wherein a value of the age counter assigned to a given memory operation is dependent on a QoS parameter of the given memory operation.

7. The memory controller as recited in claim 6 wherein, responsive to the age counter for the given memory operation expiring, the memory channel interface units are configured to assign a higher QoS parameter to the given memory operation.

8. A system comprising:

a plurality of sources of memory operations, where each source is configured to transmit memory operations and corresponding quality of service (QoS) parameters indicating a requested QoS for the corresponding memory operations; and

a memory controller coupled to the plurality of sources and configured to control access to a memory for the memory operations, wherein the memory controller comprises a plurality of queues configured to store memory operations, and wherein the memory controller is configured to arbitrate among the memory operations responsive to the QoS parameters, and wherein the memory controller is configured to modify the QoS parameters of pending memory operations in the queues from a first source of the plurality of sources responsive to an upgrade QoS indication from the first source, wherein the modified QoS parameters indicate a higher level of QoS than original QoS parameters of the pending memory operations, for one or more of the pending memory operations, and wherein each memory operation includes a flow identifier indicating a flow of memory operations, and wherein the upgrade QoS indication also includes a flow identifier, and wherein the memory controller is configured to modify the QoS parameters only for the pending memory operations that are from the same flow as the first memory operation.

9. The system as recited in claim 8 wherein the upgrade QoS indication is a new request from the first source having a QoS parameter indicating a higher level of QoS than previous memory requests from the source.

10. The system as recited in claim 8 wherein the upgrade QoS indication is a sideband interface.

11. The system as recited in claim 8 wherein the memory controller is further configured to assign an age counter to each memory operation, and wherein the memory controller is configured modify the QoS parameter for a given memory operation responsive to expiration of the age counter.

12. The system as recited in claim 11 wherein an initial value of the age counter for the given memory operation is determined responsive to the QoS parameter assigned to the given memory operation by the first source.

13. A method comprising:

receiving a first memory operation in a memory controller from a first source, the first memory operation having a first QoS parameter indicating a first QoS level for the first memory operation and further including a flow identifier indicating a flow of memory operations;

determining that the first QoS level is to be modified in the memory controller responsive to receiving a modified QoS level from the first source subsequent to receiving the first memory operation and further responsive to receiving a second flow identifier associated with the modified QoS level, wherein the second flow identifier matches the flow identifier of the first memory operation indicating that the modified QoS level is for the same flow as the first memory operation; and

changing the first QoS parameter to indicate the modified QoS level in response to the determining, wherein the modified QoS level is an upgraded QoS level indicating a higher level of service than the first QoS parameter originally indicated.

14. The method as recited in claim 13 further comprising receiving a second memory operation in the memory controller from the first source, wherein the modified QoS level is indicated by a second QoS parameter corresponding to the second memory operation indicating a higher level of service.

15. The method as recited in claim 13 further comprising receiving a QoS upgrade request from the first source via an interface that is separate from a request interface on which the first memory operation is received, wherein the modified QoS level is indicated by the QoS upgrade request.

16. The method as recited in claim 13 further comprising:

assigning an age parameter to the first memory operation responsive to receiving the first memory operation;

detecting that the age parameter has expired; and

changing the first QoS parameter to indicate the higher level of service responsive to the detecting.

17. The method as recited in claim 16 wherein an initial value of the age parameter is dependent on the first QoS parameter that was assigned by the first source.

18. The method as recited in claim 17 further comprising:

assigning a second age parameter to the first memory operation responsive to the detecting, wherein an initial value of the second age parameter is depending on the modified QoS level;

detecting that the second age parameter has expired, and

changing the first QoS parameter to indicate a second modified QoS level responsive to the second age parameter expiring.

19. A memory controller comprising:

a plurality of ports, wherein the memory controller is coupled to receive memory operations on the plurality of ports, each memory operation having a quality of service (QoS) parameter indicating a requested QoS level for the memory operation and further having a flow identifier indicating a flow of memory operations;

memory channel circuitry configured to receive the memory operations from the plurality of ports and configured to schedule each memory operation on a memory channel to which that memory operation is directed, wherein the memory channel circuitry is configured to select memory operations for scheduling at each of a plurality of scheduling points responsive to the QoS parameters of the memory operations in a given channel, and wherein the memory channel circuitry is configured to upgrade QoS levels for one or more memory operations awaiting scheduling in the memory channel circuitry responsive to a higher QoS level and a corresponding flow identifier received for a first port of the plurality of ports on which the one or more memory operations were received, wherein the higher QoS level is received for the first port subsequent to receiving the one or more memory operations on the first port, and wherein the memory channel circuitry is configured to upgrade the QoS levels for the one or more memory operations only for the memory operations that are from the same flow as indicated by the flow identifiers associated with the memory operations and the corresponding flow identifier.

20. The memory controller as recited in claim 19 wherein the higher QoS level is indicated responsive to receiving another memory operation on the first port having a corresponding QoS parameter indicating the higher QoS level.

21. The memory controller as recited in claim 19 wherein the first port comprises an interface on which the memory operations are transmitted and a second interface on which the higher QoS level is requested.