Method and apparatus for controlling data transfer in a serial-ATA system
First Claim
1. A method for controlling data transfer in a serial-ATA system, the method comprising:
- using serial-ATA Native Command Queuing (NCQ) concurrently issuing, from a host, a queue of NCQ commands to at least two serial-ATA devices, the NCQ commands including a first plurality of NCQ commands for a first one of the at least two devices and a second plurality of NCQ commands for a second one of the at least two devices, each of the NCQ commands including a respective port address of one of the at least two devices and a first command identifier identifying a command for the one of the at least two devices, the respective port address and the first command identifier being assigned by the host;
receiving a first acknowledgement, which has a port address of a first target device and a second command identifier identifying a first outstanding command for the first target device; and
sending the first outstanding command to the first target device;
wherein each of the queues of NCQ commands is sent to the at least two serial-ATA devices prior to receiving the first acknowledgement.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for controlling data transfer in a serial-ATA system includes using serial-ATA Native Command Queuing (NCQ) to issue a queue of NCQ commands to at least two serial-ATA devices. The commands include a first plurality of commands for a first one of the devices and a second plurality of commands for a second one of the devices. Each of the commands includes a respective port address of one of the at least two devices and a first command identifier identifying a command for the one of the at least two devices. The method further includes receiving a first acknowledgement, which has a port address of a first target device and a second command identifier identifying a first outstanding command for the first target device. Each of the queues of commands is sent to the at least two serial-ATA devices prior to receiving the first acknowledgement.
157 Citations
44 Claims
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1. A method for controlling data transfer in a serial-ATA system, the method comprising:
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using serial-ATA Native Command Queuing (NCQ) concurrently issuing, from a host, a queue of NCQ commands to at least two serial-ATA devices, the NCQ commands including a first plurality of NCQ commands for a first one of the at least two devices and a second plurality of NCQ commands for a second one of the at least two devices, each of the NCQ commands including a respective port address of one of the at least two devices and a first command identifier identifying a command for the one of the at least two devices, the respective port address and the first command identifier being assigned by the host; receiving a first acknowledgement, which has a port address of a first target device and a second command identifier identifying a first outstanding command for the first target device; and sending the first outstanding command to the first target device; wherein each of the queues of NCQ commands is sent to the at least two serial-ATA devices prior to receiving the first acknowledgement. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A serial-ATA host controller, comprising:
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a signal generator, located on the host controller, concurrently issuing, using Native Command Queuing (NCQ), a queue of NCQ commands to at least two serial-ATA devices, the NCQ commands including a first plurality of NCQ commands for a first one of the at least two devices and a second plurality of NCQ commands for a second one of the at least two devices, each of the NCQ commands including a respective port address of one of the at least two devices and a first command identifier identifying a command for the one of the at least two devices, the signal generator assigning the respective port address and the first command identifier; a receiver receiving an acknowledgement, the acknowledgement having a port address of a target device and a second command identifier identifying an outstanding command for the target device; and a selector selecting the outstanding command to the target device; wherein the serial-ATA host controller operates via serial-ATA queued command-based switching; and wherein the signal generator issues the queues of NCQ commands to the at least two serial-ATA devices prior to the receiver receiving the acknowledgement. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A serial-ATA system, comprising:
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a signal generator located on a host of the system, the signal generator concurrently issuing, using Native Command Queuing (NCQ), a queue of NCQ commands to at least two devices, the NCQ commands including a first plurality of NCQ commands for a first one of the at least two devices and a second plurality of NCQ commands for a second one of the at least two devices, each of the NCQ commands including a respective port address of one of the at least two devices and a first command identifier identifying a command for the one of the at least two devices, the signal generator assigning the respective port address and the first command identifier; a receiver receiving an acknowledgement, which has a port address of a target device and a second command identifier identifying an outstanding command for the target device; a transmitter sending the outstanding command to the target device; and a serial-ATA port multiplier providing the port address of the target device; wherein the signal generator is to issue the queues of NCQ commands to the at least two devices prior to the receiver receiving the acknowledgement. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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Specification