Hard power fail architecture

• US 9,122,636 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2013
• Issued: 09/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jpmorgan Chase Bank NA As The Agent
• Original Assignee: SanDisk Enterprise IP LLC (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: Lucas, Gregg S., Delpapa, Kenneth B., Herman, Lace J., Ellis, Robert W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lottich, Joshua P
• Application Number:
  US14/135,417
• Publication Number:
  US 20150149806A1
• Time in Patent Office: 621 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/24 Resetting means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/28 Supervision thereof, e.g. detecting power-supply failure by out of limits supervision
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/30 Means for acting in the event of power-supply failure or interruption, e.g. power-supply fluctuations for resetting only G06F1/24
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/305 in the event of power-supply fluctuations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1441 Resetting or repowering
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1456 Hardware arrangements for backup
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3062 where the monitored property is the power consumption power management in a computing system G06F1/3203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0619 in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0625 Power saving in storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0647 Migration mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0653 Monitoring storage devices or systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0655 Vertical data movement, i.e. input-output transfer; data movement between one or more hosts and one or more storage devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0688 Non-volatile semiconductor memory arrays

Abstract

The various implementations described herein include systems, methods and/or devices used to enable power sequencing and data hardening in a storage device. In one aspect, the method includes determining whether a power supply voltage provided to the storage device is higher than an over-voltage threshold. The method further includes, in accordance with a determination that the power supply voltage is higher than the over-voltage threshold, performing a power fail operation, the power fail operation including: (1) signaling a power fail condition to a plurality of controllers on the storage device, (2) transferring data held in volatile memory to non-volatile memory, and (3) removing power from the plurality of controllers on the storage device.

Claims

1. A method of protecting data in a storage device, the method comprising:

determining whether a power supply voltage provided to the storage device is higher than an over-voltage threshold; and

in accordance with a determination that the power supply voltage is higher than the over-voltage threshold, performing a power fail operation, the power fail operation including;

signaling a power fail condition to a plurality of controllers on the storage device;

transferring data held in volatile memory to non-volatile memory; and

removing power from the plurality of controllers on the storage device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of controllers on the storage device include a storage controller and one or more non-volatile memory (NVM) controllers, the one or more NVM controllers coupled by the storage controller to a host interface of the storage device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein transferring data held in volatile memory to non-volatile memory includes:

transferring data from the storage controller to the one or more NVM controllers; and

transferring data from the one or more NVM controllers to the non-volatile memory.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein removing power from the plurality of controllers on the storage device includes:

resetting the storage controller subsequent to transferring data from the storage controller to the one or more NVM controllers; and

removing power from the storage controller subsequent to resetting the storage controller.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the one or more NVM controllers include a first NVM controller and a second NVM controller, and wherein removing power from the plurality of controllers on the storage device includes:

resetting the first NVM controller subsequent to transferring data from the first NVM controller to the non-volatile memory;

resetting the second NVM controller subsequent to transferring data from the second NVM controller to the non-volatile memory; and

removing power from the first and the second NVM controllers subsequent to resetting the first and second NVM controllers.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein removing power from the first and the second NVM controllers is subsequent to removing power from the storage controller.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the power fail operation is performed to completion regardless of whether the power supply voltage returns to a voltage lower than or equal to the over-voltage threshold.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the power supply voltage is a voltage supplied by a host system.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the power supply voltage is a voltage supplied for serial presence detect (SPD) functionality.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the power supply voltage includes a first voltage and a second voltage, and wherein performing the power fail operation includes:

performing the power fail operation in accordance with a determination that the first voltage is higher than a first over-voltage threshold; and

performing the power fail operation in accordance with a determination that the second voltage is higher than a second over-voltage threshold.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the power fail operation is performed using power from a reserve energy storage device.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the power fail operation is performed using power from an energy storage device on the storage device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the energy storage device includes one or more capacitors.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

monitoring the energy storage device to ensure capacitors in the energy storage device are charged to at least a first charge level; and

selectively testing one or more capacitors from the energy storage device during operation of the storage device.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

prior to determining whether the power supply voltage provided to the storage device is higher than the over-voltage threshold;

charging the energy storage device using a higher voltage than the power supply voltage provided to the storage device;

determining whether the energy storage device meets a minimum charge level threshold within a predefined charge time; and

in accordance with a determination that the energy storage device does not meet the minimum charge level threshold in the predefined charge time, preventing operation of the storage device.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein preventing operation of the storage device includes communicating a failure message to a host system.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising discharging the energy storage device subsequent to removing power from the plurality of controllers on the storage device.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the non-volatile memory comprises one or more NVM devices.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the storage device includes a dual in-line memory module (DIMM) device.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of controllers on the storage device include at least one non-volatile storage controller and at least one other storage controller other than the at least one non-volatile storage controller.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of controllers on the storage device maps double data rate (DDR) interface commands to serial advance technology attachment (SATA) interface commands.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the over-voltage threshold is programmable.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein signaling the power fail condition to the plurality of controllers on the storage device includes separately signaling the power fail condition to each of the plurality of controllers.

24. The method of claim 1, further comprising recording data regarding the power fail operation to non-volatile memory.

25. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing a power fail test operation, the power fail test operation including:

signaling the power fail condition to one or more controllers of the plurality of controllers on the storage device;

for the one or more controllers, transferring data held in volatile memory to non-volatile memory;

removing power from the one or more controllers on the storage device; and

recording data regarding the power fail test operation.

26. A storage device, comprising:

an interface for coupling the storage device to a host system;

a plurality of controllers, each of the plurality of controllers configured to transfer data held in volatile memory to non-volatile memory; and

a data hardening module including an energy storage device, the data hardening module configured to;

determine whether a power supply voltage provided to the storage device is higher than an over-voltage threshold; and

in accordance with a determination that the power supply voltage is higher than the over-voltage threshold, perform a power fail operation, the power fail operation including;

signaling a power fail condition to the plurality of controllers, causing the plurality of controllers to transfer data held in volatile memory to non-volatile memory; and

removing power from the plurality of controllers on the storage device.

27. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium, storing one or more programs for execution by one or more processors of a storage device having a plurality of controllers and a data hardening module, the one or more programs including instructions that when executed cause the storage device to:

determine whether a power supply voltage provided to the storage device is higher than an over-voltage threshold; and

in accordance with a determination that the power supply voltage is higher than the over-voltage threshold, perform a power fail operation, the power fail operation including;

signaling a power fail condition to a plurality of controllers on the storage device;

transferring data held in volatile memory to non-volatile memory; and

removing power from the plurality of controllers on the storage device.