Using external memory devices to improve system performance

• US 9,317,209 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2014
• Issued: 04/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Fortin, Michael R., Reinauer, Robert L., Kirshenbaum, Alexander, Ergan, Cenk
• Primary Examiner(s): Rutz, Jared
• Assistant Examiner(s): LI, ZHUO H
• Application Number:
  US14/530,661
• Publication Number:
  US 20150058545A1
• Time in Patent Office: 536 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0866 for peripheral storage systems, e.g. disk cache
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0611 in relation to response time
• 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 3/0685 Hybrid storage combining heterogeneous device types, e.g. hierarchical storage, hybrid arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0688 Non-volatile semiconductor memory arrays

Abstract

The invention is directed towards a system and method that utilizes external memory devices to cache sectors from a rotating storage device (e.g., a hard drive) to improve system performance. When an external memory device (EMD) is plugged into the computing device or onto a network in which the computing device is connected, the system recognizes the EMD and populates the EMD with disk sectors. The system routes I/O read requests directed to the disk sector to the EMD cache instead of the actual disk sector. The use of EMDs increases performance and productivity on the computing device systems for a fraction of the cost of adding memory to the computing device.

Claims

1. A method performed on a computing device that comprises a processor and memory, the method comprising:

determining, by the computing device in response to a read request for data where the read request is directed to a hard disk, that the data is available from a removable solid-state memory device that is separate from the hard disk, where the separate removable solid-state memory device is configured for completing the read request faster than the hard disk; and

redirecting, by the computing device in response to the determining, the read request from the hard disk to the separate removable solid-state memory device.

2. The method of claim 1 where the removable solid-state memory device comprises flash memory.

3. The method of claim 1 where the data being available on the separate removable solid-state memory device is based on an access frequency.

4. The method of claim 1 where the data being available on the separate removable solid-state memory device is based on an access pattern.

5. The method of claim 1 where the data being available on the separate removable solid-state memory device is based on a last access time.

6. The method of claim 1 where the data being available on the separate removable solid-state memory device is based on a history.

7. The method of claim 1 where the available data corresponds to data stored on a sector of the hard disk.

8. A computing device comprising:

at least one processor;

memory coupled to the at least one processor;

an external memory device manager implemented at least in part by the at least one processor and the memory, and via which the computing device determines, in response to a read request for data where the read request is directed to a hard disk, that the data is available from a removable solid-state memory device that is separate from the hard disk, where the separate removable solid-state memory device is configured to complete the read request faster than the hard disk; and

the external memory device manager configured to redirect, in response to the computing device determining that the data is available from the removable solid-state memory device, the read request from the hard disk to the separate removable solid-state memory device.

9. The computing device of claim 8 where the removable solid-state memory device comprises flash memory.

10. The computing device of claim 8 where the data being available on the separate removable solid-state memory device is based on an access frequency.

11. The computing device of claim 8 where the data being available on the separate removable solid-state memory device is based on an access pattern.

12. The computing device of claim 8 where the data being available on the separate removable solid-state memory device is based on a last access time.

13. The computing device of claim 8 where the data being available on the separate removable solid-state memory device is based on a history.

14. The computing device of claim 8 where the available data corresponds to data stored on a sector of the hard disk.

15. At least one computer storage media storing computer-executable instructions that, based on execution by a processor of a computing device, configure the computing device to perform actions comprising:

determining, by the computing device in response to a read request for data where the read request is directed to a hard disk, that the data is available from a removable solid-state memory device that is separate from the hard disk, where the separate removable solid-state memory device is configured for completing the read request faster than the hard disk; and

redirecting, by the computing device in response to the determining, the read request from the hard disk to the separate removable solid-state memory device.

16. The at least one computer storage media of claim 15 where the removable solid-state memory device comprises flash memory.

17. The at least one computer storage media of claim 15 where the data being available on the separate removable solid-state memory device is based on an access frequency.

18. The at least one computer storage media of claim 15 where the data being available on the separate removable solid-state memory device is based on an access pattern.

19. The at least one computer storage media of claim 15 where the data being available on the separate removable solid-state memory device is based on a last access time, or where the data being available on the separate removable solid-state memory device is based on a history.

20. The at least one computer storage media of claim 15 where the available data corresponds to data stored on a sector of the hard disk.