Architecture for writing and reading data in a data storage system

• US 9,639,324 B2
• Filed: 04/21/2014
• Issued: 05/02/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Marvell Asia Pte Limited (Marvell Technology Group Limited)
• Original Assignee: Marvell World Trade Limited (Marvell Technology Group Limited)
• Inventors: Yoon, Tony, Au, Siu-Hung Fred
• Primary Examiner(s): SNYDER, STEVEN G
• Application Number:
  US14/257,410
• Publication Number:
  US 20140229640A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,107 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/1673 using buffers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0613 in relation to throughput
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0656 Data buffering arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0673 Single storage device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 5/12 Means for monitoring the fill level; Means for resolving contention, i.e. conflicts between simultaneous enqueue and dequeue operations

Abstract

A system including an encoder module, a buffer first-in first-out (FIFO) module, a buffer manager module, N FIFO modules, and N input/output (I/O) modules. The encoder module encodes data received from a host and generates P units of encoded data, where P is an integer greater than 1. The buffer FIFO module receives the P units from the encoder module and outputs the P units. The buffer manager module receives the P units from the buffer FIFO module, stores the P units in a buffer, retrieves N of the P units from the buffer, and outputs the N units in parallel, where N is an integer greater than 1. The N FIFO modules respectively receive the N units in parallel directly from the buffer manager. The N I/O modules receive the N units from the N FIFO modules in parallel, respectively, and output the N units to a storage medium.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

an encoder module configured to

encode data received from a host, and

generate P units of encoded data, where P is an integer greater than 1;

a buffer first-in first-out (FIFO) module configured to

receive the P units of encoded data from the encoder module, and

output the P units of encoded data;

a buffer manager module configured to

receive the P units of encoded data output from the buffer FIFO module,

store the P units of encoded data in a buffer,

retrieve, from the buffer, N units of encoded data of the P units of encoded data stored in the buffer, where N is an integer greater than 1, and

output, in parallel, the N units of encoded data;

N FIFO modules configured to respectively receive, in parallel, the N units of encoded data directly from the buffer manager; and

N input/output (I/O) modules configured to

respectively receive, in parallel, the N units of encoded data from the N FIFO modules, and

output the N units of encoded data to a storage medium.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the storage medium comprises (i) a magnetic medium of a hard disk drive (HDD), or (ii) nonvolatile memory of a solid-state disk (SSD).

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a host interface module configured to receive the data from the host; and

a host FIFO module configured to

receive the data from the host interface module, and

output the data to the encoder module.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a control module configured to output a control signal to the host when a Pth unit of encoded data of the P units of encoded data is stored in the buffer,

wherein the control signal indicates that the P units of encoded data are output to the storage medium, and

wherein the encoder module is configured to receive additional data from the host based on the control signal when less than the P units of encoded data are output to the storage medium.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the N I/O modules are configured to

receive N data units from the storage medium, and

respectively output, in parallel, the N data units to the N FIFO modules;

the N FIFO modules are configured to respectively output, in parallel, the N data units to the buffer manager module; and

the buffer manager module is configured to store the N data units in the buffer.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein:

the buffer FIFO module is configured to

receive the N data units from the buffer manager module, and

output the N data units;

the system further comprising;

a decoder module configured to

receive the N data units from the buffer FIFO module, and

decode the N data units to generate decoded data;

a host FIFO module configured to

receive the decoded data from the decoder module, and

output the decoded data; and

a host interface module configured to

receive the decoded data from the host FIFO module, and

output the decoded data to the host.

7. A system comprising:

N input/output (I/O) modules configured to

receive N data units from a storage medium, and

respectively output, in parallel, the N data units, where N is an integer greater than 1;

N first-in first-out (FIFO) modules configured to

respectively receive, in parallel, the N data units from the N I/O modules, and

respectively output, in parallel, the N data units;

a buffer manager module configured to

receive the N data units directly from the N FIFO modules, and

store the N data units in a buffer;

a buffer FIFO module configured to

receive the N data units from the buffer manager module, and

output the N data units; and

a decoder module configured to

receive the N data units from the buffer FIFO module,

decode the N data units to generate decoded data.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the storage medium comprises (i) a magnetic medium of a hard disk drive (HDD), or (ii) nonvolatile memory of a solid-state disk (SSD).

9. The system of claim 7, further comprising:

a host FIFO module configured to

receive the decoded data from the decoder module, and

output the decoded data; and

a host interface module configured to

receive the decoded data from the host FIFO module, and

output the decoded data to a host.

10. A method comprising:

receiving data from a host;

generating P units of encoded data by encoding the data, where P is an integer greater than 1;

receiving the P units of encoded data at a buffer first-in first-out (FIFO) module; and

outputting the P units of encoded data from the buffer FIFO module;

receiving the P units of encoded data output from the buffer FIFO module at a buffer manager module;

storing the P units of encoded data in a buffer;

retrieving, from the buffer, N units of encoded data of the P units of encoded data using the buffer manager module, where N is an integer greater than 1;

outputting, in parallel, the N units of encoded data from the buffer manager module respectively to N FIFO modules;

respectively receiving, in parallel, the N units of encoded data from the N FIFO modules at N input/output (I/O) modules; and

outputting the N units of encoded data from the N I/O modules to a storage medium.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the storage medium comprises (i) a magnetic medium of a hard disk drive (HDD), or (ii) nonvolatile memory of a solid-state disk (SSD).

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

receiving N data units from the storage medium at the N I/O modules;

respectively outputting, in parallel, the N data units from the N I/O modules to the N FIFO modules;

respectively outputting, in parallel, the N data units from the N FIFO modules to the buffer manager module; and

storing, in the buffer, the N data units received by the buffer manager module.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving, at the buffer FIFO module, the N data units from the buffer manager module;

outputting the N data units from the buffer FIFO module;

generating decoded data by decoding the N data units;

receiving the decoded data at a host FIFO module;

outputting the decoded data from the host FIFO module;

receiving, at a host interface module, the decoded data from the host FIFO module; and

outputting the decoded data from the host interface module to the host.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

outputting a control signal to the host when a Pth unit of encoded data of the P units of encoded data is stored in the buffer, wherein the control signal indicates that the P units of encoded data are output to the storage medium; and

receiving additional data from the host based on the control signal when less than the P units of encoded data are output to the storage medium.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

receiving, at a host FIFO module, the data from the host via a host interface module; and

outputting the data to an encoder module to generate the P units of encoded data.

16. A method comprising:

receiving N data units from a storage medium at N input/output (I/O) modules, where N is an integer greater than 1;

respectively outputting, in parallel, the N data units from the N I/O modules;

respectively receiving, in parallel, the N data units at N first-in first-out (FIFO) modules;

respectively outputting, in parallel, the N data units from the N FIFO modules; and

receiving, at a buffer manager module, the N data units directly from the N FIFO modules;

storing the N data units in a buffer;

receiving, at a buffer FIFO module, the N data units from the buffer manager module;

outputting the N data units from the buffer FIFO module to a decoder module; and

generating decoded data by decoding the N data units using the decoder module.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the storage medium comprises (i) a magnetic medium of a hard disk drive (HDD), or (ii) nonvolatile memory of a solid-state disk (SSD).

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving the decoded data at a host FIFO module;

outputting the decoded data from the host FIFO module;

receiving, at a host interface module, the decoded data from the host FIFO module; and

outputting the decoded from the host interface module to a host.