Blob pools, selectors, and command set implemented within a memory appliance for accessing memory

• US 9,665,533 B2
• Filed: 11/12/2014
• Issued: 05/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rambus Inc.
• Original Assignee: Rambus Inc.
• Inventors: Lowery, Keith, Fruchter, Vlad
• Primary Examiner(s): Rossiter, Sean D
• Application Number:
  US14/539,662
• Publication Number:
  US 20150177990A1
• Time in Patent Office: 930 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0653 with centralised address assignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0692 Multiconfiguration, e.g. local and global addressing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/16 for access to memory bus G06F13/28 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/17331 Distributed shared memory [DSM], e.g. remote direct memory access [RDMA]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0619 in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

A memory appliance system is described and includes a plurality of memory devices storing data in a plurality of containers and a controller. The containers include metadata, relationship information associating a respective container with related containers, and a payload. The controller is configured to perform data operations on the payload of one of the containers, and based on the relationship information associating the respective container with related containers and the payload of related containers.

Claims

1. A memory appliance system comprising:

a plurality of memory devices storing data in a plurality of containers, the plurality of containers comprising a first container and a second container that each comprise;

metadata, a payload, and relationship information, the relationship information of the first container associating the first container with a first number of related containers stored in the memory devices and the relationship information of the second container associating the second container with a second number of related containers stored in the memory devices, wherein the second number of related containers are different than the first number of related containers; and

a controller configured to perform data operations on the payload of the respective first and second containers and on payload of the respective related containers based on the relationship information associating the respective containers with the respective related containers.

2. The memory appliance system of claim 1, wherein said plurality of containers comprises blobs.

3. The memory appliance system of claim 1, further comprising a memory structure comprising a first free list of blobs, wherein said first free list comprises a first classification of blobs each comprising a payload of a first size.

4. The memory appliance system of claim 3, wherein said memory structure further comprises a second free list of blobs, wherein said second free list comprises a second classification of blobs each comprising a payload of a second size.

5. The memory appliance system of claim 1, wherein said data operations comprise a plurality of primitive commands comprising data manipulation instructions formatted to operate on data stored in a plurality of linked lists of blobs.

6. The memory appliance system of claim 5, wherein said data manipulation instructions comprise one or more of:

accessing data of a corresponding linked list of blobs;

searching data of a corresponding linked list of blobs;

modifying data of a corresponding linked list of blobs;

adding data items to a corresponding linked list of blobs;

or

removing data items from a corresponding linked list of blobs.

7. The memory appliance system of claim 5, wherein said data manipulation instructions comprise one or more of:

unlinking a blob from a linked list and allocating said blob to a free list of a corresponding classification of blobs;

adding a blob to a corresponding linked list of blobs;

or

removing a blob from a corresponding linked list of blobs.

8. The memory appliance system of claim 5, wherein said data manipulation instructions comprise one or more of:

prepending a blob from a free list of a corresponding classification of blobs to a beginning of a linked list of blobs;

appending a blob from a free list of a corresponding classification of blobs to an end of a linked list of blobs;

inserting a blob from a free list of a corresponding classification of blobs after a first blob in a linked list of blobs;

or

inserting a blob from a free list of a corresponding classification of blobs before a first blob in a linked list of blobs.

9. The memory appliance system of claim 5, wherein said data manipulation instructions comprise returning all blobs from a linked list of blobs that meet a criteria.

10. A memory appliance system comprising:

a processor operable to be coupled to one or more communication channels with a command interface, said processor to communicate commands over said one or more communication channels; and

a plurality of memory units coupled to said processor through said one or more communication channels, wherein each memory unit comprises a memory unit controller and a plurality of memory devices, wherein a reconfigurable memory structure is stored in said plurality of memory devices, wherein said reconfigurable memory structure comprises a plurality of variably sized blobs comprising a first blob and a second blob that each comprise;

metadata, a payload, and relationship information, the relationship information of the first blob associating the first blob with a first number of other blobs and the relationship information of the second blob associating the second blob with a second number of other blobs, wherein the second number of other blobs are different than the first number of other blobs;

wherein said memory unit controller is configured to perform data operations on the payload of said respective blob and on payload of said one or more respective other blobs based on the relationship information associating the respective blob with the respective other blobs.

11. The memory appliance system of claim 10, wherein said reconfigurable memory structure comprises:

a first free list of blobs, wherein said first free list comprises a first classification of blobs each comprising a payload of a first size; and

a second free list of blobs, wherein said second free list comprises a second classification of blobs each comprising a payload of a second size.

12. The memory appliance system of claim 10, wherein said data operations comprise a plurality of primitive commands comprising data manipulation instructions formatted to operate on data stored in a plurality of linked lists of blobs.

13. The memory appliance system of claim 12, wherein said data manipulation instructions comprise one or more of:

accessing data of a corresponding linked list of blobs;

searching data of a corresponding linked list of blobs;

modifying data of a corresponding linked list of blobs;

adding data items to a corresponding linked list of blobs;

or

removing data items from a corresponding linked list of blobs.

14. The memory appliance system of claim 12, wherein said data manipulation instructions comprise one or more of:

unlinking a blob from a linked list and allocating said blob to a free list of a corresponding classification of blobs;

adding a blob to a corresponding linked list of blobs;

or

removing a blob from a corresponding linked list of blobs.

15. A memory appliance system comprising:

a plurality of memory devices storing data in a reconfigurable key-value store memory structure comprising a plurality of containers comprising a first container and a second container that each comprise;

metadata a payload, and relationship information, the relationship information of the first container associating the first container with a first number of other containers and the relationship information of the second container associating the second container with a second number of other containers, wherein the second number of other containers are different than the first number of other containers; and

a controller configured to perform data operations on the payload of the respective container and on payload of the respective other containers based on the relationship information associating the respective container with the respective other containers.

16. The memory appliance system of claim 15, wherein said memory structure comprises a Memecached memory structure that is accessed through a plurality of Memcached key-value operations.

17. The memory appliance system of claim 15, wherein said Memcached memory structure comprises a list of hash values, wherein each of the hash values is associated to a bucket list of key-value pairs.

18. The memory appliance system of claim 15, wherein said data operations comprise a plurality of primitive commands comprising data manipulation instructions formatted to operate on data stored in a plurality of linked lists of blobs.

19. The memory appliance system of claim 18, wherein said data manipulation instructions comprise one or more of:

accessing data of a corresponding linked list of blobs;

searching data of a corresponding linked list of blobs;

modifying data of a corresponding linked list of blobs;

adding data items to a corresponding linked list of blobs;

removing data items from a corresponding linked list of blobs;

unlinking a blob from a linked list and allocating said blob to a free list of a corresponding classification of blobs;

adding a blob to a corresponding linked list of blobs;

removing a blob from a corresponding linked list of blobs;

prepending a blob from a free list of a corresponding classification of blobs to a beginning of a linked list of blobs;

appending a blob from a free list of a corresponding classification of blobs to an end of a linked list of blobs;

inserting a blob from a free list of a corresponding classification of blobs after a first blob in a linked list of blobs;

inserting a blob from a free list of a corresponding classification of blobs before a first blob in a linked list of blobs;

or

returning all blobs from a linked list of blobs that meet a criteria.

20. A memory appliance system comprising:

a plurality of memory devices storing data in a plurality of containers, the plurality of containers comprising;

a first container comprising;

first metadata,

first relationship information associating the first container with a first number of other containers stored in the plurality of memory devices, and

a first payload;

a second container comprising;

second metadata,

second relationship information associating the second container with a second number of other containers stored in the plurality of memory devices, the second number of other containers being different than the first number of other containers, and

a second payload; and

a controller being configured to perform data operations on;

the first payload of the first container,

based on the first relationship information associating the first container with the first number of other containers stored in the plurality of memory devices, a payload of the first number of other containers stored in the plurality of memory devices,

the second payload of the second container, and

based on the second relationship information associating the second container with the second number of other containers stored in the plurality of memory devices, and a payload of the second number of other containers stored in the plurality of memory devices.