Providing indirect data addressing in an input/output processing system where the indirect data address list is non-contiguous

• US 9,720,844 B2
• Filed: 08/04/2016
• Issued: 08/01/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Sittmann, III, Gustav E., Flanagan, John R., Yudenfriend, Harry M., Casper, Daniel F., Bendyk, Mark P., Huang, Catherine C., Kalos, Matthew J., Njoku, Ugochukwu C., Riedy, Dale F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Unelus, Ernest
• Application Number:
  US15/228,436
• Publication Number:
  US 20160342525A1
• Time in Patent Office: 362 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/1009 using page tables, e.g. page table structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/1036 for multiple virtual address spaces, e.g. segmentation G06F12/1045 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/124 where hardware is a sequential transfer control unit, e.g. microprocessor, peripheral processor or state-machine
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/65 Details of virtual memory and virtual address translation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/00 Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0604 Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. storage management
• 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 3/0673 Single storage device

Abstract

A computer program product for processing input/output (I/O) data is provided for performing a method that includes receiving a transport control word (TCW) including an indirect data address including a starting location of a transport mode indirect data address list (TIDAL) of storage addresses, the TIDAL including a plurality of entries configured as transport mode indirect data address words (TIDAWs). The method includes accessing an entry of the TIDAL, which includes: 1) based on the entry of the TIDAL indicating that the address is a data address, gathering data from a data storage location corresponding to the data address, and accessing a next entry of the TIDAL, and 2) based on the entry of the TIDAL indicating that the address is an address of a next entry of the TIDAL, obtaining the next entry of the TIDAL from another storage location that is located non-contiguously to the entry storage location.

Claims

1. A computer program product for processing input/output (I/O) data at an I/O subsystem of an I/O processing system, the computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, wherein the computer readable storage medium is not a transitory signal per se, the program instructions executable by a processing circuit to perform a method comprising;

receiving a transport control word (TCW) at the I/O subsystem for an I/O operation, the TCW including an indirect data address for data associated with the I/O operation, the indirect data address including a starting location of a transport mode indirect data address list (TIDAL) of storage addresses that collectively specify the data, the TIDAL including a plurality of entries configured as transport mode indirect data address words (TIDAWs);

gathering the data, wherein gathering comprises accessing an entry of the TIDAL, the entry located at an entry storage location and including an address, wherein accessing includes

     1) and

     2);

1) based on the entry of the TIDAL indicating that the address is a data address, gathering data from a data storage location corresponding to the data address, and accessing a next entry of the TIDAL; and

2) based on the entry of the TIDAL indicating that the address is an address of a next entry of the TIDAL, obtaining the next entry of the TIDAL from another storage location that is located non-contiguously to the entry storage location; and

transmitting gathered data to a control unit in the I/O processing system, the control unit configured to control an I/O device for executing the I/O operation.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the data address refers to a portion of the data and the address of the next entry refers to a storage location where one or more storage addresses of the list are located.

3. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the entry includes a flag, the flag indicating that the address is the data address when the flag is not set and indicating that the address is the address of the next entry when the flag is set.

4. The computer program product of claim 3, wherein for each entry in the TIDAL, the gathering includes:

based on the entry of the TIDAL comprising the not-set first flag, adding contents from the data address to the data; and

based on the entry of the TIDAL comprising the set first flag, accessing the another storage address and a second flag located at the another storage address, and adding contents from the another storage address to the data based on the second flag being a not-set second flag.

5. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the TIDAL further includes a count field associated with each storage address in the TIDAL, the count field indicating a number of bytes to read from the storage address and the gathering is based on the count fields and to the storage addresses.

6. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the TCW includes at least one device control word (DCW) that specifies a command to be executed by a control unit.

7. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises forwarding a transport command control block (TCCB) from the I/O subsystem to the control unit, the TCCB including at least one DCW and configured to hold a plurality of DCWs, the TCCB being obtained from a location identified by the TCW.

8. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the gathering includes accessing successive entries of the TIDAL until a last entry is accessed.

9. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises, based on an entry of the TIDAL comprising a set last entry flag, determining that the entry is a last entry to be accessed.

10. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the next entry of the TIDAL is contiguous to the entry when the entry indicates that the address is the data address.

11. An apparatus for processing input/output (I/O) data, the apparatus comprising:

an I/O subsystem configured for communication with a control unit in an I/O processing system, the I/O subsystem configured to perform a method comprising;

receiving a transport control word (TCW) at the I/O subsystem for an I/O operation, the TCW including an indirect data address for data associated with the I/O operation, the indirect data address including a starting location of a transport mode indirect data address list (TIDAL) of storage addresses that collectively specify the data, the TIDAL including a plurality of entries configured as transport mode indirect data address words (TIDAWs);

gathering the data, wherein gathering comprises accessing an entry of the TIDAL, the entry located at an entry storage location and including an address, wherein accessing includes

     1) and

     2);

1) based on the entry of the TIDAL indicating that the address is a data address, gathering data from a data storage location corresponding to the data address, and accessing a next entry of the TIDAL; and

2) based on the entry of the TIDAL indicating that the address is an address of a next entry of the TIDAL, obtaining the next entry of the TIDAL from another storage location that is located non-contiguously to the entry storage location; and

transmitting gathered data to the control unit, the control unit configured to control an I/O device for executing the I/O operation.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the data address refers to a portion of the data and the address of the next entry refers to a storage location where one or more storage addresses of the list are located.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the entry includes a flag, the flag indicating that the address is the data address when the flag is not set and indicating that the address is the address of the next entry when the flag is set.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein for each entry in the TIDAL, the gathering includes:

based on the entry of the TIDAL comprising the not-set first flag, adding contents from the data address to the data; and

based on the entry of the TIDAL comprising the set first flag, accessing the another storage address and a second flag located at the another storage address, and adding contents from the another storage address to the data based on the second flag being a not-set second flag.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the TCW includes at least one device control word (DCW) that specifies a command to be executed by a control unit.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises forwarding a transport command control block (TCCB) from the I/O subsystem to the control unit, the TCCB including at least one DCW and configured to hold a plurality of DCWs, the TCCB being obtained from a location identified by the TCW.

17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the gathering includes accessing successive entries of the TIDAL until a last entry is accessed.

18. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the next entry of the TIDAL is contiguous to the entry when the entry indicates that the address is the data address.

19. A method of processing input/output (I/O) data at an I/O subsystem configured for communication with a control unit in an I/O processing system, the method comprising:

receiving a transport control word (TCW) at an I/O subsystem for an I/O operation, the TCW including an indirect data address for data associated with the I/O operation, the indirect data address including a starting location of a transport mode indirect data address list (TIDAL) of storage addresses that collectively specify the data, the list including a plurality of entries configured as transport mode indirect data address words (TIDAWs);

gathering the data, wherein gathering comprises accessing an entry of the TIDAL, the entry located at an entry storage location and including an address, wherein accessing includes

     1) and

     2);

1) based on the entry of the TIDAL indicating that the address is a data address, gathering data from a data storage location corresponding to the data address, and accessing a next entry of the TIDAL; and

2) based on the entry of the TIDAL indicating that the address is an address of a next entry of the TIDAL, obtaining the next entry of the TIDAL from another storage location that is located non-contiguously to the entry storage location; and

transmitting gathered data to the control unit, the control unit configured to control an I/O device for executing the I/O operation.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the entry includes a flag, the flag indicating that the address is the data address when the flag is not set and indicating that the address is the address of the next entry when the flag is set.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein for each entry in the TIDAL, the gathering includes:

based on the entry of the TIDAL comprising the not-set first flag, adding contents from the data address to the data; and

based on the entry of the TIDAL comprising the set first flag, accessing the another storage address and a second flag located at the another storage address, and adding contents from the another storage address to the data based on the second flag being a not-set second flag.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the TCW includes at least one device control word (DCW) that specifies a command to be executed by a control unit, and the method further comprises forwarding a transport command control block (TCCB) from the I/O subsystem to the control unit, the TCCB including at least one DCW and configured to hold a plurality of DCWs, the TCCB being obtained from a location identified by the TCW.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the gathering includes accessing successive entries of the TIDAL until a last entry is accessed.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein the next entry of the TIDAL is contiguous to the entry when the entry indicates that the address is the data address.