Abstract: The invention introduces a method for executing host input-output (IO) commands, performed by a processing unit of a device side, at least including: in response to different types of host IO commands, using multiple stages of a generic framework to drive a frontend interface to interact with a host side for transmitting user data read from a storage unit to the host side, and receiving user data to be programmed into the storage unit from the host side. The frontend interface includes a register, and a data line coupled to the host side. The stages of the generic framework are used to access to the register of the frontend interface and operate the data line of the frontend interface to complete interactions with the host side.

Abstract: A method of caching mapping table for use in a flash memory device having a flash memory controller and a flash memory is provided. The method includes: in response to a host read command, determining whether a group of a logical-to-physical (L2P) required by handling the host read command has been loaded to a DRAM of the flash memory controller; if the required group of the L2P mapping table has not been loaded to the DRAM, loading the required group of the L2P mapping table from the flash memory to a SRAM of the flash memory controller; directly accessing the SRAM to obtain an L2P address associated with the host read command from the required group of the L2P mapping table; and performing a read operation on the flash memory in response to the host read command according to the obtained L2P address.

Abstract: A method for performing data access control of a memory device with aid of a predetermined command and associated apparatus are provided. The method may include: utilizing the memory controller to receive a first single command from a host device through a transmission interface circuit of the memory controller; and in response to the first single command conforming to a predetermined format of the predetermined command, utilizing the memory controller to perform a series of operations according to the first single command, wherein the first single command represents a first duplicate command, for duplicating from a first source logical address to a first destination logical address. The series of operations may include: reading first data at the first source logical address; and writing the first data at the first destination logical address.

Abstract: A flash memory device is disclosed. The memory cell array has a first plane and a second plane and stores a first data unit and a second data unit. The data register buffers the first data unit and the second data unit transmitted from the memory cell array when a read command or a data toggle command is received and stored by the command register. The control circuit performs a data toggle operation to control the data register selecting and transferring the first data unit and the second data unit to the I/O control circuit to make the I/O control circuit sequentially transmit the first data unit and the second data unit to the flash memory controller through a specific communication interface in response to the read command or the data toggle command. The transmission of the first data unit is followed by the transmission of the second data unit.

Abstract: A method of a flash memory controller includes: providing an input/output (I/O) circuit coupled to the flash memory device; and sending a data toggle set-feature signal to the flash memory device to enable, disable, or configure a data toggle operation of the flash memory device; the data toggle operation of the flash memory device is arranged to make the flash memory device control the flash memory device's data register selecting and transferring a first data unit and a second data unit to the flash memory device's I/O control circuit to make the I/O control circuit sequentially transmit the first data unit and the second data unit to the flash memory controller through the specific communication interface in response to a specific read command or a data toggle command transmitted by the flash memory controller.

Abstract: The invention introduces an apparatus for detecting errors during data encryption. The apparatus includes a search circuitry and a substitution check circuitry. The key generation circuitry is arranged operably to convert a first value of one byte corresponding to a plaintext, an intermediate encryption result, or a round key into a second value of a K-bit according to an 8-to-K lookup table, where K is an integer ranging from 10 to 15 and the second value comprises (K minus 8) bits of a Hamming parity. The substitution check circuitry is arranged operably to employ check formulae corresponding to the 8-to-K lookup table to determine whether an error is occurred during a conversion of the first value of the one byte into the second value of the K-bit, and output an error signal when finding the error, where a total amount of the formulae is K minus 8.

Abstract: A data storage device includes a memory device and a memory controller. The memory device includes multiple predetermined memory blocks that are configured as a buffer for receiving data from a host device. The memory controller performs a write operation in response to a write command, and during the write operation, the memory controller maintains a first quantity count value for counting a number of the predetermined memory block(s) that has/have been written with data, determine a number of the predetermined memory block(s) which is/are released in response to the write operation and maintains a second quantity count value based on this number. After the write operation, the memory controller performs a garbage collection and updates the first quantity count value based on the second quantity count value when determining that the host device has requested to perform a flush operation on the predetermined memory blocks.

Abstract: A data storage device includes a memory device and a memory controller. The memory device includes multiple memory blocks which include one or more spare memory blocks not written with data and one or more predetermined memory blocks that are configured as a buffer for receiving data from a host device. The memory controller obtains a total number of remaining erasable count of the memory blocks and determines a setting value of a number of said one or more predetermined memory blocks according to a number of currently remaining spare memory block(s), a number of the predetermined memory block(s) that has/have been written with data among said one or more predetermined memory blocks, a predetermined threshold and the total number of remaining erasable count of the memory blocks, and configures the number of the predetermined memory block(s) as the buffer according to the setting value.

Abstract: A method for performing link management of a memory device in predetermined communications architecture with aid of handshaking phase transition control and associated apparatus are provided. The method may include: utilizing at least one upper layer controller of a transmission interface circuit to turn on a physical layer (PHY) circuit of the transmission interface circuit, for starting establishing a link between a host device and the memory device; before entering a first handshaking phase, utilizing the PHY circuit to receive any first incoming data sent from the host device to determine whether the any first incoming data indicates that the host device is in a corresponding first handshaking phase; and in response to the any first incoming data indicating that the host device is in the corresponding first handshaking phase, utilizing the PHY circuit to send first outgoing data that is equal to first predetermined data to the host device.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and an apparatus for programming data into flash memory. The method includes: generating a front-end parameter set, a mid-end parameter set and a back-end parameter set for each data-programming transaction; transmitting the front-end parameter set of each data-programming transaction to a routing engine, thereby enabling the routing engine to drive a host interface (I/F) to obtain from the host side; transmitting the mid-end parameter set of each data-programming transaction to an accelerator, thereby enabling the accelerator to drive the RAID engine to encrypt raw data or generate parity-page data according to multiple pages of the raw data; and transmitting the back-end parameter set of each data-programming transaction to the accelerator, thereby enabling the accelerator to drive a data access engine to program source data into a designated physical address of a flash module.

Abstract: A method of a flash memory controller includes: providing an input/output (I/O) circuit coupled to a flash memory device through a specific communication interface; and, controlling a processor sending a specific read command or a data toggle command through the I/O circuit and the specific communication interface into the flash memory device, to make the flash memory device perform a data toggle operation to control the flash memory device's data register selecting and transferring a first data unit and a second data unit to the flash memory device's I/O control circuit to make the I/O control circuit sequentially transmit the first data unit and the second data unit to the flash memory controller through the specific communication interface in response to the specific read command or the data toggle command.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for programming data into flash memory. The method includes: obtaining, by the accelerator, an execution table indicating that data related to the first virtual carrier need to go through a mid-end and a back-end processing stages earlier than data related to other virtual carriers; driving, by the routing engine, a host interface (I/F) to obtain data associated with all cargos in the second virtual carrier, updating the second cargo flags with third cargo flags to indicate that data associated with all the cargos in the second virtual carrier are prepared in the front-end processing stage; and determining, by the accelerator, that data associated with any cargo in the first virtual carrier hasn't been prepared according to information of the first cargo flags, and disallowing the second virtual carrier to proceed to the following processing stages.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and an apparatus for accessing to encoding-history information. The method includes: providing a super-block formed by storage space of flash units, where the super-block includes zones, each zone includes super-page strings, and each super-page string includes pages across the flash units; and programming encoding-history information into a metadata section of a designated first page of a designated super-page string, thereby enabling a damaged page that is occurred in the designated super-page string of the designated zone to be recovered according to the encoding-history information. The encoding-history information includes a history profile and history entries. The history profile indicates which zone or zones are covered in the super-block, and a quantity of the history entries.

Abstract: A data storage device includes a memory device and a memory controller. The memory device includes multiple predetermined memory blocks that are configured as a buffer for receiving data from a host device. The memory controller performs a write operation in response to a write command issued by the host device, and during the write operation, the memory controller maintains a first quantity count value for counting a number of the predetermined memory block(s) that has/have been written with data, determines a number of the predetermined memory block(s) which is/are released in response to the write operation and maintains a second quantity count value based on this number. After the write operation, the memory controller updates the first quantity count value based on the second quantity count value when determining that the host device has requested to perform a flush operation on the predetermined memory blocks.

Abstract: A data storage device includes a memory device and a memory controller. The memory device includes multiple memory blocks. The memory blocks includes one or more spare memory blocks that are not written with data and one or more predetermined memory blocks that are configured as a buffer for receiving data from a host device. The memory controller is coupled to the memory device and configured to access the memory device. The memory controller is configured to determine a setting value of a number of said one or more predetermined memory blocks according to a number of currently remaining spare memory block(s), a number of the predetermined memory block(s) that has/have been written with data among said one or more predetermined memory blocks and a predetermined threshold, and configure the number of the predetermined memory block(s) as the buffer according to the setting value.

Abstract: The invention introduces a method for performing data writes into a flash memory, at least including the steps: determining whether at least one host write command that requires to process immediately is presented in a submission queue (SQ) before performing a portion of a Host-Flash mapping (H2F) table update or a GC process; and executing the host write command that requires to process immediately in a batch and then performing the portion of the H2F table update or the GC process when the determination is positive.

Abstract: The invention introduces a method for scheduling and executing host data-update commands. A first queue and a second queue are provided. The first queue includes first host data-update commands each including a first logical address. The second queue includes second host data-update commands each including a second logical address. A third host data-update command including a third logical address is generated and is labeled as a first type of host data-update command according to a host command received from a host side. A redundant first logical address is removed from a matched one of the first host data-update commands in response that the third logical address is the same as any first logical address. A redundant second logical address is removed from a matched one of the second host data-update commands in response that the third logical address is the same as any second logical address.

Abstract: A bridge control chip includes a first interface, a second interface, and a processor, wherein the first interface is coupled to a host device, the second interface is coupled to a memory device, and the memory device is a flash memory device. The processor is arranged to execute commands in a queue in sequence, to transmit the commands in the queue to the memory device through the second interface in sequence, wherein when the processor receives one or more received commands from the host device, the processor sorts the one or more received commands and commands which are currently and temporarily stored in the queue according to a distance between a logical address of each of the one or more received commands and a logical address of a current command in the queue that is currently executed by the processor.

Abstract: The invention introduces a method for scheduling and executing host data-update commands. A first queue and a second queue are provided. The first queue includes first host data-update commands each including a first logical address. The second queue includes second host data-update commands each including a second logical address. A third host data-update command including a third logical address is generated and is labeled as a first type of host data-update command according to a host command received from a host side. All the first host data-update commands of the first queue are popped out and executed in response that the third logical address is the same as any first logical address. All the second host data-update commands of the second queue are popped out and executed in response that the third logical address is the same as any second logical address.

Abstract: A method of communicating with two or more slaves is provided. The method includes receiving a command packet with an interface, wherein the command packet is sent by a master over a master-slave bus and associating a slave address of the command packet with one of two or more slaves communicatively coupled to the interface.