Configuration Or Reconfiguration (epo) Patents (Class 711/E12.084)
  • Publication number: 20080162861
    Abstract: A processor-based system includes a processor coupled to a system controller through a processor bus. The system controller is used to couple at least one input device, at least one output device, and at least one data storage device to the processor. Also coupled to the processor bus is a memory hub controller coupled to a memory hub of at least one memory module having a plurality of memory devices coupled to the memory hub. The memory hub is coupled to the memory hub controller through a downstream bus and an upstream bus. The downstream bus has a width of M bits, and the upstream bus has a width of N bits. Although the sum of M and N is fixed, the individual values of M and N can be adjusted during the operation of the processor-based system to adjust the bandwidths of the downstream bus and the upstream bus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 7, 2008
    Publication date: July 3, 2008
    Applicant: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
    Inventors: Jeffrey R. Jobs, Thomas A. Stenglein
  • Publication number: 20080162857
    Abstract: A memory device and a method of providing the memory device. The method includes providing the memory device with a memory array arrangement of width N and providing a first configuration of the memory device and a second configuration of the memory device. Providing the first configuration of the memory device includes providing the memory device with a data pin output of width N/M and a burst length of M, where M is less than N. Providing the second configuration of the memory device comprises providing a data pin output of width N/P and a burst length of P, where P is less than M, wherein M, N, and P are all integers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 29, 2006
    Publication date: July 3, 2008
    Inventor: Jong Hoon Oh
  • Publication number: 20080162858
    Abstract: A method includes initializing a counter value of a hardware counter in response to an initialization stimulus and iteratively adjusting the counter value of the hardware counter and storing an initialization value to a memory location of a memory array using a memory address that is based on the counter value. The method further includes accessing the counter value from the hardware counter for storage by a processor concurrent with iteratively adjusting the counter value and storing the initialization value. A system includes a memory device. The memory device includes a memory array including a plurality of memory locations and a software-accessible counter. The memory device further includes write logic configured to write an initialization value to a memory location of the memory array associated with a memory address based on a counter value of the software-accessible counter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 3, 2007
    Publication date: July 3, 2008
    Applicant: FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC.
    Inventor: William C. Moyer
  • Publication number: 20080155220
    Abstract: A write allocation technique extends a conventional write allocation procedure employed by a write anywhere file system of a storage system. A write allocator of the file system implements the extended write allocation technique in response to an event in the file system. The extended write allocation technique efficiently allocates blocks, and frees blocks, to and from a virtual volume (vvol) of an aggregate. The aggregate is a physical volume comprising one or more groups of disks, such as RAID groups, underlying one or more vvols of the storage system. The aggregate has its own physical volume block number (pvbn) space and maintains metadata, such as block allocation structures, within that pvbn space. Each vvol also has its own virtual volume block number (vvbn) space and maintains metadata, such as block allocation structures, within that vvbn space.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 4, 2008
    Publication date: June 26, 2008
    Applicant: NETWORK APPLIANCE, INC.
    Inventor: John K. Edwards
  • Publication number: 20080147958
    Abstract: A rapid search system and method in high capacity hard disk drive clusters in accordance with the present invention includes: designating a specific hard disk drive as a destination hard disk drive with a predetermined purpose, and then finding the destination hard disk drive pursuant to the hard disk drive cabinet code, the hard disk drive drawer code and the hard disk drive code, whereby communicating with the destination hard disk drive. It does not use broadcast packets to find the destination hard disk drive, which can avoid broadcast storm and system breakdown.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2006
    Publication date: June 19, 2008
    Inventor: Kwok-Yan Leung
  • Publication number: 20080148004
    Abstract: A data storage device comprises storage media including physical data blocks. The data storage device comprises a storage circuit. The storage circuit compresses a user data block into a compressed user data block before storing the compressed user data in one of the physical data blocks, leaving an unused block portion of the physical data block. The data storage device comprises a remapping circuit that remaps the unused block portion to an opportunistic block address. The data storage device comprises a circuit that stores data in the unused block portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 13, 2006
    Publication date: June 19, 2008
    Applicant: Seagate Technology LLC
    Inventors: Sami Iren, Erik Riedel
  • Publication number: 20080133864
    Abstract: An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for caching fully buffered memory (FBM) data. A circuit card is connected to an FBM socket that is configured to receive a FBM. An interface module communicates with a memory controller and at least one FBM via the FBM socket through a plurality of electrical interfaces. A cache controller apportions memory space in the cache memory between each FBM of the at least one FBM according to an apportionment policy. A cache memory transparently stores data from the at least one FBM and the memory controller and transparently provides the data to the memory controller. The cache controller manages coherency between the at least one FBM and the cache memory.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 1, 2006
    Publication date: June 5, 2008
    Inventors: Jonathan Randall Hinkle, Aaron Mitchell Richardson, Ganesh Balakrishnan
  • Publication number: 20080126735
    Abstract: Provided are a nonvolatile memory device and a method for setting configuration information of the nonvolatile memory device. The nonvolatile memory device can include a nonvolatile memory cell array, a configuration register and a configuration controller. The configuration controller can be configured to set configuration information in the configuration register based on the state of a select flag stored in the nonvolatile memory cell array. The nonvolatile memory device can be configured to maintain the configuration information using the select flag and a lock flag to prevent the configuration information from changing when security is utilized and reduce the likelihood of the nonvolatile memory device operating erroneously.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 8, 2006
    Publication date: May 29, 2008
    Inventor: Eun-suk Kang
  • Publication number: 20080126734
    Abstract: A thin provisioning storage system is able to present a thin provisioned volume to a computer, such that the computer stores data to the volume as if storage space on disk drives was already allocated for the volume. Upon receiving a write request from the computer, in which the write request is directed to an area of the volume for which storage space on the disk drives has not yet been allocated, the storage system allocates new space on the disk drives. When allocating the new space, the storage system obtains a designated performance level for the volume, and determines a number of storage extents to be allocated to the volume based upon the determined performance level. The storage system also is able to take into account performance metrics for the disk drives and/or array groups when selecting locations from which to allocate the storage extents.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2006
    Publication date: May 29, 2008
    Inventor: Atsushi Murase
  • Publication number: 20080126732
    Abstract: The present invention discloses systems and method for storing and organizing UFDs (USB flash drives) on a storage pole, and for configuring UFDs to accommodate storage on a storage pole. Various embodiments also include configurations of the UFDs and/or storage poles which prevent rotation of the UFDs on the storage pole, thereby providing aligned stacking of the UFDs. Some embodiments include more than one pole for storage and/or alignment of the UFDs. Some embodiments do not require a pole for storage and/or alignment of the UFDs. In addition, systems which allow extraction of a single UFD from a stack of UFDs while maintaining the order of the UFDs are also disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 17, 2006
    Publication date: May 29, 2008
    Inventors: Hagai Heshes, Itzhak Pomerantz, Erez Baum, Menahem Lasser
  • Publication number: 20080126733
    Abstract: Data storage systems and methods and computer program product for managing data storage systems are provided. The system includes at least first and second storage enclosures, each having a plurality of hard disks configured as first and second arrays of disks and an intra-enclosure path between the first and second arrays. The intra-enclosure path is disabled during normal operation of the storage system. Inter-enclosure paths respectively link the first arrays in the first and second storage enclosures and the second arrays in the first and second storage enclosures and are enabled during normal operation of the storage system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 7, 2006
    Publication date: May 29, 2008
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: John C. Elliott, Robert A. Kubo, Gregg S. Lucas
  • Publication number: 20080120462
    Abstract: A system, method and computer program for allocating physical memory from a group of N memory devices to logical volumes. A group of N memory devices are partitioned into a plurality of bands, each of the group of N memory devices sharing a portion of each of the plurality of bands. A cluster map for each of the plurality of bands is generated. The cluster maps indicate the physical address for each of a plurality of clusters. Each of the plurality of clusters are distributed equally over two or more of the N memory devices to ensure a specified level of redundancy for each of the plurality of bands. Each of the N memory devices share an approximately equal number of clusters. Available bands are determined and are allocated to a logical volume.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 22, 2005
    Publication date: May 22, 2008
    Inventor: Paul Nehse
  • Publication number: 20080104358
    Abstract: A method manages memory of a computer where the physical memory of the computer includes one or more non-pageable pools. According to the method, one or more non-pageable pools of physical memory that are otherwise managed by a virtual memory are designated. The memory for one of the designated pools is then mapped in response to a request from a non-privileged program.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2007
    Publication date: May 1, 2008
    Inventors: Karen Lee Noel, Nitin Karkhanis
  • Publication number: 20080104357
    Abstract: A nonvolatile-memory-management includes a generation unit that generates a free block list by arranging an entry including representative information of a group, of which free blocks adjacent to each other are grouped according to predetermined criteria, according to key values where the representative information are combined, a determination unit that determines parameters according to characteristics of data to be recorded, and a block-allocating unit that allocates free blocks satisfying the parameters as an area to be recorded with the data by referring to the free block list.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 2, 2007
    Publication date: May 1, 2008
    Applicant: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jeong-eun Kim, Jin-kyu Kim, Nam-yoon Woo
  • Publication number: 20080091913
    Abstract: A data storage device that performs a process of writing to a memory a plurality of measured data sets received in time series includes: a nonvolatile memory divided in a plurality of blocks to which the measured data is written; and a write control section that performs a processing including successively writing N sets of the measured data to a given block in the nonvolatile memory, and then successively writing next N sets of the measured data to another block, wherein the write control section judges whether or not the N sets of measured data lastly written to the given block of the nonvolatile memory and another N sets of measured data obtained after the N sets of measured data lastly written to the given block contain data with a value outside a predetermined range, writes new measured data to the given block such that the N sets of measured data lastly written to the given block are not overwritten when the data with a value outside the predetermined range is included, and writes new measured data to t
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 10, 2007
    Publication date: April 17, 2008
    Applicant: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Shinichi Fukada
  • Publication number: 20080091910
    Abstract: A file memory stores data corresponding to identifiers of an allocated area in an identifier space. A first memory stores a basis position of the allocated area in the identifier space. A second memory stores a weight of the storage apparatus as a performance degree. A first decision unit decides a space width to divisionally allocate the identifier space with another storage apparatus by using the weight and a weight of another storage apparatus. Another storage apparatus allocates a neighboring area of the allocated area in the identifier space. A second decision unit decides the allocated area of an area between the basis position and a basis position of the neighboring area in the identifier space by using the space width.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 2, 2007
    Publication date: April 17, 2008
    Inventors: Hideki Yoshida, Tatsunori Kanai, Nobuo Sakiyama
  • Publication number: 20080091905
    Abstract: Memory modules are designed with multiple write buffers utilized to temporarily hold write data. “Write-to-buffer” operations moves write data from the memory controller to the write buffers while the memory module is busy processing read operations. Then, address-only “write” commands are later issued to write the buffered write data to the memory device. The write commands targeting idle DIMMs are issued in sequence ahead of writes targeting busy DIMMs (or soon to be busy). Moving the data via a background write-to-buffer operation increases the efficiency of the common write data channel and allows the write data bus to reach maximum bandwidth during periods of heavy read activity. The actual write operations, deferred to periods of when the negative affects of the write can be completely/mostly hidden. In periods of light read activity or when there are no reads pending, buffering data in the memory module enables the buffered data to be written in parallel across multiple memory modules simultaneously.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 6, 2007
    Publication date: April 17, 2008
    Inventors: Mark Brittain, Warren Maule, Gary Morrison, Jeffrey Stuecheli
  • Publication number: 20080091935
    Abstract: A system, related hard disk drive (HDD) and method are disclosed in which a firmware download to the HDD is accomplished by receiving it from the host and storing it to a first region of a disk in the HDD. The value of a download flag is set once the firmware download is complete. After the system performs an OFF/ON power cycle, it checks the value of the download flag and changes a Logical Block Address mapping a second region of a non-user data region of the disk storing a DOS boot program. The firmware download is transferred from the first region to a third region of the disk or a non-volatile memory device following execution of a boot procedure by the host using the DOS boot program.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 21, 2007
    Publication date: April 17, 2008
    Applicant: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Jae-Ik SONG
  • Publication number: 20080040541
    Abstract: The present invention is a system for and method of providing a flexible means of using and storing file configuration metadata in a RAID network, so that the memory system does not restrict the metadata to exact format or location in memory. A RAID controller includes software applications, an operating system, and RAID controller hardware. The software applications of the RAID controller include a graphical user interface, a common information module object manager, a software application layer, a logic library layer, a system manager, a software watchdog, a persistent data manager, an event manager, and a battery backup. The operating system includes a kernel and a file system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 22, 2005
    Publication date: February 14, 2008
    Inventor: Mark Brockmann
  • Publication number: 20080033927
    Abstract: A distributed search system can comprise a group of nodes assigned to different partitions. Each partition can store indexes for a group of documents. Nodes in the same partition can independently processing document-based records to construct the indexes. One of the nodes can process a stored checkpoint to produce a repartitioned checkpoint. The group of nodes can respond to search requests during the construction of the repartitioned checkpoint. The repartitioned checkpoint can be loaded into the group of nodes to repartition the group of nodes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 1, 2007
    Publication date: February 7, 2008
    Applicant: BEA SYSTEMS, INC.
    Inventors: Michael Richards, James E. Mace
  • Publication number: 20080022066
    Abstract: A method and system for tracking usage of memory in a computer system is provided. Arguments for both the size of a memory allocation and the type of memory being allocated are reserved in a fixed location. A first fixed location is reserved for small memory allocations, i.e. less than one page, and a second fixed location is reserved for large memory allocations, i.e. one page or larger. The fixed location is selected based upon a determination of the size of an allocation required by a calling application. Upon receipt of a memory allocation request by the calling application, a pointer is returned to the calling application identifying the fixed location. Similarly, upon release of memory by the calling application, a counter is decremented to track the amount of memory in use by the application.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 19, 2007
    Publication date: January 24, 2008
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Vikas Ahluwalia, Scott Piper