Method and system for hardware accelerated row lock for a write back volume

A memory control system, comprising:

• a host interface that receives one or more host Input/Output (I/O) commands;
• a storage interface that enables communication with a plurality of storage devices configured in a storage array;
• a microprocessor;
• and
• memory that includes computer-readable instructions that are executable by the microprocessor, the instructions enabling performance of a row lock and including:
• instructions that maintain a data structure in connection with a plurality of blocks used for data caching, the data structure including a row lock wait list section;
• instructions that receive an Input/Output (I/O) request, wherein the I/O request comprises a read request;
• instructions that perform a hash search for the I/O request against the data structure;
• instructions that, based on the results of the hash search, lock at least one row in a data cache thereby preventing read and write operations from being performed on the at least one row until the at least one row is unlocked;
• instructions that process the read request through a hardware automated path;
• instructions that determine whether or not the read request is related to a degraded volume of memory;
• and
• instructions that, in response to determining that the read request is related to a degraded volume of memory, restrict flush requests from being performed on the degraded volume while the row lock is in place for the at least one row.

A cache system, comprising:

• cache memory;
• a processor coupled to the cache memory;
• and
• processor-executable instructions stored in computer memory that enable of the processor to manage the cache memory to facilitate a row lock to be performed, the instructions including:
• instructions that maintain a data structure in connection with a plurality of blocks used for data caching, the data structure including a row lock wait list section;
• instructions that receive an Input/Output (I/O) request, wherein the I/O request comprises a read request;
• instructions that perform a hash search for the I/O request against the data structure;
• instructions that, based on the results of the hash search, lock at least one row in a data cache thereby preventing read and write operations from being performed on the at least one row until the at least one row is unlocked;
• instructions that process the read request through a hardware automated path;
• instructions that determine whether or not the read request is related to a degraded volume of memory;
• and
• instructions that, in response to determining that the read request is related to a degraded volume memory, restrict flush requests from being performed on the degraded volume while the row lock is in place for the at least one row.