Register access
AssigneeMicron Technology, Inc.
InventorKevin R. Duncan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An example apparatus can include a memory device and a controller coupled to the memory device configured to receive a command including command information to access a register from a host device. The controller can grant access to the register in response to the controller determining the command is valid and/or deny access to the register in response to the controller determining the command is invalid. The controller can determine the command is valid by calculating an answer using a seed from the command in a formula and verifying the calculated answer matches an answer from the command. The command, once verified as valid, can allow the host device to access configuration registers and/or data registers.
Claims20
An apparatus, comprising:
- a memory device;
- and
- a controller coupled to the memory device configured to:
- receive a command including command information to access a register from a host device, wherein the command is received by a control register and the register is not visible to the host;
- grant access to the register in response to the controller determining the command is valid based on a formula that is common to the controller and the host;
- initialize hardware on the apparatus in response to the controller granting access to the register and sending data to the register that is used initialize the hardware on the apparatus;
- and
- deny access to the register and discard the command in response to the controller determining the command is invalid.
A system comprising:
- a host device;
- and
- an apparatus coupled to the host device, wherein the apparatus includes a memory device coupled to a controller and wherein the controller is configured to:
- grant access to a register on the apparatus by determining a command sent from the host device to the apparatus is valid by calculating an answer using a seed from the command in a formula common to the host device and the controller and verifying the calculated answer matches an answer from the command, wherein the command is received by a control register and the register is not visible to the host;
- and
- execute a number of commands sent from the host device to the apparatus in response to access to the register being granted, wherein the number of commands are executed by writing data to a data register to boot the apparatus and to initialize hardware on the apparatus.
A method, comprising:
- receiving a command from a host device to access a register on a memory system, wherein the command is received by a control register and the register is not visible to the host;
- granting access to the register in response to determining the command is valid via firmware on a controller of the memory system based on a formula that is common to the controller and the host device;
- sending a number of commands from the host device to the register on the memory system via a bus in response to having access to the register based on the command being valid;
- and
- executing the number of commands in response to the command being valid by writing data to the register and sending debug data to the host device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.