US 2003/0149815 A1 · Buffer management system for managing the transfer of data into and out of a buffer in a disc drive

Abstract

A method and system for managing the transfer of data into and out of a buffer in a disc drive is disclosed. The operation of the vectored buffer management (VBM) system is administered by a software-based control module. The control module creates and maintains a buffer table by dividing the buffer table into buffer sectors. The buffer sectors are further arranged into buffer segments, or circularly linked lists upon which the buffer table is partitioned. The control module effectuates the transfer by implementing an application module across the buffer table. Once the application module is arbitrarily positioned at an index sector by the control module, data transfer is accomplished when the application module walks through a particular buffer segment identified by the index sector. Specific control of the application module across a buffer segment is administered through host and disc address pointers, which are coupled to host and disc next pointers, respectively.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A buffer management system for managing a transfer of data from a host computer to recordable disc in a disc drive, the disc drive operating on the host computer, the recordable radially divided into a plurality of equal servo segments and circumferentially divided into a of rotational tracks, wherein the disc drive is of a type that data transfers between the computer and the disc are effectuated by transferring a file defined as a selected number of a blocks to a buffer for temporary storage, the system comprising:

a buffer table divided into a plurality of equal buffer sectors, wherein each one of the of buffer sectors is a sector in a buffer segment defined as one of a plurality of circular lists upon which the buffer table is divided;
an application module operable to walk through a particular buffer segment, wherein data transferred as the buffer segment is walked through;
and
a control module to create and maintain the buffer table, the control module being with the application module such that the control module administers the walk through application module in response to a next sector instruction in an index sector upon which application module is currently positioned.

1 more element

A method for managing a transfer of data from a host computer to a recordable disc in a disc drive, the disc drive operating on the host computer, the recordable disc radially divided into a plurality of equal servo segments and circumferentially divided into a plurality of rotational tracks, wherein the disc drive is of a type that data transfers between the host computer and the disc are effectuated by transferring a file defined as a selected number of data blocks to a buffer for temporary storage of the file, the method comprising:

(a) maintaining a buffer table divided into a plurality of equal-sized buffer sectors;
(b) arranging each one of the plurality of buffer sectors into at least one buffersegment defined as a circular linked list upon which the buffer table is divided;
(c) selecting a particular buffer segment to temporarily store the file to be transferred from the host computer to the buffer;
(d) transferring the file from the host computer to the buffer by walking through the particular buffer segment in response to a next sector instruction contained in an index sector defined as the buffer sector from which the data is being transferred;
(e) storing the file in the particular buffer segment for a temporary period of time;
and
(f) removing the file from the buffer and relocating the file to the recordable disc by walking through the particular buffer segment in response to the next sector instruction contained in the index sector.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Buffer management system for managing the transfer of data into and out of a buffer in a disc drive

Life of this patent

Buffer management system for managing the transfer of data into and out of a buffer in a disc drive

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20