Back to results
US 2006/0041729 A1Published application
Thermal memory control
AssigneeIntel Corporation
InventorsScott Rider, Frank LeClerg
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present disclosure relates to resource management of memory using information regarding the physical state of the memory device(s), and, more specifically, to attempting to reduce the heat dissipation of a memory device by managing the contents of the memory device.
Claims40
1:
- A method of attempting to prevent excessive heat generation of a memory comprising:
- detecting a condition of a physical state of a memory, wherein the condition acts as an indicator that an undesirable effect may occur;
- determining how to reallocate the contents of the memory in order to at least in part ameliorate the undesirable effect;
- reallocating the contents of the memory to facilitate ameliorating the undesirable effect.
1 more element
2:
- The method of claim 1, wherein determining how to reallocate includes:
- identifying a first portion of memory located within a first memory element, and
- dividing the first portion into a plurality of sub-portions;
- and
- wherein reallocating the contents of the memory includes:
- moving each sub-portion from an original location to a new location.
3 more elements
3:
- The method of claim 2, wherein moving each sub-portion includes:
- moving each sub-portion from the first memory element to at least a second memory element.
4:
- The method of claim 2, wherein determining how to reallocate further includes:
- determining whether the sub-portions should be moved either within the first memory element or amongst a plurality of memory elements.
5:
- The method of claim 4, wherein determining how to reallocate further includes:
- determining which sub-portions should be stored within which of the plurality of memory elements;
- and
- wherein moving each sub-portion includes:
- moving each sub-portion from the first memory element to the determined memory element.
2 more elements
6:
- The method of claim 2, further comprising remapping a virtual memory map that correlates virtual memory addresses to physical memory addresses,
- such that a set of virtual addresses that correlated with the physical addresses associated with the original location are remapped to correlate with the physical addresses associated with the new locations of the moved sub-portions.
7:
- The method of claim 6, wherein reallocating the contents of the memory includes reallocating based upon directions received from a device selected from a group consisting of:
- a processor;
- a processor, including an integrated memory controller;
- a chipset level memory controller;
- and
- a memory module level memory controller.
3 more elements
8:
- The method of claim 1, wherein reallocating the contents of the memory includes:
- reallocating the contents of a memory configured to act as a Redundant Array of Independent Devices (RAID) system;
- and
- wherein reallocating the contents of the RAID system includes:
- identifying a first portion of memory located within a first memory element,
- dividing the first portion into a plurality of sub-portions, and
- moving each sub-portion from an original location to a new location.
4 more elements
9:
- The method of claim 8, wherein the RAID system includes a RAID system utilizing data mirroring comprising a first memory array and a second memory array;
- and
- wherein reallocating the contents of the RAID system includes:
- reallocating the contents the first RAID array, and then
- reallocating the contents the second RAID array.
2 more elements
10:
- The method of claim 1, wherein detecting a condition of a physical state of a memory includes one of the conditions selected from a group consisting of:
- frequent memory accesses to the same location;
- a signal from a thermal sensor;
- a performance limitation;
- and
- a performance decrease.
3 more elements
11:
- An article comprising:
- a machine accessible medium having a plurality of machine accessible instructions,
- wherein when the instructions are executed, the instructions provide for:
- detecting a condition of a physical state of a memory, wherein the condition acts as an indicator that an undesirable effect may occur;
- determining how to reallocate the contents of the memory in order to at least in part ameliorate the undesirable effect;
- reallocating the contents of the memory to facilitate ameliorating the undesirable effect.
3 more elements
12:
- The article of claim 11, wherein the instructions providing for determining how to reallocate include instructions providing for:
- identifying a first portion of memory located within a first memory element, and dividing the first portion into a plurality of sub-portions;
- and
- wherein the instructions providing for reallocating the contents of the memory include instructions providing for:
- moving each sub-portion from an original location to a new location.
2 more elements
13:
- The article of claim 12, wherein the instructions providing for moving each sub-portion include instructions providing for:
- moving each sub-portion from the first memory element to at least a second memory element.
14:
- The article of claim 12, wherein the instructions providing for determining how to reallocate further include instructions providing for:
- determining whether the sub-portions should be moved either within the first memory element or amongst a plurality of memory elements.
15:
- The article of claim 14, wherein the instructions providing for determining how to reallocate further include instructions providing for:
- determining which sub-portions should be stored within which of the plurality of memory elements;
- and
- wherein the instructions providing for moving each sub-portion include instructions providing for:
- moving each sub-portion from the first memory element to the determined memory elements.
2 more elements
16:
- The article of claim 12, further comprising instructions providing for remapping a virtual memory map that correlates virtual memory addresses to physical memory addresses,
- such that a set of virtual addresses that correlated with the physical addresses associated with the original location are remapped to correlate with the physical addresses associated with the new locations of the moved sub-portions.
17:
- The article of claim 16, wherein the instructions providing for reallocating the contents of the memory include instructions providing for reallocating based upon directions received from a device selected from a group consisting of:
- a processor;
- a processor, including an integrated memory controller;
- a chipset level memory controller;
- and
- a memory module level memory controller.
3 more elements
18:
- The article of claim 11, wherein the instructions providing for reallocating the contents of the memory include instructions providing for:
- reallocating the contents of a memory configured to act as a Redundant Array of Independent Devices (RAID) system;
- and
- wherein reallocating the contents of the RAID system includes:
- identifying a first portion of memory located within a first memory element,
- dividing the first portion into a plurality of sub-portions, and
- moving each sub-portion from an original location to a new location.
4 more elements
19:
- The article of claim 18, wherein the RAID system includes a RAID system utilizing data mirroring comprising a first memory array and a second memory array;
- and
- wherein the instructions providing for reallocating the contents of the RAID system include instructions providing for:
- reallocating the contents the first RAID array, and then
- reallocating the contents the second RAID array.
2 more elements
20:
- The article of claim 11, wherein the instructions providing for detecting a condition of a physical state of a memory include instructions providing for one of the conditions selected from a group consisting of:
- frequent memory accesses to the same location;
- a signal from a thermal sensor;
- a performance limitation;
- and
- a performance decrease.
3 more elements
21:
- An apparatus comprising:
- a memory to store either data, instructions, or a mixture of both;
- a condition detector that is capable of detecting a condition of a physical state of the memory, wherein the condition acts as an indicator that an undesirable effect may occur;
- and
- a memory reallocator that is capable of
- determining how to reallocate the contents of the memory in order to at least in part ameliorate the undesirable effect, and
- reallocating the contents of the memory to facilitate ameliorating the undesirable effect.
4 more elements
22:
- The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the memory reallocator is capable of determining how to reallocate including:
- identifying a first portion of memory located within a first memory element, and
- dividing the first portion into a plurality of sub-portions;
- and
- wherein the memory reallocator is capable of reallocating the contents of the memory including:
- moving each sub-portion from an original location to a new location.
3 more elements
23:
- The apparatus of claim 22, wherein moving each sub-portion includes:
- moving each sub-portion from the first memory element to at least a second memory element.
24:
- The apparatus of claim 22, wherein determining how to reallocate further includes:
- determining whether the sub-portions should be moved either within the first memory element or amongst a plurality of memory elements.
25:
- The apparatus of claim 24, wherein determining how to reallocate further includes:
- determining which sub-portions should be stored within which of the plurality of memory elements;
- and
- wherein moving each sub-portion includes:
- moving each sub-portion from the first memory element to the determined memory elements.
2 more elements
26:
- The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising:
- a virtual memory map that correlates virtual memory addresses to physical memory addresses;
- and
- the memory reallocator is further capable of remapping the virtual memory map,
- such that a set of virtual addresses that correlated with the physical addresses associated with the original location are remapped to correlate with the physical addresses associated with the new locations of the moved sub-portions.
2 more elements
27:
- The apparatus of claim 26, wherein reallocating the contents of the memory includes reallocating based upon directions received from a device selected from a group consisting of:
- a processor;
- a processor, including an integrated memory controller;
- a chipset level memory controller;
- and
- a memory module level memory controller.
3 more elements
28:
- The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the memory includes:
- a memory configured to act as a Redundant Array of Independent Devices (RAID) system;
- and
- reallocating the contents of the memory includes:
- reallocating the contents of the RAID system;
- and
- wherein reallocating the contents of the RAID system includes:
- identifying a first portion of memory located within a first memory element,
- dividing the first portion into a plurality of sub-portions, and
- moving each sub-portion from an original location to a new location.
7 more elements
29:
- The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the RAID system includes a RAID system utilizing data mirroring comprising a first memory array and a second memory array;
- and
- wherein reallocating the contents of the RAID system includes:
- reallocating the contents the first RAID array, and then
- reallocating the contents the second RAID array.
2 more elements
30:
- The apparatus of claim 21, wherein detecting a condition of a physical state of a memory includes one of the conditions selected from a group consisting of:
- frequent memory accesses to the same location;
- a signal from a thermal sensor;
- a performance limitation;
- and
- a performance decrease.
3 more elements
31:
- A system comprising:
- a memory to store either data, instructions, or a mixture of both;
- a processor to access the contents of the memory;
- a memory controller to at least in part control the processor's access to the memory;
- a condition detector that is capable of detecting a condition of a physical state of the memory, wherein the condition acts as an indicator that an undesirable effect may occur;
- and
- a memory reallocator that is capable of
- determining how to reallocate the contents of the memory in order to at least in part ameliorate the undesirable effect, and
- reallocating the contents of the memory to facilitate ameliorating the undesirable effect.
6 more elements
32:
- The system of claim 31, wherein the memory reallocator is capable of determining how to reallocate including:
- identifying a first portion of memory located within a first memory element, and
- dividing the first portion into a plurality of sub-portions;
- and
- wherein the memory reallocator is capable of reallocating the contents of the memory including:
- moving each sub-portion from an original location to a new location.
3 more elements
33:
- The system of claim 32, wherein moving each sub-portion includes:
- moving each sub-portion from the first memory element to at least a second memory element.
34:
- The system of claim 32, wherein determining how to reallocate further includes:
- determining whether the sub-portions should be moved either within the first memory element or amongst a plurality of memory elements.
35:
- The system of claim 34, wherein determining how to reallocate further includes:
- determining which sub-portions should be stored within which of the plurality of memory elements;
- and
- wherein moving each sub-portion includes:
- moving each sub-portion from the first memory element to the determined memory elements.
2 more elements
36:
- The system of claim 32, further comprising:
- a virtual memory map that correlates virtual memory addresses to physical memory addresses;
- and
- the memory reallocator is further capable of remapping the virtual memory map,
- such that a set of virtual addresses that correlated with the physical addresses associated with the original location are remapped to correlate with the physical addresses associated with the new locations of the moved sub-portions.
2 more elements
37:
- The system of claim 36, wherein reallocating the contents of the memory includes reallocating based upon directions received from a device selected from a group consisting of:
- a processor;
- a processor, including an integrated memory controller;
- a chipset level memory controller;
- and
- a memory module level memory controller.
3 more elements
38:
- The system of claim 31, wherein the memory includes:
- a memory configured to act as a Redundant Array of Independent Devices (RAID) system;
- and
- reallocating the contents of the memory includes:
- reallocating the contents of the RAID system;
- and
- wherein reallocating the contents of the RAID system includes:
- identifying a first portion of memory located within a first memory element,
- dividing the first portion into a plurality of sub-portions, and
- moving each sub-portion from an original location to a new location.
7 more elements
39:
- The system of claim 38, wherein the RAID system includes a RAID system utilizing data mirroring comprising a first memory array and a second memory array;
- and
- wherein reallocating the contents of the RAID system includes:
- reallocating the contents the first RAID array, and then
- reallocating the contents the second RAID array.
2 more elements
40:
- The system of claim 31, wherein detecting a condition of a physical state of a memory includes one of the conditions selected from a group consisting of:
- frequent memory accesses to the same location;
- a signal from a thermal sensor;
- a performance limitation;
- and
- a performance decrease.
3 more elements