US 2014/0351456 A1 · COMMAND AND DATA SELECTION IN STORAGE CONTROLLER SYSTEMS

Abstract

A storage controller system may include a host controller that queues host commands as data transfer commands in a plurality of queue channels. The storage controller system may also include a data storage controller that selects data transfer commands for execution. The data storage controller may select all data transfer commands associated with a host command when all of the data transfer commands are located at heads of the queue channels. Alternatively, the data storage controller may select for execution data transfer commands at heads of the queue channels when associated cache areas are available to receive data, regardless of whether all of the data transfer commands associated with a host command are at the heads. The host controller may then retrieve the data in the cache areas when all of the data to be sent to the host in response to the host command is being cached.

Claims27

Dependent claims

A storage controller system comprising:

a data storage controller configured to:
determine that each data transfer command of one or more data transfer commands associated with a host command is located at a head of a queue channel of a plurality of queue channels or unblocked by a data transfer command associated with a different host command;
and
select for execution all of the one or more data transfer commands associated with the host command in response to the determination.

1 more element

A method of selecting for execution data transfer commands stored in queue channels, the method comprising:

selecting for execution, with one or more controllers, all of one or more data transfer commands associated with a host command in response to determining that all of the one or more data transfer commands are located at one or more heads of the queue channels or unblocked by a data transfer command associated with a different host command;
and
not selecting for execution, with the one or more controllers, any of the one or more data transfer commands associated with the host command located at the one or more heads of the queue channels in response to determining that less than all of the one or more data transfer commands associated with the host command are located at the one or more heads of the queue channels or are blocked by a data transfer command associated with a different host command.

A storage controller system comprising:

a host controller configured to:
for a received host command, identify data being stored in one or more of a plurality of cache areas, the identified data comprising data that is to be sent to a host in response to receipt of the host command;
determine that the identified data being stored in the one or more of the plurality of cache areas and that is to be sent to the host in response to receipt of the host command comprises all of the data to be sent to the host in response to receipt of the host command;
and
retrieve the identified data from the one or more of the plurality of cache areas in response to the determination that the identified data comprises all of the data to be sent to the host in response to receipt of the host command.

2 more elements

A method of selecting cached data for transmission to a host, the method comprising:

receiving, with one or more controllers of a storage controller system, a host command from the host;
identifying, with the one or more controllers, data that is to be sent to the host in response to receiving the host command, the data being stored in one or more of a plurality of cache areas;
determining, with the one or more controllers, that the identified data being stored in the one or more of the plurality of cache areas and that is to be sent to the host in response to receiving the host command comprises all of the data to be sent to the host in response to receiving the host command;
retrieving, with the one or more controllers, the identified data from the one or more of the plurality of cache areas in response to determining that the identified data comprises all of the data to be sent to the host in response to receiving the host command;
and
sending, with the one or more controllers, the identified data retrieved from the one or more of the plurality of cache areas to the host.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Command and data selection in storage controller systems

Life of this patent

Command and data selection in storage controller systems

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims27