Application-transparent hybridized caching for high-performance storage

A solid-state cache controller apparatus coupled to a host computing system, the apparatus comprising:

• a solid-state cache control component configured to begin a disk discovery event as a result of a boot up or hot-plug and to detect a presence or an absence of at least one solid-state drive;
• an associative memory component configured to initialize a plurality of tags when the presence of the at least one solid-state drive is supported;
• and
• a hard disk drive configured to be accessed when the presence of the at least one solid-state drive is not supported.

A solid-state cache controller apparatus coupled to a host computing system, the apparatus comprising:

• a solid-state cache control component located on a RAID on Chip (ROC) controller, the solid-state cache control component configured to begin a disk discovery event as a result of a boot up or hot-plug and to detect a presence or an absence of at least one solid-state drive;
• an associative memory component configured to initialize a plurality of tags when the presence of the at least one solid-state drive is supported;
• and
• a hard disk drive configured to be accessed when the presence of the at least one solid-state drive is not supported.

A solid-state cache controller apparatus coupled to a host computing system, the apparatus comprising:

• a solid-state cache control configured to begin a disk discovery event as a result of a boot up or hot-plug and to detect a presence or an absence of at least one solid-state drive located on a PCI-based adapter;
• an associative memory component configured to initialize a plurality of tags when the presence of the at least one solid-state drive is supported;
• and
• a hard disk drive configured to be accessed when the presence of the at least one solid-state drive is not supported.