Circuit and method for monitoring sector transfers to and from storage medium
AssigneeQLOGIC, Corporation
InventorsGary S. Dickinson, William W. Dennin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In a controller integrated circuit, which controls the operation of a peripheral storage device, a transfer monitoring circuit that facilitates the monitoring of successful transfers from outside the controller integrated circuit. The circuit includes a counter circuit that counts the number of successful transfers, a value storing register, a comparison circuit to compare the counter value to the value stored in the register and generate a result. The transfer monitoring circuit speeds up the operation of the controller integrated circuit especially during recovery from error conditions. The monitoring circuit also allows for a more optimal use of a look-ahead cache.
Claims16
In a controller circuit which controls the operation of a peripheral storage device that stores data in sectors, the controller circuit including a transfer unit, a sector transfer monitoring circuit that facilitates the monitoring of successful sector transfers, the circuit comprising:
- a counter circuit which dynamically counts a number of sectors successfully transferred by said transfer unit during a transfer operation;
- at least one programmable register, said register storing an arbitrary numerical target value, wherein the numerical target value may be set at any time;
- and
- a comparison circuit which generates a signal based on a comparison of said counter circuit count and said register value.
An electronic circuit that facilitates the monitoring of successful data transfers between components of a peripheral storage device which provides access to data stored on a mass storage medium, the circuit comprising:
- a transfer unit which transfers data between components of the system in response to transfer requests;
- a counter which dynamically counts a number of data segments successfully transferred by said transfer unit during a transfer operation;
- at least one register, said register storing an arbitrary numerical target value, wherein the numerical target value may be set at any time;
- and
- a comparison circuit which generates a signal based on a comparison of said counter circuit and said register value.
A method of monitoring successful sector transfers from outside a controller IC, the method comprising the steps of:
- initializing a count at the start of disk access;
- storing at least one arbitrary integer target value wherein the integer target value may be set at any time;
- generating a successful sector transfer signal when a sector has been successfully read or written;
- dynamically incrementing said count when receiving said successful transfer signal;
- comparing said count to said integer target value;
- and
- generating a signal that can be externally read in response to said comparison.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.