WO2019138624A1 - Memory controller and memory module - Google Patents

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to allow even data mapped to discrete physical addresses of a volatile memory to be saved in a nonvolatile memory appropriately. A memory management information registration unit associates, for each management unit, a physical address of a first memory that is a volatile memory and an address of a second memory that is a nonvolatile memory with each other, and registers the association as an entry of memory management information. In response to a save request, a control unit saves data from the first memory to the second memory in accordance with the memory management information. In response to a restore request, the control unit restores data from the second memory to the first memory in accordance with the memory management information.

Description

Memory controller and memory module

The present technology relates to a memory controller. More particularly, the present invention relates to a memory controller and memory module for saving and restoring the contents of volatile memory in nonvolatile memory.

In the conventional memory device, in order to prevent the loss of the content of the volatile memory, a technique of saving in the non-volatile memory and then restoring is used. For example, there has been proposed a memory device which saves data of a volatile memory, DRAM, in a nonvolatile memory, NVRAM, in response to a power-off event (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP, 2017-045379, A

In the above-mentioned prior art, the addresses of the volatile memory and the non-volatile memory are managed for each program, and the data of the volatile memory is saved in the non-volatile memory accordingly. In this prior art, it is assumed that each program is stored in a continuous area of volatile memory, and one address is managed for each program. However, data of applications operating on the operating system are often mapped to discrete physical addresses, and there is a problem that such data can not be saved properly.

The present technology has been created in view of such a situation, and it is an object of the present invention to appropriately save data that is mapped to discrete physical addresses of volatile memory in nonvolatile memory.

The present technology has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and a first aspect of the present technology has a physical address of a first memory which is a volatile memory and an address of a second memory which is a nonvolatile memory. A memory management information registration unit for registering as an entry of memory management information in association with each management unit, and saving data from the first memory to the second memory according to the memory management information in response to a save request, and a restore request And a controller configured to restore data from the second memory to the first memory in accordance with the memory management information. This brings about an effect of saving and restoring data stored in a distributed manner at the physical address of the first memory in the second memory for each management unit.

In the first aspect, the memory management information registration unit registers the physical address of the first memory and the address of the second memory in association with each application as the memory management information. It is also good. This brings about the effect | action of saving and restoring the application for every application.

Further, according to the first aspect, the control unit causes data from the physical address of the first memory to the address of the second memory according to the entry of the memory management information corresponding to the application specified in the save request. The data may be restored from the address of the second memory to the physical address of the first memory according to the entry of the memory management information corresponding to the application specified in the restore request. This brings about the effect | action of performing a save and its restore using a physical address for every management unit of each application.

In the first aspect, the memory management information registration unit associates the physical address of the first memory, the address of the second memory, and the attribute relating to the save operation in association with each application as the memory management information. The control unit stores data from the physical address of the first memory to the address of the second memory according to the attribute of the entry of the memory management information corresponding to the application specified in the save request. You may This brings about the effect | action of instruct | indicating the necessity of a save with an attribute for every management unit.

In addition, in the first aspect, the control unit is connected to a memory access interface with a host computer to access the first or second memory in response to a request from the host computer. May be This brings about the effect of accepting a request from the host computer without making the distinction between the first memory and the second memory conscious.

Further, according to the first aspect, the computer system further comprises a management size setting unit for setting the size of the management unit corresponding to each entry in the memory management information as a management size, and the control unit saves the above according to the management size. A process corresponding to the request or the restore request may be performed. This brings about the effect of setting the management size.

In addition, in the first aspect, the control unit generates a new entry when there is no entry of the memory management information corresponding to the application specified in the registration request of the memory management information, and responds to the entry. If an entry exists, the physical address specified in the registration request may be registered in the entry. This brings about the effect | action of making memory management information register.

In the first aspect, the memory management information registration unit registers the virtual address and physical address of the first memory and the address of the second memory in association with each application as the memory management information. You may do so. This brings about the effect of saving an arbitrary management unit of each application.

In the first aspect, the control unit generates a new entry when there is no entry of the memory management information corresponding to the application and virtual address designated in the registration request of the memory management information. If there is a corresponding entry, the physical address specified in the registration request may be registered in the entry. This brings about the effect | action of registering memory management information containing a virtual address.

According to the present technology, it is possible to achieve an excellent effect that even data mapped to discrete physical addresses of volatile memory can be properly saved in nonvolatile memory. In addition, the effect described here is not necessarily limited, and may be any effect described in the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an entire configuration of an information processing system according to a first embodiment of the present technology. It is a figure showing an example of composition of memory controller 240 in a 1st embodiment of this art. It is a figure showing an example of management size information and memory management information in a 1st embodiment of this art. It is a figure showing an example of save operation in a 1st embodiment of this art. It is a figure showing an example of restoration operation in a 1st embodiment of this art. It is a figure showing an example of a request issued to memory controller 240 in a 1st embodiment of this art. It is a flow chart which shows an example of the processing procedure of memory controller 240 in an embodiment of this art. It is a flow chart which shows an example of a processing procedure of management size setting processing in a 1st embodiment of this art. It is a flow chart which shows an example of a processing procedure of memory management information registration processing in a 1st embodiment of this art. It is a flow chart which shows an example of a processing procedure of save operation in a 1st embodiment of this art. It is a flow chart which shows an example of processing procedure of restore operation in a 1st embodiment of this art. It is a figure showing an example of management size information and memory management information in a 2nd embodiment of this art. It is a figure showing an example of save operation in a 2nd embodiment of this art. It is a figure showing an example of restoration operation in a 2nd embodiment of this art. It is a figure showing an example of a request issued to memory controller 240 in a 2nd embodiment of this art. It is a flow chart which shows an example of a processing procedure of memory management information registration processing in a 2nd embodiment of this art. It is a figure showing an example of management size information and memory management information in a 3rd embodiment of this art. It is a figure showing an example of a request issued to memory controller 240 in a 3rd embodiment of this art. It is a flow chart which shows an example of a processing procedure of save operation in a 3rd embodiment of this art. It is a figure showing an example of whole composition of an information processing system in a 4th embodiment of this art. It is a figure showing an example of composition of memory controller 240 in a 4th embodiment of this art.

Hereinafter, modes for implementing the present technology (hereinafter, referred to as embodiments) will be described. The description will be made in the following order.
1. First embodiment (example of managing each management unit by memory management information)
2. Second embodiment (example of storing virtual address of volatile memory in memory management information)
3. Third embodiment (example of storing attribute information in memory management information)
4. Fourth Embodiment (Example of virtualizing the address space of a memory module)

<1. First embodiment>
[System configuration]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an entire configuration of an information processing system according to a first embodiment of the present technology. The system comprises a host computer 100 and a memory module 200.

The host computer 100 processes data read from the memory module 200 and writes data of the processing result to the memory module 200. The host computer 100 includes a processor 110, a memory management unit 120, a memory access unit 130, a memory module control unit 140, and a power supply 150.

The processor 110 is a processing device that performs processing as the host computer 100. The operating system and the applications running thereon are executed by this processor 110.

The memory management unit 120 is a memory management unit (MMU) that manages a memory space in the memory module 200. The memory management unit 120 performs conversion processing between the logical address and the physical address as part of the processing.

The memory access unit 130 controls access to the memory module 200. The memory access unit 130 is connected to the memory module 200 via the memory access interface 103, and performs data write and read access to the memory module 200.

The memory module control unit 140 performs control for using the memory module 200. The memory module control unit 140 is connected to the memory module 200 via the memory control interface 104 and issues a request for the memory module 200. As the memory control interface 104, for example, a serial bus such as I ² C is assumed.

The power supply 150 is a power supply of the host computer 100. The power supply 150 is also connected to the memory module 200 via the power supply line 105, and supplies power to the memory module 200. The voltage level of the power supply 150 is monitored by the operating system, and when an event such as a momentary power failure (temporary power failure) is detected, the memory module control unit 140 sends a save request to the memory module 200 via the memory control interface 104. Issue Thus, save processing from the volatile memory 210 to the non-volatile memory 220 is performed in the memory module 200.

The memory module 200 is a memory device that reads and writes data in accordance with a request from the host computer 100. The memory module 200 includes a volatile memory 210, a non-volatile memory 220, a multiplexer 230, a memory controller 240, a backup power supply 250, and a power control unit 260.

The volatile memory 210 is a memory that requires a power supply to maintain storage. For example, a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or the like is assumed. The volatile memory 210 is an example of a first memory described in the claims.

The non-volatile memory 220 is a memory that does not require a power supply to maintain storage. For example, ReRAM (Resistance RAM), PCRAM (Phase-Change RAM), MRAM (Magnetoresistive RAM), NAND flash, etc. are assumed. The nonvolatile memory 220 is an example of a second memory described in the claims.

The multiplexer 230 switches the connection destination of the volatile memory 210 to either the memory controller 240 or the host computer 100. When the host computer 100 accesses the volatile memory 210, the multiplexer 230 switches the connection destination of the volatile memory 210 to the host computer 100 (memory access interface 103). When saving or restoring to the nonvolatile memory 220, the multiplexer 230 switches the connection destination of the volatile memory 210 to the memory controller 240.

The memory controller 240 controls access to the volatile memory 210 and the non-volatile memory 220. The memory controller 240 decodes a request received from the host computer 100 via the memory control interface 104 and performs processing according to the request.

The backup power supply 250 is a power supply used when the power supply from the power supply 150 via the power supply line 105 is interrupted due to a momentary power failure or the like. The backup power supply 250 is a large capacity capacitor (supercapacitor), and supplies power to the memory module 200 for the time required to save data from the volatile memory 210 to the non-volatile memory 220 (for example, about one minute to several tens of seconds). It has a function.

The power control unit 260 controls the power of the memory module 200. The power supply control unit 260 switches the power supply received from the power supply 150 through the power supply line 105 to the entire power supply during normal operation, and switches the power supply from the backup power supply 250 to the entire power supply when instantaneous power failure occurs.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the memory controller 240 in the first embodiment of the present technology.

The memory controller 240 includes a request decoder 241, a control unit 242, a management size information setting unit 243, and a memory management information registration unit 244.

The request decoder 241 is a decoder that decodes a request received from the host computer 100 via the memory control interface 104. The request decoder 241 determines the request and supplies the determination result to the control unit 242.

The control unit 242 performs processing regarding the volatile memory 210 and the non-volatile memory 220 according to the determination result of the request by the request decoder 241. The control unit 242 performs, for example, saving from the volatile memory 210 to the data area of the non-volatile memory 220 and restoration thereof. Details of the process will be described later.

The management size information setting unit 243 sets, as a management size, the size of a management unit when saving from the volatile memory 210 to the non-volatile memory 220 and restoration thereof are performed. The set management size is stored in the non-volatile memory 220.

The memory management information registration unit 244 registers memory management information that manages the correspondence between the volatile memory 210 and the non-volatile memory 220 when saving from the volatile memory 210 to the non-volatile memory 220 and restoring thereof. The registered memory management information is stored in the non-volatile memory 220.

[Management size information and memory management information]
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of management size information and memory management information according to the first embodiment of the present technology.

The management size information includes a management size which is a size of a management unit when saving from the volatile memory 210 to the non-volatile memory 220 and restoration thereof is performed. In this example, 4 KB is assumed as a management unit. This management size can be set in accordance with the management unit of the operating system. Therefore, if, for example, a large page of 2 MB is used in the operating system, this management size can also be set to such a size.

The memory management information has an entry for each management unit, and each entry associates and stores an application identifier, a physical address of the volatile memory 210, and an address of the non-volatile memory 220.

The application identifier is an identifier for identifying an application program executed by the processor 110. In this example, two application identifiers of “1” and “2” are shown.

The physical address of the volatile memory 210 may be allocated from 0 with a management size set as management size information as a unit, or may be shown in byte units.

[Save and restore]
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the save operation according to the first embodiment of the present technology.

When multiple applications are operating, each is operating on the virtual address space. The memory management unit 120 of the host computer 100 divides the virtual address space into a certain size, and converts it into physical addresses in the divided units. In this embodiment, 4 KB is assumed as described above. Allocation of physical addresses is performed by the memory management unit 120 of the host computer 100, but is not necessarily allocated to the same physical address each time. Therefore, it is necessary to be able to restore (restore) data even when different physical addresses are assigned at the time of power save and at the next power on.

In this example, the virtual address space of application # 1 whose application identifier is “1” is formed by n pages, and the virtual address space of application # 2 whose application identifier is “2” is formed by m pages. Be done. These pages are discretely arranged in the physical address space of the volatile memory 210.

In the save operation, data of management units discretely arranged in the physical address space of the volatile memory 210 is stored in the continuous region of the non-volatile memory 220 according to the memory management information. As a result, it becomes unnecessary to save the unused area of the non-volatile memory 220, the save time can be shortened, and the used capacity of the non-volatile memory 220 can be reduced.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a restore operation according to the first embodiment of the present technology.

In the restore operation, data of a management unit stored in the continuous area of the non-volatile memory 220 is restored to the physical address space of the volatile memory 210 according to the memory management information.

At this time, if memory management information is rewritten before restoration, restoration can be performed to a different physical area of the volatile memory 210. That is, at the time of startup after power-off, there is a possibility that a physical address different from that at the time of saving may be allocated by the operating system. be able to.

Request Type
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a request issued to the memory controller 240 in the first embodiment of the present technology.

Here, four requests issued to the memory controller 240 via the memory control interface 104 are illustrated and described. The request issued via the memory control interface 104 indicates a request identifier, which can be decoded by the request decoder 241 to determine the type of the request.

If the request identifier indicates "1", the request is determined to be a management size setting request. This management size setting request passes "management size" as an argument. Thereby, the control unit 242 sets the management size.

If the request identifier indicates “2”, the request is determined to be a memory management information registration request. This memory management information registration request passes "application identifier" and "physical address" as arguments. Thus, the control unit 242 registers memory management information.

If the request identifier indicates "3", the request is determined to be a save request. This save request passes, as arguments, the "number of items to be saved" and the "application identifier" corresponding to the number. Thereby, the control unit 242 saves the data corresponding to the application identifier from the volatile memory 210 to the non-volatile memory 220. Note that instead of specifying the "application identifier", all application identifiers may be specified as targets.

If the request identifier indicates "4," the request is determined to be a restore request. This restore request passes the "number of items to be restored" and the "application identifier" corresponding to the number as arguments. Thereby, the control unit 242 restores data corresponding to the application identifier from the non-volatile memory 220 to the volatile memory 210. Note that instead of specifying the "application identifier", all application identifiers may be specified as targets.

[Operation]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the processing procedure of the memory controller 240 according to the embodiment of the present technology.

When the memory controller 240 receives a request via the memory control interface 104 (step S 911), the memory controller 240 performs decoding by the request decoder 241 and performs processing according to the type of request (steps S 912 to S 915). That is, if the type of request is a management size setting request (step S912: Yes), management size setting processing is performed (step S920). If the type of request is a memory management information registration request (step S 913: Yes), a memory management information registration process is performed (step S 930). If the type of the request is a save request (step S 914: Yes), processing of the save operation is performed (step S 940). If the type of request is a restore request (step S 915: Yes), processing for a restore operation is performed (step S 950).

If the request type is other than the four shown here (step S915: No), the other processing is performed (step S916). As another request, for example, a request for deleting an entry of memory management information is assumed.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of management size setting processing according to the first embodiment of the present technology.

The management size information setting unit 243 sets the “management size” passed as an argument of the management size setting request as the size of the management unit (step S 921). Then, the management size is stored in the management size information of the non-volatile memory 220 (step S922).

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of memory management information registration processing according to the first embodiment of the present technology. Although a plurality of entries may correspond to one application identifier, it is assumed in the first embodiment that a virtual address is not designated as an argument. Therefore, when registering memory management information, for example, virtual addresses are registered in each entry in ascending order.

The memory management information registration unit 244 registers memory management information according to the following procedure. First, it is searched whether the entry of the “application identifier” passed as an argument of the memory management information registration request is registered as memory management information (step S 931).

If already registered (step S 931: Yes), the physical address of the registered entry is replaced with the “physical address” passed as an argument of the memory management information registration request, and the memory management information of the non-volatile memory 220 (Step S932).

On the other hand, if it is not registered yet (step S 931: No), an area is allocated in the non-volatile memory 220, the start address of the area and the argument information of the memory management information registration request are combined, and one entry of memory management information Are generated (step S933). Then, one entry of the generated memory management information is stored in the memory management information of the non-volatile memory 220 (step S 934).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the processing procedure of the save operation according to the first embodiment of the present technology.

The control unit 242 performs the save operation process according to the following procedure. First, the “application identifier” passed as an argument of the save request is sequentially set as an application identifier to be processed (step S 942). Then, the entry of the application identifier to be processed is searched from the memory management information stored in the non-volatile memory 220 (step S943).

If there is data that has not been saved in the entry of the application identifier to be processed (step S 944: Yes), data of the management unit is transferred from the volatile memory 210 to the non-volatile memory 220 and saved based on the read entry. (Step S946). That is, saving is performed from the physical address of the volatile memory 210 of the entry of the memory management information to the address of the non-volatile memory 220. Then, the process returns to step S943 to search for another entry of the application identifier to be processed.

On the other hand, when saving of all the management units in the application identifier to be processed is completed (step S 944: No), is there any other application target to be saved among the “application identifiers” passed as an argument of save request? It judges (step S947). If there is an application identifier that has not been saved yet (step S947: No), the process returns to step S942 and is set as an application identifier to be processed.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the processing procedure of the restore operation according to the first embodiment of the present technology.

The control unit 242 performs the processing of the restore operation according to the following procedure. First, management size information is read out from the non-volatile memory 220, and a management unit is set (step S951). The “application identifier” passed as an argument of the restore request is sequentially set as the application identifier of the processing target (step S 952). Then, the entry of the application identifier to be processed is searched from the memory management information stored in the non-volatile memory 220 (step S953).

If there is data that has not been restored in the entry of the application identifier to be processed (step S954: Yes), data for the management unit is transferred from the non-volatile memory 220 to the volatile memory 210 and restored based on the read entry. (Step S956). That is, restoration is performed from the address of the non-volatile memory 220 of the entry of the memory management information to the physical address of the volatile memory 210. Then, the process returns to step S953 to search for another entry of the application identifier to be processed.

On the other hand, when restoration of all the management units is completed in the application identifier to be processed (step S954: No), is there any other application object among the "application identifiers" passed as an argument of the restore request? It judges (step S957). If there is an application identifier that has not been restored (step S 957: No), the process returns to step S 952 and is set as an application identifier to be processed.

As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present technology, the non-volatile memory 220 is managed by managing data mapped to discrete physical addresses of the volatile memory 210 as memory management information for each management unit. Save it and restore it.

<2. Second embodiment>
In the first embodiment described above, only the physical address of the volatile memory 210 is stored in each entry of the memory management information on the assumption that the data to be saved and restored are continuous in the virtual address space. The On the other hand, in the second embodiment, the virtual address of the volatile memory 210 is further stored, and the discontinuous area on the virtual address is also a target of save and restore. That is, it becomes possible to selectively save the necessary part.

The system configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, and thus detailed description will be omitted.

[Management size information and memory management information]
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of management size information and memory management information according to the second embodiment of the present technology.

The management size information is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, and in this example, 4 KB is assumed as a management unit.

As for the memory management information, in addition to the first embodiment described above, the virtual address of the volatile memory 210 is further stored. As this virtual address, a different address space can be assigned to each application. As described above, by managing the virtual address of the volatile memory 210 as memory management information, it is possible to save only data of a necessary virtual address.

[Save and restore]
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the save operation according to the second embodiment of the present technology.

In the first embodiment described above, the continuous area is saved in the virtual address space, but in the second embodiment, the virtual address of the volatile memory 210 is stored in each entry of the memory management information. The discrete area to be saved can be selectively designated by the virtual address.

Also in this case, the saved data is saved in the continuous area of the non-volatile memory 220. Therefore, when k management units of application # 1 are registered in the memory management information, they are stored in the area of k continuous management units on the non-volatile memory 220.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a restore operation according to the second embodiment of the present technology.

In the second embodiment, as described above, discrete areas in the virtual address space are saved in the continuous area of the non-volatile memory 220 in the save operation. Therefore, in the restore operation, the management units stored in the continuous area of the non-volatile memory 220 are individually restored to the virtual address space. That is, a management unit not restored in the volatile memory 210 may also occur.

Request Type
FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a request issued to the memory controller 240 according to the second embodiment of the present technology.

In the second embodiment, the management size setting request, the save request, and the restore request are the same as those in the first embodiment described above. Then, as for the memory management information registration request, in addition to the case of the first embodiment described above, the “virtual address” of the volatile memory 210 is passed as an argument. In the second embodiment, when memory management information is registered, virtual addresses are registered in each entry based on this argument.

[Operation]
FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of memory management information registration processing according to the second embodiment of the present technology. The processing procedure of the other processing is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, and thus detailed description will be omitted.

In the first embodiment described above, it is searched whether or not the entry of “application identifier” passed as an argument of the memory management information registration request is registered as memory management information (step S 931). On the other hand, in the second embodiment, whether or not the entry having the combination of “application identifier” and “virtual address” passed as an argument of the memory management information registration request is registered as memory management information Is searched (step S935). As a result, if the corresponding entry is already registered, step S 932 is executed, and if not registered, step S 933 is executed. The contents of the subsequent processing are the same as in the first embodiment described above.

Thus, according to the second embodiment of the present technology, by managing the virtual address of the volatile memory 210 as the memory management information, it is possible to save only data of a necessary virtual address.

<3. Third embodiment>
In the above-described first and second embodiments, data of all management units managed as memory management information are targets of save and restore. On the other hand, for example, there may occur a case where different data are to be saved due to normal power-off and instantaneous power failure. Therefore, in the third embodiment, it is possible to conditionally specify the necessity of saving for each management unit.

The system configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, and thus detailed description will be omitted.

[Management size information and memory management information]
FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of management size information and memory management information according to the third embodiment of the present technology.

The management size information is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, and in this example, 4 KB is assumed as a management unit.

As for memory management information, attribute information is further stored in addition to the second embodiment described above. This attribute information specifies the condition for saving for each management unit, and the save operation is performed on the condition that it matches the "attribute condition" of the argument of the save request described later.

Request Type
FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a request issued to the memory controller 240 in the third embodiment of the present technology.

In the third embodiment, the management size setting request and the restore request are the same as those in the first embodiment described above.

For the memory management information registration request, in addition to the case of the first embodiment described above, the “virtual address” and “attribute information” of the volatile memory 210 are passed as arguments. The “virtual address” is the same as that added in the second embodiment described above. Further, “attribute information” designates a condition for saving for each management unit, and is registered as attribute information of the above-mentioned memory management information.

As for the save request, in addition to the case of the first embodiment described above, the "attribute condition" is passed as an argument. The "attribute condition" designates that the save operation is to be performed on condition that the attribute information matches with the attribute information of each entry of the memory management information. For example, it is assumed that either “1” or “2” is set as attribute information of the memory management information. At this time, when the “attribute condition” is “1”, only the entry in which the attribute information of the memory management information indicates “1” is a save target. Further, when the “attribute condition” is “2”, only the entry in which the attribute information of the memory management information indicates “2” is a save target. Then, if the “attribute condition” is “3”, an entry indicating that the attribute information of the memory management information indicates “1” and an entry indicating “2” are to be saved.

[Operation]
FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the processing procedure of the save operation according to the third embodiment of the present technology. The processing procedure of the other processing is the same as that of the above-described first or second embodiment, and thus detailed description will be omitted.

The control unit 242 performs the save operation process according to the following procedure. However, steps S 942 to S 944, S 946 and S 947 are the same as in the first embodiment described above.

If there is data that has not been saved in the entry of the application identifier to be processed (step S 944: Yes), it is determined whether the management unit is a save target attribute before saving in step S 946 (Step S945). That is, the "attribute condition" passed as an argument of the save request is compared with the "attribute information" in the entry of the memory management information, and saving is performed only when the condition is satisfied (step S945: Yes) S946). Then, the process returns to step S943 to search for another entry of the application identifier to be processed.

Thus, according to the third embodiment of the present technology, by managing “attribute information” as memory management information, it is possible to save only the management unit that matches the argument “attribute condition” of the save request. it can. For example, in normal power-off, only permanent data can be saved, and in a momentary power failure or the like, core dump data can be saved in addition to permanent data.

<4. Fourth embodiment>
In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the host computer 100 can directly access the address space of the volatile memory 210 is employed. On the other hand, in the fourth embodiment, the memory controller 240 virtualizes the memory space on the assumption that all accesses from the host computer 100 are mediated by the memory controller 240.

[System configuration]
FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of the entire configuration of the information processing system according to the fourth embodiment of the present technology.

In the fourth embodiment, the multiplexer 230 in the above-described first embodiment is not provided, and the connection destination of the memory access interface 103 is the memory controller 240. Therefore, the memory controller 240 mediates access from the host computer 100 to the volatile memory 210. Thus, the address space as the memory module 200 is virtualized, and the memory module 200 can be accessed without being aware of the volatile memory 210 or the non-volatile memory 220 from the host computer 100. In addition, at the time of power-off and the like, the save operation from the volatile memory 210 to the non-volatile memory 220 is performed as in the other embodiments described above.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the memory controller 240 in the fourth embodiment of the present technology.

The memory controller 240 according to the fourth embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the control unit 242 is connected to the memory access interface 103. When the memory access from the host computer 100 is received, the control unit 242 distributes the access destination to the volatile memory 210 or the non-volatile memory 220 according to the address. Thus, access from the host computer 100 can be accepted without making the host computer 100 aware of the distinction between the volatile memory 210 and the non-volatile memory 220. That is, the address space as the memory module 200 is virtualized.

As described above, according to the fourth embodiment of the present technology, the address space as the memory module 200 can be virtualized by assigning the access destination of the memory access from the host computer 100 in the control unit 242. .

Note that the above-described embodiment shows an example for embodying the present technology, and the matters in the embodiment and the invention-specifying matters in the claims have correspondence relationships. Similarly, the invention specific matter in the claims and the matter in the embodiment of the present technology with the same name as this have a correspondence relation, respectively. However, the present technology is not limited to the embodiments, and can be embodied by variously modifying the embodiments without departing from the scope of the present technology.

Further, the processing procedure described in the above embodiment may be regarded as a method having a series of these procedures, and a program for causing a computer to execute the series of procedures or a recording medium storing the program. You may catch it. As this recording medium, for example, a CD (Compact Disc), an MD (Mini Disc), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), a memory card, a Blu-ray disc (Blu-ray (registered trademark) Disc) or the like can be used.

In addition, the effect described in this specification is an illustration to the last, is not limited, and may have other effects.

The present technology can also be configured as follows.
(1) A memory management information registration unit that associates a physical address of a first memory, which is a volatile memory, and an address of a second memory, which is a non-volatile memory, with each management unit and registers them as entries of memory management information;
Data is saved from the first memory to the second memory in accordance with the memory management information in response to a save request, and data is transferred from the second memory to the first memory in accordance with the memory management information in response to a restore request And a controller for restoring the memory.
(2) The memory controller according to (1), wherein the memory management information registration unit registers the physical address of the first memory and the address of the second memory in association with each application as the memory management information. .
(3) The control unit saves data from the physical address of the first memory to the address of the second memory according to the entry of the memory management information corresponding to the application specified in the save request, and the restore The memory controller according to (2), wherein data is restored from the address of the second memory to the physical address of the first memory according to an entry of the memory management information corresponding to an application specified in a request.
(4) The memory management information registration unit registers, as the memory management information, the physical address of the first memory, the address of the second memory, and the attribute regarding the save operation in association with each application.
The control unit saves data from the physical address of the first memory to the address of the second memory according to the attribute of the entry of the memory management information corresponding to the application specified in the save request. The memory controller according to any one of (3) to (3).
(5) The control unit is connected to a memory access interface with a host computer, and accesses the first or second memory in response to a request from the host computer. Memory controller according to any of the.
(6) A management size setting unit configured to set the size of the management unit corresponding to each entry in the memory management information as a management size,
The memory controller according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein the control unit performs processing corresponding to the save request or the restore request according to the management size.
(7) The control unit generates a new entry when there is no entry of the memory management information corresponding to the application specified in the registration request of the memory management information, and when the corresponding entry exists. The memory controller according to any one of (1) to (6), wherein the physical address specified in the registration request is registered in the entry.
(8) The memory management information registration unit registers the virtual address and physical address of the first memory and the address of the second memory in association with each application as the memory management information. The memory controller according to any one of 7).
(9) The control unit generates a new entry when there is no entry of the memory management information corresponding to the application and virtual address specified in the registration request of the memory management information, and the corresponding entry exists The memory controller according to (8), wherein the physical address specified in the registration request is registered in the entry.
(10) a first memory which is a volatile memory;
A second memory, which is a non-volatile memory,
A memory management information registration unit that registers the physical address of the first memory and the address of the second memory in association with each management unit as an entry of memory management information;
Data is saved from the first memory to the second memory in accordance with the memory management information in response to a save request, and data is transferred from the second memory to the first memory in accordance with the memory management information in response to a restore request And a control unit for restoring a memory module.

100 host computer 103 memory access interface 104 memory control interface 105 power supply line 110 processor 120 memory management unit 130 memory access unit 140 memory module control unit 150 power supply 200 memory module 210 volatile memory 220 nonvolatile memory 230 multiplexer 240 memory controller 241 request decoder 242 control Part 243 Management size information setting part 244 Memory management information registration part 250 Backup power supply 260 Power control part

Claims (10)

A memory management information registration unit that associates the physical address of the first memory, which is a volatile memory, and the address of the second memory, which is a non-volatile memory, in association with each management unit and registers it as an entry of memory management information;
Data is saved from the first memory to the second memory in accordance with the memory management information in response to a save request, and data is transferred from the second memory to the first memory in accordance with the memory management information in response to a restore request And a controller for restoring the memory. The memory controller according to claim 1, wherein the memory management information registration unit registers the physical address of the first memory and the address of the second memory in association with each application as the memory management information. The control unit saves data from the physical address of the first memory to the address of the second memory according to an entry of the memory management information corresponding to the application specified in the save request, and specifies the data in the restore request. 3. The memory controller according to claim 2, wherein data is restored from an address of the second memory to a physical address of the first memory according to an entry of the memory management information corresponding to the application. The memory management information registration unit registers, as the memory management information, the physical address of the first memory, the address of the second memory, and an attribute related to a save operation in association with each application.
The control unit is configured to save data from a physical address of the first memory to an address of the second memory according to an attribute of an entry of the memory management information corresponding to an application specified in the save request. Memory controller. The memory controller according to claim 1, wherein the control unit accesses the first or second memory in response to a request from the host computer by connecting to a memory access interface with the host computer. A management size setting unit configured to set the size of the management unit corresponding to each entry in the memory management information as a management size;
The memory controller according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs a process corresponding to the save request or the restore request according to the management size. The control unit generates a new entry when there is no entry of the memory management information corresponding to the application specified in the registration request of the memory management information, and registers the corresponding entry when there is a corresponding entry. The memory controller according to claim 1, wherein the physical address specified in the request is registered in the entry. The memory controller according to claim 1, wherein the memory management information registration unit registers the virtual address and the physical address of the first memory and the address of the second memory in association with each application as the memory management information. The control unit generates a new entry when there is no entry of the memory management information corresponding to the application and virtual address specified in the registration request of the memory management information, and when the corresponding entry exists. 9. The memory controller according to claim 8, wherein the physical address specified in the registration request is registered in the entry. A first memory, which is a volatile memory;
A second memory, which is a non-volatile memory,
A memory management information registration unit that registers the physical address of the first memory and the address of the second memory in association with each management unit as an entry of memory management information;
Data is saved from the first memory to the second memory in accordance with the memory management information in response to a save request, and data is transferred from the second memory to the first memory in accordance with the memory management information in response to a restore request And a control unit for restoring a memory module.

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