JP2009289238A - Data processing system and storage control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a data processing technology capable of receiving an instruction of another storage processing from a host device even during the processing of stream data. <P>SOLUTION: A storage and a stream data processing part are connected to a storage controller to which an access request is output from the host device. The storage controller performs processing for controlling the operation of the storage for a first storage control command output from the host device and storing a third storage control command in a command buffer part when receiving a second storage control command. The storage controller controls data transfer between the stream data processing part and the storage according to the third storage control command when the third storage control command is stored in the command buffer part. If processing for the first or second storage control command is not busy, the command can be received even during the data processing for the data transfer. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a data processing system and a storage control method for controlling storage such as a hard disk drive (HDD), an optical disk drive, or a flash memory card. For example, the present invention is used as an auxiliary storage device of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and AV (Audio Visual) This invention relates to a technology that is effective when applied to a system for controlling storage used for a buffer for storing stream data input / output from / to a device.

  In AV equipment, the volume of content data is increasing due to the high definition of video accompanying the start of digital broadcasting. In addition, network support enables simultaneous distribution and playback of content by connecting to multiple devices. From such a background, an input / output process capable of guaranteeing real-time performance is required for a process such as an HDD for storing stream data constituting content or the like. A storage such as an HDD is used as an auxiliary storage device for storing programs and data for other data processing by the CPU. This complicates storage control and places a heavy load on the host device that controls the storage, for example, the host CPU.

  As a technique for reducing the burden on the host CPU due to storage control, Patent Document 1 describes that a data processing unit processes data recorded in a storage instead of the host CPU. This reduces the load on the host CPU during data processing and allows other processes to be efficiently executed on the host CPU.

JP-A-5-12227

  However, in the above-described conventional technology, it is not considered that the data processing unit accepts the next processing from the host CPU while the data processing unit performs data processing on behalf of the host CPU. Therefore, the host CPU must wait for a new storage processing request until the storage processing by the data processing unit is completed. In many data processing systems such as a PC (Personal Computer), the ATA standard is adopted for storage control. In the ATA standard, commands and data are exchanged between the host CPU and the host CPU via a register. When the host CPU issues a command, the storage receives the command and executes it. The interface part is busy. Even in the technology of Patent Document 1, it is not considered that the data processing unit accepts the next processing from the CPU when the storage is executing a command.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a data processing technique capable of receiving another storage processing instruction from a host device even during processing of stream data accompanied by storage processing according to the instruction of the host device.

  Another object of the present invention is to reduce the load on the host device corresponding to both storage processing for stream data and storage processing for other data.

  The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

  The following is a brief description of an outline of typical inventions disclosed in the present application.

  That is, a storage controller that responds to an access request from a host device is connected to a storage and a stream data processing unit that inputs and outputs stream data. The storage controller controls the operation of the storage in response to the first storage control command output from the host device. In response to the second storage control command, the subsequent third storage control command is stored in the command buffer unit. If there is a third storage control command in the command buffer unit, the storage controller controls data transfer of stream data between the stream data processing unit and the storage according to the third storage control command.

  From the above, if the processing for the first storage control command or the second storage control command issued by the host device is not busy, the storage controller uses stream data for data transfer according to the third storage control command. Even during processing, the first storage control command or the second storage control command can be received.

  The effects obtained by the representative ones of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows.

  That is, it is possible to accept another storage processing instruction from the host device even during the processing of stream data accompanying storage processing in accordance with the instruction of the host device.

  It is possible to reduce the load on the host device corresponding to both the storage processing for stream data and the storage processing for other data in that the time for waiting for the host device to issue a storage control command is reduced.

1. First, an outline of a typical embodiment of the invention disclosed in the present application will be described. Reference numerals in the drawings that are referred to with parentheses in the outline description of the representative embodiment merely exemplify what is included in the concept of the component to which the reference numeral is attached.

  [1] The data processing system includes a host device, a stream data processing unit that inputs and outputs stream data, and a storage controller that controls storage in response to an access request from the host device. When the command supplied from the host device is the first storage control command, the storage controller performs storage access control according to the first storage control command, and the command supplied from the host device is the second storage control command. Control is performed to store control information subsequent to the second storage control command in the command buffer unit as a third storage control command, and when there is a third storage control command stored in the command buffer unit, 3 The storage control command is decoded to control data transfer between the stream data processing unit and the storage.

  From the above, if the processing for the first storage control command or the second storage control command issued by the host device is not busy, the storage controller uses stream data for data transfer according to the third storage control command. Even during processing, the first storage control command or the second storage control command can be received. It is possible to reduce the load on the host device corresponding to both the storage processing for stream data and the storage processing for other data in that the time for waiting for the host device to issue a storage control command is reduced.

  In addition, the host device does not need to directly access the command buffer unit when issuing the third storage control command, but issues the second storage control command using the same command issue sequence as the issue of the first storage control command, The command issue sequence of outputting the third storage control command as the attached parameter can be used, and the burden on the host device is reduced in this respect.

  [2] In the data processing system according to item 1, the first storage control command and the second storage control command are ATA commands, the second storage control command is an ATA command assigned to a vendor definition, The storage control command is a command other than the ATA command. It can be easily applied to a storage corresponding to the ATA standard.

  [3] In the data processing system according to item 1, for example, the storage controller performs a command interface and data interface operation with a host device in accordance with a predetermined interface specification, and a command set in the host interface unit. And an input / output control unit for controlling the operation of the storage and transferring between the storage and the stream data processing unit. The input / output control unit includes a storage interface unit, a dispatcher unit, a command buffer unit, a stream data interface unit, and a transfer processing unit. The dispatcher unit outputs the first storage control command to the storage interface unit when the first storage control command is supplied to the host interface unit, and the second storage control command is supplied to the host interface unit. The third storage control command subsequent to the second storage control command is output to the command buffer unit. The command buffer unit queues the third storage control command. The stream data interface unit inputs / outputs stream data to / from the stream data processing unit. The transfer processing unit performs the input / output operation of the stream data interface unit and the operation of the storage interface unit based on the decoding result of the third storage control command when the command storage unit includes the third storage control command. Control. The storage interface unit stores the storage based on the first storage control command output from the transfer processing unit based on the first storage control command output from the dispatcher unit or the decoding result of the third storage control command. Control.

  [4] In the data processing system according to another aspect of the present invention, the storage controller performs storage access control based on the storage command of the first standard supplied from the host device, and the second standard supplied from the host device. The storage control command is stored in the command buffer unit, and when the second standard storage control command is in the command buffer unit, the second standard storage control command is decoded and the stream data processing unit Controls data transfer to and from the storage. In this configuration, since the host device needs to directly access the command buffer unit when issuing the storage control command of the second standard, the same command issuing sequence as that of the storage control command of the first standard cannot be used. It differs from the configuration in Item 1 in that the host device bears this burden.

  [5] In the data processing system according to item 4, the first standard storage control command is an ATA command, and the second standard storage control command is a command other than the ATA command. The second standard storage control command may be independent of ATA.

  [6] In the data processing system according to item 4, for example, the storage controller performs a first interface storage control command and data interface operation with a host device in accordance with a predetermined interface specification, and the host interface. The storage operation control is performed based on the first standard storage control command supplied to the storage unit, and the storage and the stream data processing unit are controlled based on the second standard storage control command written by the host device. And an input / output control unit for performing transfer control between them. The input / output control unit includes a storage interface unit, a command buffer unit, a stream data interface unit, and a transfer processing unit. The command buffer unit queues the second standard storage control command supplied from the host device. The stream data interface unit inputs / outputs stream data to / from the stream data processing unit. The transfer processing unit, when there is the second standard storage control command in the command buffer, based on the decoding result of the second standard storage control command, the input / output operation of the stream data interface unit and the storage interface unit To control the operation. The storage interface unit is configured to store the storage by a first standard storage control command output from the transfer processing unit based on a first standard storage control command output from the host interface unit or a second standard storage control command. To control.

  [7] In the data processing system according to item 4, the first standard storage control command is a standard ATA command, and the second standard storage control command is an extended ATA command. In this case, the extended ATA command is described with a parameter that indicates the processing content of the stream data.

  [8] In a storage control method according to still another aspect of the present invention, a storage controller inputs a first standard storage control command output from the host device and controls the operation of the storage, and a first output from the host device. A process in which a storage controller inputs a two-standard storage control command even during storage operation control and stores it in the command buffer unit, and when the second standard storage control command is stored in the command buffer unit, the second standard And processing for controlling the data transfer of the stream data between the stream data processing unit and the storage.

  According to this, the host device can issue a new first standard storage control command if the processing for the issued first standard storage control command is not busy. Even during processing of stream data for data transfer in accordance with 3 storage control commands, a new second standard storage control command can be stored in the command buffer unit. It is possible to reduce the load on the host device corresponding to both the storage processing for stream data and the storage processing for other data in that the time for waiting for the host device to issue a storage control command is reduced.

  [9] In the storage control method according to item 8, the storage controller interprets the first standard storage control command output from the host device to determine whether it is a special command. The storage operation is controlled based on the storage control command, and if it is a special command, the second standard storage control command following the first standard storage control command is stored in the command buffer unit.

  The host device does not need to directly access the command buffer unit when issuing the second standard storage control command, and uses the same command issuing sequence as the first standard storage control command issuance. Can be used as the attached parameter, and a command issuing sequence can be used, which reduces the burden on the host device.

  [10] In the storage control method according to item 9, the first standard storage control command is an ATA command, and the special command is an ATA command assigned to a vendor definition. The storage control command of the second standard is a command other than the ATA command. It can be easily applied to a storage corresponding to the ATA standard.

  [11] In the storage control method according to item 8, the command buffer unit is a FIFO buffer. It is possible to respond quickly to the previous request.

  [12] In the storage control method according to item 8, a priority level is given to the storage control command of the second standard, and the storage control command of the second standard stored in the command buffer unit has a higher priority level than a lower one. Is first decrypted and processed. It is possible to answer a data transfer request in consideration of the priority such as real-time property for the stream data.

  [13] In the storage control method according to item 8, the storage control command of the second standard includes transfer source information and transfer destination information.

2. Details of Embodiments Embodiments will be further described in detail. DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that components having the same function are denoted by the same reference symbols throughout the drawings for describing the embodiments for carrying out the invention, and the repetitive description thereof will be omitted.

《Recorder》
FIG. 1 illustrates a system configuration of an AV recorder to which the present invention is applied. A recorder 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a host CPU 101 as a host device, a memory 102, a tuner 103, an IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) module 104, a decoder 105, an ATA controller 106, an HDD 107, a removable storage 108, and a storage control unit 200. Become. The ATA controller 106 and the storage control unit 200 constitute a storage controller. The HDD 107 and the removable storage 108 are storages.

  The host CPU 101 executes a program on the memory 102. Further, the tuner 103 is controlled to acquire the video information 110 from the broadcast wave. Further, the IPTV module 104 is controlled to acquire video information (TS) 110 from the IPTV input. Further, the decoder 105 is controlled to output a video signal. Further, the host CPU 101 outputs an ATA controller control command 111 for controlling the storage controller 200 to the ATA controller 106.

  The memory 102 stores a program to be executed by the host CPU 101, and provides a work area or a primary data storage area for the host CPU 101 to execute the program.

  The tuner 103 receives the video information 110 from the broadcast wave and outputs it to the storage control unit 200. The IPTV module 104 is connected to the network, receives the video information 110 from the IPTV input, and outputs it to the storage control unit 200. The decoder 105 receives the video information 110 output from the storage control unit 200, decodes it, and outputs it as a video signal. The format of the video information 110 output from the tuner 103, the IPTV module 104, and the storage control unit 200 is, for example, the MPEG2-2 TS format.

  The removable storage 108 can be attached to and detached from the storage control unit 200, and is composed of, for example, a nonvolatile memory such as a hard disk or a flash memory. The HDD 107 and the removable storage 108 are used as a buffer that holds the video information 110 and an auxiliary storage device that stores data used by the host CPU 101 in other data processing. For example, when video information is recorded in the HDD 107, it is required to receive and record the video information in real time in response to a recording instruction. When reproducing the video information, it is necessary that the video information is read from the HDD and transferred to the decoder 105 at a timing required for sequential reproduction in response to the instruction. In the data processing by the host CPU 101, the HDD and the removable storage 108 are accessed as needed.

  The ATA controller 106 functions as an ATA host interface unit that performs command and data interface operations with the host CPU 101 in accordance with an interface specification compliant with the ATA (AT Attachment) standard. The ATA controller 106 has a command register, a data register, a status register, etc. (not shown), and the host CPU 101 interfaces commands and data through register access. The interface specification conforms to the ATA standard. The ATA controller 106 receives an ATA controller control command 111 from the host CPU 101 and outputs an ATA command 112 to the storage control unit 200.

  The storage control unit 200 controls the operation of the HDD 107 and the removable storage 108 based on the command set in the command register of the ATA controller 106, and further, the storage (the HDD 107, the removable storage 108) and the stream data processing device Transfer control of video information with the tuner 103, the IPTV module 104, and the decoder 105 is performed.

<< ATA command >>
The ATA command 112 that the host CPU 101 writes to the ATA controller 106 using the ATA control information 111 and is given to the storage control unit 200 includes a standard ATA command (first storage control command) and an extended ATA command (second storage control command). . According to the ATA standard, ATA commands are classified into, for example, a DMA input / output command, a parallel input command, a parallel output command, a non-data command, a VS (vendor definition) command, and the like when distinguished by protocol type. For example, the VS command is an extended ATA command. The significance of the VS command with respect to the command code is allowed to be unique to the vendor. Therefore, it is also allowed in the ATA standard to make vendor-unique control information follow the VS command. Here, a part of such subsequent control information is positioned as the third storage control command 120. Although not particularly limited, the priority level of the corresponding third storage control command 120 is added to such control information. Here, the priority level is given by 1 bit, “1” means a high priority level, and “0” means a low priority level.

  The ATA controller 106 performs host interface conforming to the ATA standard as described above. In this host interface, when the host CPU 101 writes a command to the command register of the ATA controller 106, a busy status is returned to the host CPU until a storage operation or a ratio data operation in response to the command is completed. The host CPU 106 negates the busy status and waits for access to the data register of the ATA controller 106 until, for example, the data ready status becomes active. Such a sequential interface operation is performed. In the case of an extended ATA command, a busy status is returned until the user-defined processing for that command is completed. Although the details will be described later, in the present invention, the extended ATA command is defined as a command for instructing an operation for storing the subsequent command in the command queue units 201 and 207. Since the extended ATA command does not instruct until the command stored in the command queue part is executed, the busy status is enabled until the storing operation in the command queue part is completed during execution of the extended ATA command. Just do.

《Storage control unit》
The storage control unit 200 includes a storage interface unit (ATA interface unit 202, removable storage interface unit 203), a dispatcher unit 206, a command buffer unit (high priority command queue unit 201, low priority command queue unit 202), stream data. It has an interface unit (TS input interface unit 204, TS output interface unit 205), and a data transfer processing unit 210.

  The dispatcher unit 206 inputs the ATA command 112 from the ATA controller 106 and determines the type of the ATA command 112. If the ATA command 112 is an extended ATA command, the third storage control command and priority level are acquired from the control information that follows the ATA command 112. If the ATA command 112 is at a high priority level, the third storage control command is sent to the high priority command queue unit 207. In the case of the low priority level, the third storage control command is stored in the low priority command queue unit 201. In the case of a standard ATA command, the ATA command 112 is output to the ATA interface unit 202 and the removable storage interface unit 203.

  The low priority command queue unit 201 and the high priority command queue unit 207 operate as a FIFO, and writing is controlled by the dispatcher unit 206. Reading is controlled by the data transfer process 210.

  The ATA interface unit 202 inputs an ATA command 112 output from the dispatcher unit 206 and the data transfer processing unit 210 and controls writing and reading operations of the HDD 107. The removable storage interface unit 203 inputs an ATA command 112 output from the dispatcher unit 206 and the data transfer processing unit 210 and controls writing and reading operations of the removable storage 108.

  The TS input interface unit 204 receives the video information 110 from the tuner 103 and the IPTV module 104 and outputs it to the data transfer control unit 210. The TS output interface unit 205 receives the video information 110 from the data transfer control unit 210 and outputs it to the decoder 105.

  The data transfer processing unit 210 reads and decodes the third storage control command from the high priority command queue unit 207 or the low priority command queue unit 201, and based on the decoding result, the stream data interface units 204 and 205 In addition to controlling the input / output operations, the ATA command is output to control the operations of the storage interface units 202 and 203. In reading the third storage control command, if the high priority command queue unit 207 is not empty (empty), the high priority command queue unit 207 is read. If the high priority command queue unit 207 is empty (empty), The low priority command queue unit 207 is read. The storage interface units 202 and 203 control the storages 107 and 108 based on the ATA command output from the dispatcher unit 206 or the ATA command output from the data transfer processing unit 210.

<< Specific processing example of dispatcher section >>
The dispatcher unit 206 receives the ATA command 112. When the command is “FAh”, the dispatcher unit 206 recognizes this as an extended ATA command, receives the subsequent data according to, for example, a parallel data output command (PIO data out command) protocol, As the three storage control commands 120, when the priority is low priority, it is output to the low priority command queue unit 201, and when the priority is high priority, it is output to the high priority command queue unit 207. If the ATA command is other than “FAh”, the ATA command is output to the ATA interface unit 202. In response to the extended ATA command, the dispatcher unit 206 returns a busy status until the third storage control command 120 is stored in the low priority command queue unit 201 or the high priority command queue unit 207. The host CPU 101 can confirm the busy status by polling or the like.

<Example of processing by the data transfer processing unit>
FIG. 2 illustrates a processing flow of the data transfer processing unit 210.

  The data transfer processing unit 210 starts data transfer processing (S20). For example, it is started every predetermined time using a timer or the like. First, the third storage control command 120 is acquired from the high priority command queue unit 207 (S21). When acquiring, it is determined whether or not the high priority command queue unit 207 is empty (S22). If not, the process proceeds to step S25. If it is empty, the third storage control command 120 is acquired from the low priority command queue unit 201 (S23). When acquiring, it is determined whether or not the low priority command queue unit 201 is empty (S24). If it is empty, repeat from step S21. In step 25, the acquired third storage control command 120 is analyzed, and information such as input source and output destination information and transfer data amount is acquired (S25). Next, based on the acquired information such as the input source and the output source, data transfer from the TS input interface unit 204 to the ATA interface unit 202 or the removable storage interface unit 203, or the ATA interface unit 202 or the removable storage interface unit 203 Generates a command for data transfer from the TS to the TS output interface unit 205 and outputs it to each unit (S26).

<< Third storage control command >>
FIG. 3 shows a specific example of the third storage control command 120. Although the third storage control command 120 is not particularly limited, the third storage control command 120 is data having a hierarchical structure by tags described in XML (eXtensible Markup Language). One third storage control command 120 is surrounded by a command tag. The command tag includes a source tag and a destination tag. The source tag includes an interface tag, a content tag, a start tag, and a size tag. The destination tag includes an interface tag and a content tag.

  The command tag indicates one third storage control command 120. The source tag indicates transfer source information. The destination tag indicates transfer destination information. The interface tag indicates a transfer source or transfer destination interface. The content tag indicates the content name of the transfer source or transfer destination. The start tag indicates the start position of the content to be transferred. The size tag indicates the transfer size of the content to be transferred. The start position and transfer size can be expressed in terms of time and bytes. In the case of time expression, “hour: minute: second” is indicated, and in the case of byte expression, “˜byte” is indicated.

  In the third storage control command 120 of FIG. 3, the transfer source interface is “3”, the content name is “movie1”, and the content start position is “00:35:00”, that is, the position of 35 minutes from the start, The transfer size is “00:05:00”, that is, 5 minutes, the content is input from the device connected to the transfer source interface under the above conditions, the transfer destination interface is “4”, and the content name is “ video003 ”, indicating that the content is output to the device connected to the transfer destination interface under the above-described conditions.

  FIG. 4 illustrates an interface table 400 that is referred to when the third storage control command is decoded. The interface table 400 includes an interface column 410, a connection device column 411, and an input / output direction column 412 corresponding to the interface tag, and indicates the connection device and input / output direction of each interface. In FIG. 4, interface 1 (corresponding to interface tag = “1”) is connected to the tuner 103 and data can be input (401), and interface 2 (corresponding to interface tag = “2”) is connected to the IPTV module 104 and data. Can be input (402), interface 3 (corresponding to interface tag = "3") is connected to HDD 107 and data can be input / output (403), and interface 4 (corresponding to interface tag = "4") is removable storage 108. This indicates that data can be input / output (404) and interface 5 (corresponding to interface tag = “5”) can be connected to decoder 105 and data can be output (405).

  The data transfer processing unit 210 receives and analyzes the third storage control command 120 from the low priority command queue unit 201 or the high priority command queue unit 207. The analysis of the tag of the third storage control command 120 can be realized by an XML parser. The data transfer processing unit 210 inputs content data from the transfer source based on the analysis result, and outputs the content data to the transfer destination. If the transfer source or transfer destination is HDD (or removable storage 108), the data transfer processing unit 210 outputs an ATA command to the ATA interface unit 202 (or removable storage interface unit 203), and the transfer source is the TS input interface unit 204. If there is, the data transfer processing unit 210 performs the input control, and if the transfer destination is the TS output interface unit 205, the data transfer processing unit 210 performs the output control.

《Recording process and playback process by recorder》
A recording processing operation in the recorder 100 will be described. For example, a recording process in which the broadcast wave input received by the tuner 103 is stored in the HDD 107 will be described. When starting the recording process, the host CPU 101 outputs an extended ATA command to the ATA controller 106 in order to transfer the video information 110 from the tuner 103 to the HDD 107 to the storage control unit 200, followed by the third storage control command. 120 is output. When the storage control unit 200 receives the extended ATA command written in the command register of the ATA controller 106, the storage control unit 200 stores the subsequent third storage control command 120 in the low priority command queue unit 201. The data transfer processing unit 210 takes out the third storage control command 120 from the low priority command queue unit 201 and analyzes it, and performs data input / output transfer control accordingly. When data transfer from the tuner 103 to the HDD 107 is instructed by the third storage control command 120, the video information 110 from the tuner 103 is input through the TSIN interface unit 204 and output to the HDD 107 through the ATA interface 202. The operation for the HDD 107 is started after completion of the previously designated HDD operation. The recording operation is continued for the data size or time specified by the third storage control command 120. The recording operation is continued in a time-sharing manner in synchronization with the timing when stream data is sent from the tuner 103. Although not particularly limited, when a storage operation is performed during this data transfer process, the data transfer processing unit 210 sets a busy status in the ATA controller 106 so that the host CPU 101 can confirm it to avoid contention. When the busy status is inactive, HDD access necessary for other data processing by the host CPU 101 can be interposed.

  When the recording operation is stopped halfway, the host CPU 101 issues an extended ATA command to the ATA controller 106 with a third storage control command instructing the stop operation. At this time, the third storage control command is assigned a high priority, stored in the high priority command queue unit 207, and read and analyzed by the data transfer processing unit 210, so that the tuner 103 sends the TSIF to the TSIF command. Input of the video information 110 through the interface unit 204 is stopped, and output of the video information 110 to the HDD 107 through the ATA interface 202 is stopped.

  The reproduction operation is performed in the same manner as described above. In contrast to the recording operation, the third storage control command specified in the reproduction operation is the HDD 107 as the transfer source and the decoder 105 as the transfer destination. Since other operations are basically the same as described above, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  In the above recording process and playback process, the transfer source and the transfer destination are appropriately changed according to the absence of the third storage control command, and the storage control unit 210 is changed from one of the tuner 103, the IPTV module 104, the HDD 107, or the removable storage 108. It is also possible to input the video information 110 and output it to one or more of the HDD 107, the removable storage 108 and the decoder 105. Multiple transfers may be performed simultaneously.

<< Command issuing sequence by host CPU >>
FIG. 5 illustrates operation timings of the host CPU, storage control unit, storage, tuner, and decoder. If there is a request 1 (third storage control command) by the extended ATA command, this request 1 is stored in the command cube 201 (or 207). By executing the third storage control command in the data transfer processing unit 210, for example, stream data from the tuner 103 is stored in the storage 107. If the host CPU 101 issues a request 2 by the standard ATA command when the storage operation is not performed during the data processing for the data transfer, this is accepted and the operation of the storage 107 according to the request 2 is performed. Is called. It is also possible to receive a new extended ATA command accompanied by request 3 and store it in the command queue unit 201 or 207.

  Therefore, if the processing for the standard ATA command or the extended ATA command issued by the host CPU 101 is not busy, the storage control unit 200 is processing data of stream data for data transfer according to the third storage control command. Standard ATA commands or extended ATA commands can be accepted. The load on the host CPU 101 corresponding to both the storage processing for stream data and the storage processing for other data can be reduced in that the time that the host CPU 101 waits for the storage control command to be issued is reduced.

  Further, the host CPU 101 does not need to directly access the command queue unit 201 or 207 when issuing the third storage control command, but issues an extended ATA command using the same command issue sequence as the standard ATA command issuance. It is possible to use a command issuance sequence that outputs the third storage control command as an attached parameter, and the burden on the host CPU 101 can be reduced in this respect.

<< Direct input of third storage control command >>
FIG. 6 illustrates a system configuration of another recorder to which the present invention is applied. The difference from FIG. 1 is that the dispatcher unit 206 is not provided, and the host CPU 101 directly stores the third storage control command in the low priority command queue unit 201 or the high priority command queue unit 107. Since other configurations are the same as those in FIG. 1, detailed description thereof is omitted. The same command issue sequence as the ATA command cannot be used for issuing the third storage control command. Although the host CPU 101 bears the burden, the storage control unit 200 does not need the dispatcher unit 206, and the physical circuit scale can be reduced.

  Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited thereto and can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof.

  For example, the third storage control command is not limited to XML, but data may be described in the ASN1 format, and the ASN1 parser may be used instead of the XML parser.

  The dispatcher unit may store the extended ATA command itself in the command queue unit, and the data transfer processing unit may be configured to decode the extended ATA command and perform stream control. In this case, the extended ATA command is grasped as an entire description having parameters equivalent to the third storage control command 120.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the system configuration of an AV recorder to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the processing flow of the data transfer processing unit. FIG. 3 is a command explanatory diagram showing a specific example of the third storage control command. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view exemplifying an interface table referred to when the third storage control command is decoded. FIG. 5 is a timing chart illustrating the operation timing of the host CPU, storage control unit, storage, tuner, and decoder. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the system configuration of another recorder to which the present invention is applied.

Explanation of symbols

100 recorder 101 host CPU
102 Memory 103 Tuner 104 IPTV Module 105 Decoder 106 ATA Controller 107 HDD
108 Removable Storage 110 Video Information 111 ATA Controller Control Command 112 ATA Command 120 Stream Control Command 123 Extended ATA Command 124 Standard ATA Command 200 Storage Control Unit 201 Low Priority Command Queue Unit 202 ATA Interface Unit 203 Removable Storage Interface Unit 204 TSIN Interface Unit 205 TSOUT interface unit 206 Dispatcher unit 207 High priority command queue unit 210 Data transfer processing unit 400 Interface table 410 Interface column 411 Connected device column 412 I / O direction column

Claims (13)

A data processing system having a host device, a stream data processing unit that inputs and outputs stream data, and a storage controller that controls storage in response to an access request from the host device,
The storage controller controls the operation of the storage according to the first storage control command when the command supplied from the host device is the first storage control command, and the command supplied from the host device is the second storage control command. Control is performed to store control information subsequent to the second storage control command in the command buffer unit as a third storage control command, and when there is a third storage control command stored in the command buffer unit, 3. A data processing system that decodes a storage control command and controls data transfer between the stream data processing unit and the storage.   The first storage control command and the second storage control command are ATA commands, the second storage control command is an ATA command assigned to a vendor definition, and the third storage control command is a command other than the ATA command. The data processing system according to claim 1. The storage controller includes a host interface unit that performs a command and data interface operation with a host device in accordance with a predetermined interface specification, a storage operation control based on a command set in the host interface unit, and An input / output control unit that performs transfer control between the storage and the stream data processing unit,
The input / output control unit includes a storage interface unit, a dispatcher unit, a command buffer unit, a stream data interface unit, and a transfer processing unit,
The dispatcher unit outputs the first storage control command to the storage interface unit when the first storage control command is supplied to the host interface unit, and the second storage control command is supplied to the host interface unit. When the third storage control command following the second storage control command is output to the command buffer unit,
The command buffer unit queues a third storage control command,
The stream data interface unit inputs and outputs stream data to and from the stream data processing unit;
The transfer processing unit performs the input / output operation of the stream data interface unit and the operation of the storage interface unit based on the decoding result of the third storage control command when the command storage unit includes the third storage control command. Control
The storage interface unit stores the storage based on the first storage control command output from the transfer processing unit based on the first storage control command output from the dispatcher unit or the decoding result of the third storage control command. The data processing system according to claim 1, wherein the data processing system is controlled. A data processing system having a host device, a stream data processing unit that inputs and outputs stream data, and a storage controller that controls storage in response to an access request from the host device,
The storage controller performs storage access control based on a first standard storage command supplied from the host device, and stores the second standard storage control command supplied from the host device in a command buffer unit. And when the command buffer unit has the second standard storage control command, the second standard storage control command is decoded to control data transfer between the stream data processing unit and the storage. Processing system.   5. The data processing system according to claim 4, wherein the first standard storage control command is an ATA command, and the second standard storage control command is a command other than an ATA command. The storage controller includes a host interface unit for performing a first standard storage control command and data interface operation with a host device according to a predetermined interface specification, and a first standard storage control command supplied to the host interface unit. And an input / output control unit for controlling transfer between the storage and the stream data processing unit based on a storage control command of the second standard written by the host device. Have
The input / output control unit includes a storage interface unit, a command buffer unit, a stream data interface unit, and a transfer processing unit,
The command buffer unit queues a storage control command of the second standard supplied from the host device,
The stream data interface unit inputs and outputs stream data to and from the stream data processing unit;
The transfer processing unit, when there is the second standard storage control command in the command buffer, based on the decoding result of the second standard storage control command, the input / output operation of the stream data interface unit and the storage interface unit Control the operation of
The storage interface unit is configured to store the storage by a first standard storage control command output from the transfer processing unit based on a first standard storage control command output from the host interface unit or a second standard storage control command. The data processing system according to claim 4, wherein the data processing system is controlled.   5. The data processing system according to claim 4, wherein the storage control command of the first standard is a standard ATA command, and the storage control command of the second standard is an extended ATA command. A process in which the storage controller inputs the first standard storage control command output from the host device and controls the operation of the storage;
A process in which a storage controller inputs a second standard storage control command output by the host device and stores it in the command buffer unit;
Processing for controlling data transfer of stream data between the stream data processing unit and the storage by decoding the storage control command of the second standard when the second standard storage control command is stored in the command buffer unit And a storage control method. The storage controller interprets the first standard storage control command output from the host device to determine whether it is a special command. If it is not a special command, the storage operation is performed based on the first standard storage control command. Control
The storage controller decodes the first standard storage control command output from the host device to determine whether it is a special command. If it is a special command, the second standard storage control follows the first standard storage control command. The storage control method according to claim 8, wherein a command is stored in the command buffer unit.   10. The storage control according to claim 9, wherein the first standard storage control command is an ATA command, the special command is an ATA command assigned to a vendor definition, and the second standard storage control command is a command other than the ATA command. Method.   The storage control method according to claim 8, wherein the command buffer unit is a FIFO buffer.   A priority level is given to the storage control command of the second standard, and the storage control command of the second standard stored in the command buffer unit is decoded and processed before the one with the higher priority level is lower. Item 9. The storage control method according to Item 8.   9. The storage control method according to claim 8, wherein the storage control command of the second standard includes transfer source information and transfer destination information.

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