TW201445312A - Data read method, and flash memory controller and storage system using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A data read method for reading data to be accessed by a host system from a plurality of flash memory modules is provided. The data read method includes receiving command sequence information about a plurality of host read commands, wherein each of the host read commands corresponds to one of data input/output buses coupled to the flash memory modules. The data read method also includes re-arranging the host read commands according to the data input/output buses corresponding to the host read commands and thereby generating a command sequence, and receiving and processing a host read command among the host read commands from the host system based on the command sequence while pre-reading data of the host read commands after the processed host read command.

Description

Data reading method, flash memory controller and storage system

The present invention relates to a data reading method for flash memory, and more particularly to a data reading method for reading data from a plurality of flash memory modules and using the method Flash memory controller and flash memory storage system.

Because Flash Memory has the characteristics of non-volatile data, power saving, small size and no mechanical structure, it is most suitable for battery-operated portable electronic products. For example, a solid state hard disk is a storage device that uses NAND flash memory as a storage medium, and has been widely deployed in notebook computers as a main storage device.

Generally, when the host system wants to read the data stored in the flash memory storage device, the control circuit of the flash memory storage device passes the flash memory interface according to the host read command from the host system. The corresponding data is read in the flash memory chip, and then the control circuit passes the read data through the connector. Transfer to the host system. Here, the portion that reads data from the flash memory chip is called internal data transfer, and the portion that transfers data to the host system is called external transmission.

With the development of transmission technology, the transmission speed of connectors has been greatly improved. For example, Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) connectors can reach Gigabit (Gb) per second, even per second. 30Gb. However, when the speed of the internal data transmission is lower than the speed of the connector, the overall storage performance cannot be effectively improved, so how to shorten the time for executing the host read command is a goal of those skilled in the art.

The present invention provides a data reading method and a flash memory controller and a flash memory storage device using the same, which can effectively shorten the time for executing a plurality of host read commands from the host system.

An embodiment of the present invention is a data reading method, which is suitable for processing, by a flash memory controller, a plurality of host read commands from a host system to read from a plurality of flash memory modules. The host reads the data of the instruction, wherein the flash memory controller is respectively coupled to the flash memory module via the plurality of data input/output bus bars and each of the flash memory modules has a plurality of physical blocks. The data reading method includes configuring a plurality of logical blocks, wherein the logical block maps a part of the physical blocks in the flash memory module. The data reading method also includes receiving, from the host system, instruction sequencing information about the host read commands, wherein each host read finger One of the corresponding logical blocks and each logical block corresponds to one of the data input/output bus bars. The data reading method also includes rearranging the order of the host read command and the order of generating the command according to the data input/output bus corresponding to the host read command, and sequentially transmitting the generated command to the host system. The data reading method further includes sequentially receiving the host read command from the host system according to the order of the release instruction, and reading the data corresponding to the host read command from the flash memory module according to the host read command.

In an embodiment of the invention, the step of receiving the instruction ordering information about the host read command from the host system includes: receiving, by using a Native Command Queuing (NCQ) protocol, from the host system. The instruction sequence information of the host read instruction.

In an embodiment of the present invention, when a first host read command of the host read commands is received from the host system, the bus is input from the flash memory module via the data input/output bus Synchronizing reading data corresponding to the first host read command and at least one second host read command among the host read commands, and transmitting the data corresponding to the first host read command to the host The system, wherein the first host read command and the second host read command correspond to different data input/output bus bars.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the data reading method further includes temporarily storing data corresponding to the second host read command in a buffer memory of the flash memory controller.

In an embodiment of the invention, when the second is received from the host system When the host reads the instruction, the data corresponding to the second host read command is transmitted from the buffer memory to the host system.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the data reading method further includes grouping the logical blocks into a plurality of logical regions, and configuring a logical block-physical block mapping table for each logical region, wherein each A logical block corresponds to one of the logical block-physical block mapping tables. In addition, the data reading method described above further includes loading one of the logical block-physical block mapping table into the buffer memory.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the step of rearranging the order of the host read command according to the data input/output bus corresponding to the host read command and the step of generating the command sequence include: corresponding to the read command of the host The data input/output bus and logic area are used to rearrange the order of the host read instructions and generate the order of the instructions.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the step of rearranging the order of the host read command and the order of generating the command according to the data input/output bus and the logical area corresponding to the host read command includes: issuing the command at the foregoing At least one of the host read commands is preferentially arranged in the sequence, wherein the logical block corresponding to the host read command is a logical block-physical block corresponding to being loaded in the buffer memory. Mapping table.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a flash memory controller is configured to process a plurality of host read commands from a host system to read data corresponding to the host read commands from the plurality of flash memory modules. Each of the flash memory modules has a plurality of physical blocks. The flash memory controller includes a microprocessor unit, flashing Memory interface unit, host interface unit and memory management unit. The flash memory interface unit is coupled to the microprocessor unit and coupled to the flash memory modules via a plurality of data input/output bus bars. The host interface unit is coupled to the microprocessor unit and is configured to connect to the host system. The memory management unit is coupled to the microprocessor unit and configured to configure a plurality of logical blocks, wherein the logical blocks map a portion of the physical blocks in the flash memory module. Here, the memory management unit receives instruction sequencing information about the host read commands from the host system via the host interface unit, wherein each host read instruction corresponds to one of the logical blocks and each logical region The block corresponds to one of these data input/output busses. Moreover, the memory management unit rearranges the order of the host read instructions and generates the order of the instructions according to the data input/output bus corresponding to the host read commands, and sequentially transmits the generated instructions to the sequence. Host system. Moreover, the memory management unit sequentially receives the host read commands from the host system via the host interface unit according to the order of the release instructions, and according to the host read commands, flash memory from the flash memory interface unit according to the host read commands. The module reads the data corresponding to the read commands of the host.

In an embodiment of the invention, the host interface unit supports a native instruction ordering protocol.

In an embodiment of the present invention, when the host interface unit receives a first host read command from the host read commands, the memory management unit passes through the data input/output bus The flash memory module synchronously reads the data corresponding to the first host read command and among the host read commands At least one second host reads the data of the instruction, and transmits the data corresponding to the first host read instruction to the host system, wherein the first host read command and the second host read command are different data. Input/output bus.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the flash memory controller further includes a buffer memory coupled to the microprocessor unit, wherein the memory management unit temporarily stores the data corresponding to the second host read command. Stored in this buffer memory.

In an embodiment of the present invention, when the memory management unit receives the second host read command from the host system, the memory management unit transfers the data corresponding to the second host read command from the buffer memory. Give the host system.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the memory management unit groups the logical blocks into a plurality of logical regions, and configures a logical block-physical block mapping table for each logical region, wherein each logical The block corresponds to one of the logical block-physical block mapping tables. In addition, the memory management unit loads one of the logical block-physical block mapping tables to the buffer memory.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the memory management unit further rearranges the order of the host read commands and generates the foregoing according to the data input/output bus and the logical area corresponding to the host read commands. Order of instructions.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the memory management unit preferentially arranges at least one host read command among the host read commands in the order of the release instructions, wherein the host reads the logical region corresponding to the instruction The block is a logical block-physical block mapping table corresponding to the buffer memory.

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention is a flash memory storage system including fast Flash memory chips, flash memory controllers and connectors. The flash memory chip has a plurality of flash memory modules, and each flash memory module has a plurality of physical blocks. The flash memory controller is coupled to the flash memory modules via a plurality of data input/output bus bars, and configured to configure a plurality of logic blocks, wherein the logic blocks are mapped to the flash memory module. Some of the physical blocks in the middle. The connector is coupled to the flash memory controller and coupled to a host system. Here, the flash memory controller receives instruction sequencing information about the plurality of host read instructions from the host system via the connector, wherein each host read instruction corresponds to one of the logical blocks and each logic The block corresponds to one of these data input/output bus bars. Moreover, the flash memory controller rearranges the order of the host read instructions and the order of the generated instructions according to the data input/output bus corresponding to the host read commands, and sequentially generates the generated instructions. Transfer to the host system. Moreover, the flash memory controller sequentially receives the host read commands from the host system via the connector according to the order of the release instructions, and according to the host read commands, the data is input from the flash memory via the data input/output bus. The data corresponding to the read commands of the host is read in the body module.

In one embodiment of the invention, the connector described above supports a native instruction ordering protocol.

In an embodiment of the invention, when the flash memory controller receives a first host read command from the host read commands, the flash memory controller inputs via the data input. /output bus bar synchronously reads the data corresponding to the first host read command from the flash memory module and the host read fingers At least one second host reads the data of the instruction, and transmits the data corresponding to the first host read instruction to the host system, where the first host read instruction and the second host read instruction correspond to Different data input/output busses.

In an embodiment of the invention, the flash memory storage system further includes a buffer memory, wherein the flash memory controller temporarily stores the data corresponding to the second host read command in the buffer memory.

In an embodiment of the invention, when the flash memory controller receives the second host read command from the host system, the flash memory controller will read the second host read command from the buffer memory. The data is transferred to the host system.

In an embodiment of the invention, the flash memory controller groups the logical blocks into a plurality of logical regions, and configures a logical block-physical block mapping table for each logical region, wherein each A logical block corresponds to one of the logical block-physical block mapping tables. In addition, the flash memory controller loads one of the logical block-physical block mapping tables to the buffer memory.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the flash memory controller rearranges the order of the host read commands and generates the release according to the data input/output bus and the logical area corresponding to the host read command. Order of instructions.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the flash memory controller preferentially arranges at least one host read command among the host read commands in the order of the release instructions, wherein the host read command corresponds to The logical block is a logical block-physical block mapping table corresponding to the temporary storage in the buffer memory.

In an embodiment of the invention, the buffer memory is configured as described above Flash memory controller.

Based on the above, the exemplary embodiment of the present invention can greatly shorten the time for executing a plurality of host read commands, thereby effectively improving the performance of the flash memory storage device.

The above described features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description.

1000‧‧‧Host system

1100‧‧‧ computer

1102‧‧‧Microprocessor

1104‧‧‧ Random access memory

1106‧‧‧Input/output devices

1108‧‧‧System Bus

1110‧‧‧Data transmission interface

1202‧‧‧ Mouse

1204‧‧‧ keyboard

1206‧‧‧ display

1208‧‧‧Printer

1212‧‧‧USB flash drive

1214‧‧‧ memory card

1216‧‧‧ Solid State Drive

1310‧‧‧ digital camera

1312‧‧‧SD card

1314‧‧‧MMC card

1316‧‧‧ Memory Stick

1318‧‧‧CF card

1320‧‧‧Embedded storage device

100‧‧‧Flash memory storage device

102‧‧‧Connector

104‧‧‧Flash Memory Controller

106‧‧‧Flash memory chip

122‧‧‧0th flash memory module

122-(0)~122(N), 124(0)~124-(N)‧‧‧ physical blocks

124‧‧‧1st flash memory module

132‧‧‧0th data input/output bus

134‧‧‧1st data input/output bus

202‧‧‧Microprocessor unit

204‧‧‧Memory Management Unit

206‧‧‧Host interface unit

208‧‧‧Flash memory interface unit

210‧‧‧ Buffer memory

250‧‧‧Transfer layer

260-(0), 260-(1)‧‧‧ Logical Block-Physical Block Mapping Table

270‧‧‧ Logical Block-Logical Area Mapping

292‧‧‧Error Correction Unit

294‧‧‧Power Management Unit

302‧‧‧System Area

304‧‧‧Information area

306‧‧‧ spare area

308‧‧‧Substitute area

350-(0)~350-(H)‧‧‧ Logical Block

360-(0)~360-(1)‧‧‧ logical area

CM1‧‧‧1st host read command

CM2‧‧‧2nd host read command

CM3‧‧‧3rd host read command

CM4‧‧‧4th host read command

S601, S603, S605, S607, S609, S611, S613, S615, S617, S619‧‧‧ data reading steps

S901, S903, S905, S907, S909, S911, S913, S915, S917, S919‧‧‧ data reading steps

1A is a diagram showing a host system using a flash memory storage device in accordance with a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of a computer, an input/output device, and a flash memory storage device according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1C is a schematic diagram of a host system and a flash memory storage device according to another exemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1D is a schematic block diagram showing the flash memory storage device of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a flash memory controller according to another exemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3A is a block diagram of a flash memory chip according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram showing the mapping between a logical block and a physical block according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a logical block and an entity according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Schematic diagram of the mapping of blocks.

5A and FIG. 5B are schematic diagrams showing an example of rearranging a host read command by a memory management unit to generate a command sequence according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a method for reading data by a flash memory controller according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

7A, FIG. 7B and FIG. 7C are schematic diagrams showing an example of rearranging a host read command by a memory management unit to generate a command sequence according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

8A, FIG. 8B and FIG. 8C are schematic diagrams showing an example of rearranging a host read command by a memory management unit to generate a command sequence according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a method for reading data by a flash memory controller according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Flash memory storage devices generally include a flash memory chip and controller (also referred to as a control circuit). Typically, the flash memory storage device is used with the host system to enable the host system to write data to or read data from the flash memory storage device. In addition, there are also flash memory storage devices that include embedded flash memory and software executable on the host system to substantially act as a controller for the embedded flash memory.

[First Exemplary Embodiment]

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of a host system using a flash memory storage device according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1A, the host system 1000 includes a computer 1100 and an input/output (I/O) device 1106. The computer 1100 includes a microprocessor 1102, a random access memory (RAM) 1104, a system bus 1108, and a data transmission interface 1110. The input/output device 1106 includes a mouse 1202, a keyboard 1204, a display 1206, and a printer 1208 as shown in FIG. 1B. It must be understood that the device shown in FIG. 1B is not limited to the input/output device 1106, and the input/output device 1106 may further include other devices.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the flash memory storage device 100 is coupled to other components of the host system 1000 through the data transmission interface 1110. The processing host system 1000 of the microprocessor 1102, the random access memory 1104, and the input/output device 1106 can write data to or read data from the flash memory storage device 100. . For example, the flash memory storage device 100 may be a flash drive 1212, a memory card 1214, or a solid state drive (SSD) 1216 as shown in FIG. 1B.

In general, host system 1000 can be substantially any system that can store data. In the exemplary embodiment, the host system 1000 is illustrated by a computer system. However, in another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the host system 1000 may also be a digital camera, a camera, a communication device, an audio player, or a video. Players and other systems. For example, when the host system is a digital camera 1310, the flash memory storage device Then, it is used for the SD card 1312, the MMC card 1314, the memory stick 1316, the CF card 1318, or the embedded storage device 1320 (as shown in FIG. 1C). The embedded storage device 1320 includes an embedded multimedia card (Embedded MMC, eMMC). It is worth mentioning that the embedded multimedia card is directly coupled to the substrate of the host system.

FIG. 1D is a schematic block diagram showing the flash memory storage device 100 shown in FIG. 1A.

Referring to FIG. 1D, the flash memory storage device 100 includes a connector 102, a flash memory controller 104, and a flash memory chip 106.

The connector 102 is coupled to the flash memory controller 104 and is coupled to the host system 1000. In the present exemplary embodiment, the connector 102 is a Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) connector. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and in another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the connector 102 may be other suitable connectors.

The flash memory controller 104 executes a plurality of logic gates or control instructions implemented in a hard type or a firmware type, and writes and reads data in the flash memory chip 106 in accordance with an instruction from the host system 1000. Take and erase and other operations. The flash memory controller 104 includes a microprocessor unit 202, a memory management unit 204, a host interface unit 206, a flash memory interface unit 208, and a buffer memory 210.

The microprocessor unit 202 is a main control unit of the flash memory controller 104, and cooperates with the memory management unit 204, the host interface unit 206, the flash memory interface unit 208, and the buffer memory 210 to perform fast. Flash memory Various operations of the device 100 are stored.

The memory management unit 204 is coupled to the microprocessor unit 202 for performing the data reading mechanism and the block management mechanism according to the exemplary embodiment. The operation of the memory management unit 204 will be described in detail below. .

In the present exemplary embodiment, the memory management unit 204 is implemented in the flash memory controller 104 in a firmware version. For example, the memory management unit 204 including a plurality of control instructions is burned into a program memory (for example, a read only memory (ROM)) and the program memory is embedded in the flash memory control. In the processor 104, when the flash memory storage device 100 operates, a plurality of control commands of the memory management unit 204 are executed by the microprocessor unit 202 to complete the data reading mechanism and the block management according to the embodiment of the present invention. mechanism.

In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the control command of the memory management unit 204 may also be stored in a specific area of the flash memory chip 106 in a coded format (for example, a system dedicated to storing system data in a flash memory chip). District). Similarly, when the flash memory storage device 100 operates, a plurality of control commands of the memory management unit 204 are executed by the microprocessor unit 202. In addition, in another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the memory management unit 204 can also be implemented in the flash memory controller 104 in a hardware format.

The host interface unit 206 is coupled to the microprocessor unit 202 and is configured to receive and identify instructions and materials transmitted by the host system 1000. That is to say, the instructions and data transmitted by the host system 1000 are transmitted to the microprocessor unit 202 through the host interface unit 206. In the present exemplary embodiment, the host interface unit 206 is corresponding. Connector 204 is a SATA interface. However, it must be understood that the present invention is not limited thereto, and the host interface unit 206 may also be other suitable data transmission interfaces.

The flash memory interface unit 208 is coupled to the microprocessor unit 202 and is used to access the flash memory chip 106. That is, the data to be written to the flash memory chip 106 is converted to a format acceptable to the flash memory chip 106 via the flash memory interface unit 208.

The buffer memory 210 is coupled to the microprocessor unit 202 and is used to temporarily store data and instructions from the host system 1000 or data from the flash memory chip 106. It should be noted that, in the exemplary embodiment, the buffer memory 210 is disposed in the flash memory controller 104. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the buffer memory 210 may not be configured in the flash memory control. In the device 104.

In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the flash memory controller may further include other functional modules. FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a flash memory controller according to another exemplary embodiment of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, in addition to the microprocessor unit 202, the memory management unit 204, the host interface unit 206, the flash memory interface unit 208, and the buffer memory 210, the flash memory controller 104' further includes an error. Correction unit 292 and power management unit 294.

The error correction unit 292 is coupled to the microprocessor unit 202 and is configured to perform an error correction procedure to ensure the correctness of the data. Specifically, when the host interface unit 206 receives a host write command from the host system 1000, the error correcting unit 292 generates a corresponding error check for the write data corresponding to the host write command. The Error Checking and Correcting Code (ECC Code) is written, and the memory management unit 204 writes the write data and the corresponding error correction code into the flash memory chip 106. When the host interface unit 206 receives the host read command from the host system 1000, the memory management unit 204 reads the data corresponding to the host read command and the error correction code from the flash memory chip 106. And the error correction unit 292 performs error correction on the read data according to the error correction code.

The power management unit 294 is coupled to the microprocessor unit 202 and is used to control the power of the flash memory storage device 100.

The flash memory chip 106 is coupled to the flash memory controller 104 and is used to store data. The flash memory chip 106 includes a 0th flash memory module 122 and a first flash memory module 124. The 0th flash memory module 122 has physical blocks 122-(0)~122-(N), and the first flash memory module 124 has physical blocks 124-(0)~124-(N) . The physical block is the smallest unit of erasure. That is, each physical block contains one of the smallest number of erased memory cells. Each physical block has several physical pages. In this exemplary embodiment, the physical page is the smallest unit that is stylized. In other words, the physical page is the smallest unit for writing data or reading data. Each physical page typically includes a user data area and a redundant area. The user data area is used to store user data, while the redundant area is used to store system data (eg, error checking and correction codes). In the exemplary embodiment, the 0th flash memory module 122 and the first flash memory module 124 are multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash memory modules. However, the present invention is not limited to this, the 0th flash The memory module 122 and the first flash memory module 124 may also be a single level cell (SLC) NAND flash memory module.

It is worth mentioning that since the memory cells of the flash memory can only be programmed from "1" to "0", the data in the physical block must be erased first when updating the data in the physical block. However, the writing of the flash memory is in units of pages, and the erasing is in units of physical blocks, so in the present exemplary embodiment, the physical blocks store data in a rotating manner.

FIG. 3A is a block diagram of a flash memory chip according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. It must be understood that when describing the operation of the physical block of the flash memory, the operation of the physical block by the words "extract", "swap", "group", "rotate" is a logical concept. That is to say, the actual location of the physical block of the flash memory is not changed, but logically operates on the physical block of the flash memory.

Referring to FIG. 3A, the memory management unit 204 logically groups the physical blocks 122-(0)-122-(N) and the physical blocks 124-(0)-124-(N) into system regions ( A system area 302, a data area 304, a spare area 306, and a replacement area 308.

The physical blocks 122-(0)-122-(S) and the physical blocks 124-(0)-124-(S) logically belonging to the system area 302 are used for recording and providing to the flash memory controller 104. System data, which includes the manufacturer and model of the flash memory chip, the number of regions per flash memory module, the number of physical blocks per region, and the number of physical pages per physical block. Wait. Therefore, in the normal access state, the host System 1000 is unable to access physical blocks in the system area.

The physical blocks 122-(S+1)~~122-(D) and the physical blocks 124-(S+1)~124-(D) logically belonging to the data area 304 are used to store the host system 1000 writes. Information entered. In general, the physical block of data area 304 is the physical block mapped by the logical block accessed by host system 1000. That is to say, the physical block of the data area is a physical block storing valid data.

The physical block 122-(D+1)~~122-(A) and the physical block 124-(D+1)~124-(A) logically belonging to the spare area 306 are used to rotate the data area. The physical block, and thus the physical block in the spare area 306 is empty or usable units, that is, no recorded data or invalid data marked as useless. That is to say, the physical area of the data area 304 and the spare area 306 stores the data written by the host system 1000 to the flash memory storage device 100 in a rotating manner.

The physical blocks 122-(A+1)~122-(N) and the physical blocks 124-(A+1)~124-(N) logically belonging to the replacement area 306 are substitute physical blocks. For example, the flash memory chip 106 will reserve 4% of the physical block for replacement when it leaves the factory. That is, when the physical block in the system area 302, the data area 304, and the spare area 306 is destroyed, the physical block reserved in the replacement area 308 can be used to replace the damaged physical block (ie, the bad physical block). (bad block)). Therefore, if there is still a physical block available in the replacement area 308 and the physical block is damaged, the memory management module 204 extracts the available physical block from the replacement area 308 to replace the damaged physical block. If there is no physical block available in the replacement area 308 and the physical block is damaged, the flash memory storage device 100 will be declared as write protect, and can no longer be used. Write data. Therefore, in the normal access state, the host system 1000 is unable to access the physical block in the replacement area.

It must be understood that in the operation of the flash memory storage device 100, the physical blocks 122-(0)-122-(N) and the physical blocks 124-(0)-124-(N) are grouped into systems. The grouping relationship of the area 302, the data area 304, the spare area 306, and the replacement area 308 dynamically changes. That is, when the memory management unit 204 writes the material to the physical block originally belonging to the spare area 306 (for example, the physical block 122-(D+1)), the physical block is associated as the data area. 304. Alternatively, when the physical block in the data area 304 (or the spare area 306) is damaged and replaced by the physical block of the replaced area 308, then the physical block from the replaced area 308 is associated with the data area 304 ( Or spare area 304).

For example, when the flash memory storage device 100 receives a host write command from the host system 1000 and wants to update (or write) the data to a certain page of a physical block in the data area, the memory management unit 204 Extracting a physical block from the spare area and writing the valid old data in the physical block to be updated and the new data to be written into the page of the physical block extracted from the spare area, and will write The physical blocks in which the valid old data and the new data are logically associated are logically associated with the data area, and the physical blocks in the data area to be updated are erased and logically associated as spare areas.

In order to enable the host system 1000 to smoothly access physical blocks storing data in a rotating manner, the flash memory storage device 100 provides logical blocks to the host system 1000 and records between the logical blocks and the physical blocks. The mapping relationship.

FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram of mapping between a logical block and a physical block according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3B, the flash memory controller 104 configures logic blocks 350-(0)-350-(H) for access to the host system 1000, and provides a translation layer 250 to logical block 350-( 0)~350-(H) is mapped to the physical block 122-(S+1)~122-(D) of the data area 304 of the flash memory chip 106 and the physical block 124-(S+1)~ 124-(D). It must be understood that, as described above, the physical blocks 122-(0)-122-(N) and the physical blocks 124-(0)-124-(N) are grouped into the system area 302, the data area 304, and the standby. The grouping relationship between the area 306 and the replacement area 308 dynamically changes with the operation of the flash memory device 100. Therefore, the logical blocks 350-(0)-350-(H) and the physical block 122-(S+1) The mapping relationship between ~122-(D) and physical block 124-(S+1)~124-(D) also dynamically changes. For example, in the example of the physical block 122-(S+1) of the logical block 350-(0) mapping data area 304, if the host system 1000 wants to update the data in the physical block 122-(S+1) At this time, the memory management unit 204 extracts the physical block 122-(D+1) from the spare area 306 to write the material to the physical block 122-(D+1), and the physical block 122-(D+ 1) Associated with data area 304 and associated physical block 122-(S+1) as spare area 306. At this time, the logical block 350-(0) becomes the entropy physical block 122-(D+1).

In the present exemplary embodiment, the translation layer 250 has a logical block-physical block mapping table to record the physical blocks mapped by the logical blocks. Moreover, the host system 1000 only needs to access data on the provided logical blocks 350-(0)-350-(H), and the flash memory controller 104 will map according to the logical block-physical block mapping table. To actually write and read data in the physical block. For example, each logical block 350-(0)~350-(H) will include multiple logical pages. And each logical page is composed of a plurality of logical sectors, wherein the logical sectors are access units of the host system 1000, so when the host system 1000 accesses data in the logical sectors, the flash memory The body controller 104 can actually access the data in the physical block according to the logical block to which the accessed logical sector belongs.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that the logical block-physical block mapping table is stored in the flash memory chip 106 (eg, in the system area), and during operation of the flash memory storage device 100, logic The block-physical block mapping table is loaded into the buffer memory 210 to enable the memory management unit 204 to read and update the logical block-physical block mapping table. However, under the limited storage space of the buffer memory 210, the buffer memory 210 cannot temporarily store the logical block-physical block mapping table that records the mapping relationship of all logical blocks. Therefore, in the present exemplary embodiment, the memory management unit 204 groups the logical blocks 350-(0)-350-(H) into logical zones 360-(0) and 360-(1), and The logical block-physical block mapping table 260-(0)~260-(1) is configured for the logical regions 360-(0) and 360-(1), respectively. Specifically, among the logical blocks 350-(0)-350-(H), the logical blocks 350-(0)-350-(G) are grouped into logical regions 360-(0) and logical blocks. 350(G+1)~350-(H) will be grouped into logical area 360-(1), where the mapping information of logical blocks 350-(0)~350-(G) will be recorded in the logical block. - The physical block mapping table 260-(0), and the logical block 350 (G+1) ~ 350-(H) mapping information will be recorded in the logical block-physical block mapping table 260-( 1). That is to say, each logical block belongs to one of the logical areas, and the memory management unit 204 records the mapping relationship of the logical blocks separately in the logical block-physical block mapping table of the logical area to which it belongs. in. Based on the host system When the system 1000 wants to access a certain logical block, the memory management unit 204 loads the corresponding logical block-physical block from the flash memory chip 106 according to the logical area to which the logical block to be accessed belongs. The mapping table is buffered to the memory 210, and the data is accessed according to the corresponding logical block-physical block mapping table. Then, when the logical block of another logical area needs to be accessed, the memory management unit 204 restores the currently used logical block-physical block mapping table to the flash memory chip 106 and loads the corresponding Another logical block - physical block mapping table to buffer memory 210. Based on this, the problem that the buffer memory 210 cannot store the mapping relationship of all logical blocks can be avoided. It should be understood that, in the present exemplary embodiment, although the logical block is divided into two logical areas for illustration, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the number of the above logical areas may be any number.

In order to be able to identify the logical region mapped by each logical block, in the present exemplary embodiment, the translation layer 250 includes a logical block-logical region mapping table 270 to record the mapping relationship between the logical block and the logical region. . For example, the logical block-logical area mapping table 270 will be stored in the flash memory chip 106 (eg, in the system area), and when the flash memory storage device 100 is in operation, the memory management unit 204 will The logical block-logical area mapping table 270 is loaded into the buffer memory 210 and loads the corresponding logical block-physical block mapping table in accordance with the logical block-logical area mapping table 270. In addition, the memory management unit 204 restores the logical block-logical area mapping table 270 to the flash memory chip 106 when the flash memory storage device 100 is ready to stop operating. It is worth mentioning that in the present exemplary embodiment, the memory management unit 204 records the logic through the maintenance logic block-logical area mapping table 270. The mapping relationship between the block and the logical area, however, in another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the memory management unit 204 can also determine the logical area to which the logical block belongs by using a mathematical operation, or use a logical block - The physical block mapping table records the logical area to which the logical block belongs.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the 0th data input/output bus 132 is disposed between the 0th flash memory module 122 and the flash memory controller 104, and is in the first flash memory module 124. A first data input/output bus 134 is disposed between the flash memory controller 104 and the flash memory controller 104. That is, the flash memory controller 104 accesses the physical block via the 0th data input/output bus 132. 122-(0)~122-(N), and the physical blocks 124-(0)~124-(N) are accessed via the first data input/output bus 134. In particular, the 0th data input/output bus 132 and the first data input/output bus 134 are independent of each other, so the flash memory controller 104 can simultaneously use the 0th data input/output bus 132 and the first data. The input/output bus 134 accesses the 0th flash memory module 122 and the first flash memory module 124.

For example, in the example where the host system 1000 wants to read the data in the logical block 350-(0) and the current logical block 350-(0) is the mapping entity block 122-(S+1), when the memory When the management unit 204 receives the host read command from the host system 1000, the memory management unit 204 determines that the host read command is the corresponding logical block 350-(0) according to the information in the host read command and according to the logical block. The logical block-physical block mapping table corresponding to the logical region to which 350-(0) belongs (for example, logical block-physical block mapping table 260-0) and the logical block 350-(0) is The physical block 122-(S+1) is mapped. In addition, since the physical block 122-(S+1) belongs to the 0th flash memory module 122, the memory management unit 204 determines that the host read command is corresponding to the 0th data input/output bus 132. That is to say, the memory management unit 204 reads the data to be read by the host read command via the 0th data input/output bus 132.

It is worth mentioning that in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, when the host system 1000 wants to issue a plurality of host read commands, the host system 1000 first transmits instruction sorting information about the host read commands. By sorting the information by the instruction, the memory management unit 204 rearranges the order of the host read instructions according to the logical block corresponding to all the host read instructions and the corresponding data input/output bus to generate the release command. The order is followed, and the generated instructions are sequentially returned to the host system 1000. Thereafter, the host system 1000 transmits the host read commands in accordance with the received order of the issued instructions.

For example, host system 1000 uses Native Command Queuing (NCQ) to transfer instruction ordering information for multiple host read instructions. In an example in which the NCQ protocol is used to transfer instruction ordering information for a plurality of host read instructions, the connector 102 and the host interface unit 206 support the NCQ protocol, and the host system 1000 and the flash memory controller 104 are via The connector 102 and the host interface unit 206 communicate host read commands in an NCQ protocol.

In particular, in the present exemplary embodiment, the memory management unit 204 reads the corresponding two host read commands simultaneously with the first data input/output bus 134 via the 0th data input/output bus 132 and the first data input/output bus 134 in the order of the release command. data of. In the following, a data reading example will be used to explain in detail how the memory management unit 204 is based on There is a data input/output bus corresponding to the host read command to rearrange the order of the host read commands, and simultaneously read the data corresponding to the two host read commands.

In this data reading example, the host system 1000 transmits instruction sequencing information to the flash memory storage device 100, wherein the instruction sequencing information indicates that the host system 1000 is to issue a plurality of host read commands, including the logical region to be read. The first host read command CM1 of the data in block 350-(0), the second host read command CM2 to read the data in the logical block 350-(1), and the logical block 350-( The third host read command CM3 of the data in G+1) and the fourth host read command CM4 of the logical block 350-(G+2) to be read. Here, it is assumed that the logical block 350-(0) is the mapping entity block 122-(S+1), the logical block 350-(1) is the mapping entity block 122-(S+2), the logical area Block 350-(G+1) is the enclosing entity block 124-(S+1) and logical block 350-(G+2) is the enantiomer block 124-(S+2) (as shown in Figure 4) Show).

FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are schematic diagrams showing an example of rearranging a host read command to generate a command sequence according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

When the flash memory controller 104 receives via the connector 102, the first host read command CM1, the second host read command CM2, the third host read command CM3, and the fourth host read command CM4 are sequentially transmitted. When the order information (as shown in FIG. 5A) is sorted, the memory management unit 204 sorts the logical blocks corresponding to the host read instructions and the information recorded in the conversion layer 250 according to the instructions (for example, logic). Block-physical block mapping table) to identify the first host read command CM1 is corresponding to the 0th data input/output bus 132 and the second host read command CM2 It corresponds to the 0th data input/output bus 132, the third host read command CM3 corresponds to the first data input/output bus 134, and the fourth host read command CM4 corresponds to the first data input/output bus 134. In other words, the memory management unit 204 needs to read the data to be read by the first host read command CM1 and the second host read command CM2 via the 0th data input/output bus 132, and needs to pass the first data. The input/output bus 134 reads the data to be read by the third host read command CM3 and the fourth host read command CM4.

As described above, the flash memory controller 104 can simultaneously access the 0th flash memory module 122 and the first fast by using the 0th data input/output bus 132 and the first data input/output bus 134. The flash memory module 124, so that the memory management unit 204 successively arranges the host read commands corresponding to the different data input/output bus bars, thereby synchronously reading data through the plurality of data input/output bus bars. To shorten the time to execute the read command.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5B, in this data reading example, the memory management unit 204 reads the command CM1, the third host read command CM3, the second host read command CM2, and the fourth host by the first host. The order of the instruction CM4 is read to generate the order of the issued instructions, and the generated issued instructions are sequentially transmitted to the host system 1000, wherein the data corresponding to the first host read command CM1 and the third host read command CM3 can be flashed from the flash The memory chip 106 is synchronously read, and the data corresponding to the second host read command CM2 and the fourth host read command CM4 can be read synchronously from the flash memory chip 106.

After that, when the host system 1000 receives the order of the release instructions, the host The system 1000 first releases the first host read command CM1, and the memory management unit 204 starts processing the first host read command CM1 to pass the 0th data input/output bus according to the corresponding logical block 350-(0). 132 reads the data from the physical block 122-(S+1). In particular, while the first host read command CM1 is being processed, the memory management unit 204 reads the data to be read by the third host read command CM3 via the first data input/output bus 134 (ie, storage). The data in the physical block 124-(S+1) corresponding to the logical block 350-(G+1). More specifically, although the host system 1000 only issues the first host read command CM1, the memory management unit 204 knows that the next command is the third host read command CM3 and the first data input/output according to the release command sequence. Since the bus bar 134 is in an idle state, the memory management unit 204 synchronously reads the data corresponding to the third host read command CM3 while processing the first host read command CM1.

After that, when the memory management unit 204 transmits the data corresponding to the first host read command CM1 to the host system 1000, the host system 1000 issues the next instruction (ie, the third host read command CM3), at this time, the memory The management unit 204 directly transfers the data corresponding to the third host read command CM3 to the host system 1000 without having to read the data from the flash memory chip 106.

Next, after the host system 1000 receives the data corresponding to the third host read command CM3, the host system 1000 issues the next command (ie, the second host read command CM2), and the memory management unit 204 starts processing. The host reads the command CM2 to read the data from the physical block 122-(S+2) via the 0th data input/output bus 132 according to the corresponding logical block 350-(1). Similarly, everywhere While the second host reads the command CM2, the memory management unit 204 reads the data to be read by the fourth host read command CM4 via the first data input/output bus 134 (ie, is stored in the logical area). Block 350 - (G + 2) corresponds to the physical block 124 - (S + 2) data).

After that, when the memory management unit 204 transmits the data corresponding to the second host read command CM2 to the host system 1000, the host system 1000 issues the next instruction (ie, the fourth host read command CM4), at this time, the memory The management unit 204 directly transfers the data corresponding to the fourth host read command CM4 to the host system 1000 without having to read data from the flash memory chip 106.

In this example, the memory management unit 204 rearranges the transfer order of the host read command, and simultaneously reads the data corresponding to the third host read command CM3 and executes the first time when the first host read command CM1 is executed. When the host reads the command CM2, the data corresponding to the fourth host read command CM4 is read in advance. For example, the memory management unit 204 pre-reads the corresponding second when processing the first (ie, current) host read command (eg, the first host read command CM1 and the second host read command CM2) (ie, Subsequent) the host reads the instruction data (for example, the third host read command CM3 and the fourth host read command CM4) and temporarily stores the pre-read data in the buffer memory 210. Thereafter, when the second host read command is received, the corresponding data is directly transferred from the buffer memory 210 to the host system 1000, whereby the time for executing the host read command can be greatly shortened.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a method for reading data by a flash memory controller according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, first, in step S601, the flash memory controller 104 receives instruction sequencing information about the plurality of host read commands to be transmitted from the host system 1000. Next, in step S603, the flash memory controller 104 determines the data input/output bus corresponding to each host read command according to the logical block corresponding to each host read command. Specifically, in step S601, the flash memory controller 104 receives the instruction sorting information from the host system 1000 using the NCQ protocol to learn the instruction ordering data of the plurality of host read commands that the host system 1000 wants to transmit. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited thereto. In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the flash memory controller 104 may also receive, from the host system 1000, a plurality of hosts to be transmitted, using other suitable manners. Read the instruction ordering information of the instruction.

In step S605, the flash memory controller 104 generates a release instruction sequence according to the data input/output bus corresponding to each host read instruction, and sequentially transmits the generated release instructions to the host system in step S607. 1000.

Thereafter, in step S609, the flash memory controller 104 receives the host read command from the host system 1000 according to the order of the release command, and determines in step S611 whether the data corresponding to the received host read command has been temporarily stored. In the buffer memory 210.

If the data corresponding to the received host read command has been temporarily stored in the buffer memory 210, the data corresponding to the host read command is transferred from the buffer memory 210 to the host system 1000 in step S613, and Step S615 determines whether all host read commands to be issued by the host system 1000 have been executed. If executed When all the hosts read the instruction, the flow of FIG. 6 is ended; otherwise, step S609 is executed to continue receiving the next host read command.

If the data corresponding to the received host read command is not temporarily stored in the buffer memory 210, the data corresponding to the host read command is read from the flash memory chip 106 in step S617 and according to the release command. The data corresponding to the read command of other hosts is simultaneously read in sequence. Specifically, in step S617, the flash memory controller 104 pre-reads the data corresponding to the second host read command according to the order of the next command when processing the first host read command, wherein the second host The data input/output busbar to which the read command is directed is different from the data input/output busbar corresponding to the first host read command. That is, the flash memory controller 104 uses the other idle data input/output buss to read the data corresponding to the second host read command in advance while processing the first host read command.

In step S619, the data corresponding to the first host read command is transmitted to the host system 1000 and the pre-read data is temporarily stored in the buffer memory 210. Next, the flash memory controller 104 performs step S615.

[Second exemplary embodiment]

The flash memory storage device and the host system of the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention are essentially the same as the flash memory storage device and the host system of the first exemplary embodiment, wherein the difference lies in the memory management of the second exemplary embodiment. The unit will rearrange the order in which the host system wants to transmit the host read instructions in a different manner. The second exemplary embodiment will be described below in conjunction with FIGS. 1A, 1D, 3A, 3B, and 4 of the first exemplary embodiment.

In the first exemplary embodiment, the memory management unit 204 of the flash memory controller 104 receives the instruction sorting information about the host read command from the host system 1000 and inputs/outputs according to the data corresponding to the host read command. The bus is arranged to generate the order of the instructions, thereby shortening the time for executing the host read command by synchronously reading the data of the second host read command through the plurality of data input/output buss. In addition to the data input/output bus corresponding to the host read command to generate the command sequence, in the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the memory management unit 204 further depends on the logical block corresponding to the host read command. The associated logical area is used to generate the order of the instructions to further shorten the time for executing the host read command.

Specifically, as described above, the logical blocks 350-(0)-350-(H) are grouped into logical regions 360-(0) and logical regions 360-(1), and the memory management unit 204 Each logical area is configured with a separate logical block-physical block mapping table. Therefore, when the host system 1000 accesses the logical blocks belonging to different logical regions, the memory management unit 204 needs to load the corresponding logical block-physical block mapping table from the flash memory chip 106, so if When executing multiple host read commands, it is possible to reduce the switching between different logical block-physical block mapping tables, which will effectively shorten the time for executing host read instructions.

In the following, a data reading example will be used to explain in detail how the memory management unit 204 according to the second exemplary embodiment, according to the logic blocks corresponding to all the host read instructions, the corresponding data input/output bus and the corresponding The logical area is to rearrange the order of the host read instructions, and simultaneously read the data corresponding to the two host read instructions.

In this data reading example, the host system 1000 transmits instruction sequencing information to the flash memory storage device 100, wherein the instruction sequencing information indicates that the host system 1000 is to issue a plurality of host read commands, including the logical region to be read. The first host read command CM1 of the data in block 350-(0), the second host read command CM2 to read the data in the logical block 350-(1), and the logical block 350-( The third host read command CM3 of the data in G+1) and the fourth host read command CM4 of the logical block 350-(G+2) to be read. Here, it is assumed that the logical block 350-(0) is the mapping entity block 122-(S+1), the logical block 350-(1) is the mapping entity block 122-(S+2), the logical area Block 350-(G+1) is the entropy entity block 124-(S+1) and logical block 350-(G+2) is the entropy entity block 124-(S+2), where the logical block 350-(0) and logical block 350-(1) belong to logical region 360-(0) and logical block 350-(G+1) and logical block 350-(G+2) belong to logical region 360 - (1) (as shown in Figure 4). Furthermore, it is assumed that the logical block-physical block mapping table currently loaded in the buffer memory 210 is the logical block-physical block mapping table 260-(1) corresponding to the logical area 360-(1).

7A, FIG. 7B and FIG. 7C are schematic diagrams showing an example of rearranging a host read command to generate a command sequence according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

When the flash memory controller 104 receives the first host read command CM1, the second host read command CM2, the third host read command CM3, and the fourth host read command CM4 (as shown in FIG. 7A). When the instruction sorts the information, the memory management unit 204 sorts the logical blocks corresponding to the host read instructions and the information recorded in the conversion layer 250 according to the instructions (for example, the logical block-physical area) Block mapping table) to identify that the first host read command CM1 is corresponding to the 0th data input/output bus bar 132, the second host read command CM2 is corresponding to the 0th data input/output bus bar 132, and the third host reads The command CM3 corresponds to the first data input/output bus 134 and the fourth host read command CM4 corresponds to the first data input/output bus 134. In other words, the memory management unit 204 needs to read the data to be read by the first host read command CM1 and the second host read command CM2 via the 0th data input/output bus 132, and needs to pass the first data. The input/output bus 134 reads the data to be read by the third host read command CM3 and the fourth host read command CM4.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7B, the memory management unit 204 first reads the command CM1, the third host read command CM3, and the second host read according to the data input/output bus corresponding to the host read command. The command CM2 and the fourth host read command CM4 are arranged to arrange the host read command to be sent by the host system 1000, wherein the data corresponding to the first host read command CM1 and the third host read command CM3 can be flashed from the flash. The memory chip 106 is synchronously read, and the data corresponding to the second host read command CM2 and the fourth host read command CM4 can be read synchronously from the flash memory chip 106.

Then, the memory management unit 204 adjusts the expected instruction sequence according to the logical block-physical block mapping table currently stored in the buffer memory. For example, the logical block-physical block mapping table currently stored in the buffer memory is a logical block-physical block mapping table 260-(1) corresponding to the logical area 360-(1), and thus 1 host read command CM1 and 3rd host read command CM3 memory The volume management unit 204 preferentially processes the third host read command CM3 corresponding to the logical region 360-(1), and processes the first host read command CM1. Thereafter, when the first host read command CM1 is processed, the logical block-physical block mapping table 260-(1) loaded in the buffer memory is switched to the corresponding logical region 360-(0). The logical block-physical block mapping table 260-(0), therefore, after processing the first host read command CM1, the memory management unit 204 preferentially processes the corresponding logic compared to the fourth host read command CM4 The second host of the area 360-(0) reads the command CM2. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 7C, the memory management unit 204 sequentially reads the command CM3, the first host read command CM1, the second host read command CM2, and the fourth host read command CM4. The order of the issued instructions is generated, and the generated issued instructions are sequentially transmitted to the host system 1000.

Thereafter, when the host system 1000 receives the order of the release command, the host system 1000 first sends the third host read command CM3, and the memory management unit 204 starts processing the third host read command CM3 to be based on the corresponding logical region. Block 350-(G+1) reads data from physical block 124-(S+1) via first data input/output bus 134. Further, while the third host read command CM3 is being processed, the memory management unit 204 reads the data to be read by the first host read command CM1 via the 0th data input/output bus 132 (ie, storage). The data in the physical block 122-(S+1) corresponding to the logical block 350-(0). During that, the memory management unit 204 first acquires the relevant mapping information according to the logical block-physical block mapping table 260-(1) that has been loaded into the buffer memory 210, and then closes the logical block-physical area. Block mapping table 260-(1) and loading logical block-physical block mapping table 260-(0) Take the relevant mapping information.

After that, when the memory management unit 204 transmits the data corresponding to the third host read command CM3 to the host system 1000, the host system 1000 issues the next instruction (ie, the first host read command CM1), at this time, the memory The management unit 204 directly transfers the data corresponding to the first host read command CM1 from the buffer memory 210 to the host system 1000 without having to read the data from the flash memory chip 106.

After the host system 1000 receives the data of the first host read command CM1, the host system 1000 transmits the next command (ie, the second host read command CM2), and the memory management unit 204 starts processing the second host read. The instruction CM2 fetches data from the physical block 122-(S+2) via the 0th data input/output bus 132 according to the corresponding logical block 350-(1). Similarly, while the second host read command CM2 is being processed, the memory management unit 204 reads the data to be read by the corresponding fourth host read command CM4 via the first data input/output bus 134 (ie, Stored in the physical block 124-(S+2) corresponding to the logical block 350-(G+2). During this period, the memory management unit 204 first acquires the relevant mapping information according to the logical block-physical block mapping table 260-(0) already loaded in the buffer memory 210, and then closes the logical block-physical area. The block mapping table 260-(0) is loaded with the logical block-physical block mapping table 260-(1) to obtain the relevant mapping information.

After that, when the memory management unit 204 transmits the data corresponding to the second host read command CM2 to the host system 1000, the host system 1000 issues the next instruction (ie, the fourth host read command CM4), at this time, the memory Management unit 204 The data corresponding to the fourth host read command CM4 is immediately transferred to the host system 1000.

It is to be noted that, in the above data reading example, the logical blocks corresponding to the same data input/output bus bar belong to the same logical area, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and in another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, corresponding The logical blocks of different data input/output busbars may also belong to the same logical area. For example, in logical block 350-(0) and logical block 350-(G+1) belong to logical area 360-(0) and logical block 350-(1) and logical block 350-(G+2 In another exemplary embodiment belonging to the logical area 360-(1), it is assumed that in the above data reading example, the memory management unit 204 firstly connects the host system 1000 according to the data input/output bus corresponding to the host read command. The order of the plurality of host read commands transmitted (as shown in FIG. 8A) is the first host read command CM1, the third host read command CM3, the second host read command CM2, and the fourth host read command CM4. After the order (as shown in FIG. 8B) is arranged, since the logical block-physical block mapping table currently loaded in the buffer memory is a logical block-physical block corresponding to the logical area 360-(1) The mapping table 260-(1), therefore, the memory management unit 204 expects to preferentially process the second host read command CM2 or the fourth host read command CM4 of the corresponding logical region 360-(1). Accordingly, the data corresponding to the first host read command CM1 and the third host read command CM3 can be synchronously read from the flash memory chip 106, and the second host read command CM2 and the fourth host are correspondingly read. When the data of the read command CM4 can be read synchronously from the flash memory chip 106, for example, the memory management unit 204 reads the command CM2, the fourth host read command CM4, and the second host. 1 host read command CM1 and third host read The order of the instructions CM3 (as shown in Figure 8C) is used to generate the order of the instructions. Based on this, the memory management unit 204 only needs to close the logical block-physical block mapping table 260-(1) and the load logical block-physical block mapping table 260 when processing the first host read command CM1. - (0) to get the relevant mapping information.

Based on the above, in the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the memory management unit 204 generates the order of the instruction according to the logical region corresponding to each host read instruction, thereby reducing the switching logical block-physical block mapping. The number of times the table is used, and the time to execute the host read command is shortened.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a method for reading data by a flash memory controller according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, steps S901, S903, S907, S909, S911, S913, S915, S917, and S919 in FIG. 9 are the same as steps S601, S603, S607, S609, S611, S613, S615, and S617 in FIG. With S619, the description will not be repeated here. The difference between FIG. 9 and FIG. 6 is that the flash memory controller 104 generates a command sequence according to the data input/output bus bar corresponding to each host read command and the corresponding logical region (S905).

It should be noted that although the above exemplary embodiment is described by two flash memory modules and two data input/output bus bars, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the flash memory module and data input are not limited thereto. The number of /output bus bars can be any number.

In summary, the data reading method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention receives the instruction sorting information about the host read instruction and the read command according to the host. The data input/output sinks are arranged to rearrange the transfer order of the plurality of host read commands, and the data of the different host read commands corresponding to the pre-read are synchronously read via the plurality of data input/output bus bars, thereby The time to execute the host read command can be greatly shortened. In addition, in another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, in addition to the data input/output sink corresponding to the host read instruction, the data reading method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is further based on the logic corresponding to the host read instruction. The area rearranges the order in which the plurality of host read instructions are transmitted, thereby reducing the number of times the logical block-physical block mapping table is switched, thereby further reducing the time for executing the host read command.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art can make some modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

S601, S603, S605, S607, S609, S611, S613, S615, S617, S619‧‧‧ data reading steps

Claims (20)

A data reading method for processing a plurality of host read commands from a host system by a flash memory controller to read corresponding host read commands from a plurality of flash memory modules Data, wherein the flash memory controller is coupled to the flash memory modules via a plurality of data input/output busses, and each of the flash memory modules has a plurality of physical blocks. The data reading method includes: receiving an instruction ordering of the host read commands from the host system by using a serial advanced technology attachment (SATA) Native Command Queuing (NCQ) protocol. Information, wherein each of the host read instructions corresponds to one of a plurality of logical sectors and one of the logical sectors corresponds to one of the data input/output bus banks; Retrieving the order of the host read commands and generating the following instructions by fetching the data input/output buss and the non-data input/output bus conditions corresponding to the instructions Processing the host read commands according to the order of the instructions to read data corresponding to the host read commands from the flash memory modules; and after receiving an idle signal from the host system The sequence of advanced attachment native instruction sequencing protocols transmits information to one of the host read instructions of the host read instructions to the host system. The method for reading data according to item 1 of the patent application, wherein The step of sequentially processing the host read commands to read the data corresponding to the host read commands from the flash memory modules includes: flashing the flashes via the data input/output buses Reading, in the memory module, data corresponding to a first host read command among the read commands and at least one second host read command among the host read commands, wherein the The first host read command and the at least one second host read command are different data input/output bus bars corresponding to the data input/output bus bars, and after receiving the idle signal from the host system The step of transmitting, by the sequence of the advanced accessory native instruction sorting protocol, the information corresponding to one of the host read instructions to the host system includes: transmitting data corresponding to the first host read command to the host system; corresponding to at least one The data of the second host read command is temporarily stored in a buffer memory of the flash memory controller; and the data corresponding to the read command of the first host is transmitted. After the host system, a second host will be read from the buffer memory at least the instruction information transmitted to the host system. A data reading method for processing a plurality of host read commands from a host system using a flash memory controller to read corresponding host read commands from a plurality of flash memory modules Data, wherein the flash memory controller is coupled to the flash memory modules via a plurality of data input/output busses, and each of the flash memory modules has a plurality of physical blocks. The data reading method includes: Receiving, from the host system, an instruction ordering information about the host read instructions, wherein each of the host read instructions corresponds to one of a plurality of logical sectors and one of the logical sectors corresponds to One of the data input/output buss; and synchronously reading the host corresponding to the different data input/output buss from at least two of the flash memory modules Reading the data of the instruction, wherein the host read commands corresponding to the different data input/output buss are synchronously from the at least two flash memory modules in the order sorting information When reading data, it is arranged adjacently. The data reading method of claim 3, wherein the step of receiving the instruction sorting information about the host read commands from the host system comprises: sorting a protocol from the host system by using a native instruction Receiving the instruction sorting information about the host read commands. The data reading method of claim 3, wherein the corresponding data input/output sinks are synchronously read from at least two flash memory modules of the flash memory modules. The step of reading the data of the command by the host of the row includes: synchronously reading the host readings corresponding to the different data input/output busbars from the flash memory modules via the data input/output busbars a first host read command data of the instruction and at least one second host read command data of the host read command corresponding to the different data input/output bus, The first host read command and the at least one second host read command are different data input/output bus bars corresponding to the data input/output bus bars; and the data corresponding to the first host read command is Transmitting to the host system; temporarily storing data corresponding to at least one second host read command in a buffer memory of the flash memory controller; and transmitting data corresponding to the first host read command After the host system is sent, data corresponding to at least one second host read command is transmitted from the buffer memory to the host system. The method for reading data according to claim 5, further comprising: grouping the logical sectors into a plurality of logical regions, and configuring a logical-entity mapping table for each of the logical regions, wherein each One of the logical sectors corresponds to one of the logical-entity mapping tables; and one of the logical-entity mapping tables is loaded into the buffer memory. The data reading method of claim 6, further comprising: rearranging the host read commands according to the data input/output buss corresponding to the host read commands and the logic regions. . The data reading method of claim 7, wherein the order of the host read commands is rearranged according to the data input/output bus bars corresponding to the host read commands and the logic regions. The step of: prioritizing at least one of the host read commands in the order of the release instructions, wherein the logical sector corresponding to the at least one host read command is correspondingly loaded in the buffer A logical-entity mapping table in memory. A flash memory controller for processing a plurality of host read commands from a host system to read data corresponding to the host read commands from a plurality of flash memory modules, each of which The flash memory module has a plurality of physical blocks, the flash memory controller includes: a microprocessor unit; a flash memory interface unit coupled to the microprocessor unit for a data input/output bus is coupled to the flash memory modules; a host interface unit coupled to the microprocessor unit for connecting to the host system; and a memory management unit coupled to The microprocessor unit, wherein the memory management unit receives an instruction ordering information about the host read commands from the host system, wherein each of the host read instructions corresponds to one of a plurality of logical sectors And one of the logical sectors corresponds to one of the data input/output buss, wherein the memory management unit synchronously synchronizes at least two of the flash memory modules from the flash memory modules body The group reads the data of the host read command corresponding to different data input/output busbars, wherein the host read commands corresponding to the different data input/output busbars are originally non-contiguous in the order sorting information. When the data is synchronously read from the at least two flash memory modules, they are adjacently arranged. The flash memory controller of claim 9, wherein the host interface unit supports a native instruction ordering protocol. The flash memory controller of claim 9, further comprising a buffer memory coupled to the microprocessor unit, wherein the memory management unit passes the data input/output bus from the The flash memory module synchronously reads the data of a first host read command among the host read commands corresponding to the different data input/output bus bars and the corresponding different data input/output At least one second host read command data of the bus read command of the bus, wherein the first host read command and the at least one second host read command are corresponding to the data input/output bus a different data input/output bus, wherein the memory management unit transmits data corresponding to the first host read command to the host system, wherein the memory management unit will correspond to at least one second host read command The data is temporarily stored in the buffer memory of the flash memory controller, wherein the memory tube is transmitted to the host system after the data corresponding to the first host read command is transmitted A second master unit will be read from the buffer memory at least the instruction information transmitted to the host system. The flash memory controller of claim 11, wherein the memory management unit groups the logical sectors into a plurality of logical regions, and configures a logical-entity pair for each of the logical regions. a mapping table, wherein each of the logical sectors corresponds to one of the logical-entity mapping tables, wherein the memory management unit loads the logical-entity mapping table One to the buffer memory. The flash memory controller of claim 12, wherein the memory management unit rearranges the data input/output bus and the logical regions corresponding to the host read commands. These hosts read the instructions. The flash memory controller of claim 13, wherein the memory management unit preferentially arranges at least one of the host read commands in the order of the command, wherein the at least one The logical sector corresponding to a host read command is a logical-entity mapping table corresponding to the buffer memory. A flash memory storage system includes: a flash memory chip having a plurality of flash memory modules, and each of the flash memory modules has a plurality of physical blocks; a flash memory The controller is coupled to the flash memory modules via a plurality of data input/output busses; and a connector coupled to the flash memory controller and coupled to a host system, wherein the The flash memory controller receives, via the connector, an instruction sequencing information about the plurality of host read instructions from the host system, wherein one of the host read instructions corresponds to one of the plurality of logical sectors And one of the logical sectors corresponds to one of the data input/output buss, wherein the flash memory controller is synchronously synchronized from at least two of the flash memory modules The flash memory module reads data of a host read command corresponding to different data input/output bus bars, wherein the host read commands corresponding to different data input/output bus bars are original in the order sorting information Do not Adjacent and adjacent Steps are arranged adjacent to each other when reading data from the at least two flash memory modules. The flash memory storage system of claim 15, wherein the connector supports a native instruction sorting protocol. The flash memory storage system of claim 15 further comprising a buffer memory, wherein the flash memory controller receives the flash memory modules from the flash memory modules via the data input/output bus Reading, in synchronization, a data of a first host read command among the host read commands corresponding to the different data input/output bus rows and a host read command corresponding to the different data input/output bus bars At least one of the second host reads the data of the instruction, wherein the first host read command and the at least one second host read command are different data input/output corresponding to the data input/output bus a bus, wherein the flash memory controller transmits data corresponding to the first host read command to the host system, wherein the flash memory controller temporarily stores data corresponding to at least one second host read command Stored in the buffer memory, wherein after the data corresponding to the first host read command is transmitted to the host system, the flash memory controller will correspond to the buffer memory The data of the second host read command is transmitted to the host system. The flash memory storage system of claim 17, wherein the flash memory controller groups the logical sectors into a plurality of logical regions, and configures a logic for each of the logical regions - Entity mapping table, Each of the logical sectors corresponds to one of the logical-entity mapping tables, wherein the flash memory controller loads one of the logical-entity mapping tables into the buffer memory. The flash memory storage system of claim 18, wherein the flash memory controller is re-in accordance with the data input/output bus bars corresponding to the host read commands and the logic regions. Arrange the host read instructions. The flash memory storage system of claim 19, wherein the flash memory controller preferentially arranges at least one of the host read commands in the order of the command, wherein The logical sector corresponding to the at least one host read command is a logical-entity mapping table corresponding to being loaded in the buffer memory.