Method and system of managing virtualized physical memory in a memory controller and processor system
US6907494B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 10, 2002 |
| Grant date | Jun 14, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 6, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F2212/657
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A processor contains a move engine and a memory controller contains a mapping engine that, together, transparently reconfigure physical memory to accomplish addition, subtraction, or replacement of a memory module. A mapping engine register stores current and new real addresses that enable the engines to virtualize the physical address of the memory module being reconfigured and provide the reconfiguration in real-time through the use of hardware functionality and not software. Using the current and new real addresses to select a source and a target, the move engine copies the contents of the memory module to be removed or reconfigured into the remaining or inserted memory modules. Then, the real address associated with the reconfigured memory module is re-assigned to the memory module receiving the copied contents, thereby creating a virtualized physical mapping from the addressable real address space being utilized by the operating system into a virtual physical address space. During the process of moving the memory contents, the mapping engine responds to Write memory requests addressed to either the current or new real address space. As will be appreciated, a memory module can …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.