Marvell International Limited

Lim Hudiono

Stanley K Cheong

Paul B Ricci

Daniel R Pinvidic

Theodore Curt White

William W Dennin, Iii

Chau Tran

A controller and a method for interfacing between a host and storage medium. A storage medium interface includes CH0 circuitry for performing a CH0 process to access a buffer memory on behalf of the storage medium. A host interface includes CH1 circuitry for performing a CH1 process to access the buffer memory on behalf of the host. Access to the buffer memory is arbitrated in sequential tenures to each channel of the multi-channel bus within a maximum arbitration round trip time defined by the time taken by the storage medium to move a distance corresponding to N sectors in which N is greater than one. In the CH0 tenure, the CH0 process transfers data corresponding to N sectors of the storage medium in a multi-sector burst. The length of the tenure of the CH0 channel is pre-designated so that the multi-sector burst is completed within the CH0 tenure.

Method and apparatus for efficiently transferring data in bursts from a storage device to a host

A disk controller for a hard disk drive includes a disk formatter interfaced via an NRZ bus to a read channel for the disk. The disk formatter includes an LFSR accumulator coupled to the NRZ bus, as well as an LSFR generator that generates synthetic test data for the disk formatter. Under control of a test flag which signifies a test mode, the LSFR generator generates synthetic test data, which is used by the disk formatter to drive the NRZ bus. The LSFR accumulator accumulates data on the NRZ bus, together with data on servo information and sector information. An interface is provided through which the accumulated information is provided to test equipment, for offline analysis of the accumulated information, so as to confirm proper operation of the disk subsystem and/or to detect failures therein.

Method and system for testing a controller of a hard disk drive

Accumulator for non-return to zero (NRZ) linear feedback shift register (LFSR) in controller for disk drive

Controller for storage device with improved burst efficiency

A control module for a rotating storage medium. The control module includes: a memory, a buffer control module, and a disk formatter module. The memory is configured to store a data wedge format table including a plurality of entries. The buffer control module is configured to maintain a queue, wherein each of a plurality of entries of the queue is based on a corresponding one of the plurality of entries of the data wedge format table, and wherein each of the plurality of entries of the queue includes a servo number. The disk formatter module is configured to compare the servo numbers of the plurality of entries of the queue to present servo information, wherein the present servo information is based on a present position of a read/write device in relation to the rotating storage medium.

Data wedge format table synchronization

A disk formatter (DF) for a rotating storage medium includes a target sector identification module that determines a block of target sectors of the rotating storage medium based on a read/write command signal. A current sector identification module determines a current sector of a read/write head. A DF control module begins a read/write operation at a command start sector that is different than a first sector of the block of target sectors. The command start sector is located within the block of target sectors.

Fast disk start system

A control module for a rotating storage medium includes a data wedge format table (DWFT). The control module also includes a buffer control module that has a DWFT queue that includes X entries from the DWFT and one of X first servo information for each of the X entries. X is a positive integer. A disk formatter module that compares the one of X first servo information with second servo information that is based on a current position of a read/write device in relation to the rotating storage medium.

A controller and a method for interfacing with a storage medium. Access to a buffer memory via a multi-channel bus is arbitrated. DWFT (Data Wedge Format Table) entries stored in the buffer memory are read and cached in a DWFT cache memory. Data is transferred to and from the storage medium through a storage medium interface. The storage medium interface accesses the sectors of the storage medium based on their physical locations, as defined by the cached DWFT entries. The multi-channel bus includes a DWFT channel to which DWFT cache circuitry is connected. In a DWFT tenure, the DWFT cache circuitry reads the DWFT entries stored in the buffer memory, and caches the DWFT entries in the DWFT cache memory.

Controller for hard disk drive having DWFT (data wedge format table) cache with high-priority initial cache fill

A disk channel includes disk channel modules that process data for a read/write operation on a rotating medium. A memory is accessible to the disk channel modules and comprises a sector request queue that has status information that is associated with each of the disk channel modules. A control module is in communication with and manages data transfer through the disk channel modules based on the sector request queue.

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Laguna Niguel, CA, United States of America

Lim Hudiono