IP Library › Granted Patent US 11,221,776
Granted Patent B2
US 11,221,776 · App. 16/730,919 · Granted Jan 11, 2022

Metadata indication for a memory device

Inventors: Mark Ish (San Ramon, CA); Yiran Liu (Boise, ID); Tom V. Geukens (Longmont, CO)
Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
G06F3/064G06F3/0619G06F3/0652G06F3/0653G06F3/0659G06F3/0673G06F11/1004G06F12/1009G06F2212/1032
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,221,776
App. No.
16/730,919
Granted
Jan 11, 2022
Kind
B2
Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for metadata indication are described herein. A method includes receiving, from a host system, a read command to retrieve information from a first block of a memory device, identifying a transfer unit associated with the first block indicated in the read command, identifying an indicator in metadata of the identified transfer unit indicating that at least one sector of the transfer unit has been altered based at least in part on identifying the transfer unit, validating data of the transfer unit stored in the memory device based at least in part on identifying the indicator in the metadata, and retrieving the information stored in the first block based at least in part on validating the data of the transfer unit.

Claims (64)

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, from a host system, a read command to retrieve information from a first block of a memory device;

identifying a transfer unit associated with the first block indicated in the read command;

identifying whether an indicator is included in metadata of the identified transfer unit indicating that at least one sector of the transfer unit has been altered based at least in part on identifying the transfer unit;

validating data of the transfer unit stored in the memory device based at least in part on identifying whether the indicator is included in the metadata; and

retrieving the information stored in the first block based at least in part on validating the data of the transfer unit, wherein retrieving the information stored in the first block is performed without validating the metadata of the transfer unit based at least in part on determining that the indicator is not included in the metadata.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

altering information stored in at least one block of the transfer unit; and

setting the indicator of the metadata of the transfer unit based at least in part on altering the information stored in the at least one block of the transfer unit, wherein identifying the whether the indicator is included in the metadata is based at least in part on setting the indicator.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

receiving, from the host system, a write command to store or delete the information of a second block of the transfer unit, wherein altering the information is based at least in part on receiving the write command.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein altering the information the information stored in the at least one block of the transfer unit comprises:

deleting the information in the at least one block of the transfer unit.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

identifying a logical block address of the first block based at least in part on receiving the read command, wherein identifying the transfer unit is based at least in part on identifying the logical block address.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

reading metadata of the transfer unit stored by the memory device, wherein validating the data of the transfer unit is based at least in part on reading the metadata.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

transmitting, to the host system, the information stored in the first block based at least in part on retrieving the information.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indicator comprises a single bit of the metadata stored by the memory device.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the transfer unit comprises a page of memory; and

the first block comprises less memory than the page of memory.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the metadata is stored in a logical-to-physical table configured for performing one or more parity checks.

11. A method, comprising:

receiving, from a host system, a read command to retrieve information from a first block of a memory device;

identifying a transfer unit associated with the first block indicated in the read command;

identifying an indicator in metadata of the identified transfer unit indicating that at least one sector of the transfer unit has been altered based at least in part on identifying the transfer unit;

comparing the metadata of the transfer unit stored by the memory device with second metadata associated with the transfer unit identified based at least in part on the read command, wherein identifying the indicator is based at least in part on comparing the metadata with the second metadata;

validating data of the transfer unit stored in the memory device based at least in part on identifying the indicator in the metadata; and

retrieving the information stored in the first block based at least in part on validating the data of the transfer unit.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

indicating, by hardware to firmware, that a mismatch exists between the metadata and the second metadata, wherein comparing the metadata with the second metadata is performed by the hardware.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

identifying a logic value of a bit of the metadata based at least in part on the hardware indicating that the mismatch exists, wherein identifying the indicator is based at least in part on identifying the logic value of the bit.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein comparing the metadata with the second metadata is performed as part of a parity check.

15. A system, comprising:

a plurality of memory components; and

a processing device, operatively coupled with the plurality of memory components, to:

receive, from a host system, a read command to retrieve information from a first block of a memory device;

identify a transfer unit associated with the first block indicated in the read command;

identify whether an indicator is included in metadata of the identified transfer unit indicating that at least one sector of the transfer unit has been altered based at least in part on identifying the transfer unit;

validate data of the transfer unit stored in the memory device based at least in part on identifying whether the indicator is included in the metadata; and

retrieve the information stored in the first block based at least in part on validating the data of the transfer unit, wherein retrieving the information stored in the first block is performed without validating the metadata of the transfer unit based at least in part on determining that the indicator is not included in the metadata.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the processing device is to:

alter information stored in at least one block of the transfer unit; and

set the indicator of the metadata of the transfer unit based at least in part on altering the information stored in the at least one block of the transfer unit, wherein identifying whether the indicator is included in the metadata is based at least in part on setting the indicator.

17. The system of claim 15 , wherein the processing device is to:

identify a logical block address of the first block based at least in part on receiving the read command, wherein identifying the transfer unit is based at least in part on identifying the logical block address.

18. A system, comprising:

a plurality of memory components; and

a processing device, operatively coupled with the plurality of memory components, to:

receive, from a host system, a read command to retrieve information from a first block of a memory device;

identify a transfer unit associated with the first block indicated in the read command;

identify an indicator in metadata of the identified transfer unit indicating that at least one sector of the transfer unit has been altered based at least in part on identifying the transfer unit;

compare the metadata of the transfer unit stored by the memory device with second metadata associated with the transfer unit identified based at least in part on the read command, wherein identifying the indicator is based at least in part on comparing the metadata with the second metadata;

validate data of the transfer unit stored in the memory device based at least in part on identifying the indicator in the metadata; and

retrieve the information stored in the first block based at least in part on validating the data of the transfer unit.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to:

receive, from a host system, a read command to retrieve information from a first block of a memory device;

identify a transfer unit associated with the first block indicated in the read command;

identify whether an indicator is included in metadata of the identified transfer unit indicating that at least one sector of the transfer unit has been altered based at least in part on identifying the transfer unit;

validate data of the transfer unit stored in the memory device based at least in part on identifying whether the indicator is included in the metadata; and

retrieve the information stored in the first block based at least in part on validating the data of the transfer unit, wherein retrieving the information stored in the first block is performed without validating the metadata of the transfer unit based at least in part on determining that the indicator is not included in the metadata.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 27, 2020
From: ISH, MARK; LIU, YIRAN; GEUKENS, TOM V.
To: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC
Reel/Frame 051953/0405 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20210200436A1 · Jul 1, 2021