JP4989875B2 - Simulated hard disk method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a simulated hard disk method , and more particularly to a method for realizing a simulated hard disk with a memory.

  With the spread of computers and the enhancement of computer functions, more peripheral devices support computers. For example, there are a card reader, a USB device, a 1394 device, and the like, and software technology is also improved. Therefore, various types of software appear and the types are diversified. Due to these factors, the user continues to use the computer, and the computer becomes an indispensable tool in daily life, so that the computer stores various data used by the user.

  However, in computers, a large amount of time is spent seeking data. In addition, since a large amount of data is stored in the hard disk, due to the structural characteristics of the hard disk itself, most of the access time consumed is the seek time of the data for moving the head and the rotation time of the spindle motor ( rotation time). This is the main factor that the hard disk data access speed becomes so slow that it cannot be compared with the memory. For example, when a computer reads / writes data stored in a hard disk, it must wait for the data to be processed inside the hard disk itself even if the processing speed of the central processing unit is high.

Regarding the improvement of the hard disk speed, for example, a system capable of improving the hard disk speed described in Patent Document 1 executes an IO command from a conventional central processing unit in two operations, reading and writing, simultaneously. . In addition, by adjusting the IO cycle time of the hard disk with a programmable register, it is possible to provide compatibility with different hard disk speeds. However, according to Patent Document 1, since data is still stored in the hard disk, when data is read from the hard disk, the seek time of the data that still moves the head and the rotation time of the spindle motor (rotation) time) is required.
US Patent US 5,594,926

  The present invention provides a simulated hard disk device and method, and further improves the processing speed of the entire computer by providing a simulated hard disk in the main memory.

The present invention is a method for simulating a hard disk used in a computer system in order to solve the above technical problem, and the computer system includes a main memory module including a memory access area and a hard disk access area, and the main memory. a core logic body for controlling data read and write modules, and memory controller for controlling data access of the memory access areas, a conversion interface controller for controlling data access of the hard disk access area, a core logic chip having a are those having the steps of the core logic body receives a write signal from the computer system, the read-write signal to determine whether the hard disk read-write signal or a memory write signal , If the write signal is determined to be a memory write signal; the core logic body transmitted the write signal to the memory controller, and transmits via the memory controller to the main memory module, the read and write If the signal is determined to be a hard disk read / write signal, the core logic body includes a step of transmitting the hard disk read / write signal to the main memory module via the conversion interface controller. is there.

  The simulated hard disk apparatus and method according to the present invention provides a simulated hard disk in the main memory module and stores data therein, thereby effectively improving the speed of the entire computer.

  Hereinafter, the technique, means and effects for achieving the object of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the drawings are merely for reference and explanation, and the present invention is thereby It is not limited.

  Since the speed at which the memory reads data is so fast that it cannot be compared with a hard disk, the present invention provides the memory of the computer system with the function of a hard disk. There is provided a simulated hard disk apparatus and method for improving the processing speed of the entire computer by using a part of a memory space as a simulated hard disk and storing data in the space.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment includes a central processing unit 10, a core logic chip 11, a main memory module 12, a setting module 13, and a south bridge. (Minamibashi) A chip 14 (South Bridge Chip) and a hard disk 15 are included, and the core logic chip 11 further includes a core logic body 111, a memory controller 112, and a conversion interface controller 113. In general, a south bridge chip refers to an LSI chip connected to an interface of a peripheral device. The memory controller 112 and the conversion interface controller 113 are each signal-connected to the core logic body 111, and the core logic body 111 controls data reading / writing of the main memory module 12. The memory controller 112 receives a memory read / write signal, and controls reading / writing of data stored in the main memory module 12 according to the memory read / write signal. The conversion interface controller 113 receives the hard disk read / write signal, converts the signal format into a memory signal used by the compatible main memory module 12 with respect to the hard disk read / write signal, and uses the converted memory signal. Controls reading and writing of data stored in the main memory module 12. The core logic chip 11 receives a read / write signal for the main memory module 12 from the computer system, and determines whether the read / write signal is a memory read / write signal or a hard disk read / write signal. If it is a memory read / write signal, it is transmitted to the memory controller 112, and if it is a hard disk read / write signal, it is transmitted to the conversion interface controller 113.

  The main memory module 12 is signal-connected to the core logic chip 11 and receives memory read / write signals output from the memory controller 112 and the conversion interface controller 113. The main memory module 12 includes a plurality of memories 121. These memories 121 are volatile memories with a high reading speed, and are, for example, SDRAMs or DDRAMs. In the present embodiment, the main memory module 12 not only stores data and programs executed by the computer system, but is also used as a simulated hard disk. By setting the main memory module 12 with the setting module 13, the main memory module 12 is used as the main memory in the computer system, but the memory access area and the hard disk access area used as the simulated hard disk It is divided into two types of storage areas with different formats. Thereby, the computer system recognizes the main memory module 12 based on the setting. Further, since the memory 121 used by the main memory module 12 is a volatile memory, when the computer system is powered off, the main memory module 12 loses power and cannot store data. In order to prevent this, in the present embodiment, a power source 16 is prepared for the main memory module 12 to ensure that the main memory module 12 stores data in a hard disk access area used as a hard disk. . The power source 16 is realized by a spare power source of a computer system or a battery (for example, a mercury battery).

  In the present embodiment, the setting module 13 is signal-connected to the south bridge chip 14, and in the process of setting the main memory module 12, the memory access area and the memory access area described above in units of the memory 121 of the main memory module 12. Divide into hard disk access areas. By the setting by the setting module 13, the computer system can recognize the hard disk 15 signal-connected to the south bridge chip 14 and the simulated hard disk of the main memory module 12 after restarting. In this embodiment, since a simulated hard disk is realized by the main memory module 12, when data is read from the simulated hard disk, no change is necessary for the computer system together with general data reading / writing of the hard disk. The hard disk read / write signal from the central processing unit 10 is transmitted to the hard disk 15 via the south bridge chip 14 when read / write data is stored in the hard disk 15. When read / write data is stored in the hard disk access area of the main memory module 12, the read / write data is transmitted to the hard disk access area of the main memory module 12 via the conversion interface controller 113.

  The core logic chip 11 is a North Bridge Chip. In general, the north bridge chip refers to an LSI chip as a system controller connected to the central processing unit. The conversion interface controller 113 is a controller that converts a hard disk interface into a memory interface, the hard disk interface is an IDE or SATA interface, and the setting module 13 is a basic input / output system (BIOS).

  FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram according to another embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the previous embodiment is that the core logic chip 17 integrates the north bridge and the south bridge, and that the setting module 13 and the hard disk 15 are signal-connected to the core logic chip 17, respectively. It is. In this embodiment, the operation of the simulated hard disk is the same as that of the previous embodiment, and a hard disk access area which is a simulated hard disk is formed in the main memory module 12.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the embodiment of the present invention. Based on the system configuration of the previous embodiment, the method for setting the simulated hard disk includes the following steps. First, in S301, the computer is activated. In S303, the setting module 13 is entered, and in S305, the size of the simulated hard disk is set. Subsequently, in S307, the main memory module is divided according to the size of the simulated hard disk set by the computer. In S309, a simulated hard disk is formed in the main memory module 12 by the division. At this time, the main memory module 12 includes a memory access area and a hard disk access area. In S311, the setting module 13 stores the settings so far. Thereby, when the computer is restarted, the simulated hard disk of the main memory module 12 is recognized.

  According to the previous embodiment, the main memory module of the computer can be a simulated hard disk having a read / write function. By storing a large amount of data using the hard disk in the simulated hard disk of the main memory module, the processing speed of the entire computer is greatly improved.

  Moreover, the following advantages can be obtained by realizing a simulated hard disk with the hardware configuration of the main memory module.

1. Since the read / write speed of the simulated hard disk is synchronized with the processing speed of the main memory, no waiting time is required.
2. The setting of the simulated hard disk is performed by a basic input / output system, and after the setting is completed, the computer can automatically recognize the simulated hard disk, so no driver is required.
3. Since the data read / write of the simulated hard disk can be controlled by the conversion interface controller, the resources of the computer system can be used efficiently.
4. Compatible with any operating system.
5. Do not increase costs.

  The present invention provides a design that differs from conventional designs by the techniques detailed above. Moreover, since it is technically advanced compared to the prior art and is not publicly known, it is considered to satisfy the requirements of the patented invention.

  The above drawings and description merely show an example of the embodiment of the present invention, and those skilled in the art can easily make various changes and improvements according to the above description. It goes without saying that the modifications and improvements are included in the spirit of the present invention and the scope of the claims.

It is a system configuration figure in an embodiment of the invention. It is a system configuration figure in another embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart in embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Central processing unit 11, 17 Core logic chip 12 Main memory module 13 Setting module 14 South bridge chip 15 Hard disk 111 Core logic main body 112 Memory controller 113 Conversion interface controller 121 Memory

Claims (5)

A method of simulating a hard disk used in a computer system,
The computer system includes:
A main memory module including a memory access area and a hard disk access area;
A core logic body for controlling data reading and writing of the main memory modules, and memory controller for controlling data access of the memory access areas, core logic chip which has a conversion interface controller for controlling data access of the hard disk access area, the When,
Having
The core logic body receives a read / write signal from the computer system and determines whether the read / write signal is a memory read / write signal or a hard disk read / write signal;
If it is determined that the read / write signal is a memory read / write signal, the core logic body transmits the read / write signal to the memory controller, and transmits the read / write signal to the main memory module via the memory controller ;
If it is determined that the read / write signal is a hard disk read / write signal, the core logic body includes a step of transmitting the hard disk read / write signal to the main memory module via the conversion interface controller. Simulated hard disk method.   2. The simulated hard disk method according to claim 1, wherein the memory is a volatile memory.   2. The simulated hard disk method according to claim 1, wherein the main memory module has a memory access area and a hard disk access area set by a basic input / output system.   2. The simulated hard disk method according to claim 1, wherein the core logic chip is a north bridge chip or a chip in which a north bridge and a south bridge are integrated.   2. The simulated hard disk method according to claim 1, further comprising a power source connected to the main memory module, wherein the power source is a spare power source or a battery connected to a computer system.

Images