US6687815B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for storing non-volatile configuration information
Assignee: Oracle America Inc
•
Filing: 2000-02-01
•
Granted: 2004-02-03
•
Expires: 2020-02-01
Abstract
Abstract A method implemented in a computer system for storing non-volatile configuration information (NVCI), wherein NVCI is stored in one or more active segments of a segmented flash memory. The NVCI consists of a series of key-value pairs. When the computer system is started, the key-value pairs are read from the active segment, beginning with the least recently stored and ending with the most recently stored. The key-value pairs are inserted into a hash table, with later-read key-value pairs replacing earlier-read key-value pairs of the same key. Write accesses to the NVCI are made to both the hash table and the active segment of flash memory. When an active segment of the flash memory is filled to a threshold capacity, current key-value pairs stored in the hash table are written to a new flash memory segment, which then becomes the active segment.
Inventors
- 👤 Thomas J. Dwyer, III
- 👤 Charles D. Kunzman
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 19:26
CPC Classifications
G; G11; G11C; G11C16/00; G11C16/02; G11C16/06; G11C16/10; G11C16/20
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 30
Claim 1
Independent Claim
54 words
A method, comprising: retrieving configuration parameters from a persistent storage; storing the configuration parameters in a working memory; retrieving the configuration parameters by reading the configuration parameters from the working memory; and updating the configuration parameters by writing one or more of the configuration parameters to both the working memory and the persistent storage.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
54 words
A method, comprising: retrieving configuration parameters from a persistent storage; storing the configuration parameters in a working memory; retrieving the configuration parameters by reading the configuration parameters from the working memory; and updating the configuration parameters by writing one or more of the configuration parameters to both the working memory and the persistent storage.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
74 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein said updating the configuration parameters comprises: overwriting an existing value in the working memory for one of the configuration parameters with an updated value for the one of the configuration parameters; and writing the updated value for the one of the configuration parameters to a new location in the persistent storage without overwriting an existing value in the persistent storage for the one of the configuration parameters.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
51 words
The method of claim 2 , wherein said writing the updated value for the one of the configuration parameters to a new location in the persistent storage comprises writing the updated value to a next available location in a portion of the persistent storage storing existing values for the configuration parameters.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
56 words
The method of claim 3 , wherein the portion of the persistent storage storing existing values for the configuration parameters comprises a sequentially addressed segment of a flash memory device, wherein said new location begins at the next sequential address after an ending address of the most recently written existing configuration parameter value in the segment.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
76 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein said updating the configuration parameters comprises: writing an updated value for each of the one or more of the configuration parameters to a respective new location in a flash memory segment of the persistent storage without overwriting an existing parameter value in the flash memory segment; wherein when the flash memory segment is filled to a predetermined threshold, writing the configuration parameters to another segment of the flash memory.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
62 words
The method of claim 5 , wherein said writing the configuration parameters to another segment of the flash memory comprises writing only the configuration parameters from the working memory to the another segment so that only current configuration parameter values are written to the another segment, whereas current and non-current parameter values are stored in the segment filled to a predetermined threshold.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 5 , wherein the configuration parameters are retrieved from and written to an active segment only of the flash memory device, wherein the another segment becomes the active segment when the previously active segment is filled to the predetermined threshold.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 7 , wherein the active segment is erased prior to initially writing the configuration parameters to the active segment.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 8 , wherein the flash memory device comprises a plurality of segments, wherein a next active segment is selected in a round robin fashion when the current active segment is filled to the predetermined threshold.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein said retrieving configuration parameters from a persistent storage comprises retrieving both current and non-current values for one or more of the configuration parameters.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 10 , wherein said storing the configuration parameters in a working memory comprises overwriting non-current values with current values for one or more of the configuration parameters.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein said retrieving configuration parameters from a persistent storage comprises retrieving the configuration parameters from a portion of the persistent storage in an order the configuration parameters were written to the portion of the persistent storage.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
52 words
The method of claim 12 , wherein said storing the configuration parameters in a working memory comprises storing the configuration parameters in the working memory in the order from said retrieving, wherein a later retrieved value for one of the configuration parameters overwrites a previously retrieved value for the same configuration parameter.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the configuration parameters comprises one or more key-value pairs stored with data indicating a size of the key of and a size of the value of each respective key-value pair.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
80 words
A system, comprising: a processor; a volatile working memory coupled to the processor; and a non-volatile memory coupled to the processor; wherein the processor is configured to read configuration parameters stored in the non-volatile memory into the working memory; and wherein the processor is further configured to access the configuration parameters from the working memory once the configuration parameters have been stored in the working memory, and update the configuration parameters to both the working memory and the non-volatile memory.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
80 words
A system, comprising: a processor; a volatile working memory coupled to the processor; and a non-volatile memory coupled to the processor; wherein the processor is configured to read configuration parameters stored in the non-volatile memory into the working memory; and wherein the processor is further configured to access the configuration parameters from the working memory once the configuration parameters have been stored in the working memory, and update the configuration parameters to both the working memory and the non-volatile memory.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
78 words
The system of claim 15 , wherein to update the configuration parameters the processor is configured to: overwrite an existing value in the working memory for one of the configuration parameters with an updated value for the one of the configuration parameters; and write the updated value for the one of the configuration parameters to a new location in the non-volatile memory without overwriting an existing value in the non-volatile memory for the one of the configuration parameters.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
55 words
The system of claim 16 , wherein to write the updated value for the one of the configuration parameters to a new location in the non-volatile memory, the processor is configured to write the updated value to a next available location in a portion of the non-volatile memory storing existing values for the configuration parameters.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
56 words
The system of claim 17 , wherein the portion of the non-volatile memory storing existing values for the configuration parameters comprises a sequentially addressed segment of a flash memory device, wherein said new location begins at the next sequential address after an ending address of the most recently written existing configuration parameter value in the segment.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
85 words
The system of claim 15 , wherein to update the configuration parameters the processor is configured to: write an updated value for each of the one or more of the configuration parameters to a respective new location in a flash memory segment of the non-volatile memory without overwriting an existing parameter value in the flash memory segment; wherein when the flash memory segment is filled to a predetermined threshold, the processor is configured to write the configuration parameters to another segment of the flash memory.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
66 words
The system of claim 19 , wherein to write the configuration parameters to another segment of the flash memory, the processor is configured to write only the configuration parameters from the working memory to the another segment so that only current configuration parameter values are written to the another segment, whereas current and non-current parameter values are stored in the segment filled to a predetermined threshold.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
51 words
The system of claim 19 , wherein the processor is configured to retrieve the configuration parameters from and write the configuration parameters to an active segment only of the flash memory device, wherein the another segment becomes the active segment when the previously active segment is filled to the predetermined threshold.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
23 words
The system of claim 21 , wherein the active segment is erased prior to initially writing the configuration parameters to the active segment.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
39 words
The system of claim 22 , wherein the flash memory device comprises a plurality of segments, wherein a next active segment is selected in a round robin fashion when the current active segment is filled to the predetermined threshold.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
30 words
The system of claim 15 , wherein the processor is configured to retrieve both current and non-current values for one or more of the configuration parameters from the non-volatile memory.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
35 words
The system of claim 24 , wherein to store the configuration parameters in the working memory, the processor is configured to overwrite non-current values with current values for one or more of the configuration parameters.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
46 words
The system of claim 15 , wherein to retrieve configuration parameters from the non-volatile memory, the processor is configured to retrieve the configuration parameters from a portion of the non-volatile memory in an order the configuration parameters were written to the portion of the non-volatile memory.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
56 words
The system of claim 26 , wherein to store the configuration parameters in the working memory, the processor is configured to store the configuration parameters in the working memory in the order from said retrieving, wherein a later retrieved value for one of the configuration parameters overwrites a previously retrieved value for the same configuration parameter.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
39 words
The system of claim 15 , wherein each of the configuration parameters comprises one or more key-value pairs stored with data indicating a size of the key of and a size of the value of each respective key-value pair.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4118773A
Cited
US4503491A
Cited
US4713759A
Cited
US5151876A
Cited
US5005157A
Cited
US5307497A
Cited
US5630093A
Cited
US5579522A
Cited
US5245572A
Cited
US5754798A
Cited
US5822581A
Cited
JPH09306186A
Cited
US5748537A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2007-02-02 | 2007-08-04 | 2008-02-03 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2011-02-02 | 2011-08-04 | 2012-02-03 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2015-02-02 | 2015-08-04 | 2016-02-03 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |