JPS5982700A - Backup device of semiconductor external storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shunt and save plural data of different time points of a semiconductor external storage device, in one auxiliary storage device, by designating a head address of a storage area of the auxiliary storage device by a saved- area designating device, and saving a data in a designated area. CONSTITUTION:In accordance with a command of a central processing unit CPU5, a bulk controller 2 controls a data trnasfer between a semiconductor memory 1 and a main memory. In accordance with an automatic saving instruction from the CPU5, or a manual saving instruction provided on a bulk controller 2, a stored data of the semiconductor memory 1 is stored and saved in an auxiliary storage device 3 through the bulk controller 2. In this case, the bulk controller 2 monitors a state of this saved-area designating devie 6, and stores and saves the stored data of the semiconductor memory 1 in the corresponding area of the auxiliary storage device 3 basing on its designation. In the event of an electric power source loss such as service interruption, cut-off of an electric power source, etc., this electric power source loss is detected by the bulk controller 2, a battery 4 is turned on, and basing on the designated head address of the device 6, the stored data of the semiconductor memory 1 is stored and saved in the corresponding area of the auxiliary storage device 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a semiconductor external storage device installed in a computer system, and particularly relates to a 7-mackup device for preserving the memory contents of the semiconductor external storage device in the event of a power outage, etc. .

[Technical background of the invention]

When a volatile semiconductor external storage device consisting of a semiconductor memory device or the like is used as an external storage device provided in a computer system, non-volatile external storage device that stores data using magnetism also has f? 'i? However, if the power supply to the computer system is cut off, the contents (data) stored in the semiconductor memory will volatize, causing problems with the contents of the 1T machine system. . Therefore, in the past, this semiconductor external storage device fMt was combined with a backup device (including an auxiliary storage device) to save data stored in the semiconductor external storage device to a backup device and store it in the event of an accident such as a power cut. This prevents the contents from being lost.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a conventional backup device for a semiconductor external storage device of this type. Semiconductor memory IFi
It is connected 19i to a nonvolatile auxiliary storage device (magnetic disk type) 3 via a bulk controller 2 having two non-volatile memories. The semiconductor memory 1 and the auxiliary storage device 3 are powered by a battery 4 when power is lost, and the battery 4 is controlled on and off by the bulk controller 2.

The bulk controller 2 is connected to a plurality of CPUs (central processing units including main memory) 5.

The backup device is composed of a bulk controller 2, a non-volatile auxiliary storage device 3, and a battery 4.
5. When the power supply (not shown) of the computer system such as the semiconductor memory 1 etc. is out of power, the data in the Nororuk controller 2 and the semiconductor memory 1 is evacuated (saved) to Teisukeki 1 and the emergency storage card 3.
let At this time, the semiconductor memory 1, the auxiliary rudder A, and the device 3 operate as if the battery 4 were jdθ:. Calculate 'lit M -/' J vote series + j Li to the system,
= tl,'? k, the bulk controller 2 detects this and saves it in the auxiliary storage device 3 (SAVE), and restores the stored memory contents to the half-humiliated body memory 1 (11, E8'L"ORE
)do.

[Problem in Section 4] As mentioned above, in the conventional backup device, when the data stored in the semiconductor memory 1 is evacuated to the extraction device 3 and saved, the process shown in FIG. As shown, the data stored in the semiconductor memory 1 is always stored in a specific area at a specific starting address of the auxiliary storage device 3, so it is not possible to specify the data storage area of the auxiliary storage device 3. There is a drawback that a plurality of data recorded in the semiconductor memory 1 at different times cannot be stored in the same auxiliary storage device 3, and the data stored in the semiconductor memory 1 cannot be processed multiplexed.

[Purpose of the invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, an object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor external storage device in which data stored in a semiconductor external storage device at a plurality of different points in time can be evacuated and stored in one auxiliary storage device. The purpose is to provide backup equipment.

[Summary of the invention]

The invention is based on the instructions of C1) U, which includes raw memory:
In a backup device for a semiconductor external storage device, data stored in the semiconductor external storage device is stored in a non-volatile auxiliary storage device using a bulk controller that controls data transfer between the semiconductor external storage device and the main memory. An area specifying device is attached to the storage area specifying device to specify the start address of the storage area of the +rR auxiliary storage device to the gland that saves the storage data of the half-four external storage device to the auxiliary storage device via the bulk controller. The above object is achieved by storing data in a designated area and storing a plurality of data stored at different times in a semiconductor external storage device in each area of the same auxiliary storage device.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Hereinafter, part II of the present invention is shown as the conventional example and the same parts are the same.
This will be explained using the IF combination according to the -C drawing. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the backup device for the semiconductor external storage device of Kinoi 1zu1. The semiconductor memory 1 is transferred to a non-volatile auxiliary storage device iZ 3 such as a magnetic disk, magnetic PRAM, or magnetic tape via a bulk controller 2 having a buffer memory 2A and a storage area specifying device 6.
It is continued. The semiconductor memory 1 and the auxiliary notes;,,
When the system loses power, the battery 4 is turned on and off by the bulk controller 2. Also, the bulk controller 2 It is connected to the CPU (central processing unit including main memory) 5.As described above, the backup device of this embodiment has almost the same configuration as that of the conventional example (-A), but the difference is that the bulk It is located in a place where a storage area designation device N6 is attached to the controller 2.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained. Based on commands from CP'U5, bulk controller 2 controls data transfer between semiconductor memory v3 and main memory.

In response to an automatic save (S)LVE) command from the CPU 5 or a manual save command provided in the bulk controller 2, the memory data of the semi-transparent body 1 is stored in the auxiliary storage device 3 via the bulk controller 2. save. On this occasion,
Since the storage area designation device 6 has a function of designating the starting address of the area in which data in the auxiliary storage device 3 is to be saved, the bulk controller 2 monitors the status of this storage area designation device 6 and specifies the specified address. Based on this, the data stored in the semiconductor memory 1 is stored in the corresponding area of the auxiliary storage device 3. This operation is performed regardless of the power loss of the Sdem.

When the power is lost due to a power outage or a power cut, the bulk controller 2 detects this power loss, turns on the battery 4 to set the power supply to 1'μ, and also outputs the storage area designation device 6.
The data stored in the semiconductor memory 1 is stored in the corresponding area of the auxiliary storage unit 3 based on the zero-finger redundant start address. FIG. 4 shows the function of the storage area specifying device 6, in which the data stored in the semiconductor memory 1 is stored and saved in a specified area among the storage areas a-1 to a-n of the auxiliary storage device 3. .

FIG. 5 is a chart showing the storage operation of this embodiment. When the bulk controller 2 detects a power outage or loss of power due to a power outage in the calculation system at step 10, it turns on the power supply 4 and, at step 12, controls the memory 1 in the semiconductor memory 1 based on the command start address of the storage area designation device 6. The storage data is stored in the corresponding area of the auxiliary storage device 3. Further, the bulk controller 2 is automatically activated by a save instruction from the CPU 5, and the data stored in the semiconductor memory 1 is saved in the auxiliary storage device 31C according to the same procedure. Further, in step 11, a manual switch (not shown) provided in the bulk controller 2 is operated to give a save command to the bulk controller 2, so that the above-mentioned save operation can be performed manually.

On the other hand, when restoring the data stored in the auxiliary storage device 3 to the semiconductor memory 1 (F, 5TORE), it can be done either automatically by a restore command from the CPU 5 or manually by a restore command by manual operation of the bulk controller 2. , data stored in the auxiliary storage device 3 is restored to the semiconductor memory 1 via the bulk controller 2. At this time, the state of the bulk controller 2Fi storage area designation device 6 is monitored and the data stored in the corresponding storage area of the auxiliary storage device rf13 is restored to the semiconductor memory 1' based on the designated start address.

Also, when the power is restored or turned on: After the bulk controller 52 detects this, the bulk controller 2
monitors the state of the storage area specifying device 6 and restores the data stored in the corresponding storage area of the auxiliary storage device 3 to the semiconductor memory l based on the specified start address. Fourth
The figure shows a state in which data is restored from a designated area of the auxiliary storage device 3 to the semiconductor memory 1.

FIG. 6 is a chart showing the restoration operation of this embodiment. When the normal controller 2 detects that the power of the W'l arithmetic system is restored or turned on at 10, the 1.2 lux controller 2 transfers the auxiliary storage device H''t3 at 12 based on the redundant start address of the storage area designation device 60. The data stored in the drawing area of C is restored to the semiconductor memory 1.
The 2-lux controller 2 is automatically activated by the restoration command from the PU 5, and the data stored in the auxiliary storage device 3 is restored to the semiconductor memory 1 according to the same procedure. Furthermore, the above-mentioned restoring operation can also be performed manually by operating a manual switch provided in the bulk controller 2 at step 11 to give a restoring command to the bulk controller 2.

According to this practical example, the storage area designation device 6 is attached to the bulk controller 2, and when the bulk controller 2 stores data stored in the semiconductor memory 1 in the auxiliary storage device i23, the storage area designation device 6 Since the booter of the semiconductor memory 1 can be stored in the storage area of the auxiliary storage device 3 that corresponds to the specified start address, the data stored in the semiconductor memory 1 at different times in the auxiliary storage device 3 can be stored in different storage areas of the auxiliary storage device 3. Each of the data can be stored in a storage area, data at a plurality of different points in time can be stored in one auxiliary storage device rN3, and multiple processing of data can be performed. In addition, data stored in the semiconductor memory 1 can be saved automatically and manually, and data can be restored to the semiconductor memory 1 automatically and manually. Therefore, it is possible to make full use of the advantages of the high-speed and highly reliable semiconductor memory 1, which has no mechanical loss time that disk-based external storage devices have, and realize high-speed and high-reliability of the entire computer system. .

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the semiconductor external storage device/up-up device of the present invention, storage data of the semiconductor external storage device can be stored and saved in any storage area of the device. It is advantageous to be able to save data stored at a plurality of different points in time in a single storage device.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a conventional d-tup device for a semiconductor external storage device, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional data storage and restoration method between a semiconductor memory and an auxiliary storage device, and FIG. The figure shows an example of a j pickup device M5. of the semiconductor external storage device of the present invention. A configuration diagram showing an example. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the data storage and backing method between the semiconductor memory and the auxiliary memory 4Q ii'J of this embodiment. FIG. 5 shows the storage operation of this embodiment. Chart Figure 6 is a chart diagram showing the restoration operation of this embodiment. 1...Semiconductor memory 2...7 Mark controller 3...j; Ii auxiliary note 1 device 4...Battery 5
...CPU6...Save <,, -1j2Jj finger fusosan. Representative [Satoto Patent Attorney Noriyuki Chika (and 1 other person) Figure 1A Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1.) Based on the instructions of the central processing unit including the main memory,
Controls data transfer between the semiconductor external storage device and main memory - The Marc controller supplies power from a battery, etc. when power is lost, and saves the data stored in the semiconductor external storage device in a non-suppressive auxiliary storage device. However, in a backup device for a semiconductor external storage device that restores saved data to the semiconductor external storage device when the power is restored, the bulk controller performs the following operations based on the starting address of the storage area of the auxiliary storage device designated by the storage area designation device: When transferring and saving data stored in the semiconductor external storage device to the corresponding storage area and restoring data stored in the auxiliary storage device to the semiconductor external storage device, the bulk controller selects the starting address specified by the storage area specifying device. 1. A backup device for a semiconductor external storage device, which transfers and restores saved data stored in a storage area of the semiconductor external storage device to the semiconductor external storage device. (2.) The central processing unit gives save and restore commands to the bulk controller to automatically save and restore data between the semiconductor external storage device and the t+li auxiliary storage device. The semiconductor external storage device according to claim 1, characterized in that data is manually saved and restored between the semiconductor external storage device and the auxiliary 1 and 3 devices by operating a manual switch. Backup device.