Storage device and host device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12487748-B2
Application number	US-202418605333-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 14, 2024
Priority date	Sep 6, 2023
Publication date	Dec 2, 2025
Grant date	Dec 2, 2025

Abstract

A storage device comprises a first non-volatile memory, a storage controller configured to receive a memory command for writing data in the first non-volatile memory or reading the data from the first non-volatile memory from a processor of a host device through a first channel, a microcontroller configured to receive a command related to a firmware update executed in the storage device from a baseboard management controller (BMC) of the host device through a second channel different from the first channel, and a second non-volatile memory configured to receive and store firmware data from the BMC of the host device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A storage device comprising:
a first non-volatile memory; a storage controller configured to receive a memory command for writing data in the first non-volatile memory or reading the data from the first non-volatile memory from a processor of a host device through a first channel; a microcontroller configured to receive a command related to a firmware update executed in the storage device from a baseboard management controller (BMC) of the host device through a second channel different from the first channel; and a second non-volatile memory configured to receive and store firmware data from the BMC of the host device.

2 . The storage device of claim 1 , wherein the first channel includes an in-band channel, and the second channel includes an out-of-band channel.

3 . The storage device of claim 1 , wherein the first channel and the second channel are configured to use different communication protocols.

4 . The storage device of claim 3 , wherein the first channel is configured to use a protocol selected from a first group of protocols consisting of a Universal Flash Storage (UFS) protocol, an embedded Multi-Media Card (eMMC) protocol, and a Non-Volatile Memory express (NVMe) protocol, and
the second channel is configured to use at least one of an Inter Integrated Circuit (I2C) protocol or a System Management Bus (SMBus) protocol.

5 . The storage device of claim 1 , wherein the microcontroller includes a controller configured to communicate with the BMC through the second channel, a buffer memory, and the second non-volatile memory.

6 . The storage device of claim 5 , wherein the first non-volatile memory includes a NAND flash memory, and
the second non-volatile memory includes a ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM).

7 . The storage device of claim 5 , wherein the command related to the firmware update includes a firmware download command and a firmware commit command, and wherein
the microcontroller is configured to
assign a firmware slot to the second non-volatile memory and store at least a portion of the firmware data received from the BMC in the buffer memory in response to receiving the firmware download command through the second channel, and
store the at least a portion of the firmware data stored in the buffer memory in the firmware slot of the second non-volatile memory in response to receiving the firmware commit command through the second channel.

8 . The storage device of claim 7 , wherein the microcontroller stores the entire firmware data received from the BMC in the buffer memory in response to receiving the firmware download command through the second channel.

9 . The storage device of claim 7 , wherein the microcontroller updates first firmware data stored in the second non-volatile memory in units of bits based on the firmware data received from the BMC, and stores the first firmware data in the buffer memory in response to receiving the firmware download command through the second channel.

10 . The storage device of claim 7 , wherein the microcontroller changes a portion of first firmware data stored in the second non-volatile memory corresponding to the at least a portion of the firmware data received from the BMC and stores the firmware data, including the portion changed, in the buffer memory in response to receiving the firmware download command through the second channel.

11 . The storage device of claim 1 , wherein the second non-volatile memory stores Vital Product Data (VPD) for the storage device, and
the microcontroller provides the VPD to the host device.

12 . The storage device of claim 1 , further comprising a sensor sensing a state of the storage device,
wherein the microcontroller transmits information sensed by the sensor to the BMC.

13 . The storage device of claim 12 , wherein the sensor includes a voltage sensor sensing a voltage of the first non-volatile memory, an external voltage sensor sensing a voltage provided from outside of the storage device, a temperature sensor sensing a temperature of the storage device and a humidity sensor sensing humidity around the storage device.

14 . A host device comprising:
a processor configured to transmit a memory command, for writing data in a non-volatile memory or reading the data from the non-volatile memory, through a first channel to a storage controller of a storage device including the non-volatile memory; and a BMC configured to transmit a command to a microcontroller of the storage device, wherein the command is related to a firmware update executed in the storage device, through a second channel different from the first channel.

15 . The host device of claim 14 , further comprising a power supply unit configured to
provide a first voltage to the processor via a first power rail, provide a second voltage to the BMC via a second power rail different from the first power rail, and provide the second voltage to the microcontroller of the storage device.

16 . The host device of claim 15 , wherein a first magnitude of the first voltage is greater than a second magnitude of the second voltage.

17 . The host device of claim 14 , wherein the BMC is configured to transmit the command related to the firmware update to the microcontroller through the second channel during a time the processor is transmitting the memory command to the storage controller through the first channel.

18 . The host device of claim 14 , wherein the BMC is configured to transmit the command related to firmware update to the microcontroller through the second channel during a time the storage controller is in a power-off state, wherein during the power-off state, the processor is not transmitting the memory command to the storage controller through the first channel.

19 . A storage device comprising:
a first non-volatile memory; a storage controller configured to receive a memory command for writing data in the first non-volatile memory or reading the data from the first non-volatile memory from a processor of a host device through a first channel; and a microcontroller configured to receive a command related to a firmware update executed in the storage device from a BMC of the host device through a second channel different from the first channel, wherein the microcontroller receives the command related to the firmware update through the second channel during a time the storage controller is receiving the memory command from the processor of the host device through the first channel.

20 . The storage device of claim 19 , wherein the microcontroller receives a voltage from a voltage supply unit supplying the voltage to the BMC of the host device.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Lee Seung Han
• Lee Kyung Keun
• Lee Gyeong Taek
• Kim Bum Jun

Classifications

• G06F3/0679

  Non-volatile semiconductor memory device, e.g. flash memory, one time programmable memory [OTP] · CPC title

• G06F3/0659

  Command handling arrangements, e.g. command buffers, queues, command scheduling · CPC title

• G06F8/65

  Updates (security arrangements therefor G06F21/57) · CPC title

• G06F3/0653

  Monitoring storage devices or systems · CPC title

• G06F13/4282

  on a serial bus, e.g. I2C bus, SPI bus (on daisy chain buses G06F13/4247) · CPC title