Patent ID: 7370153

Claim:
A method for processor controlled prefetching, comprising the steps of: for every fetch of required data, forming an extended data structure that identifies a first amount of required data that is to be retrieved and includes a pre-fetch flag for controlling whether pre-fetching is also to be performed, wherein a different extended data structure is formed for each amount of required data that is to be retrieved prior to fetching any required data; receiving the extended data structure; determining if pre-fetching is to be performed based on whether the pre-fetch flag in the extended data structure is set; formulating a command to obtain the required data as well as pre-fetch data, wherein the command includes pre-fetch information indicating how much pre-fetch data is to be obtained; sending the command to a disk memory; receiving both the first amount of required data and the pre-fetch data from the disk memory in response to the command; and signaling the processor that the required data is stored in memory while continuing to read and store the prefetch data without interruption.