Interleaving is a technique used in computers and media files to read and write data out of sequence. It is used for memory interleaving in disk storage and computer memory to speed up processing. However, it can cause latency and is no longer needed in newer hard drives.
In computers, interleaving is a method of writing and reading data out of sequence. Data interlacing is used to combine multiple digital data streams, such as in files that contain both audio and video. This technique is also used for memory interleaving in disk storage and computer memory, which is used to read and write data more quickly. A dei-interleaver uses mapping to decipher interlaced data; it’s more or less a diagram of the interlaced pattern that the computer uses to decipher the data.
In media files, interlacing allows a player to read audio and video data quickly. This provides the user with a single file that contains both audio and video that a properly configured media player can read and play. Reading interleaved media often requires a codec to play the interleaved file. A codec is a software plug-in that tells a player how to read an interlaced media file. The most common interleaved media file type is Audio Video Interleave, more commonly known as AVI.
Memory interleaving is a process of putting more than one data source through the same data stream in an attempt to speed up processing. Interleaving is usually used for hard drives or random access memory (RAM). As the data is processed at the destination location, subsequent data is being prepared by additional data sources, so more data can be processed as the first data source loads the subsequent data online.
To understand how memory interlacing works, imagine that a ride-on operator at an amusement park has two elevators that each hold four customers leading to the entrance to his ride. It loads riders quickly but has no room for people to line up in the loading area. To get passengers to the loading platform, the conductor has attendants at the bottom of the elevator who walk groups of four up to the ride, one elevator at a time. In an interlaced system, the handler would instruct the assistant to time the starts in a staggered system designed to keep the flow of riders fast and smooth. Similarly, interleaved data flows from multiple points, staggered to allow for reload time of data sources while other data streams are processed.
One disadvantage of memory interleaving in data transfer is that it can cause latency. Latency is a system time delay. When a data source goes down, it affects all data sources using that data transfer stream, causing the system to slow down. Similarly, if the amusement park ride conductor has a problem loading an elevator full of passengers, he will slow down both lines because he cannot process any more passengers until that group has been loaded.
In older hard drives, interleaved memory was used to compensate for the slower hard drive reading relative to motor rotation. The data was written out of sequence to allow the hard drive to process the data while reading. Newer hard drives are designed fast enough to read data at rotational speed, eliminating the need for memory interleaving.
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