Patent · US Active

Garbage collection for solid state disks

US8166233B2 · kind B2 · utility

69Cited by
0References
20Claims
0Family size

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Key dates

Filing dateJul 24, 2009
Grant dateApr 24, 2012
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 19, 2030

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F2212/7205
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Described embodiments provide a method of recovering storage space on a solid state disk (SSD). An index and valid page count are determined for each block of a segment of an SSD. If the valid page count of at least one block in the segment is zero, a quick clean is performed. A quick clean deallocates blocks having zero valid pages and places them in a queue for erasure. Otherwise, a deep clean is performed. A deep clean determines a compaction ratio, N-M, wherein N is a number of partially valid blocks and M is a number of free blocks required to compact the valid data from the N partially valid blocks into M entirely valid blocks. At least one data structure of the SSD is modified to refer to the M entirely valid blocks, and the N partially valid blocks are placed in the queue for erasure.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.