Storage unit including memories of different operational speeds for optimizing data storage functions

A computing device comprising:

• an interface configured to interface and communicate with a distributed storage network (DSN);
• memory that stores operational instructions;
• and
• a processing module operably coupled to the interface and to the memory, wherein the processing module, when operable within the computing device based on the operational instructions, is configured to:
• transmit, via the DSN and to a storage unit (SU), a data access request for an encoded data slice (EDS) associated with a data object, wherein the data access request includes a data access request slice identifier for the EDS associated with the data object, wherein the SU includes a first memory and a second memory, wherein the first memory includes access characteristics that are faster than the second memory;
• and
• receive, via the DSN and from the SU, based on a favorable comparison, as performed by the SU, of the data access request slice identifier with at least one of a plurality of slice identifiers stored within the first memory, a data access response that includes an EDS of a plurality of encoded data slices (EDSs) having a corresponding slice identifier stored in the first memory that is retrieved from the second memory of the SU, wherein the plurality of slice identifiers stored within the first memory are respectively associated with the plurality of EDSs stored within the second memory of the SU, wherein each of a plurality of corresponding slice identifiers stored in the first memory includes information sufficient to identify a revision for an EDS stored in the second memory.