Memory controller and storage device including the same

A storage device, comprising:

• a flash memory;
• and
• a memory controller configured to control the flash memory, the memory controller comprising:
• memory channel controllers configured to perform erase, program, read, erase suspend and program suspend operations for the flash memory;
• a flash translation layer configured to control an operation of the memory channel controllers to process write/read commands, allocate a buffer space in a buffer memory in response to a write command in the write/read commands, temporarily store data in the allocated buffer space, and deallocate the buffer space after the data is programmed to the flash memory;
• a host interface configured to receive the write/read commands from a host and transmit the received write/read commands to the flash translation layer;
• and
• a suspend-limit changer configured to dynamically change an erase suspend-limit based on a size of a free buffer space of the buffer memory, the erase suspend-limit being a maximum allowed number of erase suspend operations,
• wherein the size of the free buffer space is calculated in the flash translation layer or the suspend-limit changer,
• wherein the suspend-limit changer is configured to change the erase suspend-limit by referring to a reference table in which erase suspend-limits are recorded for preset sizes of free buffer spaces, and
• wherein the memory channel controllers are configured to:
• store the erase suspend-limit changed by the suspend-limit changer;
• count a number of the erase suspend operations performed;
• upon input of a read command during an erase operation to process a write command in the read/write commands from the host, compare the count of the erase suspend operations performed with the erase suspend-limit;
• and
• perform an erase suspend operation and a read operation, when the number of the erase suspend operations performed is less than the erase suspend-limit changed.