Storage cache descriptor

A data storage system, comprising:

• a host;
• and
• a data storage apparatus communicatively coupled to the host, the data storage device suitable for receiving data from the host for storage and providing data to the host as requested, the data storage device including
• a storage device including a medium suitable for storing electronic data;
• a storage controller communicatively coupled to the storage device, the storage controller suitable for controlling data storage operations of the storage device;
• and
• a cache communicative coupled to the storage controller, the cache suitable for storing electronic data for access by the storage controller;
• wherein the storage controller stores electronic data in the cache by including a cache descriptor that defines data contained in a cache block, the cache descriptor including at least one further field describing a device block of the cache block.

An electronic data storage apparatus, comprising:

• a means for storing electronic data on a medium;
• a means for controlling data storage communicatively coupled to the data storing means;
• and
• a means for caching data communicatively coupled to the controlling means, the caching means suitable for storing electronic data for access by the controlling means;
• wherein the controlling means stores electronic data in the caching means by including a cache descriptor that defines data contained in a cache block, the cache descriptor including at least one further field describing a device block of the cache block, the at least one further field including at least one of a present field, a modified field, a pinned field, an exclusive lock field, a shared lock field, a device ID field, a block number field, a storage address field, a hash table queue element field, a least recently used queue element field, and a write-in-progress field.