Storage device out-of-space handling

A non-transitory machine-readable medium, having encoded thereon program code, wherein, when the program code is executed by a machine, the machine implements a method of detecting, by a media controller coupled to a host device and a solid-state media, an impending out-of-space (OOS) condition of the solid-state media, the solid-state media having a physical storage capacity, the method comprising:

• on startup of the media controller:
• determining, by the media controller, whether an impending OOS indicator of the solid-state media is set from a previous startup of the media controller;
• if the impending OOS indicator is not set:
• determining, by the media controller, whether a free pool size of the solid-state drive has reached a first threshold, wherein the free pool comprises blocks of the solid-state media available to be written with data;
• if the free pool size has not reached the first threshold:
• while a current startup time of the media controller is less than a maximum startup time, performing garbage collection on the solid-state media to accumulate additional blocks to the free pool;
• if the current startup time reaches the maximum startup time and the free pool size has not reached the first threshold:
• setting the impending OOS indicator and operating the solid-state media in an impending OOS operation mode;
• otherwise, if the free pool size reaches or exceeds the first threshold:
• operating the solid-state media in a normal operation mode.

A media controller for a solid-state media having a physical storage capacity, the media controller configured to detect an impending out-of-space (OOS) condition of the solid-state media, the media controller comprising:

• an input/output interface configured to communicate with a host device coupled to the media controller;
• a control processor coupled to the input/output interface, the control processor configured to, on startup of the media controller:
• determine whether an impending OOS indicator of the solid-state media is set from a previous startup of the media controller;
• if the impending OOS indicator is not set:
• determine whether a free pool size of the solid-state drive has reached a first threshold, the free pool comprising blocks of the solid-state media available to be written with data;
• if the free pool size has not reached the first threshold:
• while a current startup time of the media controller is less than a maximum startup time, perform garbage collection on the solid-state media to accumulate additional blocks to the free pool;
• if the current startup time reaches the maximum startup time and the free pool size has not reached the first threshold:
• set the impending OOS indicator and operate the solid-state media in an impending OOS operation mode;
• otherwise, if the free pool size reaches or exceeds the first threshold:
• operate the solid-state media in a normal operation mode;
• if the impending OOS indicator of the solid-state media is set from a previous startup of the media controller:
• determine whether used space of the solid-state media is below a safe threshold and, if so:
• clear the impending OOS indicator;
• otherwise:
• maintain the impending OOS indicator and operate the solid-state media in the impending OOS operation mode;
• check, periodically during normal operation mode, whether the free pool size of the solid-state drive becomes less than a second threshold and, if so:
• operate the solid-state media in a write stall operation mode.