System and Method of Hinted Cache Data Removal

A data storage system, comprising:

• a host controller in communication with one or more storage devices, the host controller configured to process a data transfer request based upon data being deleted by an initiator from a virtual volume defined by the one or more storage devices;
• a hinting driver configured to receive data packets of the data transfer request being processed by the host controller, and further configured to generate pointers based upon the data packets;
• a priority controller configured to receive the pointers generated by the hinting driver, and further configured to determine, based upon the pointers, whether the data transfer request includes a request to discard a portion of data;
• and
• a data scrubber configured to remove the portion of data from the cache memory when the data transfer request includes the request to discard the portion of data.

A method of cache management, comprising:

• generating pointers based upon data packets of a data transfer request being processed by a host controller in communication with one or more storage devices, the data transfer request being based upon deletion of data by an initiator from a virtual volume defined by the one or more storage devices;
• determining, based upon the pointers, whether the data transfer request includes a request to discard a portion of data;
• and
• removing the portion of data from a cache memory when the data transfer request includes the request to discard the portion of data.