Methods and structure for dynamically mapped mass storage device

A method operable in a controller of a storage device for accessing a physical block in the storage device, the method comprising:

• receiving a request from a host to access a logical block within the storage device;
• mapping the request using a mapping table structure to indirectly determine one or more corresponding physical blocks via a quantum unit data space translation;
• and
• accessing the one or more corresponding physical blocks on the storage device wherein the size of the logical block and the size of the physical block each comprise an integral multiple of a quantum unit data size.

A method operable in a storage device for storing information on the storage device, the method comprising:

• pre-allocating a write band comprising an area of contiguous physical;
• receiving a request to write user data to the storage device the size of a logical block is different than the size of the physical block of the write band and wherein the size of the logical block and the size of the physical block each comprise an integral multiple of a quantum unit data size;
• writing the user data to the pre-allocated write band;
• and
• updating a mapping table structure to associate the logical block with the physical block via a quantum unit data space translation.

A disk drive comprising:

• a plurality of physical disk blocks distributed over one or more recordable media and wherein each physical disk block is identified by a corresponding physical disk block address;
• and
• a disk controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of physical disk blocks and adapted to control access to the plurality of physical disk blocks by an attached host device, the disk controller further comprising:
• mapping tables adapted to map requests by the attached host device for access to a logical block identified by a logical block address into access to one or more corresponding physical disk blocks identified by physical disk block addresses via a quantum unit data space translation, wherein the size of the logical block and the size of the one or more corresponding physical disk blocks each comprise an integral multiple of a quantum unit data size.