Host-controlled garbage collection
AssigneeKioxia Corporation
InventorSie Pook Law
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In an array of solid-state drives (SSDs), SSDs in the array are each configured to initiate generation of additional erased memory blocks when an initiation command is received from a host or when the number of erased memory blocks in the SSD falls below a minimum threshold of erased memory blocks for the SSD. The minimum threshold value may be adjusted by the host.
Claims18
A host computing device connectable to a data storage device and including a data storage storing a control algorithm to cause the host computing device to carry out a method of writing data to the data storage device, which includes a pool of non-volatile solid-state devices, the method comprising:
- sending an inquiry to a first non-volatile solid-state device in the pool of non-volatile solid-state devices for a number of erased memory blocks in the first non-volatile solid-state device;
- after receiving from the first non-volatile solid-state device the number of erased memory blocks in the first non-volatile solid-state device, writing to the first non-volatile solid-state device a quantity of data equal to or less than the number of erased memory blocks received from the first non-volatile solid-state device;
- in response to an acknowledgement that writing the quantity of data to the first non-volatile solid-state device has completed, sending a command to the first non-volatile solid-state device to begin generating erased memory blocks in the first non-volatile solid-state device;
- and
- while writing the quantity of data to the first non-volatile solid-state device, sending an inquiry to a second non-volatile solid-state device in the pool of non-volatile solid-state devices for a number of erased memory blocks in the second non-volatile solid-state device.
A method of controlling an array of solid-state drives (SSDs) by a host device, the array of SSDs including a first SSD and a second SSD, the method comprising:
- issuing a first command to at least one SSD to request that the at least one SSD notify the host device of an amount of available area to write data in the at least one SSD, the first command being not issued for carrying out data writing from the host device to the at least one SSD;
- identifying an SSD that has a greater amount of available area among the array of SSDs, the identified SSD being the first SSD;
- issuing a second command to the first SSD, the second command being a command with which a first amount of data is to be transmitted to the first SSD;
- and
- before transmitting the first amount of data to the first SSD is completed, issuing a third command to the second SSD, the third command being a command to stop a garbage collection in the second SSD.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.