System and method for writing data to HDD in bands

• US 20050069298A1
• Filed: 09/29/2003
• Published: 03/31/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HGST Netherlands B.V. (Western Digital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Incorporated (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: New, Richard M. H., Williams, Mason Lamar, de Souza, Jorge Campello, Kasiraj, Prakash
• Granted Patent: US 7,490,212 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/240
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/1217 on discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/1238 track, i.e. the entire a spirally or concentrically arranged path on which the recording marks are located
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/1298 Enhancement of the signal quality
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2516 Hard disks
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/65 wherein solid state memory is used for storing indexing information or metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/11 by using information not detectable on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 5/012 Recording on, or reproducing or erasing from, magnetic disks G11B17/00, G11B19/00 take precedence

Abstract

Data is written to a hard disk drive using shingled writing principles, i.e., each data track is partially overwritten when an immediately contiguous data track is written. Two or more contiguous data tracks establish a band, and a band may store data from one and only one file, such as an AV file.

Claims

1. A hard disk drive (HDD) comprising:

at least one rotatable disk;

at least one write element configured for writing data to the disk in tracks, wherein at least two contiguous tracks establish a band; and

at least one HDD controller controlling the write element, the controller causing no more than one of;

a single data file, and a single audio video (AV) data stream, to be written to a band.

2. The HDD of claim 1, wherein at least some bands include at least three contiguous tracks.

3. The HDD of claim 1, wherein the tracks are concentric to each other.

4. The HDD of claim 1, wherein the write element is configured for perpendicular recording.

5. The HDD of claim 1, wherein a first band has a first number of tracks and a second band has a second number of bands different from the first.

6. The HDD of claim 1, wherein isolated tracks are used to store data requiring random write access and bands are used to store data requiring sequential write access.

7. The HDD of claim 1, wherein at least one band contains data from one and only one audio video (AV) data stream.

8. The HDD of claim 7, wherein the size of bands used to store AV data are larger than an AV transaction block size, the transaction block size being larger than a sector size.

9. The HDD of claim 1, wherein at least some tracks are shingled.

10. The HDD of claim 1, wherein the controller stores, for each file or AV data stream, a list of bands associated therewith.

11. A data storage system, comprising:

at least one data storage disk;

at least one write element configured for writing data to the disk; and

at least one controller controlling the write element to write data onto the disk at least in bands, each hand containing no more than one data file or one AV data stream, each band being established by at least two contiguous data tracks.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein at least some tracks are shingled.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein at least some bands include at least three contiguous tracks.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the write element is configured for perpendicular recording.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein a first band has a first number of tracks and a second band has a second number of tracks different from the first.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein isolated tracks are used to store-data requiring random write access and bands are used to store data requiring sequential write access.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein at least one band contains data from one and only one AV data stream.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the size of at least one band used to store AV data is larger than an AV transaction block size, the transaction block size being larger than a sector size.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein the controller stores, for each file or AV data stream, a list of bands associated therewith.

20. A hard disk drive, comprising:

disk storage means for holding data in at least one of;

bands, and isolated tracks;

means for writing data to the disk storage means; and

means for controlling the means for writing such that data from one of;

a single file, and a single AV data stream, is written to a band on the disk storage means.

21. The HDD of claim 20, wherein the means for controlling causes the means for writing to write shingled tracks.

22. The HDD of claim 21, wherein the means for writing is configured for perpendicular recording.

23. The HDD of claim 21, wherein a first band has a first number of tracks and a second band has a second number of tracks different from the first.

24. The HDD of claim 21, wherein the disk storage means is partitioned into isolated tracks and bands of tracks.

25. The HDD of claim 21, wherein audio video (AV) data is stored in at least one band.

26. The HDD of claim 25, wherein the sizes of bands are larger than an AV transaction block size.

27. The HDD of claim 21, wherein the means for controlling stores, for each file or AV data stream, a list of bands associated therewith.

28. A hard disk drive, comprising:

means for writing data to a disk;

means for computing error correction code parity on written data; and

means for controlling the means for writing such that error correction code parity from a first write operating is used to generate error correction code parity for a second write operation subsequent to the first write operation.