STORAGE DEVICE

• US 20090265506A1
• Filed: 01/23/2009
• Published: 10/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: YIM, Keun Soo
• Granted Patent: US 8,892,520 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/103
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0246 in block erasable memory, e.g. flash memory
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/7205 Cleaning, compaction, garbage collection, erase control
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0647 Migration mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0664 at device level, e.g. emulation of a storage device or system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/068 Hybrid storage device
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A computing system and a storage device are provided. A computing system includes a first storage media, a second storage media having an input/output speed slower than that of the first storage media, and a hybrid file system management unit to manage a first physical file system and second physical file system, and provide a virtual file system manager with a virtual file system converted from the first physical file system and second physical file system. The first physical file system controls the first storage media and the second physical file system controls the second storage media.

Claims

1. A computing system, comprising:

a first storage media;

a second storage media having an input/output speed slower than that of the first storage media; and

a hybrid file system management unit to manage a first physical file system and second physical file system, and provide a virtual file system manager with a virtual file system converted from the first physical file system and second physical file system, wherein the first physical file system controls the first storage media and the second physical file system controls the second storage media.

2. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the hybrid file system management unit determines whether to move a file requested by an operating system from the first storage media to the second storage media or from the second storage media to the first storage media, based on an access frequency of the requested file.

3. The computing system of claim 2, wherein, where the requested file is stored in the second storage media, the hybrid file system management unit calculates a relative gain and cost according to a movement to the first storage media based on the access frequency, and where the calculated relative gain is greater than the calculated cost, moves the requested file to the first storage media.

4. The computing system of claim 3, wherein the hybrid file system management unit determines whether an available space exists in the first storage media before moving the requested file to the first storage media, selects a file which is the least effective with regards to a cost from among files stored in the first storage media where the available space does not exist in the first storage media, moves the selected file to the second storage media, and moves the requested file to the first storage media from the second storage media.

5. A storage device, comprising:

a storage media to store first data and metadata of the first data; and

a buffer memory to sequentially store data transmitted from a host to the storage media,

wherein, where an amount of data stored in the buffer memory is equal to or greater than a reference value, the storage media stores the data stored in the buffer memory in a location next to the first data and the metadata of the first data as second data, and stores metadata of the second data in a location next to the second data.

6. The storage device of claim 5, wherein the storage media is a non-volatile memory, and the reference value is equal to or greater than a garbage collection unit.

7. The storage device of claim 6, wherein the storage media notifies the host of the garbage collection unit.

8. The storage device of claim 6, wherein the storage media performs a plurality of random write operations requested by the host, and enables the host to recognize the garbage collection unit, each of the plurality of random write operations being an operation to write data of different amounts.

9. The storage device of claim 5, wherein the buffer memory is a non-volatile memory.

10. The storage device of claim 9, wherein the buffer memory is located in the host, in the same package as the storage media, in a chipset associated with the host, or on a main board associated with the host.

11. A storage device, comprising:

a non-volatile memory to store data and metadata including management information of the data; and

a controller to control the non-volatile memory using the metadata, store updated metadata in the non-volatile memory where the metadata is required to be updated, and invalidate previous metadata,

wherein the controller receives information about data invalidated by a host from the host and manages the data of the non-volatile memory based on the received information.

12. The storage device of claim 11, wherein, where a process performed by the host is terminated, the controller receives invalidation information about a storage space of the non-volatile memory from the host, the storage space being dynamically assigned to the process.

13. The storage device of claim 12, wherein the controller divides the storage space of the non-volatile memory into a data area and a swap area for a virtual memory function, and where the process is terminated, invalidates data stored in the storage space assigned to the process in the swap area.

14. The storage device of claim 12, wherein the controller invalidates data stored in the storage space of the non-volatile memory, the storage space having been temporarily used by the process.

15. A storage device, comprising:

a plurality of memory channels;

a command queue to sequentially receive at least one command from a host with respect to the plurality of memory channels and store the at least one command; and

a controller to select a first command from the at least one command stored in the command queue, and issue the selected first command to a first channel from among the plurality of memory channels,

wherein each of the plurality of memory channels includes at least one non-volatile memory unit.

16. The storage device of claim 15, wherein the controller checks a state of the first channel where the selected first command is a write command, selects a second command from the at least one command stored in the command queue where a garbage collection is performed in the first channel, and issues the selected second command to a second channel, the second command accessing the second channel.

17. The storage device of claim 16, wherein the controller selects a third command from the at least one command stored in the command queue, and issues each of the selected second command and third command to the second channel and a third channel in parallel, the third command accessing the third channel.

18. The storage device of claim 15, wherein the controller selects a command with a top priority as the first command from the at least one command stored in the command queue.

19. The storage device of claim 15, wherein the controller provides a higher priority to a read command from among the at least one command stored in the command queue than to a write command.

20. The storage device of claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of memory channels comprises a buffer memory having an input/output speed faster than that of the at least one non-volatile memory unit, and the controller provides a higher priority to a command which reads data stored in the buffer memory from among the at least one command stored in the command queue than to a command which reads data stored in the at least one non-volatile memory unit.

21. The storage device of claim 15, wherein the controller provides a higher priority to a command which writes less data than a reference value from among the at least one command stored in the command queue than to a command which writes more data than the reference value.

22. The storage device of claim 21, wherein each of the plurality of memory channels comprises a buffer memory having an input/output speed faster than that of the at least one non-volatile memory unit, and the controller stores data of the command which writes the less data than the reference value in the buffer memory, and stores data of the command which writes the more data than the reference value in the at least one non-volatile memory unit.