Storing Corresponding Data Units in a Common Storage Unit

• US 20120102276A1
• Filed: 02/15/2011
• Published: 04/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seagate Technology LLC (Seagate Technology Holdings Plc)
• Original Assignee: Seagate Technology LLC (Seagate Technology Holdings Plc)
• Inventors: Haines, Jonathan Williams, Feldman, Timothy R.
• Granted Patent: US 9,684,590 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/154
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0246 in block erasable memory, e.g. flash memory
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0613 in relation to throughput
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/064 Management of blocks
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0643 Management of files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0679 Non-volatile semiconductor memory device, e.g. flash memory, one time programmable memory [OTP]

Abstract

A storage device controller may segregate data units that are typically accessed together to a common storage unit. In one example, a storage device includes a control unit configured to receive a plurality of logical blocks to be stored in the storage device, wherein a first set of addresses comprises logical block addresses (LBAs) of the plurality of logical blocks, and a non-volatile memory configured to store logical blocks in a plurality of storage units, wherein one of the plurality of storage units includes logical blocks corresponding to a second set of addresses. The control unit may determine an intersection of the first set of addresses with the second set of addresses and to store each of the logical blocks having LBAs in the determined intersection of addresses in a common storage unit of the storage device, wherein the common storage unit comprises one of the plurality of storage units.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a storage device, a plurality of logical blocks to be stored in the storage device;

determining a subset of the logical blocks that correspond to a common object; and

storing each of the logical blocks corresponding to the common object in a common storage unit of the storage device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the logical blocks not related to the common object in one or more storage units other than the common storage unit of the storage device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the subset comprises:

detecting accesses to a first set of logical blocks at a first rate;

detecting accesses to a second set of logical blocks at a second rate;

determining that the accesses to the first set of logical blocks and the second set of logical blocks occur at approximately the same time; and

determining that the subset of the logical blocks that correspond to the common object comprise logical blocks in the received plurality of logical blocks and at least one of the first set of logical blocks and the second set of logical blocks.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the common object comprises a multimedia object, wherein the first set of logical blocks corresponds to an audio track of the multimedia object, and wherein the second set of logical blocks corresponds to a video track of the multimedia object.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the subset comprises determining that the logical blocks of the subset comprise file system information, and wherein the common object comprises a file system object.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the plurality of logical blocks comprises receiving one or more objects to be written to the storage device, and wherein the common object comprises one of the one or more objects.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a list of storage locations, and wherein the common object corresponds to the list of storage locations.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the logical blocks comprise logical block addresses (LBAs), and wherein determining the subset of the logical blocks comprises determining that the logical blocks of the subset comprise LBAs that are in close spatial proximity.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the plurality of logical blocks comprises a first plurality of logical blocks, and wherein a first set of addresses comprises the LBAs of the subset of the logical blocks stored in the common storage unit, the method further comprising:

receiving a second plurality of logical blocks to be stored in the storage device, wherein a second set of addresses comprises LBAs of the second plurality of logical blocks;

determining an intersection of the second set of addresses with the first set of addresses; and

storing each of the logical blocks having LBAs in the determined intersection of addresses in a common storage unit of the storage device.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein determining the subset comprises determining the subset from LBAs for the logical blocks that are in sequence.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein determining the subset comprises:

receiving, by a detector module, at least a portion of the plurality of logical blocks;

including a first one of the received logical blocks in the subset; and

including subsequent ones of the received logical blocks in the subset when the subsequent ones of the received logical blocks comprise LBAs that are in sequence with respective previous ones of the LBAs of the logical blocks included in the subset.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein determining the subset comprises determining the subset such that for each LBA in the subset, the LBA is within a particular number of addresses of at least one other LBA in the subset.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein determining the subset comprises:

receiving, by a detector module, at least a portion of the plurality of logical blocks;

including a first one of the received logical blocks in the subset; and

including subsequent ones of the received logical blocks in the subset when the subsequent ones of the received logical blocks comprise LBAs that are within the particular number of addresses of at least one of the LBAs of the logical blocks included in the subset.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein storing each of the logical blocks comprises:

storing each of the logical blocks corresponding to the common object in order of logical block addresses (LBAs) of the logical blocks in the common storage unit;

or

storing each of the logical blocks corresponding to the common object in an order in which the logical blocks were received in the common storage unit.

15. A storage device comprising:

a control unit configured to receive a plurality of logical blocks to be stored in the storage device; and

a non-volatile memory configured to store logical blocks in a plurality of storage units,

wherein the control unit is configured to determine a subset of the logical blocks that correspond to a common object, and to store each of the logical blocks corresponding to the common object in a common one of the plurality of storage units.

16. The storage device of claim 15, wherein the control unit is configured to store the logical blocks that do not correspond to the common object in one or more storage units other than the common storage unit of the non-volatile memory.

17. The storage device of claim 15, wherein to determine the subset, the control unit is configured to detect accesses to a first set of logical blocks at a first rate, detect accesses to a second set of logical blocks at a second rate, determine that the accesses to the first set of logical blocks and the second set of logical blocks occur at approximately the same time, and determine that the subset of the logical blocks that correspond to the common object comprise logical blocks in the received plurality of logical blocks and at least one of the first set of logical blocks and the second set of logical blocks.

18. The storage device of claim 17, wherein the common object comprises a multimedia object, wherein the first set of logical blocks corresponds to an audio track of the multimedia object, and wherein the second set of logical blocks corresponds to a video track of the multimedia object.

19. The storage device of claim 15, wherein to determine the subset, the control unit is configured to determine that the logical blocks of the subset comprise file system information, and wherein the common object comprises a file system object.

20. The storage device of claim 15, wherein the control unit is configured to receive one or more objects to be written to the storage device, and wherein the common object comprises one of the one or more objects.

21. The storage device of claim 15, wherein the control unit is configured to receive a list of storage locations, and wherein the common object corresponds to the list of storage locations.

22. The storage device of claim 15, wherein the logical blocks comprise logical block addresses (LBAs), and wherein to determine the subset of the logical blocks, the control unit is configured to determine that the logical blocks of the subset comprise LBAs that are in close spatial proximity.

23. The storage device of claim 22, wherein:

the plurality of logical blocks comprises a first plurality of logical blocks;

the set of addresses comprises a first set of addresses; and

the control unit is further configured to receive a second plurality of logical blocks to be stored in the storage device, wherein a second set of addresses comprises LBAs of the second plurality of logical blocks, to determine an intersection of the second set of addresses with the subset of the first set of addresses, and to store each of the logical blocks having LBAs in the determined intersection of addresses in a second common storage unit of the storage device, wherein the second common storage unit of the storage device comprises a second one of the plurality of storage units of the non-volatile memory.

24. The storage device of claim 22, wherein the control unit is configured to include logical blocks having LBAs that are in sequence in the subset.

25. The storage device of claim 22, further comprising a detector module that is configured to receive at least a portion of the plurality of logical blocks, include a first one of the received logical blocks in the subset, and include subsequent ones of the received logical blocks in the subset when the subsequent ones of the received logical blocks comprise LBAs that are in sequence with respective previous ones of the LBAs of the logical blocks included in the subset.

26. The storage device of claim 22, further comprising a detector module that is configured to receive at least a portion of the plurality of logical blocks, include a first one of the received logical blocks in the subset, and include subsequent ones of the received logical blocks in the subset when the subsequent ones of the received logical blocks comprise LBAs that are within a particular number of addresses of at least one of the LBAs of the logical blocks included in the subset.

27. The storage device of claim 22, wherein the control unit is configured to include logical blocks in the subset such that for each logical block in the subset, the logical block has an LBA that is within a particular number of addresses of an LBA of at least one logical block in the subset.

28. The storage device of claim 15, wherein the control unit is configured to store each of the logical blocks having addresses in the determined subset in order of the addresses of logical block addresses (LBAs) of the logical blocks in the common storage unit.

29. The storage device of claim 15, wherein the control unit is configured to store each of the logical blocks corresponding to the common object in an order in which the logical blocks were received.

30. A system according to claim 15, comprising a computing device coupled to the storage device, the computing device comprising the control unit for controlling the storage device.

31. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to:

receive a plurality of logical blocks to be stored in a storage device;

determine a subset of the logical blocks that correspond to a common object; and

store each of the logical blocks corresponding to the common object in a common storage unit of the storage device.

32. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 31, wherein the instructions that cause the processor to determine the subset comprise instructions that cause the processor to:

detect accesses to a first set of logical blocks at a first rate;

detect accesses to a second set of logical blocks at a second rate;

determine that the accesses to the first set of logical blocks and the second set of logical blocks occur at approximately the same time; and

determine that the subset of the logical blocks that correspond to the common object comprise logical blocks in the received plurality of logical blocks and at least one of the first set of logical blocks and the second set of logical blocks.

33. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 31, wherein the logical blocks comprise logical block addresses (LBAs), and wherein determining the subset of the logical blocks comprises determining that the logical blocks of the subset comprise LBAs that are in close spatial proximity.

34. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 33, wherein the instructions that cause the processor to determine the subset comprise instructions that cause the processor to:

receive at least a portion of the plurality of logical blocks;

include a first one of the received logical blocks in the subset; and

include subsequent ones of the received logical blocks in the subset when the subsequent ones of the received logical blocks comprise LBAs that are in sequence with respective previous ones of the LBAs of the logical blocks included in the subset.

35. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 33, wherein the instructions that cause the processor to determine the subset comprise instructions that cause the processor to:

receive at least a portion of the plurality of logical blocks;

include a first one of the received logical blocks in the subset; and

include subsequent ones of the received logical blocks in the subset when the subsequent ones of the received logical blocks comprise LBAs that are within the particular number of addresses of at least one of the LBAs of the logical blocks included in the subset.