Data access at a storage device using cluster information

• US 8,880,776 B2
• Filed: 12/16/2008
• Issued: 11/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Western Digital Israel Limited (Western Digital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: SanDisk IL Ltd. (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: Dolgunov, Boris, Shen, Eran
• Primary Examiner(s): Bradley, Matthew
• Assistant Examiner(s): Talukdar, Arvind
• Application Number:
  US12/336,375
• Publication Number:
  US 20100153673A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,149 Days
• US Class Current: 711/103
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/023 Free address space management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0246 in block erasable memory, e.g. flash memory
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/1433 for a module or a part of a module
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/80 in storage media based on magnetic or optical technology, e.g. disks with sectors preventing unauthorised reproduction or copying of disc-type recordable media G11B20/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/85 interconnection devices, e.g. bus-connected or in-line devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2149 Restricted operating environment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles

Abstract

Systems and methods for accessing data at a data storage device are disclosed. In a particular embodiment, a method includes receiving cluster information at a controller of a data storage device, the data storage device further including a memory, the cluster information being associated with a data file that is stored at the memory. The method also includes accessing the cluster information to locate at least one region of the memory corresponding to the data file. The method further includes accessing data from the data file at the at least one region of the memory that is identified by the cluster information. Accessing of data from the data file includes the controller executing an internal application.

Claims

1. A method for accessing data at a data storage device, the method comprising:

in a data storage device with a controller, a memory, and an interface to communicate with a host device, the memory including a data file and cluster information associated with the data file, wherein the cluster information is initially received from the host device or is preloaded onto the data storage device, wherein the cluster information is stored by the controller in a host-inaccessible portion of the memory and the data file is stored in a host accessible portion of the memory, wherein content stored in the host-inaccessible portion cannot be accessed by the host via the interface, and wherein the data storage device does not maintain an internal file system, performing;

receiving via the interface from the host device, a request to access data; and

in response to receiving the request;

retrieving, by the controller, the cluster information from the host-inaccessible portion to locate at least one region of the memory corresponding to the data file, wherein the cluster information identifies a particular set of clusters of a plurality of sets of clusters, and wherein each of the plurality of sets of clusters stores a part of and not an entirety of a file system; and

accessing, by the controller, the data from the data file at the at least one region of the memory located in accordance with the cluster information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data file is received from the host device and organized at the memory according to a host file system managed at the host device, and further comprising:

processing the data at an internal application within the controller to generate processed data; and

providing the processed data to an application at the host device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the data file received from the host device includes encrypted data, and wherein processing the data at the internal application includes decrypting the encrypted data.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the internal application authenticates the application at the host device prior to providing decrypted data to the application.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising receiving a request that includes a data identifier, and wherein processing the data at the internal application includes searching the data for the data identifier.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the cluster information includes multiple addresses and file access sequencing information related to the multiple addresses.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the data includes at least one of audio content, video content, and navigation content.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein an internal application at the data storage device is executable by the controller to access the data at the memory, to process the data, and to send the processed data to the host device.

9. A data storage device comprising:

an interface;

a memory including a data file and cluster information associated with the data file, wherein the cluster information is initially received from a host device or is preloaded onto the data storage device, wherein the cluster information is stored by a memory controller in a host-inaccessible portion of the memory and the data file is stored in a host accessible portion of the memory, wherein content stored in the host-inaccessible portion cannot be accessed by the host device via the interface, and wherein the data storage device does not maintain an internal file system; and

the memory controller coupled to the memory and coupled to the interface, wherein the memory controller is configured, in response to receiving, via the interface, a request to access data, to retrieve the cluster information associated with the data file stored at the memory from the host-inaccessible portion to locate a region of the memory in accordance with the cluster information, wherein the cluster information identifies a particular set of clusters of a plurality of sets of clusters, wherein each of the plurality of sets of clusters stores a part of and not an entirety of a file system, and to execute an internal application to access the data from the data file at the region of the memory.

10. The data storage device of claim 9, wherein the memory controller is further configured to process the data and to send the processed data to the host device in response to receiving a memory request from the host device while the data storage device is operatively coupled to the host device via the interface.

11. The data storage device of claim 10, wherein the memory request identifies a data object but not an address of the data object, and wherein the memory controller is configured to search the region of the memory to locate the data object.

12. The data storage device of claim 10, wherein the memory controller includes a data processor configured to process the data and to send the processed data to the host device.

13. The data storage device of claim 12, wherein the processed data comprises one of decrypted data and decoded data.

19. The data storage device of claim 9, wherein the cluster information is stored by the memory controller to the host-inaccessible portion and wherein the cluster information corresponds to a host file system that is maintained by a host device.

20. The data storage device of claim 9, wherein the memory stores a file allocation table (FAT) including a cluster map, wherein the FAT is accessible to the host device, and wherein cluster data matching a portion but not all of the cluster map is stored in the host-inaccessible portion.

21. The data storage device of claim 20, wherein the cluster information is stored in the host-inaccessible portion upon receipt from the host device when the data file is written to the memory by the host device.

14. A system comprising:

a memory controller that is configured to receive cluster information associated with a data file stored at a memory and to store the cluster information in a host-inaccessible portion of the memory without maintaining an internal file system for the memory, wherein the cluster information is initially received from a host device or is preloaded into the memory, wherein content stored in the host-inaccessible portion cannot be accessed by the host device via an interface, wherein the memory controller is further configured, in response to receiving a memory request to access data, to access the cluster information to locate a region of the memory and to access the data from the data file at the region of the memory in accordance with the cluster information, wherein the cluster information identifies a particular set of clusters of a plurality of sets of clusters, wherein each of the plurality of sets of clusters stores a part of and not an entirety of a file system, and wherein an application is executed by the memory controller to access the data from the data file.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the memory controller is configured to process the data and to send the processed data to the host device.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the memory controller is configured to decrypt the data.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the host-inaccessible portion includes a hidden portion of the memory.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the memory controller is configured to identify a data request pattern corresponding to at least one data request from a host device that indicates an error condition.