Managing lifetime of limited usage storage devices in a caching system

• US 8,904,093 B1
• Filed: 06/15/2012
• Issued: 12/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Juniper Networks Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Juniper Networks Incorporated
• Inventors: Nishimoto, Michael, Kohli, Jaspal
• Primary Examiner(s): Blair, April Y
• Assistant Examiner(s): Thammavong, Prasith
• Application Number:
  US13/524,068
• Time in Patent Office: 900 Days
• Field of Search: 711/103
• US Class Current: 711/103
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0246 in block erasable memory, e.g. flash memory
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0871 Allocation or management of cache space
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/1036 Life time enhancement
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/222 Non-volatile memory
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/314 In storage network, e.g. network attached cache
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/7208 Multiple device management, e.g. distributing data over multiple flash devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/7211 Wear leveling

Abstract

A cache server receives wear usage information associated with a storage device, and receives an object to be cached in the storage device. The cache server also determines whether to store the object in the storage device based on the wear usage information. The cache server provides the object to the storage device for storage when it is determined that the object is to be stored in the storage device, and prevents the object from being stored in the storage device when it is determined that the object is not to be stored in the storage device.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a device, wear usage information associated with a storage device;

receiving, by the device, an object to be cached in the storage device;

determining, by the device, whether to store the object in the storage device based on the wear usage information,

determining whether to store the object including;

determining that the object is to be stored in the storage device when at least one of;

a portion of the object is already stored in the storage device, or

a temporal limit of the storage device has not been reached,

 

the temporal limit indicating a quantity of erase/write operations permitted by the storage device within a particular period of time and

determining that the object is not to be stored in the storage device when at least one of;

the portion of the object is not already stored in the storage device, or

the temporal limit of the storage device has been reached;

providing, by the device, the object to the storage device for storage when the object is to be stored in the storage device; and

preventing, by the device, the object from being stored in the storage device when the object is not to be stored in the storage device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing the object to another storage device for storage when the object is not to be stored in the storage device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing information associated with the object in a memory associated with the device.

4. The method of claim 1, where the object comprises one or more of audio data, video data, image data, or text.

5. The method of claim 1, where determining whether to store the object in the storage device further comprises:

retrieving, from a memory associated with the device, previously stored information associated with the object;

comparing the previously stored information associated with the object with information associated with the object;

determining a number of times the object has been requested based on comparing the previously stored information associated with the object with the information associated with the object; and

determining whether to store the object in the storage device based on the wear usage information and the number of times the object has been requested.

6. The method of claim 5, where determining whether to store the object in the storage device based on the wear usage information and the number of times the object has been requested comprises:

determining that the object is to be stored in the storage device when the number of times the object has been requested is greater than a particular threshold;

and

determining that the object is not to be stored in the storage device when;

the number of times the object has been requested is less than or equal to the particular threshold.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

disabling wear functionality associated with the storage device.

8. The method of claim 7, where the wear functionality includes erase/write cycle throttling performed by the storage device.

9. A device, comprising:

a processor to;

receive wear usage information associated with a storage device,

receive an object to be cached in the storage device,

determine whether to store the object in the storage device based on the wear usage information,

when determining whether to store the object, the processor is to;

determine that the object is to be stored in the storage device when at least one of;

 

a portion of the object is already stored in the storage device, or

 

a temporal limit of the storage device has not been reached,

 

the temporal limit indicating a quantity of erase/write operations permitted by the storage device within a particular period of time and

determine that the object is not to be stored in the storage device when at least one of;

 

the portion of the object is not already stored in the storage device, or

 

the temporal limit of the storage device has been reached,

provide the object to the storage device for storage when the object is to be stored in the storage device, and

prevent the object from being stored in the storage device when the object is not to be stored in the storage device.

10. The device of claim 9, where the processor is further to:

provide the object to another storage device for storage when the object is not to be stored in the storage device.

11. The device of claim 9, where the processor is further to:

store information associated with the object in a memory associated with the device.

12. The device of claim 11, where, when determining whether to store the object in the storage device, the processor is further to:

retrieve, from the memory associated with the device, previously stored information associated with the object,

compare the previously stored information associated with the object with the information associated with the object,

determine a number of times the object has been requested based on comparing the previously stored information associated with the object with the information associated with the object, and

determine whether to store the object in the storage device based on the wear usage information and the number of times the object has been requested.

13. The device of claim 12, where, when determining whether to store the object in the storage device based on the wear usage information and the number of times the object has been requested, the processor is further to:

determine that the object is to be stored in the storage device when the number of times the object has been requested is greater than a particular threshold,

and

determine that the object is not to be stored in the storage device when;

the number of times the object has been requested is less than or equal to the particular threshold.

14. The device of claim 9, where the processor is further to:

disable wear functionality associated with the storage device.

15. The device of claim 14, where the wear functionality includes erase/write cycle throttling performed by the storage device.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, the instructions comprising:

one or more instructions that, when executed by a processor of a device, cause the processor to;

receive wear usage information associated with a storage device,

receive an object to be cached in the storage device,

determine whether to store the object in the storage device based on the wear usage information,

the one or more instructions to determine whether to store the object including;

one or more instructions to determine that the object is to be stored in the storage device when at least one of;

a portion of the object is already stored in the storage device, or

a temporal limit of the storage device has not been reached,

 

the temporal limit indicating a quantity of erase/write operations permitted by the storage device within a particular period of time; and

one or more instructions to determine that the object is not to be stored in the storage device when at least one of;

the portion of the object is not already stored in the storage device, or

the temporal limit of the storage device has been reached,

provide the object to the storage device for storage when the object is to be stored in the storage device, and

prevent the object from being stored in the storage device when the object is not to be stored in the storage device.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, the instructions further comprising:

one or more instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

provide the object to another storage device for storage when the object is not to be stored in the storage device.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, the instructions further comprising:

one or more instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

store information associated with the object in a memory associated with the device.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, where the one or more instructions to determine whether to store the object in the storage device further comprise:

one or more instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

retrieve, from the memory associated with the device, previously stored information associated with the object,

compare the previously stored information associated with the object with the information associated with the object,

determine a number of times the object has been requested based on the comparison, and

determine whether to store the object in the storage device based on the wear usage information and the number of times the object has been requested.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, where the one or more instructions to determine whether to store the object in the storage device based on the wear usage information and the number of times the object has been requested further comprise:

one or more instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

determine that the object is to be stored in the storage device when the number of times the object has been requested is greater than a particular threshold,

and

determine that the object is not to be stored in the storage device when;

the number of times the object has been requested is less than or equal to the particular threshold.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, the instructions further comprising:

one or more instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

disable erase/write cycle throttling performed by the storage device.