Triggering a process to reduce declared capacity of a storage device

• US 9,563,370 B2
• Filed: 02/12/2015
• Issued: 02/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SanDisk Technologies LLC (Western Digital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: SanDisk Technologies LLC (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: Samuels, Allen, Kruger, Warren Fritz, Truong, Linh Tien
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Than
• Application Number:
  US14/621,200
• Publication Number:
  US 20160062680A1
• Time in Patent Office: 726 Days
• Field of Search: 711/103, 711/170, 711/E12.009
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/00 Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring error detection, correction or monitoring in information storage based on relative movement between record carrier and transducer G11B20/18; monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing G11B27/36; in static stores G11C29/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0727 in a storage system, e.g. in a DASD or network based storage system drivers for digital recording or reproducing units G06F3/06; circuits for error detection or correction within digital recording or reproducing units G11B20/18; for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0754 by exceeding limits
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0246 in block erasable memory, e.g. flash memory
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0253 Garbage collection, i.e. reclamation of unreferenced memory
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/7211 Wear leveling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/061 Improving I/O performance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0616 in relation to life time, e.g. increasing Mean Time Between Failures [MTBF]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0653 Monitoring storage devices or systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0655 Vertical data movement, i.e. input-output transfer; data movement between one or more hosts and one or more storage devices
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 16/3495 Circuits or methods to detect or delay wearout of nonvolatile EPROM or EEPROM memory devices, e.g. by counting numbers of erase or reprogram cycles, by using multiple memory areas serially or cyclically

Abstract

Systems, methods and/or devices are used to enable triggering a process to reduce declared capacity of a storage device. In one aspect, the method includes, at a storage device of a storage system: (1) generating one or more metrics of the storage device, the storage device including non-volatile memory, (2) detecting a trigger condition in accordance with the one or more metrics of the storage device, and (3) enabling an amelioration process associated with the detected trigger condition, the amelioration process to reduce declared capacity of the non-volatile memory of the storage device. In some embodiments, the storage device includes one or more flash memory devices.

Claims

1. A method of managing a storage system, the method comprising:

at a storage device of the storage system;

generating one or more metrics of the storage device, the storage device including non-volatile memory;

detecting a trigger condition in accordance with the one or more metrics of the storage device;

enabling an amelioration process associated with the detected trigger condition, the amelioration process to reduce declared capacity of the non-volatile memory of the storage device, wherein declared capacity is storage capacity available to a host;

prior to detecting the trigger condition, detecting a first wear condition of the non-volatile memory of the storage device, wherein a total storage capacity of the non-volatile memory of the storage device includes declared capacity and over-provisioning; and

in response to detecting the first wear condition, performing a remedial action that reduces over-provisioning of the non-volatile memory of the storage device without reducing declared capacity of the non-volatile memory of the storage device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the trigger condition comprises detecting a second wear condition distinct from the first wear condition.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling the amelioration process associated with the detected trigger condition includes notifying the host to which the storage device is operatively coupled of the trigger condition.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling the amelioration process associated with the detected trigger condition includes:

receiving a query from the host to which the storage device is operatively coupled; and

in response to receiving the query, reporting the trigger condition.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling the amelioration process associated with the detected trigger condition includes:

receiving a command from the host to which the storage device is operatively coupled; and

in response to receiving the command, sending a response to the command and a notification of the trigger condition.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling the amelioration process associated with the detected trigger condition includes:

receiving a command from the host to which the storage device is operatively coupled; and

in response to receiving the command, sending a response to the command and a notification that prompts the host to obtain information with respect to the trigger condition.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the host includes a client on behalf of which data is stored in the storage system.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the host includes a cluster controller of the storage system.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling the amelioration process associated with the detected trigger condition includes scheduling the amelioration process to be performed on the storage device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling the amelioration process associated with the detected trigger condition includes determining one or more parameters for the amelioration process.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein enabling the amelioration process associated with the detected trigger condition further includes reporting at least a subset of the one or more parameters for the amelioration process.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein generating one or more metrics of the storage device includes generating at least one metric, of the one or more metrics, for each memory portion of a plurality of memory portions of the storage device.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more metrics of the storage device include one or more status metrics corresponding to the storage device'"'"'s ability to retain data.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more metrics of the storage device include one or more performance metrics corresponding to performance of the storage device.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more metrics of the storage device include one or more wear metrics corresponding to wear on the storage device.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more metrics of the storage device include one or more time metrics.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more metrics of the storage device include values of the one or more metrics from more than one time.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after enabling the amelioration process;

re-evaluating the trigger condition in accordance with the one or more metrics of the storage device; and

in accordance with a determination that the trigger condition is no longer valid, aborting the amelioration process to reduce declared capacity of the non-volatile memory of the storage device.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the amelioration process to reduce declared capacity of the non-volatile memory of the storage device includes a process to reduce utilization of the non-volatile memory of the storage device.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the storage device comprises one or more flash memory devices.

21. A storage device, comprising:

non-volatile memory;

one or more processors; and

controller memory storing one or more programs, which when executed by the one or more processors cause the storage device to perform operations comprising;

generating one or more metrics of the storage device;

detecting a trigger condition in accordance with the one or more metrics of the storage device;

enabling an amelioration process associated with the detected trigger condition, the amelioration process to reduce declared capacity of the non-volatile memory of the storage device, wherein declared capacity is storage capacity available to a host;

prior to detecting the trigger condition, detecting a first wear condition of the non-volatile memory of the storage device, wherein a total storage capacity of the non-volatile memory of the storage device includes declared capacity and over-provisioning; and

in response to detecting the first wear condition, performing a remedial action that reduces over-provisioning of the non-volatile memory of the storage device without reducing declared capacity of the non-volatile memory of the storage device.

22. The storage device of claim 21, wherein detecting the trigger condition comprises detecting a second wear condition distinct from the first wear condition.

23. The storage device of claim 21, wherein enabling the amelioration process associated with the detected trigger condition includes notifying the host to which the storage device is operatively coupled of the trigger condition.

24. The storage device of claim 21, wherein the one or more metrics of the storage device include one or more status metrics corresponding to the storage device'"'"'s ability to retain data.

25. The storage device of claim 21, wherein the one or more metrics of the storage device include one or more performance metrics corresponding to performance of the storage device.

26. The storage device of claim 21, wherein the storage device comprises one or more flash memory devices.

27. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium, storing one or more programs configured for execution by one or more processors of a storage device, the one or more programs including instructions for:

generating one or more metrics of the storage device, the storage device including non-volatile memory;

detecting a trigger condition in accordance with the one or more metrics of the storage device;

enabling an amelioration process associated with the detected trigger condition, the amelioration process to reduce declared capacity of the non-volatile memory of the storage device, wherein declared capacity is storage capacity available to a host;

prior to detecting the trigger condition, detecting a first wear condition of the non-volatile memory of the storage device, wherein a total storage capacity of the non-volatile memory of the storage device includes declared capacity and over-provisioning; and

in response to detecting the first wear condition, performing a remedial action that reduces over-provisioning of the non-volatile memory of the storage device without reducing declared capacity of the non-volatile memory of the storage device.

28. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein detecting the trigger condition comprises detecting a second wear condition distinct from the first wear condition.

29. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein enabling the amelioration process associated with the detected trigger condition includes notifying the host to which the storage device is operatively coupled of the trigger condition.

30. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein the one or more metrics of the storage device include one or more status metrics corresponding to the storage device'"'"'s ability to retain data.

31. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein the one or more metrics of the storage device include one or more performance metrics corresponding to performance of the storage device.

32. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein the storage device comprises one or more flash memory devices.