Solid-State Bad Block Remapping with Redundant Startup Logs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional bad block management techniques are inadequate for solid-state storage, leading to inefficiencies and unreliability in handling failed blocks, which can result in data loss and performance degradation.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for bad block remapping that includes identifying bad blocks, writing their locations into redundant logs, creating a bad block map during startup, and using replacement blocks to ensure data storage continuity, while maintaining performance and reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional bad block management techniques are used, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The bad block management system is segmented into multiple independent bad block logs stored at different locations in the solid-state storage array. Each log maintains a portion of the bad block mapping information, allowing the system to distribute complexity across multiple manageable units rather than relying on a single complex management structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a spatial dimension by storing bad block logs at multiple physical locations within the storage array. This transforms the one-dimensional bad block mapping approach into a multi-dimensional system where redundancy is achieved through spatial distribution, improving reliability without proportionally increasing operational complexity.
2Reliability
If redundant bad block logs are implemented, then reliability is improved, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bad block logs are maintained in a persistent state within the solid-state storage array, allowing the system to avoid time-consuming bad block detection and mapping operations during startup. The preliminary action of pre-storing bad block information enables rapid initialization without requiring full array scans or complex real-time analysis.
3Loss of information
If bad blocks are not remapped, then device complexity is reduced, but loss of information increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bad block logs serve as intermediary structures that mediate between the physical storage blocks and the logical data mapping. These logs maintain the mapping information needed to redirect data access away from bad blocks, preventing data loss without requiring complex real-time remapping operations during normal data access.
4Reliability
If multiple bad block logs are used, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple bad block logs are merged into a unified management approach where the controller systematically maintains and updates all logs. The logs are treated as complementary components that collectively provide comprehensive bad block coverage, with the controller coordinating updates across all logs to maintain consistency without requiring complex synchronization mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for bad block remapping. A bad block identifier module identifies one or more data blocks on a solid-state storage element as bad blocks. A log update module writes at least a location of each bad block identified by the bad block identifier module into each of two or more redundant bad block logs. A bad block mapping module accesses at least one bad block log during a start-up operation to create in memory a bad block map. The bad block map includes a mapping between the bad block locations in the bad block log and a corresponding location of a replacement block for each bad block location. Data is stored in each replacement block instead of the corresponding bad block. The bad block mapping module creates the bad block map using one of a replacement block location and a bad block mapping algorithm.