Flash Block Management Tables in Non-Volatile Memory

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Solution Overview

Problem

In storage systems employing physically-addressed SSDs, the flash block management tables are prone to corruption and time-consuming reconstruction during power failures, as they are typically maintained in volatile memory without power backup, leading to delays in system initialization and potential data loss.

Innovation Solution

A non-volatile memory module, such as MRAM, is used to store and maintain flash block management tables, ensuring they are preserved during power interruptions and allowing for efficient reconstruction upon power-up, reducing the need for time-consuming metadata retrieval and minimizing data corruption.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Speed

If flash block management tables are maintained in volatile memory, then system operation speed is improved, but data reliability deteriorates during power failures

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem operation speedVSAvoiddata reliability

Core Design Contradiction:

SpeedVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a non-volatile memory module as an intermediary between the volatile system memory and the flash storage. This mediator preserves the flash block management tables during power failures, allowing the system to quickly recover without reconstructing the tables from scratch, thus maintaining both fast operation and data reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary action by saving the flash block management tables to the non-volatile memory module before power failure occurs. This advance preparation ensures that the tables are already preserved when power is lost, eliminating the need for time-consuming reconstruction during system initialization.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If flash block management tables are reconstructed during power-up, then data integrity is improved, but system initialization time increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata integrityVSAvoidsystem initialization time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates a copy of the flash block management tables in the non-volatile memory module. This copy serves as a backup that can be quickly loaded during system initialization, avoiding the need to reconstruct the tables from metadata in flash storage, thus reducing initialization time while maintaining data integrity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary action by pre-saving the management tables to non-volatile memory during normal operation. When power failure occurs, the tables are already preserved and can be quickly restored to system memory during boot-up, eliminating the time-consuming reconstruction process while ensuring data integrity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Quantity of substance

If garbage collection is performed on flash memory, then storage space is improved, but operational latency increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestorage spaceVSAvoidoperational latency

Core Design Contradiction:

Quantity of substanceVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the flash block management tables from the flash storage and places them in a non-volatile memory module. This separation allows garbage collection to be performed on flash storage without affecting the availability of management tables, reducing operational latency while still enabling storage space reclamation through garbage collection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

This solution enables reliable and efficient preservation of flash block management tables, reducing system initialization delays and minimizing data corruption, thereby enhancing the reliability and performance of storage systems during power interruptions.

Implementation Method 1

A non-volatile memory module, such as MRAM, is used to store and maintain flash block management tables

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectMagnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM): Magnetoresistance

Data Source

PatentUS9037787B2Computer system with physically-addressable solid state disk (SSD) and a method of addressing the same

Publication Date: 2015.05.19 AVALANCHE TECHNOLOGY INC

AI summary

A storage system includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU) that has a physically-addressed solid state disk (SSD), addressable using physical addresses associated with user data and provided by a host. The user data is to be stored in or retrieved from the physically-addressed SSD in blocks. Further, a non-volatile memory module is coupled to the CPU and includes flash tables used to manage blocks in the physically addressed SSD. The flash tables have tables that are used to map logical to physical blocks for identifying the location of stored data in the physically addressed SSD. The flash tables are maintained in the non-volatile memory modules thereby avoiding reconstruction of the flash tables upon power interruption.