Incremental Background Media Scan for SSD Data Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing size of solid-state drives (SSDs) leads to an increased workload for the background media scan (BGMS) process, which consumes more processing resources and decreases overall performance due to the need to scan more data in the same amount of time to prevent data decay.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an incremental BGMS method where the controller scans a single page of each block in a non-sequential manner, transitioning between blocks on the page level, allowing each block to be visited multiple times during the scanning period, thereby reducing the workload and increasing the chances of detecting data degradation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the BGMS process scans more data in the same amount of time to prevent data decay in larger SSDs, then data retention reliability is improved, but processing resource consumption increases and overall performance decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the BGMS process into incremental phases, scanning a subset of blocks (e.g., first 10%, then next 10%, etc.) over multiple passes rather than scanning all blocks in a single comprehensive scan. This segmentation allows the system to maintain data retention reliability through repeated monitoring while reducing the processing burden on any single pass, thereby preserving overall SSD performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements periodic incremental scanning where the controller performs BGMS on different portions of the storage medium at different time intervals. Instead of a continuous full-scan approach, the system periodically revisits different block segments, allowing maintenance of reliability through repeated detection while distributing the processing load over time to avoid performance degradation.
2Reliability
If the BGMS process utilizes more processing resources to handle increased workload from larger SSDs, then data decay prevention is improved, but read performance decreases due to die-collision
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the storage medium into multiple segments and scans them in an incremental, staggered manner. By scanning only a portion of blocks in each BGMS cycle rather than the entire medium, the system reduces die-collision events (where multiple read operations target the same physical die simultaneously), thereby maintaining read performance while still achieving reliable data decay detection through repeated monitoring cycles.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary incremental scans on subsets of blocks before conducting more comprehensive scans. This preliminary action allows the system to identify and address potential data decay issues in specific regions without immediately triggering resource-intensive full-scan operations, thus preventing performance degradation while maintaining detection capability.
3Measurement precision
If the controller scans all blocks sequentially to perform comprehensive media scan, then detection precision is improved, but scanning time increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the scanning process into multiple incremental passes over different block subsets. Each pass scans a specific portion of the storage medium with high detection precision, and by rotating through different segments over time, the system achieves comprehensive coverage without requiring a single time-consuming full scan, thus reducing total scanning time while maintaining detection accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements continuous incremental scanning where the controller continuously monitors different portions of the storage medium across multiple passes. This continuous action ensures that detection precision is maintained through persistent monitoring while the incremental approach to different segments prevents the scanning time from becoming prohibitive, as the workload is distributed over multiple shorter operations.
Data Source
AI summary
In general, a storage device may perform an incremental background media scan. The storage device includes a data storage portion comprising a plurality of blocks. The storage device also includes a controller configured to perform the scan to determine whether to perform maintenance on the page. As such, the controller may scan a first page of a first block of a set of blocks. Each block has multiple pages. The controller may, for each respective remaining block of the set, scan a respective first page of the respective remaining block, the first page having a same first index as the respective first page. The controller may further scan a second page of the first block. The controller may then, for each respective remaining block of the set, scan a respective second page of the respective remaining block, the second page having a same second index as the respective second page.