Memory Wear Leveling via Cumulative Wear Thresholds
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wear leveling techniques in rewritable non-volatile memory modules focus on improving block selection strategies, leading to excessive write amplification and reduced service life due to frequent wear leveling operations.
Innovation Solution
A method that records wear count values for physical units, triggers wear leveling when a specific condition is met, and moves valid data from less worn units to more worn units, optimizing the wear leveling operation to extend module life.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If wear leveling operation is performed frequently to balance wear distribution, then wear uniformity is improved, but write amplification increases and service life decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the triggering parameter from wear difference threshold to total wear count threshold. When the total wear count of all physical blocks reaches a predetermined threshold, wear leveling is triggered regardless of wear distribution uniformity. This parameter change prevents excessive wear leveling operations while still maintaining wear balance when necessary.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements periodic wear leveling based on cumulative wear count rather than continuous monitoring of wear differences. By accumulating wear counts and triggering wear leveling only when the total reaches a threshold, the system performs wear leveling periodically rather than continuously, reducing unnecessary operations and write amplification.
2Stability of the object's composition
If wear leveling operation is triggered by wear difference threshold, then wear balance is improved, but operation frequency increases causing excessive write amplification
Solution Approach 1:
The patent fundamentally changes the triggering parameter from wear difference (max wear - min wear < threshold) to total wear count (sum of all block wear counts > threshold). This parameter change dramatically reduces the frequency of wear leveling operations while still achieving wear balance when the total wear reaches the threshold, thereby reducing write amplification.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of performing wear leveling whenever any wear difference exists (excessive action), the patent performs wear leveling only when the total wear count reaches a predetermined threshold (partial action). This selective approach performs wear leveling only when necessary, reducing unnecessary operations and their associated write amplification.
3Stability of the object's composition
If wear leveling is performed on all physical blocks, then wear distribution is improved, but operation complexity and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the wear leveling operation by first identifying physical blocks that meet the wear count threshold condition, then performing wear leveling only on those specific blocks rather than all blocks. This segmentation reduces the scope of each wear leveling operation, lowering complexity and execution time while still achieving effective wear distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies wear leveling selectively to specific physical blocks whose wear counts meet the threshold condition, rather than uniformly applying it to all blocks. This local quality approach focuses wear leveling resources on blocks that need it most, reducing overall operation complexity and time while maintaining effective wear distribution.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention provides a wear leveling method, a memory storage device, and a memory control circuit unit. The method includes: recording wear count values respectively corresponding to a plurality of physical units; obtaining a total of a plurality of first physical units, wherein a first wear count value corresponding to each of the first physical units meets a first condition; triggering a wear leveling operation in response to the total meeting a second condition; and in the wear leveling operation, moving valid data in at least one second physical unit to at least one of the plurality of first physical units. As a result, the wear leveling operation performed on the rewritable non-volatile memory module may be optimized.