Storage Controller Block Erase Verification via Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face challenges in verifying if all user data has been completely removed from a storage device after executing a sanitize command, especially in regions inaccessible via logical addresses, which affects the security and reliability of the storage device.
Innovation Solution
The storage device includes a controller that maps logical addresses to user data regions and provides block address information and state information indicating whether user memory blocks are erased, allowing the host to verify the completion of the sanitize operation across both accessible and inaccessible regions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the storage device performs a sanitize operation to remove user data, then data security is improved, but the user cannot confirm whether all data has been actually removed
Solution Approach 1:
The storage device provides feedback to the host by returning block address information and state information indicating whether each user memory block has been erased. This allows the host to verify the sanitize operation results without compromising data security during the process.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller acts as an intermediary that manages the verification process. It provides block address information and erase state information to the host, enabling verification without exposing sensitive data or requiring the host to directly access memory blocks that should remain secure.
2Measurement precision
If the host can access all user memory blocks to verify erase status, then verification capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The verification capability is extracted as a separate function. The controller provides block address information and state information through standard interfaces, allowing the host to verify erase status without the host needing to implement complex direct memory access mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The storage device serves itself by providing the necessary verification information (block addresses and erase states) through normal communication protocols. The host can verify sanitize results using standard read operations without requiring special access privileges or complex verification hardware.
Data Source
AI summary
A storage device includes a memory device including user memory blocks providing a user data region; and a controller configured to: map logical addresses used in a host to a portion of the user data region, and use a remaining portion of the user data region as an over-provisioning region, wherein the controller is further configured to control the memory device to: erase the user memory blocks based on a sanitize command from the host, provide, to the host, block address information of the user memory blocks based on a block address request from the host, access the user memory blocks based on block state check requests from the host, and provide, to the host, state information indicating whether the user memory blocks are erased according to access results.