Virtual Band Allocation for Storage Density
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current storage medium accessing methods, particularly in disk drives, face challenges in increasing recording density due to limitations in writing methods, such as the shingle write method, which requires dynamic allocation of disk addresses to maintain directional consistency and avoid adjacent track interference.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a method that uses virtual addresses to map logical block addresses to physical addresses, allowing for the dynamic adjustment of virtual band sizes and configuration of virtual zones, enabling efficient data writing in a single direction while optimizing recording density by allocating virtual bands across physical zones.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If shingle write method is used to increase recording density, then recording density is improved, but adjacent track interference increases and directional consistency becomes difficult to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The storage medium is divided into multiple physical zones with different recording characteristics. Each zone can be independently managed with its own virtual band allocation strategy, allowing optimization of recording density in each zone while controlling interference through zone-based isolation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces virtual bands as an additional layer of address space between logical blocks and physical zones. This virtual dimension allows flexible mapping that can route writes away from problematic adjacent tracks while maintaining directional consistency, effectively adding a dimension to the address space to resolve interference issues.
2Stability of the object's composition
If dynamic allocation of disk addresses is implemented to maintain directional consistency, then directional consistency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The address space is segmented into physical zones with distinct recording characteristics. Each zone has its own virtual band structure, allowing localized address allocation strategies that maintain directional consistency within zones without requiring complex global coordination.
Solution Approach 2:
Virtual bands serve as an intermediary layer between logical block addresses and physical zone addresses. This virtual layer absorbs the complexity of dynamic allocation by providing a simplified mapping interface, maintaining directional consistency while hiding the underlying physical zone variations from the host system.
3Quantity of substance
If virtual bands are dynamically adjusted to optimize recording density, then recording density is improved, but virtual addressing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual band structure is made dynamic, allowing the number and size of virtual bands per physical zone to be adjusted based on actual recording conditions and density requirements. This dynamic adaptation enables optimization of recording density while managing complexity through automated adjustment mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes parameters such as the number of virtual bands per physical zone and the size of virtual bands to optimize recording density. By adjusting these parameters dynamically based on zone characteristics and recording requirements, the system achieves higher density while keeping the virtual addressing structure manageable through parameterization rather than structural complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatuses for adjusting the size of a virtual band or virtual zone of a storage medium are provided. In one embodiment, an apparatus may comprise a data storage device including a data storage medium having a physical zone; and a processor configured to receive a virtual addressing adjustment command, and adjust a number of virtual addresses in a virtual band mapped to the physical zone based on the virtual addressing adjustment command. In another embodiment, a method may comprise providing a data storage device configured to implement virtual addresses associated with a virtual band mapped to a physical zone of a data storage medium of the data storage device, receiving at the data storage device a virtual addressing adjustment command, and adjusting a number of virtual addresses in a virtual band based on the virtual addressing adjustment command.