Virtual Indexing for Memory Garbage Collection Efficiency
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Solution Overview
Problem
In mobile device memory sub-systems with limited DRAM, garbage collection operations are inefficient due to the need to read and validate all logical block addresses (LBAs), including invalid ones, which consumes time and resources.
Innovation Solution
Implementing virtual indexing circuitry that records valid and invalid LBAs in a dedicated index, allowing for efficient data organization and consolidation, thereby reducing the need to read invalid data during garbage collection operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If garbage collection operations read and validate all logical block addresses including invalid ones, then data integrity can be ensured, but time and resources are consumed unnecessarily
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-validating and indexing LBAs before garbage collection operations. The LBA validation index structure pre-organizes valid and invalid LBAs, allowing the garbage collection process to skip invalid entries without reading them, thus ensuring data integrity while reducing time consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts invalid LBAs from the general LBA list by creating a separate LBA validation index that identifies and isolates invalid entries. This extraction allows the garbage collection operation to focus only on valid LBAs, eliminating unnecessary reading of invalid data while maintaining data integrity through the indexed validation information.
2Reliability
If all logical block addresses are read during garbage collection, then complete data validation is achieved, but resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary validation and indexing of LBAs before garbage collection. The LBA validation index is pre-built to identify valid and invalid LBAs, enabling the garbage collection process to validate only necessary LBAs without consuming resources on obviously invalid entries, thus achieving complete data validation with reduced resource consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts invalid LBAs from the validation process by using the LBA validation index to identify and exclude them. This extraction ensures that resources are not wasted reading and validating invalid LBAs, while still maintaining complete data validation for valid LBAs through the indexed structure.
3Productivity
If a dedicated index structure is implemented for valid and invalid LBAs, then garbage collection efficiency improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The LBA validation index structure serves multiple functions: it identifies valid and invalid LBAs, guides garbage collection operations, and maintains data integrity information. By making the index structure multi-functional, the patent improves garbage collection efficiency without proportionally increasing device complexity, as the same structure performs multiple tasks.
Solution Approach 2:
The LBA validation index acts as an intermediary between the garbage collection operation and the LBA data. It mediates the interaction by providing pre-validated information about LBA validity, allowing the garbage collection process to operate efficiently without directly complex interactions with the underlying storage structure.
4Reliability
If invalid data is read during garbage collection, then complete data checking is performed, but time is wasted on unnecessary validation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts invalid LBAs from the validation process using the LBA validation index. By identifying and separating invalid LBAs beforehand, the system can perform complete data checking only on valid LBAs, eliminating time wasted on validating obviously invalid entries while maintaining reliability through comprehensive validation of actual valid data.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary identification of invalid LBAs through the validation index before the actual validation process. This preliminary action allows the garbage collection operation to focus its time and resources only on validating data that actually needs validation, achieving complete data checking without time waste on unnecessary validation of invalid entries.
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes writing, to a first data structure, indices corresponding to address locations of a logical-to-physical (L2P) data structure that maps a plurality of logical block addresses (LBAs) associated with the L2P data structure, initiating performance of a media management operation involving one or more memory blocks in which data associated with the LBAs is written, and refraining from rewriting particular entries in the L2P table that correspond to LBAs whose index in the first data structure is a particular value during performance of the media management operation.