Seagate Technology Incorporated

Andrew Michael Kowles

Mark A Gaertner

Wenxiang Xie

Xiong Liu

Timothy Richard Feldman

Brian Thomas Edgar

Jian Qiang

Jiangnan Lin

Kai Yang

Bruce Douglas Buch

Harry Tiotantra

Wen Xiang Xie

LiBin Cai

David Andrew Rice

Devon Dallmann

Alexey V Nazarov

Adam J Weikal

Bang Cong Nguyen

Kai C Chen

Daniel J Sokolov

Ricardo Lim Soon Lian

Jihwan Chung

Cameron S McGary

In accordance with one implementation, a method for mitigating cache transfer time entails reading data into memory from at least two consecutive elliptical data tracks in a main store region of data storage and writing the data read from the at least two consecutive elliptical data tracks to a spiral data track within a cache storage region.

Cache transfer time mitigation

In one embodiment, a method is operable in an over-provisioned storage device comprising a cache region and a main storage region. The method includes compressing incoming data, generating a compression parameter for the compressed data, and storing at least a portion of the compressed data in chunks in the main storage region of the storage device. The method also includes predicting when to store other chunks of the compressed data in the cache region based on the compression parameter.

Capacity swapping based on compression

A method for improving write throughput of a storage device includes receiving a data access command targeting an LBA extent and determining that logical execution of the data access command includes reading or writing data logically across an identified high-performance-cost boundary. Responsive to the determination, the data access command is split into two or more separate data access commands that are separately queued in memory for execution.

Command splitting for high-cost data access operations

An exemplary data refresh method disclosed herein reading data into volatile memory from a first storage region using a read element controlled by a first actuator assembly and writing the data from the volatile memory to a second storage region using a write element controlled by a second actuator assembly, where the first actuator assembly and the second actuator assembly are configured to receive data from control circuitry via independent read/write communication channels.

Reduced latency I/O in multi-actuator device

In accordance with one implementation, a method for reducing cache service time includes determining an access time parameter associated with movement of a read/write head to an access location for each of a plurality of contiguous cache storage segments and dynamically selecting one of the plurality of contiguous cache storage segments to store data based on the determined access time parameter.

Cache access time mitigation

A method for data steering in tiered storage is described. In one embodiment, the method includes ranking storage areas of a storage device according to latency of access. In some embodiments, the storage areas include at least a first storage area and a second storage area. The method includes identifying first data at the storage device, passing a portion of the first data through a compression algorithm, and analyzing a result of passing the portion of the first data through the compression algorithm. In some cases, the result includes a score of compression savings associated with the portion of the first data. If the result satisfies a threshold associated with the first storage area, the first data is stored in the first storage area. If the result satisfies a threshold associated with the second storage area, the first data is stored in the second storage area.

Compression sampling in tiered storage

The herein disclosed technology provides techniques for uneven striping of data objects, such as metadata, in a storage device to decrease save times for copying such objects from volatile to non-volatile memory. According to one implementation, a data object is split into multiple differently-sized data segments of variable size based on rates of data transfer to multiple disparate non-volatile receiving devices. Responsive to initiation of a power down sequence, each of the multiple data segments of the data object are simultaneously copied from volatile memory to non-volatile memory.

Weighted data striping

Implementations disclosed herein provide for increasing storage drive performance by reserving a region of user-writeable storage space on a storage medium for overprovisioning uses, including performance-enhancing functions. Until a capacity condition of the storage drive is satisfied, write operations targeting the reserved region are written to another equal-sized region that does not contain user data.

Dynamic storage device region provisioning

A method or system for determining a required certification level of storage area for storing data of a write request based on a characteristic of the data, selecting a target storage area based on a media certification table and the required determined certification level of the media area and storing data at the target storage area.

Storage media performance management

A storage device or storage system includes a transient compression layer that is established based on a level of finishedness of the capacity of the storage device or storage system. Data may be compressed and written to the transient compression layer until the capacity is sufficiently finished, after which the compressed data may be destaged and written to the capacity. The transient compression layer may be established on a hard disc media of the storage system or in a SSD of the storage system.

Transient compression layer

A method or system for allocating the storage space of a storage medium into a permanently allocated media cache storage region, a dynamically mapped media cache storage region, and statically mapped storage region. In one implementation, the dynamically mapped media cache storage region is used for performance and/or reliability enhancing functions.

Dynamic storage device provisioning

Apparatus and method for managing metadata in a data storage device. In some embodiments, a metadata object has entries that describe data sets stored in a non-volatile write cache. During an archival (persistence) operation, the metadata object is divided into portions, and the portions are copied in turn to a non-volatile memory at a rate that maintains a measured latency within a predetermined threshold. A journal is formed of time-ordered entries that describe changes to the metadata object after the copying of the associated portions to the non-volatile memory. The journal is subsequently stored to the non-volatile memory, and may be subsequently combined with the previously stored portions to recreate the metadata object in a local memory. The measured performance latency may be related to a specified customer command completion time (CCT) for host commands.

Latency sensitive metadata object persistence operation for storage device

A method for data steering in tiered storage is described. In one embodiment, the method includes ranking a plurality of storage areas of a storage device according to at least one property of the plurality of storage areas. In some embodiments, the plurality of storage areas include at least a first storage area and a second storage area. The method includes obtaining a sample of data at the storage device, passing the sample of data through one or more compression codecs, and analyzing a result of passing the sample of data through the one or more compression codecs. In some embodiments, the result includes a score of compression savings associated with the sample of data. The method includes storing the data in one of the plurality of storage areas based at least in part on the analyzing the result of passing the sample of data through the one or more compression codecs.

Growing community of inventors

Lyons, CO, United States of America

Andrew Michael Kowles