Silicon Motion, Inc.

Hsueh-Chun Fu

Chun-Chieh Kuo

Shou-Wei Lee

The invention introduces a non-transitory computer program product for scheduling execution of host commands when executed by a processing unit of a flash controller. Space of a random access memory of the flash controller is allocated for a first queue and a second queue, and the first queue stores the host commands issued by a host side in an order of time when the host commands arrive to the flash controller. The non-transitory computer program product includes program code to: migrate one or more host write commands from the top of the first queue to the second queue in an order of time when the host write commands arrive to the flash controller until the top of the first queue stores a host read command; fetch the host read command from the top of the first queue; execute the host read command to read user data from a flash module; and reply to the host side with the user data.

Computer program product and method and apparatus for scheduling execution of host commands

A garbage collection method is provided and applied to a data storage device. The garbage collection method includes the following steps: selecting source blocks from data blocks, wherein a total number of valid data of the source blocks is larger than or equal to a predetermined data number of a block; copying valid data of a part of the source blocks into a destination block, wherein a total number of the valid data of the part of the source blocks is smaller than the predetermined data number; copying all or a part of valid data of remaining source blocks into the destination block; updating a logical to physical addresses mapping table based on a mapping information of the destination block; and recovering all or a part of the source blocks as spare blocks.

Garbage collection method for data storage device

An efficient mapping information management technology for non-volatile memory is disclosed. When a host requests to access data of a first logical address, a microprocessor of a controller of the non-volatile memory loads a first sub-mapping table from the non-volatile memory to a volatile memory. The microprocessor loads hierarchical pointer tables related to the first logical address into the volatile memory. Among the hierarchical pointer tables, each higher-level pointer table lists non-volatile memory physical addresses of lower-level pointer tables. A non-volatile memory physical address of the first sub-mapping table is obtained from a first pointer table according to a first index, for the microprocessor to load the first sub-mapping table from the non-volatile memory into the volatile memory for mapping information of the first logical address, and the first pointer table is in the lowest level among the hierarchical pointer tables loaded in the volatile memory.

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Hukou, Taiwan

Hsueh-Chun Fu