User device including storage device and trim management method thereof

Abstract

A trim management method for a storage device includes activating, by a processor configured by an application program, a pattern check function of a device driver, requesting, by the processor configured by the application program, a file system to write a file of a specified pattern, converting, by the processor configured by the file system, the file to management unit data of the storage device, transmitting, by the processor configured by the file system, the management unit data to the device driver, checking, by the processor configured by the device driver, whether a data pattern of the management unit data is the same as the specified pattern, and transmitting, by the processor configured by the device driver, a trim command for trimming a storage area corresponding to the management unit data, to the storage device based on results of the checking.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A trim management method for a storage device including a controller and a nonvolatile memory, the method comprising:
 transmitting, by the controller, a trim request to an external device based on a number of free blocks of the storage device or available memory capacity of the storage device;   receiving, by the controller, a pattern check start command from the external device;   receiving, by the controller, a trim pattern from the external device;   transmitting, by the controller, a stop request to the external device based on the number of free blocks of the storage device or the available memory capacity of the storage device;   receiving, by the controller, a pattern check stop command from the external device;   performing, by the controller, at least one pattern check operation in response to the pattern check start command until the pattern check stop command is received by the controller; and   performing at least one trim operation based on results of the at least one pattern check operation.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one trim operation is performed after the at least one pattern check operation is performed. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein
 the at least one pattern check operation includes a plurality of pattern check operations, and   the performing at least one pattern check operation includes accumulating results of the plurality of pattern check operations.   
     
     
         4 . A storage device comprising:
 a nonvolatile memory;   a buffer memory configured to temporarily store data; and   a storage controller configured to,
 transmit a trim request to an external device,
 receive a pattern check start command from the external device, 
 receive a trim pattern from the external device, 
 transmit a stop request to the external device, 
 receive a pattern check stop command from the external device, 
 perform at least one pattern check operation in response to the pattern check start command until the storage controller receives the pattern check stop command, and 
 write the data or perform at least one trim operation in the nonvolatile memory based on results of the at least one pattern check operation. 
 
   
     
     
         5 . The storage device of  claim 4 , wherein the storage controller is configured to transmit the trim request to the external device based on a number of free blocks of the storage device or available memory capacity of the storage device. 
     
     
         6 . The storage device of  claim 4 , wherein the storage controller is configured to transmit the stop request to the external device based on a number of free blocks of the storage device or available memory capacity of the storage device. 
     
     
         7 . The storage device of  claim 4 , wherein the storage controller is configured to perform the at least one trim operation based on results of the at least one pattern check operation. 
     
     
         8 . The storage device of  claim 4 , wherein the storage controller is configured to physically erase a specified area of the nonvolatile memory. 
     
     
         9 . The storage device of  claim 4 , wherein the storage controller includes a CPU, a random access memory (RAM), a host interface, a buffer manager and a flash interface. 
     
     
         10 . The storage device of  claim 9 , wherein the CPU is configured to execute a trim manager that is loaded to the RAM. 
     
     
         11 . The storage device of  claim 10 , wherein the CPU is configured to execute the trim operation under a control of the trim manager. 
     
     
         12 . The storage device of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 a bridge controller connected to the host interface.   
     
     
         13 . The storage device of  claim 4 , wherein
 the storage controller is configured to load metadata on the buffer memory, and   the nonvolatile memory is configured to be managed based on the metadata.   
     
     
         14 . The storage device of  claim 4 , wherein the storage device is a solid state driver (SSD), a memory card, or an embedded memory card. 
     
     
         15 . The storage device of  claim 4 , wherein the storage controller is configured to read read-requested data from the nonvolatile memory. 
     
     
         16 . A method comprising:
 transmitting, by a storage controller in a storage device, a trim request to an external device based on a number of free blocks of the storage device or available memory capacity of the storage device;   receiving, by the storage controller, a pattern check start command from the external device;   receiving, by the storage controller, a trim pattern from the external device;   performing, by the storage controller, a pattern check operation in response to the pattern check start command;   receiving, by the storage controller, a pattern check stop command from the external device;   stopping, by the storage controller, the pattern check operation in response the pattern check stop command; and   writing data or performing a trim operation, by the storage controller, in a nonvolatile memory in the storage device based on results of the pattern check operation.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 transmitting, by the storage controller, a stop request to the external device based on the number of free blocks of the storage device or the available memory capacity of the storage device.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the trim operation is performed after the pattern check operation is performed. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the trim operation is performed based on a result of the pattern check operation. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 physically erasing, by the storage controller, a specified area of the nonvolatile memory.