US 9002795

US Patent 9002795: Object-Based Data Storage Device

Title: Object-based data storage device

Assignee: Seagate Technology LLC

Inventors: Daniel Edward Messinger, Wilson M. Fish, Sami Iren, Erik Riedel

Filing Date: January 26, 2006

Issue Date: April 7, 2015

Abstract:
A data storage device comprises storage media with multiple media zones, each having different attributes related to storage performance. The device includes a data channel that connects to a host system. This channel communicates objects from the host, with each object including a requested storage attribute. An object-based storage interface, situated between the data channel and the storage media, is responsible for scheduling the storage of these objects. Each object is scheduled for storage in a zone whose attributes meet the object's requested storage attribute.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

Claim 1 describes a method for intelligently allocating data attributes from an i-node (which holds metadata about a file or object) to different areas of a storage device.

The method involves the following steps:

• A host system (e.g., a computer) sends a data object, which contains various i-node attributes, to a storage device.
• The storage device itself has a data channel and an object-based storage interface. This interface is capable of deciding where to store data in specific "media zones" based on how often that data is accessed. The storage media connected to this interface is divided into multiple, physically separate zones, each with different performance characteristics.
• The storage device receives the data object via its data channel and forwards it to the object-based storage interface.
• The object-based storage interface then analyzes the i-node attributes within the data object to determine how frequently each attribute will be accessed.
• Based on these determined access frequencies, the object-based storage interface allocates the i-node attributes to suitable zones on the storage media.
• Specifically, portions of the storage media that are less frequently accessed are designated for i-node "write attributes" (attributes that change during write operations).
• Conversely, portions of the storage media that are more frequently accessed are designated for i-node "read attributes" (attributes that change during read operations).
• Finally, the i-node attributes are stored in their respective allocated zones on the storage media.

Uncertainty Note:
No specific litigation involving US9002795 was found in the CAFC 2026 dockets from the provided search results.