Pure Storage, Inc.
Prioritizing Garbage Collection Based On The Extent To Which Data Is Deduplicated

Abstract:

Prioritizing garbage collection based on the extent to which data is deduplicated, including: determining, for one or more data elements, a number of deduplicated references to each data element; storing, for each of the data elements, the data element in an area of the storage device that contains other data elements with a similar number of deduplicated references; and adjusting a garbage collection schedule for the storage device, wherein garbage collection operations are performed more frequently on areas of the storage device that contain data elements with a relatively low number of deduplicated references.