Patent ID: 6874062
Filing Date: 2005-03-29
Classification: G06F,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A computer-implemented method of managing the memory of a storage device by recording whether one or more predetermined sections of the memory are associated with a predetermined attribute, comprising the steps of: (a) creating a first Lowest-Level Bitmap (LLB) containing multiple bits, each bit corresponding to a different associated one of the sections, each bit being set to a predetermined state depending on whether the different associated one of the sections is associated with the predetermined attribute, the multiple bits of the LLB being arranged in the order indicative of the order of the corresponding sections within the memory of the storage device; (b) selecting the LLB as the lower-level bitmap; (c) dividing the lower-level bitmap into segments, each segment including contiguous ones of the bits in the lower-level bitmap; and (d) creating a higher-level bitmap to define the lower-level bitmap, each bit in the higher-level bitmap being associated with a different respective one of the segments, and each bit in the higher-level bitmap being set to a predetermined state that describes the states of the bits in the different respective one of the segments of the lower-level bitmap.