Patent ID: 7707353

Claim:
An apparatus for estimating a frequency of access to a storage device, the apparatus to be connected to the storage device from the outside of the storage device, the device including a flash memory and a controller for controlling the flash memory, data being written into the flash memory in units of a page and being erased from the flash memory in units of a block consisting of pages, the apparatus comprising: an interface configured to be supplied with an internal signal transferred between the flash memory and the controller, being configured to recognize the internal signal, and outputting the internal signal as an input signal, the interface to be connected to the storage device from the outside of the device, wherein the interface is configured to be connected to terminals of the flash memory from which the flash memory outputs a signal that is identical to the internal signal that is transferred between the flash memory and the controller; an erasure sequence detection section configured to output a detection signal when address data is followed by an erasure command requesting erasure of data in the block specified by the address data in the input signal; an address holding section configured to hold address data in the internal signal, and to output, to an external communication interface, the held address data as erasure address data when supplied with the detection signal.