Patent ID: 7827378

Claim:
A method comprising: assigning a set of logical block addresses (LBAs) from a logical space to physical block addresses (PBAs) in a physical space, the physical space having physical blocks which are each associated with a different one of the PBAs; upon detecting a defect in a physical block at a particular PBA of the PBAs in the physical space, designating the defective physical block as not safe to use; in conjunction with a transfer of data to the physical blocks at individual PBAs in the physical space, recognizing the defective physical block as not safe to use and newly associating individual LBAs of the set of LBAs to the individual PBAs in the physical space other than the PBA associated with the defective physical block, wherein assigning the set of LBAs from the logical space to PBAs in the physical space comprises assigning the set of LBAs from the logical space to a band of PBAs in the physical space, and wherein designating the defective physical block as not safe to use comprises updating map data to indicate that the individual PBA of the defective physical block is permanently unavailable for association with any individual LBA of the set of LBAs currently assigned to the band.