Patent ID: 8099554

Claim:
A data storage system comprising: a volatile, solid-state, cache memory system; a non-volatile, electromechanical memory system; a non-volatile, solid-state, cache memory system configured to store a data segment, including a plurality of data elements, that was received from one or more of the volatile, solid-state, cache memory system and the non-volatile, electromechanical memory system; wherein each data element includes one or more data extents; and a storage initiator device configured to receive a read request for a previously-stored data extent; if the previously-stored data extent is stored within the volatile, solid-state, cache memory system, the system may be configured to provide the previously-stored data extent from the volatile, solid-state, cache memory system to the storage initiator device; if the previously-stored data extent is not stored within the volatile, solid-state, cache memory system and is stored within the non-volatile, solid-state, cache memory system, the system may be configured to provide the previously-stored data extent from the non-volatile, solid-state, cache memory system to the volatile, solid-state, cache memory system; and if the previously-stored data extent is not stored within the non-volatile, solid-state, cache memory system, the system may be configured to provide the previously-stored data extent from the non-volatile, electromechanical memory system to the volatile, solid-state, cache memory system.