Patent ID: 8296337

Claim:
A method for managing data stored on non-volatile storage media, the method comprising: receiving a storage request at a file system, the storage request indicating that data stored on a non-volatile storage media and referenced by a logical identifier can be erased from the non-volatile storage media; sending a message and a secure erase command from the file system to a storage controller in response to the received storage request, the storage controller configured to maintain an index comprising mappings between logical identifiers of the file system and physical storage locations of the non-volatile storage media such that a logical identifier can be mapped to any of a plurality of the physical storage locations, wherein the message comprises a logical identifier corresponding to data that can be erased from the non-volatile storage media, and wherein the storage controller is configured to record that persistent data stored on one or more identified physical storage locations mapped to the logical identifier of the message in the index can be erased from the non-volatile storage media in response to the message wherein the secure erase command directs the storage controller to render the persistent data stored on the one or more identified physical storage locations unrecoverable; and receiving a confirmation at the file system that the data is unrecoverable.