Patent ID: 7487323

Claim:
A data storage system for storing data in different types of data storage media, the system comprising: a data interface that communicates with a first data storage medium and a second data storage medium, the first and second data storage media being different types of storage media having different data access times, wherein the data interface is configured to place data into a logical data capsule having a defined size, wherein the data placed into the logical data capsule can occupy less than the defined size of the logical data capsule, wherein the logical data capsule is moved as a whole among the first data storage medium, the second data storage medium and the data interface without reformatting the data in the logical data capsule, and wherein when any data in the logical data capsule is read or modified, all of the data in the logical data capsule is read or modified as a whole wherein the data interface is configured to assign a capsule number to a logical data capsule within a first range of capsule numbers or a second range of capsule numbers, wherein the first range of capsule numbers corresponds to a first data access time of the first data storage medium, and wherein the second range of capsule numbers corresponds to a second data access time of the second data storage medium, and wherein the first and second data access times are different.