CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This U.S. application claims priority under 35 USC § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0158001 filed on Dec. 2, 2019 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the subject matter of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

Example embodiments relate generally to data processing, and more particularly to a storage device, a storage system including a storage device, and/or methods of operating a storage device.

Computing devices may take many forms including a desktop computer, a notebook computer, a smart phone, a smart tablet, etc. A hard disk driver (HDD) has traditionally been used as a storage device in many computing devices. However, mobile devices such as smart phones use a nonvolatile memory device as a storage device instead of the HDD. Nonvolatile memory devices include (e.g.,) NAND flash memory, phase-change RAM (PRAM), magnetic RAM (MRAM), resistive RAM (RRAM), and ferroelectric RAM (FRAM).

The frequency with which storage devices are accessed by contemporary computing devices is increasing. Such increasing frequency of use stresses the storages devices.

Nonvolatile memory devices have a comparatively short history of use, as compared with the HDD. As a result, most of file systems currently used to manage a storage device are designed to fit the operating characteristics of the HDD. Due to differences in the operating characteristics of a nonvolatile memory device as compared with the HDD, existing file systems cannot make full and efficient use of the performance capabilities offered by the nonvolatile memory device. Accordingly, new approaches to file systems, data transfer and storage, as well as storage devices including nonvolatile memory devices should be carefully considered in order to full realize the performance advantages offered by nonvolatile memory device.

SUMMARY

Some example embodiments provide a storage device capable of reducing input/output (I/O) overhead between the storage device and a host device.

Some example embodiments provide a storage system capable of reducing I/O overhead between the storage device and a host device.

Some example embodiments provide a method of operating a storage device, capable of reducing I/O overhead between the storage device and a host device.

According to some example embodiments, a storage device includes a storage device including; a nonvolatile storage including a first region and a second region, a storage controller configured to control the nonvolatile storage, and a buffer memory connected to the storage controller, wherein the storage controller is configured to store user data including target data received from a host device in the second region, and store metadata associated with management of the user data and generated by a file system of the host device in the first region, and the storage controller is further configured to load the metadata to the buffer memory in response to address information for an index node (inode) associated with the metadata, and access the target data in the second region using the metadata loaded to the buffer memory.

According to some example embodiments, a storage system includes; a host device including a file system and providing user data including target data, and metadata associated with management of the user data and generated by the file system, and a storage device including; a nonvolatile storage including a first region and a second region, a storage controller configured to control operation of the nonvolatile storage, and a buffer memory connected to the storage controller, wherein the storage controller is configured to store the user data in the second region, and store the metadata in the first region, and the storage controller is further configured to load the metadata to the buffer memory in response to address information for an index node (inode) associated with the metadata, and access the target data in the second region using the metadata loaded to the buffer memory.

According to some example embodiments, a method of operating a storage device including a nonvolatile storage including a first region and a second region, a storage controller controlling operation of the nonvolatile storage, and a buffer memory connected to the storage controller includes; storing user data received from a host device in the second region, storing metadata associated with management of the user data and generated by a file system of the host device in the first region, loading the metadata from the first region to the buffer memory in response to address information for an index node (inode) associated with the metadata, and accessing the target data in the second region using the metadata loaded to the buffer memory.

