Solid state disks (SSDs) store data differently than hard disk drives (HDDs). An HDD typically allocates a sector of space for every logical block address (LBA). In general, the location of this logical block address does not move.
Solid state disks do not typically pre-allocate space for each logical block address. In addition, solid state disks are operated to periodically move stored data from one location to another to avoid data loss. In some cases, this movement of data may result in a loss of performance and additional wear on a solid state disk.
To avoid this problem it is desirable for an operating system to “free up” logical block addresses on a solid state disk when the data contained in these logical block addresses is no longer valid. To date, techniques for freeing logical block addresses on a solid state disk when the data is no longer valid have been relatively inefficient. There is thus a need for addressing these and/or other issues associated with the prior art.