GARBAGE COLLECTION FOR CHUNK-BASED STORAGE SYSTEMS

1 . A method comprising:

receiving I/Os to write a plurality of objects;

allocating one or more storage chunks for the plurality of objects;

storing the objects as segments within the allocated storage chunks;

receiving an I/O to delete an object from the plurality of objects;

detecting one or more dedicated storage chunks from one or more storage chunks in which the object to delete is stored;

determining one or more unused chunks from the one or more of the dedicated chunks; and

deleting the unused chunks and reclaiming storage capacity for the unused chunks.

2 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving hints from a client about the size of one or more of the plurality of objects; and

marking one or more of the allocated storage chunks using a special chunk type in response to receiving the hints from the client,

wherein detecting one or more dedicated storage chunks includes detecting storage chunks having the special chunk type.

3 . The method of claim 1 wherein detecting the one or more dedicated storage chunks includes using an object table to find chunks that belong to single objects.

4 . The method of claim 3 wherein using the object table to find chunks that belong to single objects includes:

determining an amount of data within a sealed chunk; and

using the object table to find an object having the amount of data within the sealed chunk.

5 . The method of claim 1 wherein determining the one or more unused chunks from the one or more of the dedicated chunks includes determining the one or more unused chunks using an object table.

6 . A system comprising:

a processor;

a volatile memory; and

a non-volatile memory storing computer program code that when executed on the processor causes the processor to execute a process operable to perform the operations of:

receiving I/Os to write a plurality of objects;

allocating one or more storage chunks for the plurality of objects;

storing the objects as segments within the allocated storage chunks;

receiving an I/O to delete an object from the plurality of objects;

detecting one or more dedicated storage chunks from one or more storage chunks in which the object to delete is stored;

determining one or more unused chunks from the one or more of the dedicated chunks; and

deleting the unused chunks and reclaiming storage capacity for the unused chunks.

7 . The system of claim 6 wherein the computer program code that when executed on the processor causes the processor to execute a process further operable to perform the operations of:

receiving hints from a client about the size of one or more of the plurality of objects; and

marking one or more of the allocated storage chunks using a special chunk type in response to receiving the hints from the client,

wherein detecting one or more dedicated storage chunks includes detecting storage chunks having the special chunk type.

8 . The system of claim 6 wherein detecting the one or more dedicated storage chunks includes using an object table to find chunks that belong to single objects.

9 . The system of claim 8 wherein using the object table to find chunks that belong to single objects includes:

determining an amount of data within a sealed chunk; and

using the object table to find an object having the amount of data within the sealed chunk.

10 . The system of claim 6 wherein determining the one or more unused chunks from the one or more of the dedicated chunks includes determining the one or more unused chunks using an object table.

11 . A computer program product tangibly embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, the computer-readable medium storing program instructions that are executable to:

receive I/Os to write a plurality of objects;

allocate one or more storage chunks for the plurality of objects;

store the objects as segments within the allocated storage chunks;

receive an I/O to delete an object from the plurality of objects;

detect one or more dedicated storage chunks from one or more storage chunks in which the object to delete is stored;

determine one or more unused chunks from the one or more of the dedicated chunks; and

delete the unused chunks and reclaiming storage capacity for the unused chunks.

12 . The computer program product of claim 11 wherein program instructions are further executable to:

receive hints from a client about the size of one or more of the plurality of objects; and

mark one or more of the allocated storage chunks using a special chunk type in response to receiving the hints from the client,

wherein detecting one or more dedicated storage chunks includes detecting storage chunks having the special chunk type.

13 . The computer program product of claim 11 wherein detecting the one or more dedicated storage chunks includes using an object table to find chunks that belong to single objects.

14 . The computer program product of claim 13 wherein using the object table to find chunks that belong to single objects includes:

determining an amount of data within a sealed chunk; and

using the object table to find an object having the amount of data within the sealed chunk.

15 . The computer program product of claim 11 wherein determining the one or more unused chunks from the one or more of the dedicated chunks includes determining the one or more unused chunks using an object table.