In solid-state storage (SSDs), what process is executed by the flash controller to evenly distribute write and erase cycles across all NAND flash blocks to avoid premature cell failure?

Answer and explanation

Correct answer: B. Wear leveling

  1. Step 1: NAND flash memory cells have a finite endurance rating, tolerating only a specific number of Program/Erase (P/E) cycles before the insulating oxide layer degrades.
  2. Step 2: Wear-leveling algorithms in the SSD controller dynamically relocate static data and map new writes to least-used flash blocks, ensuring uniform endurance consumption across the drive.
Answer
Wear leveling
Why not the others: 'Thermal throttling' Thermal throttling reduces CPU or drive clock speed to prevent physical hardware damage from overheating; 'TRIM optimization' TRIM is an operating system command informing an SSD which blocks contain deleted data that can be garbage-collected; 'Overclocking' Overclocking increases component clock frequencies beyond factory specifications to enhance computing performance.

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