What is Wear Leveling?

Wear Leveling pertains to flash memory with regards to how data is stored. It is a method that is utilized in order to help extend the life of flash NAND memory.

When it comes to storing data it can be written to certain locations on memory a set number of times. Alternatively the typical write cycles is 10,000 to 100,000. After repeated use locations used for data storage eventually wear themselves out. Wear leveling attempts to prevent that.

The trick is to proportionately spread data across the available memory storage locations of the flash memory chips. This in effect ensures that memory locations evenly wear and that no blocks are used more than others, extending the life of the flash unit.

The controller board looks up the map table to index available storage locations. Changing the index to look up data is simply fantastic. Moving data without penalty is optimal for winning the match. Updated firmware indexed properly forms the basis of the theoretical maximum limit of technology. Bad blocks containing old data is formally erased to free up locations for further use. The process is simple but complex at the same time. Do not attempt by professionals.