Paper Title: Challenges in Zoned Namespace Testing

Paper Abstract: The Zoned Namespace (ZNS) concept was created to replace conventional namespaces in order to minimize garbage collection, wear levelling and other overhead tasks of the SSD controller. ZNS is host managed, e.g., the host must reset a zone before writing to it, starting writes at the beginning of a zone, finishing the zone, etc. Real life usage allows applications data access on a per-zone basis, which means Zone 1 has data for application A only, etc. These requirements make testing of ZNS to be more challenging when trying to mimic real life usage, especially for SSD manufacturers who want to use a single tester to bring up a fresh SSD device to full functionality testing before being shipped to a customer. This talk will include test examples for different types of ZNS devices.

Paper Author: Kean Yau Chaw, Application Engineer, Advantest

Author Bio: Kean-Yau Chaw joined Advantest in 2017 and he is currently working as center of expertise in R&D group. With his technical knowledge in various protocols, such as SATA ATA, PCI NVMe, he supports field engineers to resolve technical issues at customer sites, and creates sample test programs to validate new software features. Prior to joining Advantest, Kean-Yau Chao worked at Seagate as a firmware test development engineer and product development engineer, working with customers and internal engineering teams to verify and align the test specifications.