A method for performing free space collection in an information storage system
and an information storage system (104) are described. The information storage
system (104) is a log structured system having storage units (106)
in which information segments (202, 204) are located. Free space collection
is carried out in the storage units by using a fitness value to evaluate segments
(204). The fitness value is determined as the product of the amount of free
space in a segment (204) and the expected time the free space will last
(310). Segments (204) are chosen for free space collection if they
have the maximum fitness value (312). The segments (204) are sorted
into groups by the amount of used data in each segment (204) and the fitness
value is determined for one segment from each group.