Efficient segment cleaning employing local copying of data blocks in log-structured file systems of distributed data systems

Client data is structured as a set of data blocks. A first subset of data blocks is stored on a current segment of a plurality of disks. A second subset of data blocks is stored on a previous segment. A request to clean client data is received. The request includes a request to update the current segment to include the second subset of data blocks. The second subset of data blocks is accessed and transmitted from a lower layer to a higher layer of the system. Parity data is generated at the higher layer. The parity data is transmitted to the lower layer. The lower layer is employed to generate a local copy of the second subset of data blocks. Each local address that references the local copy of the second subset of data blocks is included in the current segment. The parity data is written in the current segment.