Aspects of the subject technology relate to a data storage system controller including a host interface configured to be coupled to a host device, to receive data from the host device, and to send data to the host device. In certain aspects, the data storage system includes a primary compression engine configured to compress data received from the host device via the host interface, and a secondary compression engine configured to decompress and compress data associated with operations internal to the data storage system. In some implementations, the data storage systems can further include a processor configured to transfer data between the host interface and the primary compression engine, between the primary compression engine and a non-volatile storage medium, between a memory and the secondary compression engine, and between the secondary compression engine and the memory. A data storage system is also provided.