Cleversafe, Inc.

International Business Machines Corporation

Pure Storage, Inc.

Purage Storage, Inc.

Dustin M Hendrickson

Vance T Thornton

Ilya Volvovski

Zachary J Mark

Jason K Resch

Manish Motwani

Jamie Bellanca

Andrew D Baptist

Wesley B Leggette

S Christopher Gladwin

Greg R Dhuse

Brian Frederick Ober

John Quigley

Matthew Michael England

Dhanvi Gopala Krishna Kapila Lakshmana Harsha

Bart Richard Cilfone

Steven Mark Hoffman

Ryan J Attard

James Bellanca

Ryan Joseph Kuester

Vance T Thorton

A processor in a storage network operates by: receiving an access request for a data segment, wherein the data segment is encoded utilizing an error correcting information dispersal algorithm as a set of encoded data slices that are stored in a plurality of storage units of the storage network and wherein each encoded data slice of the set of encoded data slices includes a corresponding checksum of a plurality of checksums; retrieving, from the storage network, a subset of encoded data slices that includes a threshold number of encoded data slices of the set of encoded data slices; determining, based on ones of the plurality of checksums corresponding to the subset of encoded data slices, when the subset of encoded data slices includes at least one corrupted encoded data slice; retrieving from at least one of the plurality of storage units an addition number of encoded data slices required to generate a reconstructed data segment based on the subset of encoded data slices; generating the reconstructed data segment in accordance with the error correcting information dispersal algorithm, using the additional number of encoded data slices and at least some of the subset of encoded data slices; providing the reconstructed data segment in response to the access request; forming a reconstructed set of encoded data slices utilizing the error correcting information dispersal algorithm on the reconstructed data segment; and replacing the at least one corrupted encoded data slice with at least one reconstructed encoded data slice of the reconstructed set of encoded data slices.

Data reconstruction in a storage network and methods for use therewith

Reconstructing data segments in a storage network and methods for use therewith

A computing device includes an interface configured to interface and communicate with a dispersed storage network (DSN), a memory that stores operational instructions, and a processing module operably coupled to the interface and memory such that the processing module, when operable within the computing device based on the operational instructions, is configured to perform various operations. The computing device is operable to receive a memory access request for a data object stored within the DSN, determine a realm for the memory access request, determine an authorization service for the realm and generate an authorization request for the memory access request. The computing device is further operable to transmit the authorization request to an authorization service, receive an authorization request response from the authorization service, determine whether the memory access request is authorized and process the memory access request.

Access authentication in a dispersed storage network

A method for execution by dispersed storage failure detection unit of a dispersed storage network includes generating a storage unit weights and storage set weights based on the storage unit weights. One storage unit that meets a weight-adjustment trigger condition is identified, and a new storage unit weight for the identified storage unit is generated. A first data migration within the storage set that includes the identified storage unit is facilitated based on the storage unit weights. A failing set of storage units in a second storage set is identified. A new storage set weight for the second storage set is generated when the number of storage units in the failing set compares favorably to a failure threshold number. A second data migration that includes transferring data slices stored in the second storage unit to other storage sets is facilitated based on the storage set weights.

Handling storage unit failure in a dispersed storage network

A method for execution by one or more processing modules of one or more computing devices of a dispersed storage network (DSN), the method begins by determining a DSN node configuration automatically during deployment. The method continues by modifying the DSN node configuration to enable/disable specific hardware features. The method continues by modifying the DSN node configuration to test hardware failure scenarios. The method continues by modifying the DSN node configuration for component replacement procedures. The method continues by reporting the modified DSN node configuration to a DSN management unit and providing a status on component and health of the DSN node to an operator of the DSN.

Automatic node hardware configuration in a distributed storage system

A computing device includes an interface configured to interface and communicate with a dispersed storage network (DSN), a memory that stores operational instructions, and a processing module operably coupled to the interface and memory such that the processing module, when operable within the computing device based on the operational instructions, is configured to perform various operations. The computing device detects a failed memory device (e.g., of a storage unit (SU) that stores at least one encoded data slice (EDS). The computing device then determines a DSN address range associated with at least some EDSs associated with a data object stored within the failed memory device and transmits the DSN address range to another computing device within the DSN to instruct restriction within the DSN of a memory access request for an EDSs associated with the data object that is stored within the failed memory device.

Online disk replacement/removal

A method begins by a processing module determining whether a memory device of a dispersed storage (DS) unit is unavailable to produce an unavailable memory device. The method continues with the processing module determining a methodology regarding DS encoded data stored in the unavailable memory device based on one or more dispersed storage network (DSN) conditions to produce a determined methodology when the memory device is unavailable. The method continues with the processing module initiating, in accordance with the determined methodology, a rebuilding function to rebuild the DS encoded data to produce rebuilt DS encoded data when the determined methodology includes a rebuilding component. The method continues with the processing module storing the rebuilt DS encoded data within available memory of the DS unit.

Memory device utilization in a dispersed storage network

A method begins by determining that a disk drive of a slice server has been replaced with a new disk drive. The method continues by identifying a data slice that was stored on the disk drive and identifying a data segment based on the identified data slice. The method continues by identifying other slice servers that are storing other data slices of the encoded data segment. The method continues by retrieving, from the other slice servers, a sufficient number of the other data slices to reconstruct the data segment and decoding the sufficient number of the other data slices to reconstruct the data segment. The method continues by encoding the reconstructed data segment in accordance with the information dispersal algorithm to produce a new set of data slices. The method continues by selecting a data slice of the new set of data slices as a rebuilt data slice.

Method and apparatus for rebuilding data in a dispersed data storage network

A method begins a first rebuilder application identifying a data slice having a storage error. The method continues with the first rebuilder application or a second rebuilder application identifying a data segment based on the identified data slice. The method continues with the second rebuilder application identifying one or more other slice servers that are storing other data slices of the encoded data segment. The method continues with the second rebuilder application receiving a sufficient number of the other data slices to reconstruct the data segment and decoding them to reconstruct the data segment. The method continues with the second rebuilder application encoding the reconstructed data segment in accordance with the information dispersal algorithm to produce a new set of data slices and selecting one of them as the rebuild data slice.

A method begins by identifying a data slice requiring rebuilding to produce an identified data slice, wherein the identified data slice is one of a plurality of data slices that constitute a data segment and wherein each of the plurality of data slices is assigned for storage by a corresponding one of a plurality of data slice servers. The method continues by retrieving at least m number of data slices from at least m number of the plurality of data slice servers, wherein m data slices of the plurality of data slices enable reconstruction of the data segment, and wherein the at least m number of data slices does not include the identified data slice. The method continues by reconstructing the identified data slice from the at least m number of data slices to produce a rebuilt data slice. The method continues by writing the rebuilt data slice to the corresponding one of the plurality of data slice servers or to a new slice server.

A method begins by identifying a data slice requiring rebuilding to produce an identified data slice, wherein the identified data slice is one of a plurality of data slices that constitute a data segment. The method continues by retrieving at least m number of data slices, wherein m data slices of the plurality of data slices enable reconstruction of the data segment, and wherein the at least m number of data slices does not include the identified data slice. The method continues by reconstructing the identified data slice from the at least m number of data slices to produce a rebuilt data slice. The method continues by writing the rebuilt data slice to one of a plurality of data slice servers.

A message is generated by a computer operating on a dispersed data storage network indicating the inaccessibility of a plurality of data slices. A rebuilder application operates on the dispersed data storage grid and rebuilds inaccessible data slices, including those identified by the message.

Range based rebuilder for use with a dispersed data storage network

An apparatus includes a processing module and a network interface. The processing module is operably coupled to obtain; a data storage transaction request regarding a file; determine identity of a user based on the data storage transaction request; access file level metadata based on the identity of the user to determine a plurality of file slices associated with the file; access file slice metadata to identify at least one of a plurality of storage nodes that stores or is to store, a data slice and coded subsets of at least one of the plurality of file slices; and generate a data storage transaction message to facilitate a data storage transaction regarding the at least one of the plurality of file slices. The network interface is operably coupled to convert the data storage transaction message into a network data storage message and transmit it.

Metadata management system for an information dispersed storage system

Described is an information dispersal system in which original data to be stored is separated into a number of data 'slices' in such a manner that the data in each subset is less usable or less recognizable or completely unusable or completely unrecognizable by itself except when combined with some or all of the other data subsets. These data subsets are stored on separate storage devices as a way of increasing privacy and security. A metadata management system stores and indexes user files across all of the storage nodes. The metadata management system stores metadata for dispersed data where: the dispersed data is in several pieces; and the metadata is in a separate dataspace from the dispersed data.

Growing community of inventors

Biggsville, IL, United States of America

Dustin M Hendrickson