International Business Machines Corporation

Pure Storage, Inc.

Ethan S Wozniak

Jason K Resch

Andrew D Baptist

Greg R Dhuse

Ilya Volvovski

Ravi V Khadiwala

Manish Motwani

Wesley B Leggette

Praveen Viraraghavan

Bart Richard Cilfone

Trevor J Vossberg

Scott Michael Horan

Asimuddin Kazi

Harsha Hegde

Ram S Narayanan

John R Carrell

Michael Edward Factor

Thomas Darrel Cocagne

Kumar Abhijeet

Joseph M Kaczmarek

Shaorong Liu

Jordan Harrison Williams

Bohdan Lew Bodnar

Ying Zhao Guo

Anthony J Baldocchi

Alex Marchenko

Adam Michael Gray

Daniel J Scholl

Bruno Hennig Cabral

Ilir Iljazi

Amit H Lamba

Kevin Michael Freese

Michael J Niedbala

David E Reese

A processing system is operable to encode data to produce a first set of data slices based on a value of a width parameter. The data is stored based on maintaining storage of the first set of data slices across a set of storage units of a storage pool. Storage of the first set of data slices is maintained in the set of storage units of the storage pool after addition of an additional set of storage units added to the storage pool. The value of the width parameter is increased to an increased value to produce an updated width parameter. The data is re-encoded in accordance with the updated width parameter to produce a second set of data slices. The data is re-stored based on maintaining storage of the second set of data slices across the expanded set of storage units of the storage pool.

Re-encoding data in a storage network based on addition of additional storage units

A method includes generating a first lock requests, each for transmission to a storage unit, where each first lock request indicates a first encoded data slice. First ballots are received, each of the first ballots corresponds to a storage unit, each of the first ballots indicates a first ranking of first requesting entities that includes the DST processing unit. First election result data is generated based on the first ballots. The first election result data indicates a first winner. When the first winner is the DST processing unit, slice access requests are generated in response to the first election result data indicating that the first winner is the DST processing unit, each for transmission to one of the storage units, where each of the slice access requests indicates the first encoded data slice.

Establishing distributed consensus via alternate voting strategies in a dispersed storage network

A computing device includes an interface configured to interface and communicate with a storage network, 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. A computing device receives a data access request for an encoded data slice associated with a data object, determines whether the encoded data slice is stored in the first memory and in response to a determination that the encoded data slice is not stored in the first memory, issues another data access request for the encoded data slice to a second memory, where the first memory includes access characteristics that are faster than the second memory. When a data access response including the encoded data slice is received from the second memory, a response including the encoded data slice is transmitted.

Utilizing memories of different operational speeds in a vast storage network

A method includes encoding data in accordance with a width parameter to produce a first set of data slices. Storage of the first set of data slices is maintained in a set of storage units of a storage pool. An expanded set of storage units of the storage pool is determined based on an additional subset of storage units added to the storage pool. Storage of the first set of data slices is maintained in the set of storage units after addition of the additional subset of storage units added to the storage pool. An updated width parameter is determined by increasing the width parameter based on the expanded set of storage units. The data is encoded in accordance with the updated width parameter to produce a second set of data slices. Storage of the second set of data slices is maintained in the expanded set of storage units.

Storing data in an expanded storage pool of a vast storage network

A computing device including a processing module configured to receive a read request for a read threshold number of encoded data slices of the set of encoded data slices, determine whether a read threshold number of encoded data slices of the set of encoded data slices is available in a set of storage units associated with a first storage site and when a read threshold number of encoded data slices of the set of encoded data slices is not available in the set of storage units associated with a first storage site, transmit a read request for a read threshold number of encoded data slices to the set of storage units associated with a second storage site.

Variable write threshold storage replication sites in a distributed storage network

A method for execution by a dispersed storage network (DSN) managing unit includes receiving access information from a plurality of distributed storage and task (DST) processing units via a network. Cache memory utilization data is generated based on the access information. Configuration instructions are generated for transmission via the network to the plurality of DST processing units based on the cache memory utilization data.

Allocating cache memory in a dispersed storage network

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. For example, the computing device monitors storage unit (SU)-based write transfer rates and SU-based write failure rates associated with each of the SUs for a write request of encoded data slices (EDSs) to the SUs within the DSN. The computing device generates and maintains a SU write performance distribution based on monitoring of the SU-based write transfer rates and the SU-based write failure rates and adaptively adjusts a trimmed write threshold number of EDSs and/or a target width of EDSs for write requests of sets of EDSs to the SUs within the DSN.

Write performance distribution monitoring for write operation adaptation

Methods and systems for compression of aging data during compaction are disclosed. A method includes: ingesting a plurality of data objects into a dispersed storage network (DSN); determining that a compaction threshold is met for a storage medium in the DSN; and compacting the storage medium, the compaction including, for each of the plurality of data objects: determining a number of times the data object has been compacted; in response to the number of times the data object has been compacted exceeding a predetermined threshold, compressing the data object and rewriting the compressed data object to a new area on a storage medium; and in response to the number of times the data object has been compacted not exceeding the predetermined threshold, rewriting the data object to the new area on the storage medium without compressing the data object.

Compression of aging data during compaction

Systems and methods for selectively disabling power to disk drives in a distributed storage network (DSN). In embodiments, a method includes: monitoring namespace health parameter data in a DSN including a plurality of storage disk drives, wherein the namespace health parameter data includes available disks of the plurality of storage disk drives; determining that power to a subset of the plurality of storage disk drives can be disabled without disrupting anticipated client access to a data collection based on the monitoring and stored power management rules; and sending instructions to at least one power manager within the DSN to disable power to the subset of the plurality of storage disk drives, resulting in at least one disabled storage disk, wherein the instructions are based on the determining that power to the subset of the plurality of storage disk drives can be disabled.

Reducing power consumption in a dispersed storage network

A method for determining to rebuild a namespace. The method includes one or more computer processors identifying a set of storage devices associated with the namespace of the user. The method further includes determining a state of health of a namespace based on information related to the set of storage devices associated with the namespace and further includes identifying a set of criteria related to the state of health of the namespace. The method further includes responding to determining that one or more criteria related to the state of health of namespace attains respective trigger values by replacing a first set of storage devices that store data corresponding to the namespace and are included among one or more storage systems. The method further includes dictating to replace the first set of storage devices that store data corresponding to the namespace and are included among the one or more storage systems.

Maintaining namespace health within a dispersed storage network

A distributed storage network (DSN) stores sets of encoded data slices in sets of storage units. A first storage unit assigned to store an encoded data slice included in a set of encoded data slices transmits a rebuild request associated with the storage error to a second storage unit. The second storage unit generates the rebuilt encoded data slice in response to the rebuild request, and transmits the rebuilt encoded data slice back to the first storage unit, which stores the rebuilt encoded data slice.

Peer-assisted data rebuilding

Methods and systems for storing multiple data versions in a dispersed storage network memory are disclosed. A method includes: receiving, by a computing device, a request to store a current version of a data object in a dispersed storage network (DSN) memory; retrieving, by the computing device, a plurality of other versions of the data object from the DSN memory; for each of the plurality of other versions of the data object, the computing device determining a difference between the current version of the data object and the other version of the data object; and storing, by the computing device, in the DSN memory, the difference between the current version of the data object and a first other version of the data object selected from the plurality of other versions of the data object.

Storing difference between current data version and one of multiple data versions in a dispersed storage network memory

A computer-implemented method includes receiving a plurality of storage requests to store a plurality of objects in a dispersed storage network. The computer-implemented method further includes transforming each object in the plurality of objects into a set of error encoded slices. The computer-implemented method further includes dispersing each error encoded slice in each set of error encoded slices to a memory zone of a distinct storage unit. The computer-implemented method further includes co-locating two or more error encoded slices in a common memory zone of a storage unit based, at least in part, on an expiry time associated with the two or more encoded slices. The computer-implemented method further includes logically deleting the common memory zone of the storage unit after all error encoded slices stored in the common memory zone have expired.

Logical deletions in append only storage devices

A method for execution by a request scheduler includes receiving a set of requests for execution from at least one request issuer. Resource requirements are determined for each of the set of requests, and current resource availability data is determined for resources indicated in the resource requirements. Scheduling data is generated for the set of requests based on the resource requirements and the current resource availability data. A first subset of the set of requests are added to a queue in response to the scheduling data indicating the first subset of the set of requests be queued for execution. Execution of the set of requests is facilitated in accordance with the scheduling data by facilitating immediate, simultaneous execution of a second subset of the set of requests and by facilitating serial execution of the first subset of the set of requests.

Scheduling requests based on resource information

A computer readable storage device includes a first memory section that stores operational instructions that, when executed, cause a computing device to, as data accesses occur for a plurality of data objects of a storage container, update object values to produce updated object values, update object retention costs to produce updated object retention costs, adjust a dynamic retention threshold based on the updated object values and the updated object retention costs and update a data object retention policy for a data object based on the dynamic retention threshold to produce an updated retention policy for the data object. The computer readable storage device includes a second memory section that stores operational instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to, when a data access is a deletion request, utilizing a current updated data object retention policy to determine and execute a deletion-retention option for the data object.

Growing community of inventors

Park Ridge, IL, United States of America

Ethan S Wozniak