Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Emc Corporation

Dantz Development Corporation

Robert Chris Hickman

Marco A Demello

Marc Todd Friedman

Joseph P Mullally

Patrick Wing Sang Lau

Jared E Bobbitt

Jeffrey C Tanner

Stephan Doll

Alok Sinha

John Wesley Fawcett

Ty Lam

Jiong (Justin) Chen

Robert J Smith

Edward P Johnson

An incrementally-scalable file system and method. The system architecture enables file systems to be scaled by adding resources, such as additional filers and/or file servers, without requiring that the system be taken offline or being known to client applications. The system also provides for load balancing file accesses by distributing files across the various file storage resources in the system, as dictated by the relative capacities of said storage resources. The system provides one or more 'virtual' file system volumes in a manner that makes it appear to client applications that all of the file system's storage space resides on the virtual volume(s), while in reality the files may be stored on many more physical volumes on the filers and/or file servers in the system.

Scalable network file system

A massively scalable architecture for providing a highly reliable storage system that is capable of handling hundreds of millions of users and tens of billions of files. The system includes one or more clusters storing data elements that are received from a plurality of clients. Each cluster comprises a plurality of storage servers. Each storage server maintains one or more indexes for responding to simple read requests such as retrieving a designated element. According to the invention, the storage system includes one or more database clusters each database cluster having one or more database servers. The storage system accesses the storage clusters in order to reply to simple read requests; however, the database clusters are used to resolve more complex queries that are based on attributes of elements stored within the storage system. In one configuration, the storage system includes a database cluster for each class of applications accessing the storage system.

Scalable storage system supporting multi-level query resolution

A massively scalable architecture for providing a highly reliable storage system that is capable of handling hundreds of millions of users and tens of billions of files. The system includes one or more clusters storing data elements that are received from a plurality of clients. Each cluster comprises a plurality of storage servers. A partition master assigns each client a unique partition within one of the clusters such that each data element is stored in the partition assigned to the client. The storage system can be easily scaled as the number of reads increases by adding individual storage servers to each storage cluster. In addition, the storage system easily scales to handle an increase in the number of writes, or as the number of files per cluster exceeds a predefined limit, by adding new storage clusters to the storage system.

Scalable storage system with unique client assignment to storage server partitions

An incrementally-scalable database system and method. The system architecture enables database servers to be scaled by adding resources, such as additional servers, without requiring that the system be taken offline. Such scaling includes both adding one or more computer servers to a given server cluster, which enables an increase in database read transaction throughput, and adding one or more server clusters to the system configuration, which provides for increased read and write transaction throughput. The system also provides for load balancing read transactions across each server cluster, and load balancing write transactions across a plurality of server clusters. The system architecture includes an application server layer including one or more computers on which an application program(s) is running, a database server layer comprising two or more server clusters that each include two or more computer servers with replicated data, and an intermediate &ldquo;virtual transaction&rdquo; layer that includes at least two computers that facilitate database transactions with one or more databases operating in the database server layer. Data in the database(s) are evenly distributed across the server clusters in fragmented mutually exclusive subsets of data based on a hashing function. An application program interface is provided so as to enable application programs to perform a full range of database transactions without regard for where data is stored, or what database(s) is operating in the database server layer.

Internet database system

A massively scalable architecture for providing a self-monitoring and self-correcting storage system that is capable of handling hundreds of millions of users and tens of billions of files. The system includes one or more clusters storing data elements that are received from a plurality of clients. Each cluster comprises a plurality of storage servers. The storage system facilitates the addition of new storage servers, and the fast recovery of failed storage servers, by logging system transactions in multiple journals of different lengths. When a storage server fails, a cluster backup determines the time of failure and replays one of the journals in order to bring the failed storage server up to date.

Storage system having error detection and recovery

A massively scalable architecture has been developed for providing an extensible storage system that is capable of handling hundreds of millions of users and tens of billions of files. The storage system includes to a plurality of storage clusters, each storage cluster having one or more storage servers. Each storage element has a corresponding schema object that is used to parse the data elements into data and attributes. Applications executing on the web servers are able to dynamically define a new type of element for storage within storage system. In one configuration the schemas are defined in Extensible Markup Language (XML).

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Duvall, WA, United States of America

Robert Chris Hickman