Accelerated Data Storage Synchronization for Node Fault Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
In distributed data storage systems, the latency introduced by protection mechanisms becomes a bottleneck as storage media technologies improve, preventing the realization of low latency benefits due to inherent overhead in existing cluster storage protection mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an accelerated data storage synchronization process that uses a write-back cache on a server node to temporarily store modified data blocks on a separate storage media, allowing seamless low-latency persistence while continuing I/O operations through the protected data storage system, thereby reducing the latency impact of protection mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a protection mechanism is implemented to protect against node failure by mirroring data across multiple storage media nodes, then data reliability is improved, but storage write latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the storage system into two independent paths: a protected path through multiple storage media nodes for data reliability, and an accelerated path through a write-back cache for low-latency writes. This segmentation allows each path to optimize for its specific function without compromising the other.
Solution Approach 2:
The write-back cache acts as an intermediary component between the host system and the protected storage media nodes. It temporarily stores write operations locally, providing low-latency acknowledgment to the host, while asynchronously replicating data to the protected path in the background.
2Speed
If faster storage media is used to reduce latency, then storage speed is improved, but the protection mechanism overhead becomes the dominant bottleneck
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the latency-critical write acknowledgment function from the protected path and relocates it to the write-back cache. This separation removes the protection mechanism overhead from the critical write path, allowing fast storage media to be utilized without being bottlenecked by replication delays.
Solution Approach 2:
The write-back cache performs preliminary write operations locally before data is fully replicated to the protected storage media nodes. This preliminary action provides immediate latency benefit to the host system, while the protection mechanism completes its replication in the background without blocking the application.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and articles of manufacture comprising processor-readable storage media are provided for implementing an accelerated data storage synchronization to protect data in a storage system. For example, a first server node accesses a data block from a protected storage system in response to a request from an application executing on the first server node. A modified data block is written to a write-back cache of the first server node. A synchronization operation is performed in response to a request by the application, which includes sending a copy of the modified data block in the write-back cache to a second server node to temporarily store the copy of the modified data block in a storage media of the second server node, and informing the application that the synchronization operation is deemed complete after the copy of the modified data block is stored in the storage media of the second server node.