Remote Block Storage Service API Gateway for Data Center Efficiency
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Solution Overview
Problem
The complexity of managing and provisioning physical computing resources in large-scale data centers has increased due to the growing scale and scope of operations, and existing technologies lack a standardized interface for efficient remote block storage management across multiple geographical locations.
Innovation Solution
A block storage service and APIs are implemented to provide a standardized interface for remote, volume-based block storage, enabling clients to create and manage volumes and snapshots on a remote data store, with features like data deduplication and compression for accelerated data transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If virtualization technologies are used to share computing resources among multiple customers, then resource utilization efficiency is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a gateway appliance as an intermediary component that sits between client systems and the cloud storage service. This gateway handles protocol translation, data caching, and local management operations, thereby simplifying the interaction complexity for end users while enabling efficient virtualized resource sharing across multiple customers through standardized interfaces
2Ease of operation
If data is transferred across geographical locations for remote storage, then accessibility is improved, but bandwidth consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway appliance performs preliminary actions by caching frequently accessed data blocks locally before they need to be transferred across geographical locations. This proactive caching strategy reduces the need for repeated long-distance data transfers, thereby maintaining high data accessibility while significantly reducing bandwidth consumption for remote storage operations
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements local quality optimization by enabling the gateway appliance to cache hot data locally and handle common operations (read, write, delete) at the local level without requiring remote communication. This localized processing reduces geographical data transfer requirements while maintaining accessibility, and only initiates remote transfers when necessary for data synchronization or capacity management
3Loss of energy
If data deduplication and compression are applied, then bandwidth usage is reduced, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies partial deduplication and compression actions by selectively processing only the necessary portions of data. The gateway appliance identifies and deduplicates only the unique data blocks that need to be transferred to remote storage, rather than processing entire datasets. Compression is applied selectively based on data type and transfer requirements, thereby reducing bandwidth usage for essential data while minimizing unnecessary processing time overhead
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, apparatus, and computer-accessible storage media for providing a volume-based block storage service and application programming interfaces (APIs) to the service. A block storage service and block storage service APIs may allow processes (applications or appliances) on the service client network to leverage remote, volume-based block storage provided by the service provider. The APIs may provide a standard interface to volume-based block storage operations on a remote data store. The service provider, the service clients, and/or third parties may develop various applications and/or appliances that may, for example, be instantiated in service clients' local networks and that leverage the block storage service via the APIs to create and manage volumes and snapshots on the remote data store and to upload and download data from the volumes and snapshots on the remote data store.