Storage Array Burst Workload Compression Deferral

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current storage systems experience performance degradation during burst workloads due to intensive resource consumption by data compression, leading to elongated write and read latencies.

Innovation Solution

Implement a controller that temporarily stores data in an uncompressed format during burst periods and applies adaptive compression techniques during self-healing periods when resources are less busy, using a Burst Heat Index to predict and manage resource allocation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of substance

If data compression is applied during burst workloads, then storage efficiency is improved, but system performance and response time deteriorate due to intensive resource consumption

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestorage efficiencyVSAvoidsystem performance

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of substanceVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs data compression in advance during non-burst periods when resources are available, so that compressed data is ready for retrieval during burst workloads. This eliminates the need to perform compression during high-demand periods, resolving the contradiction between storage efficiency and system performance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system alternates between compression operations during low-utilization periods and read/write operations during high-utilization periods. This periodic scheduling ensures that resource-intensive compression occurs only when it will not interfere with system performance requirements.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #19Periodic action

2Productivity

If data is stored in uncompressed format during burst periods, then system performance is maintained, but storage capacity is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem performanceVSAvoidstorage capacity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSVolume of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

Data is pre-compressed during non-burst periods, allowing the system to store more data in the same physical space. During burst periods, the system can still maintain high performance by serving from the pre-compressed storage without performing additional compression operations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Loss of substance

If compression resources are allocated during burst workloads, then data reduction is improved, but write and read latencies increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata reductionVSAvoidwrite and read latencies

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of substanceVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system schedules compression operations periodically during low-utilization windows, ensuring that resource allocation for compression does not occur during burst workloads. This timing separation prevents compression from interfering with write and read operations, eliminating latency increases.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #19Periodic action

Solution Approach 2:

The system automatically identifies burst periods based on utilization metrics and autonomously schedules compression operations during appropriate low-utilization periods without manual intervention, optimizing both data reduction and performance dynamically.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS12591386B2Data reduction management

Publication Date: 2026.03.31 DELL PROD LP

AI summary

One or more aspects of the present disclosure relate to managing data reduction in a storage system during burst workloads. In embodiments, input/output (IO) operations received by a storage array are monitored to identify a burst workload based on a predefined threshold of IO operations per second (IOPS). In addition, the compression of data corresponding to IO write operations in the burst workload is deferred during the identified burst workload by temporarily storing the data in an uncompressed format. Further, the data is compressed during a self-healing period after a delay period. For example, the delay period is after the identified burst workload.