Cloud Storage Allocation Using App-Matched Performance Profiles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional storage systems face inefficiencies in data management and storage operations, particularly in handling flash drives without integrated storage controllers, leading to unnecessary write operations and reduced reliability.
Innovation Solution
A storage system architecture where the operating system initiates and controls data management processes across multiple flash drives, utilizing non-volatile RAM as a buffer for write operations and employing erasure coding and mirroring for redundancy, allowing direct mapping of data blocks and optimizing storage operations without lower-level controller involvement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional storage controllers manage flash drives, then storage operations are automated, but write operations become redundant and reliability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the storage controller functionality from the flash drive hardware and relocates it to the operating system software layer. This allows the OS to directly manage flash drives without intermediary controllers, eliminating redundant write operations and improving both reliability and write efficiency through direct OS control of data management processes
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces non-volatile RAM as an intermediary buffer between the OS and flash drives. This mediator layer caches write operations and coordinates data flow, reducing redundant writes to flash memory while maintaining data integrity and improving overall storage system reliability
2Device complexity
If storage systems use multiple flash drives without integrated controllers, then device complexity is reduced, but data management efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the operating system universally responsible for managing multiple flash drives without dedicated controllers. The OS performs multiple functions including data allocation, wear leveling, error correction, and coordination across all flash drives, achieving efficient data management despite reduced hardware complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements self-service mechanisms where the OS automatically manages data distribution and redundancy across flash drives using erasure coding and mirroring. The system self-organizes data blocks and handles failures without external controller intervention, maintaining high efficiency with simplified hardware
3Reliability
If erasure coding and mirroring are employed for redundancy, then data integrity is improved, but storage capacity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic redundancy management where the OS can adjust the level of erasure coding and mirroring based on current system needs, available capacity, and failure risk assessment. This allows flexible optimization between data integrity and usable capacity rather than fixed redundancy overhead
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of redundancy implementation by using software-based erasure coding with configurable codes and mirroring ratios that can be adjusted based on workload requirements. This allows the system to optimize the balance between data integrity protection and usable storage capacity dynamically
Data Source
AI summary
Providing storage tailored for a storage consuming application, including: identifying, for an application that utilizes storage resources within a cloud-based storage system, one or more storage performance characteristics associated with the application; comparing the storage performance characteristics of the application that were identified with storage performance characteristics of storage resources of one or more cloud-based storage systems; and selecting, based on the comparing, one or more storage resources within the one or more cloud-based storage systems to provide storage services to the application.