Data Storage Redundancy via Mobile Drive Inventory Segmentation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current network computing and storage systems face challenges in optimizing data performance and integrity, particularly in efficiently storing and retrieving large quantities of data while ensuring durability and availability, especially when dealing with failures and data loss.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of redundancy coding techniques, such as erasure codes, to distribute data across multiple volumes, along with the use of inventory holders and mobile drive units for efficient storage and retrieval, allows for the creation of failure-decorrelated subsets and flexible configuration of data storage systems, enabling data redundancy and quick recovery from failures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data is distributed across multiple volumes using redundancy coding, then data durability and availability are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides data into multiple shards distributed across different volumes and storage devices. Each shard is an independent segment that can be managed, accessed, and recovered separately. This segmentation enables redundancy coding to be applied effectively while maintaining system reliability even when individual segments fail.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer (the redundancy coding mechanism and storage management system) that mediates between the original data and the physical storage volumes. This intermediary handles the complexity of distribution, recovery, and reconstruction, shielding users from the underlying system complexity while ensuring data durability.
2Reliability
If data is distributed across multiple volumes using redundancy coding, then data availability is improved, but data retrieval time may increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-distributing data shards across multiple volumes and pre-establishing redundancy codes before any failure occurs. This allows the system to immediately retrieve available shards and reconstruct data without delay, as the recovery mechanism is already in place and does not require real-time computation of distribution strategies.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic data retrieval strategies where the system adaptively selects which shards to access based on current system state, available resources, and failure patterns. This dynamic approach optimizes retrieval time by intelligently choosing the most efficient reconstruction path rather than following a fixed sequence.
3Quantity of substance
If sequential storage devices are used for data archival, then storage cost is reduced, but data access speed decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments data into smaller shards that can be distributed across sequential storage devices. This segmentation allows the system to access only the specific shards needed for a given data reconstruction task, rather than reading entire sequential media, thereby improving effective access speed while maintaining the cost benefits of sequential storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple sequential storage devices into a unified storage system where data can be retrieved from any combination of devices. By combining the capabilities of multiple sequential storages and using parallel reconstruction algorithms, the system achieves faster effective access speeds while maintaining the cost-effectiveness of sequential storage technology.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques and systems for storing and retrieving data storage devices of a data storage system are disclosed. In some embodiments, inventory holders are used to store data storage devices used by a data storage system. When data is to be transacted with the data storage devices, mobile drive units locate appropriate inventory holders and transport them to a device reading station, where an appropriate device retrieval unit transacts the data. After the data has been transacted, the data storage devices are returned to the appropriate inventory holders, and the inventory holders are placed by the mobile drive units in locations where they may be accessed in response to further data transactions.