Disk Access Optimization via Fragment Indexing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional disk access methods are inefficient when accessing all or most files on a disk, as they involve sequential traversal without knowledge of physical file locations, leading to prolonged processing times due to rearrangement of read/write mechanisms for fragmented or out-of-order files, especially in scenarios like anti-virus scans and backups.
Innovation Solution
A system that reads files in a filesystem, determines the relative location of file fragments on a disk, sorts them in fragment tables based on their location, and assembles complete files from these fragments, utilizing a volume cache driver to optimize disk access and minimize non-continuous disk operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If sequential traversal of files is used without knowledge of physical location, then the filesystem can be accessed in a simple manner, but disk access time is significantly prolonged due to fragmented and out-of-order file locations
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by creating an index of file fragments and their physical locations on the disk before actual file access operations. This index allows the system to pre-plan the optimal access sequence, avoiding the need for sequential traversal and reducing seek times during actual file operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary indexing mechanism that sits between the filesystem and the physical disk storage. This index structure mediates between logical file locations and physical disk locations, enabling the system to translate logical file access requests into optimized physical access patterns that minimize disk seek operations.
2Productivity
If the read/write mechanism is rearranged to access fragmented files, then all files can be retrieved, but the process is unnecessarily prolonged due to multiple seek operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical disk seek operations with a software-based indexing and sorting system. Instead of physically rearranging files on the disk or performing multiple random seek operations, the system uses an in-memory index structure to track fragment locations and orchestrates disk access in a sorted, sequential manner, substituting mechanical optimization with computational optimization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of file access from sequential logical traversal to physically sorted access based on disk location. By sorting the index of file fragments according to their physical location on the disk, the system transforms the access pattern to minimize seek operations, changing how files are retrieved from their logical order to their physical order on storage media.
3Productivity
If seek times are reduced through optimization, then disk access efficiency improves, but the system complexity increases due to indexing and sorting requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the file system into manageable components: an index structure that tracks file fragments, a sorting mechanism that orders fragments by physical location, and an access layer that retrieves files using the sorted index. This segmentation allows the complexity to be distributed and managed in modular fashion, making the system more tractable despite the added functionality.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for optimizing disk access are disclosed. In one particular exemplary embodiment, the techniques may be realized as a system for optimizing disk access comprising a module for reading files in a filesystem, the files comprising one or more file fragments, a module for determining a relative location of the one or more file fragments on a disk, a module for sorting an index of the one or more file fragments on the disk in one or more fragment tables according to the relative location of the one or more file fragments on the disk, a module for reading the one or more file fragments from the disk, a module for assembling one or more of the files from the one or more file fragments.