Heterogeneous Storage Write Distribution Without Translation Layers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional storage systems face inefficiencies in managing storage devices, particularly flash drives, due to redundant write operations and lack of direct control by the operating system, leading to increased latency and reduced reliability.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a direct-mapped flash storage system where the operating system directly addresses data blocks without translation by storage controllers, offloading device management tasks, and utilizing non-volatile RAM as a buffer for improved latency and reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional storage controllers manage flash drives with translation layers, then device compatibility and abstraction are improved, but write latency increases and reliability decreases due to redundant operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the storage controller translation layer from the system, allowing the operating system to directly address flash drive blocks without intermediary translation. This eliminates redundant write operations and controller processing delays, directly reducing write latency while improving reliability through direct OS control of the storage device
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces non-volatile RAM as a buffer intermediary between the operating system and flash drives. This buffer absorbs write operations, allowing the OS to write to the buffer directly while the flash drives are updated asynchronously, thereby reducing write latency without sacrificing reliability
2Productivity
If storage controllers translate and manage data blocks, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the storage controller's data translation function from the system architecture. By eliminating this intermediary layer, the system reduces complexity while improving productivity through direct OS-to-flash-drive block addressing, which eliminates redundant translation operations and optimizes storage efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements self-service by allowing the operating system to directly manage flash drive blocks without requiring storage controller translation. The system becomes self-managing, where the OS handles block addressing and data placement directly, thereby reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high storage efficiency
Data Source
AI summary
Writing data in a storage system that includes a first type of storage device and a second type of storage device, including: selecting, for one or more unprocessed write requests, a target storage device type from the first type of storage device and the second type of storage device; issuing a first group of write requests to the first type of storage device, the first group of write requests addressed to one or more locations selected in dependence upon an expected address translation to be performed by the first type of storage device; and issuing a second group of write requests to the second type of storage device, the second group of write requests addressed to one or more locations selected in dependence upon a layout of memory in the second type of storage device.