Journal Management for Storage Command Reordering

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current data storage systems face inefficiencies in managing and optimizing the order of storage commands, leading to suboptimal performance and resource utilization in primary data storage systems.

Innovation Solution

A dynamically tunable journal management system that assesses and reorders storage commands to achieve data space and time-speed benefits by analyzing sequences of operations and adjusting the order to reduce seek operations and maintain result consistency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If storage commands are processed in the order they are received, then command processing simplicity is maintained, but storage system performance deteriorates due to frequent seek operations and suboptimal data access patterns

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestorage system performanceVSAvoidcommand processing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary analysis of command sequences to identify reordering opportunities before executing storage operations. By examining the sequence of commands and predicting optimal execution order, the system proactively reorders commands to group related operations together, reducing seek operations and improving performance without requiring complex real-time decision-making during execution.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The command processing system dynamically adjusts the execution order of storage commands based on real-time conditions and command characteristics. The system maintains flexibility by allowing command reordering while preserving the original command sequence semantics, enabling adaptive optimization that balances performance improvement with processing complexity management.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Productivity

If command execution order is optimized to reduce seek operations, then storage performance improves, but data consistency and result accuracy may be compromised

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestorage performanceVSAvoiddata consistency
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system incorporates feedback mechanisms that monitor command execution results and verify data consistency after reordering operations. By comparing the outcomes of reordered command sequences against expected results and original command semantics, the system adjusts its reordering strategy to maintain data consistency while maximizing performance benefits, ensuring that optimization does not compromise reliability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Quantity of substance

If the journal is enlarged to accommodate more commands, then command buffering capacity improves, but storage capacity requirements and system complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecommand buffering capacityVSAvoidjournal management complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The journal is segmented into multiple smaller data structures organized in a tree format, allowing efficient command buffering without requiring a single large journal structure. This segmentation enables the system to manage commands in manageable chunks, reducing the complexity of journal management while maintaining sufficient buffering capacity to handle command sequences effectively.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

4Productivity

If command reordering is performed to group operations by storage volume, then write operation efficiency improves, but command processing time and complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvewrite operation efficiencyVSAvoidcommand processing time
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary classification of commands by storage volume and identifies reordering opportunities during the command reception phase rather than during execution. By pre-organizing commands into groups based on their target storage volumes and analyzing their sequences in advance, the system minimizes processing time during actual execution while still achieving the efficiency benefits of grouped write operations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS10223262B2Journal management
Publication Date: 2019.03.05 CYPRESSWOOD SOLUTIONS LLC
  • US10223262B2 patent drawing
  • US10223262B2 patent drawing
  • US10223262B2 patent drawing

AI summary

Apparatuses, systems, methods, and computer program products are disclosed for managing a journal. A method may include reordering storage commands based on different storage volumes associated with the storage commands. A method may include reordering storage commands based on different snapshots associated with the storage commands. A method may include adjusting a frequency of writing data from a write buffer based on a rate of write requests. A method may include adjusting a ratio of storage capacity for storing mirrored write data to storage capacity for storing non-mirrored read data.