Key File Storage Segmentation for Faster Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing information handling systems face challenges in efficiently recovering key files, such as OS recovery images and hardware driver files, after accidental deletion or formatting, leading to reduced usability and prolonged recovery times.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a storage strategy that utilizes non-volatile random-access memory (NVRAM) to store metadata for key files, allowing processors to retrieve and re-create these files by combining segments from storage and backend servers, thereby reducing the need for full file downloads.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If key files are stored entirely in backend servers, then storage capacity is sufficient, but recovery time increases and usability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments key files into multiple parts and distributes them between local storage and backend servers. Metadata stored in NVRAM contains information about file segments, allowing the system to quickly identify and retrieve only necessary segments from local storage while downloading only missing segments from the backend, rather than downloading entire files.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary actions by storing metadata about key files in NVRAM during system initialization or file creation. This metadata includes information about file locations, segments, and storage distribution, enabling rapid recovery operations without needing to query backend servers for basic file information first.
2Speed
If metadata is stored in NVRAM, then file retrieval speed improves, but storage complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces metadata as an intermediary layer between the NVRAM and the actual key files. This metadata structure simplifies the complexity by providing a standardized interface that abstracts the distributed storage mechanism, allowing the system to manage complex segment-based storage through simple metadata queries without exposing the underlying complexity to the recovery process.
3Productivity
If segment-based retrieval is implemented, then download time reduces, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service by automatically managing segment retrieval based on metadata information. When a key file needs to be recovered, the system automatically queries the metadata in NVRAM, identifies which segments are locally available and which need to be downloaded, and retrieves only the necessary segments without requiring manual intervention or complex orchestration.
Data Source
AI summary
An information handling system includes a storage and a processor. The storage stores a key file in a partition of the storage. The processor receives a request for the key file and determines whether the key file is located within the partition of the storage. In response to the key file not being within the partition of the storage, the processor retrieves metadata for the key file. The processor determines a physical location for the key file based on the metadata. Based on the physical location, the processor retrieves segments of the key file from the partition of the storage. The processor downloads segments of the key file from a backend server. The processor re-creates the key file based on the segments of the key file retrieved from the partition of the storage and on the segments of the key file downloaded from the backend server.