Low Latency File System Address Space Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current file systems face significant read-write delays when handling large files, particularly due to the inefficiencies in address space management, such as multi-stage indirect pointers and B+ tree indexing, which lead to suboptimal IO performance and increased access times.
Innovation Solution
A low-latency file system address space management method that dynamically allocates data blocks based on variable sizes, reducing the need for multiple IO operations by storing data block pointers in a single inode, allowing data blocks to be accessed within a single IO operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If multi-stage indirect pointers are used to manage large files, then the file size capacity is increased, but the read-write delay is increased due to multiple IO operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a nested hierarchical pointer structure where first indirect pointers point to second indirect pointers, which in turn point to data blocks. This nesting allows the system to manage large files (improving file size capacity) while minimizing the number of pointer indirections required to access data blocks (reducing read-write delay). The nested structure efficiently combines the benefits of extended addressing with reduced access steps.
2Adaptability or versatility
If B+ tree indexing is used to organize data blocks, then the address space management capability is improved, but the IO performance deteriorates due to increased access complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the indexing function from a complex B+ tree structure and implements a simplified direct pointer approach. By taking out only the essential addressing capability and eliminating the hierarchical tree structure, the system maintains adequate address space management while significantly improving IO performance through direct block access without traversal overhead.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a top-down hierarchical indexing approach (B+ tree) that requires traversal from root to leaf, the patent inverts the approach by using direct pointers stored in the inode that point directly to data blocks. This inversion eliminates the traversal step and allows immediate access to data blocks, thereby improving IO performance while maintaining address space management capability.
3Device complexity
If fixed-size data blocks are used for storage, then the address space organization is simplified, but the read-write efficiency is reduced due to excessive number of blocks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamic block grouping where multiple fixed-size data blocks are grouped together and managed as a unit through indirect pointers. This dynamic grouping allows the system to maintain the simplicity of fixed-size blocks while improving read-write efficiency by reducing the number of individual block operations. The indirect pointers enable batch access to groups of blocks, effectively increasing throughput without complicating the fundamental block structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A low-latency file system file address space management method and system, and a medium. The method of the present invention comprises: generating a superblock and a block group allocation table from an address space of a storage device, wherein the superblock stores file system information and the allocation situation of block groups on a liner address space of the storage device, and the block group allocation table is used for marking the allocation situation of data blocks in the corresponding block group; when a file is created, dynamically creating or selecting a corresponding block group according to the size of a specified data block and allocating the data block; and writing file data into the allocated data block, and updating the block group allocation table and information of the superblock.