Storage Metadata Name Encoding With Prefix-Suffix String Tables
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
As storage clusters grow in capacity, metadata management becomes inefficient due to the inefficiency of defining and allocating memory for storage of all possible combinations within an address space, especially when the address space is not fully occupied, leading to wasteful use of memory space by long metadata names.
Innovation Solution
A method for efficient name coding in storage systems is implemented by identifying common prefixes, midsections, and suffixes of strings and encoding their positions in a string table, allowing each string to be encoded as offsets relative to these common components, reducing the memory required for storing metadata with long names.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If memory is allocated for all possible combinations in the address space, then the address space can be fully addressed, but memory space is wasted when the address space is not fully occupied
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the address space into used and unused portions by implementing a hash table that only allocates memory for actually occupied address entries. Instead of allocating contiguous memory for the entire address space, the hash table uses hashing to map only the occupied addresses to storage locations, thereby segmenting memory allocation to match actual usage patterns and eliminating waste from unoccupied address spaces.
2Loss of information
If long names are stored in metadata, then complete information is preserved, but storage space consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies copying by storing only the necessary portion of long metadata names in the hash table entries, while the complete original names are preserved in their source locations. The hash table contains copies of sufficient identifying information (such as hashed values or truncated names) to locate and retrieve the full metadata names, thereby reducing storage space consumption while maintaining information completeness through reference to the original full names.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for efficient name coding in a storage system is provided. The method includes identifying common prefixes, common suffixes, and midsections of a plurality of strings in the storage system, and writing the common prefixes, midsections and common suffixes to a string table in the storage system. The method includes encoding each string of the plurality of strings as to position in the string table of prefix, midsection and suffix of the string, and writing the encoding of each string to memory in the storage system for the plurality of strings, in the storage system.