NVRAM Storage Management with Peer Node Vault Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current storage systems face data loss and reliability issues when the non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) fails, as they lack effective verification and error handling during data restoration from a solid state drive (SSD) to NVRAM, leading to potential data corruption or loss.
Innovation Solution
The method involves creating vault layers in the SSD for both nodes to store page descriptions and page buffers associated with dirty pages, allowing for data restoration based on peer node page descriptions if NVRAM fails, ensuring data integrity and reducing loss by using peer node data for recovery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If data is copied directly from SSD to NVRAM without verification during restoration, then restoration speed is improved, but data reliability deteriorates due to potential data corruption or loss
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing verification and error handling operations before the actual data restoration process. The system verifies data integrity and handles errors in advance during the restoration preparation phase, ensuring that only valid data is restored while maintaining acceptable restoration speeds through optimized verification procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms by continuously monitoring data integrity during the restoration process and using verification results to control the restoration flow. Error detection and correction feedback loops ensure that corrupted data is identified and handled appropriately, maintaining data reliability while managing restoration speed through intelligent feedback-based decision making.
2Speed
If NVRAM is used for dirty page persistence, then data access speed is improved, but data loss risk increases when NVRAM fails
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary verification and error handling layer between the NVRAM and the restoration process. This intermediary mechanism acts as a mediator that verifies data integrity before restoration, protecting against NVRAM failures while maintaining the speed benefits of NVRAM persistence by only performing verification when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies beforehand cushioning by preparing verification and error handling mechanisms in advance of potential NVRAM failures. The system establishes protective measures beforehand that can quickly activate upon failure detection, cushioning the impact of NVRAM failures while maintaining normal fast access during operational states.
3Reliability
If verification and error handling are implemented during data restoration, then data reliability is improved, but restoration complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the restoration process into distinct modular stages: verification phase, error handling phase, and actual restoration phase. Each stage is independently implemented with specific functions, making the overall complex process more manageable and maintainable while ensuring data reliability through systematic verification and error handling at appropriate segments.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques involve: writing, when a first disk for dirty page storage has a failure, a first target page description generated by a first node and associated with a first set of target dirty pages of the first node and a second set of target dirty pages of a second node to a first page description storage layer for the first node in a second disk; writing a second target page description generated by the second node and associated with the first set of target dirty pages and the second set of target dirty pages to a second page description storage layer for the second node in the second disk; and restoring, when the failure has been eliminated, the first set of target dirty pages and the second set of target dirty pages in the first disk based on at least one of the descriptions.