Object Interface for Dispersed Data Storage Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data storage systems face challenges in ensuring data reliability and security, as they often rely on single-location storage which is prone to failures and security breaches, and existing dispersed data storage networks face scalability and access conflicts.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an object-based file system adapted for dispersed data storage networks, which uses an information dispersal algorithm to split data into slices stored across multiple servers, allowing for secure and reliable data retrieval and storage with object-based access, enabling clients to store and retrieve individual data objects independently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If data is stored in a single location, then storage simplicity is maintained, but data reliability and security deteriorate due to susceptibility to failures and breaches
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides data into multiple segments or slices and distributes them across multiple servers in a dispersed storage network. Each server stores only a portion of the data, so that no single location holds the complete dataset. This segmentation approach maintains storage simplicity while improving reliability, as the data can be reconstructed from multiple distributed segments rather than requiring a single centralized storage location.
2Reliability
If data is backed up in a separate location, then data reliability improves, but security deteriorates due to additional access points for potential breaches
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of creating a complete backup copy at a separate location, the patent segments the data and distributes slices across multiple servers. This eliminates the need for a single backup copy while maintaining reliability through redundancy. The segmented approach reduces security risk because no single server contains the complete data, and accessing all segments would require compromising multiple distributed locations simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates multiple copies of data segments across distributed servers rather than a single backup copy. Each server holds a portion of the data, and the system can reconstruct the original data from multiple different combinations of these segment copies. This distributed copying strategy improves reliability while minimizing security exposure compared to traditional single backup approaches.
3Reliability
If data is split into stripes across multiple drives using RAID, then reliability improves, but security deteriorates as RAID does not address security concerns
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends the RAID segmentation concept by distributing data slices across multiple servers in a dispersed storage network rather than just across multiple drives in a localized array. This maintains the reliability benefits of segmentation while adding a network-layer distribution that enhances security. The data is split into segments and stored geographically distributed across multiple servers, making it more secure against localized threats while maintaining reconstruction capability.
4Ease of operation
If traditional block-based or file-based systems are used, then data access is straightforward, but scalability and access conflicts arise in dispersed storage networks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments data into discrete objects that can be independently stored and retrieved across the dispersed storage network. Each data object is divided into slices that are distributed across multiple servers, but the object-based structure allows for independent access and management. This segmentation approach maintains ease of operation by allowing straightforward object access while improving scalability, as the system can distribute and manage large numbers of discrete data objects across the network without the access conflicts that plague traditional block-based or file-based systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A data object interface to a dispersed data storage network is disclosed. The disclosed interface accepts read and write commands from a client computer and generates network commands that are forwarded to slice servers that form the storage component of the dispersed data storage network. The slice servers then fulfill the read and write commands.