Online Volume Cloning Across Servers Without Centralized Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current data storage systems face inefficiencies and high costs due to reliance on centralized storage arrays, which require significant computing resources, are prone to errors, and lack flexibility in managing distributed storage across multiple servers, leading to performance bottlenecks and maintenance challenges.
Innovation Solution
A decentralized data storage system utilizing unexploited hardware resources, such as DAS, by orchestrating storage stack components across multiple servers via a control plane, enabling efficient data management, redundancy, and snapshotting without the need for centralized clusters or rescan processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If centralized storage arrays are used to provide data storage and backup capabilities, then data storage and management services can be provided, but significant computing resources, infrastructure, and budget capacities are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts storage services from centralized storage arrays and distributes them across multiple servers. Each server manages its own storage locally, eliminating the need for a centralized storage array and its associated computing resources, infrastructure, and budget capacities while maintaining data storage and backup capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
Each server in the system manages its own storage independently without requiring centralized storage array services. The servers perform storage operations autonomously, reducing dependency on complex centralized infrastructure and computing resources.
2Ease of operation
If centralized storage arrays are used to provide storage services, then data management functions can be centralized, but the system becomes prone to errors and lacks flexibility in managing distributed storage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the centralized storage array that is prone to errors and replaces it with distributed storage across multiple servers. Each server manages its own storage independently, eliminating the single point of failure and reducing system error susceptibility while maintaining ease of operation through peer-to-peer communication.
3Reliability
If RAID 5/6 is used to provide data redundancy, then data protection is achieved, but performance penalty on write operations occurs due to parity calculations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates traditional RAID 5/6 parity calculations by using distributed storage across multiple servers. Each server stores data independently without requiring parity calculations, achieving data redundancy through distribution rather than through RAID algorithms, thereby eliminating the performance penalty on write operations.
4Quantity of substance
If centralized storage arrays are used, then storage capacity can be aggregated, but maintenance challenges and high costs arise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts storage capacity from centralized arrays and distributes it across multiple servers. Each server maintains its own storage independently, simplifying maintenance as issues can be addressed locally without affecting the entire system, while still providing aggregated storage capacity through the distributed network.
Data Source
AI summary
Cloning a volume from one source server to another destination server over a network, while the volume is online and orchestrator is configured to orchestrate the clone process over a CP to both servers and only the allocated blocks in the source volume, that belongs to server, are copied.