Storage Virtualization Placeholder Metadata via BLOB Streams
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Solution Overview
Problem
The process of creating and storing metadata for files stored in cloud storage is not seamless, as components on a local computing device cannot generate metadata for files whose data is remotely stored, leading to inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A storage virtualization filter on the local computing device stores metadata as a Binary Large Object (BLOB) in a secondary data stream of the file's placeholder, allowing the storage virtualization provider to manage and generate metadata for remotely stored files.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If file data is stored remotely in cloud storage, then storage capacity is increased and data accessibility is improved, but metadata generation capability is lost because local components cannot access the complete file data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a storage virtualization filter as an intermediary component that bridges local computing devices and remote cloud storage. This filter creates placeholders for remotely stored files and enables local components to access and generate metadata for these files without direct network access, thus resolving the contradiction between remote storage capability and local metadata generation capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a placeholder copy of the remote file on local secondary storage, which contains sufficient information for local components to generate metadata. This placeholder is not the actual file data but contains the necessary metadata and attributes, allowing local components to operate as if the complete file were present locally
2Volume of stationary object
If placeholder stores only sparse data stream for remote files, then local storage space is saved, but metadata generation is prevented because complete file data is not available locally
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different quality characteristics to different parts of the placeholder. The primary data stream contains only sparse or no data to minimize local storage space, while the secondary data stream contains complete metadata and file attributes to enable local components to generate metadata. This differentiation resolves the contradiction between space savings and information completeness
3Loss of information
If complete file data is stored locally, then metadata generation is enabled, but storage space consumption increases and data accessibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the file representation into two separate data streams: a primary data stream for actual file content (stored remotely with minimal local presence) and a secondary data stream for metadata and attributes (stored completely locally). This segmentation allows metadata generation capability to be maintained while minimizing local storage space consumption for the actual file data
Data Source
AI summary
A file system executing on a computing device may store a placeholder for a file on secondary storage of the computing device. The placeholder may comprise a sparse data stream containing none or some of the data of the file and information which enables the remotely stored data of the file to be retrieved from the network. As some or all of the data for the file is being stored remotely, the computing device may rely on a storage virtualization provider to create metadata for the file. Thus, the file system executing on the computing device may receive, from the storage virtualization provider, a request to store metadata associated with the file. In response to this request, the file system may store the metadata as a Binary Large Object (BLOB) in a secondary data stream of the placeholder for the file.