Multi-Level Secret Sharing in Dispersed Storage Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional RAID systems face challenges with disk failures, increased maintenance costs, security issues due to data redundancy, and vulnerability to natural disasters, as they require manual disk replacement and may suffer from data loss and unauthorized access.
Innovation Solution
A dispersed storage network (DSN) using error-encoded data across multiple geographically distributed storage units, employing secret sharing schemes like Cauchy Reed-Solomon and Shamir Secret Sharing, to encode and decode data, ensuring data integrity and security through redundancy without the need for redundant copies, and allowing for secure and resilient data storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data is copied to multiple RAID devices for redundancy, then data loss risk is reduced, but security risk increases due to unauthorized access
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments data into multiple encoded slices distributed across different storage units. Each slice alone is insufficient to reconstruct the original data, providing both redundancy and security. This is achieved through error encoding functions that divide data into multiple parts, where a threshold number of slices are required for reconstruction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces error encoding functions as an intermediary layer between the original data and stored slices. This encoding mechanism transforms data into encoded form that requires specific decoding operations, adding a layer of security and integrity verification. The encoding function acts as a mediator that protects data while enabling recovery.
2Quantity of substance
If more disks are added to RAID array for increased storage capacity, then storage capacity improves, but maintenance cost increases due to higher disk failure probability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-healing capability through error encoding and automatic reconstruction. When disk failures occur, the system automatically reconstructs lost data using the encoded slices from remaining functional storage units, eliminating the need for manual intervention. This self-service approach reduces maintenance costs while allowing flexible storage capacity expansion.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies error correction codes and redundancy mechanisms in advance to protect against future disk failures. By pre-encoding data with error correction capabilities and distributing encoded slices across multiple storage units, the system cushions against potential failures before they occur, enabling automatic recovery without manual maintenance.
3Productivity
If RAID devices are co-located for ease of access, then operational efficiency improves, but vulnerability to natural disasters increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments encoded data slices across multiple geographically distributed storage units. This segmentation allows the system to maintain operational efficiency through distributed access while reducing vulnerability to localized natural disasters. The geographic distribution ensures that a disaster at one location does not compromise the entire data set.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds the geographic dimension to data storage by distributing encoded slices across storage units in different locations. This dimensional change from centralized to distributed geographic placement maintains access efficiency through networked distribution while protecting against location-specific natural disasters through spatial separation.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If manual disk replacement is required for RAID systems, then security control is maintained, but operational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements automatic detection and reconstruction capabilities that eliminate the need for manual disk replacement operations. The system automatically detects failed storage units, retrieves encoded slices from functional units, and reconstructs lost data through error correction decoding. This self-service approach reduces operational complexity while maintaining security through controlled access protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates feedback mechanisms that continuously monitor the health and status of storage units. This feedback enables the system to automatically detect failures, initiate reconstruction processes, and verify data integrity without manual intervention. The feedback loop maintains security control while simplifying operations through automated response to system events.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods for use in a dispersed storage network (DSN) to encode data using threshold based secret sharing schemes. In one embodiment, a computing device uses a first threshold based secret sharing scheme in accordance with first secret sharing parameters to encode a data segment of a data file to produce a set of encoded data shares. The computing device then sends the set of encoded data shares to a set of storage units, including sending an encoded data share to a first storage unit of the set of storage units. Upon receiving the encoded data share, the first storage unit encodes the encoded data share using a second threshold based secret sharing scheme in accordance with second secret sharing parameters to produce a set of encoded data sub-shares. The first storage unit then stores the set of encoded data sub-shares in a set of memory devices of the storage unit.