Embedded SSD Compute Architecture for Distributed Slice Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current dispersed storage networks face challenges in ensuring data integrity and security, particularly in handling failures and unauthorized access, while also requiring efficient data storage and retrieval across geographically distributed locations.
Innovation Solution
A dispersed storage network (DSN) architecture that utilizes error encoding and decoding techniques, such as Cauchy Reed-Solomon encoding, to distribute data across multiple storage units, ensuring data redundancy and security through slice naming and integrity processing units, which manage and rebuild 'bad' or missing encoded data slices, and maintain secure storage and retrieval protocols.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data is distributed across multiple storage units using error encoding, then data reliability and security are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments data into multiple slices that are distributed across different storage units. Each slice is encoded using error encoding schemes (e.g., Reed-Solomon, Cauchy Reed-Solomon), allowing the system to reconstruct original data even if some slices are lost or corrupted. This segmentation approach improves data reliability without requiring complete duplication of data across all storage units.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary components including encoding units that transform original data into encoded slices, storage units that hold distributed slices, and decoding units that reconstruct original data from received slices. These intermediaries manage the complexity of error encoding and decoding processes, isolating their complexity from the overall system architecture while maintaining high data reliability.
2Reliability
If data is stored in dispersed locations, then security against unauthorized access is improved, but data retrieval efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting data into multiple encoded slices distributed across different storage units, the system achieves security through spatial distribution. Each storage unit holds only a portion of the encoded data, making it difficult for unauthorized access to compromise the entire dataset. Simultaneously, the segmentation enables parallel retrieval operations where multiple slices can be fetched concurrently from different locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary error encoding of data before distribution, which prepares the data for efficient retrieval. The encoding scheme is designed to allow reconstruction of original data from any sufficient subset of slices, enabling flexible retrieval paths. This preliminary action ensures that even if some retrieval paths are blocked or slow, data can be efficiently retrieved through alternative paths without compromising security.
3Reliability
If redundant copies of data are stored, then data availability is improved, but storage space consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses error encoding techniques (such as Reed-Solomon or Cauchy Reed-Solomon codes) to create encoded copies of data slices. Instead of storing complete redundant copies of the entire dataset, the system stores distributed encoded slices where any sufficient subset can reconstruct the original data. This approach provides data availability similar to redundancy but consumes significantly less storage space by avoiding full duplication.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of data representation from storing complete data copies to storing encoded data slices. By applying error encoding transformations, the system alters the form of stored data into a compact representation that provides the same availability guarantees as full redundancy but with reduced storage requirements. The encoding parameters (such as code rate and slice count) can be adjusted to optimize the balance between availability and storage efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A method performed by a processing module embedded in a solid state memory device begins by receiving at least one partial task related to a group of slices of contiguous data, and slices of the group of slices of contiguous data to produce received slices. The received slices are random access stored in the solid state memory device, and the processing module decides whether to execute the at least one partial task. In response to a positive determination, a portion of the received slices are random access retrieved, and the at least one partial task is executed using the portion of the received slices to generate a partial result. The partial result is random access stored in the solid state memory device; and the processing module facilitates dispersed storage of the partial result in a distributed storage task network (DSTN).