Storage Control Apparatus Bulk Writing for Database Consistency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for improving input/output performance of servers, particularly in public cloud environments, fail to optimize data writing to external storage while maintaining data consistency, leading to performance and cost inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A storage control apparatus that writes data from a cache device to external storage in bulk units larger than page units, maintaining consistency by managing data and metadata in objects that include multiple pages, allowing for optimized writing based on specific execution conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data is written from cache device to external storage in page unit, then data consistency is maintained, but writing performance deteriorates and cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple page-unit writes into a single bulk write operation. The storage control apparatus accumulates data from the cache device and writes it to external storage in bulk units that are larger than page units, thereby reducing the number of write operations while maintaining data consistency through proper management of data and metadata in objects.
Solution Approach 2:
The storage control apparatus performs preliminary actions by determining whether execution conditions for bulk writing are satisfied before executing the write operation. This includes checking if data consistency can be maintained and preparing the bulk write unit, which allows for optimized writing without compromising reliability.
2Productivity
If data is written from cache device to external storage in bulk unit, then writing performance improves, but data consistency may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The storage control apparatus uses feedback mechanisms to determine whether bulk writing should be executed. It monitors the state of data in the cache device and external storage, and only performs bulk writing when conditions are satisfied that ensure data consistency will be maintained. This feedback loop allows the system to optimize performance without compromising reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic writing strategies where the write unit size is not fixed but adapts based on conditions. The storage control apparatus can switch between page-unit writing and bulk-unit writing depending on whether execution conditions are met, allowing the system to dynamically balance performance and consistency requirements.
3Reliability
If frequent writing to external storage is performed, then data freshness is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple writing operations into fewer bulk write operations, reducing the total number of interactions with external storage. This merging approach maintains data freshness by ensuring that bulk writes occur when conditions are satisfied, while simultaneously reducing the cost associated with frequent writing operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The storage control apparatus changes the parameter of write unit size from fixed page units to variable bulk units. By adjusting the write unit size based on execution conditions, the system can optimize the balance between data freshness and writing cost, performing bulk writes only when it is safe to do so without compromising data integrity.
Data Source
AI summary
A database is stored in a plurality of pages that are a plurality of logical storage areas constituting a logical storage space. Data writing to a database in the logical storage space is performed in a page unit. A storage control apparatus coupled to an external storage and including a cache device writes data to the cache device in a page unit. The storage control apparatus determines whether an execution condition on external writing that is writing to the external storage is satisfied. When a result of the determination is true, the storage control apparatus writes data stored in the cache device to the external storage in a bulk unit that is larger than a page unit and is a writing unit in which consistency is maintained.