Storage Controller for Application-Specific Storage Services
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current storage solutions are unable to meet the increasing demand for storage resources and services, particularly in cloud environments, as they provide application-agnostic storage services that do not consider the specific requirements of different applications, leading to inefficiencies and performance issues.
Innovation Solution
A centralized storage controller system that enables the specification of an application's storage-related requirements, generating a unique application identifier and selecting virtual machines capable of meeting those requirements, ensuring storage services are tailored to each application's needs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If storage services are provided in an application-agnostic manner, then storage resources can be distributed and shared across multiple applications, but storage services cannot meet the specific requirements of different applications, leading to performance issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments storage services into application-specific virtual storage instances, where each application receives customized storage configuration based on its requirements. The storage system is divided into multiple virtual storage instances that can be independently configured with different storage types, capacities, and performance parameters for different applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by providing different storage service characteristics to different applications. Each application receives storage services tailored to its specific needs, such as high-speed storage for database applications or large-capacity storage for data archiving, rather than a uniform storage service for all applications.
2Reliability
If storage services are customized for each application, then application performance is improved, but storage resource utilization becomes less efficient due to dedicated allocation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements universality by creating virtual storage instances that can serve multiple applications dynamically. The virtualization layer allows storage resources to be allocated and reallocated based on application needs, enabling the same physical storage infrastructure to provide customized services to multiple applications efficiently.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies dynamics by enabling flexible, on-demand allocation and adjustment of storage resources. The system can dynamically provision, modify, or release storage capacity for different applications based on changing requirements, ensuring optimal resource utilization while maintaining application-specific performance characteristics.
3Productivity
If application-specific storage requirements are implemented, then storage efficiency is optimized, but system complexity increases due to multiple virtual machines and configuration management
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a virtualization layer as an intermediary between the physical storage infrastructure and applications. This intermediary layer abstracts the complexity of managing multiple storage configurations, presenting a simplified interface to applications while handling the complex resource allocation, mapping, and management tasks in the background.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements self-service by enabling applications to declaratively specify their storage requirements through configuration files or APIs. The storage system automatically interprets these requirements and provisions appropriate virtual storage instances without manual intervention, reducing the operational complexity of managing application-specific storage configurations.
Data Source
AI summary
An infrastructure is described that enables an application's storage-related requirements to be declaratively specified and storage services to be provided for that application in accordance with the specified storage requirements. A centralized storage controller system is provided that receives application storage profile information for an application, where the application storage profile information identifies that application's storage-related requirements. The storage controller system then selects one or more virtual machines for servicing that application's storage needs. The selected one or more storage virtual machines are those that can support, i.e., can provide or satisfy, the application's storage requirements. During runtime, a storage request generated by the application is communicated to the one or more storage virtual machines, which then service the storage request in accordance with the application's specified storage-related requirements.