Storage Controller Parity Management for RAID Capacity

Solution Overview

Problem

In storage arrays, especially RAIDs using solid-state storage devices, the device-level parity provides limited additional protection and occupies valuable capacity with little benefit, making efficient failure protection inefficient.

Innovation Solution

A storage resource management controller is used to determine if a storage resource is part of a redundant array and selectively disable storage resource-level failure protection, allowing parity capacity to be reclaimed for data storage, thereby increasing effective storage capacity and efficiently managing failures within the array.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If device-level parity is enabled in solid-state storage devices within a RAID array, then failure protection is improved, but storage capacity is reduced due to parity overhead

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefailure protectionVSAvoidstorage capacity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements dynamic adjustment of failure protection mechanisms based on the operational context. The storage controller detects whether storage resources are part of a RAID array and selectively enables or disables device-level parity accordingly. When RAID redundancy is detected, device-level parity is disabled to maximize capacity; when standalone operation is detected, device-level parity is enabled to ensure data protection. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by making the protection mechanism context-dependent rather than static.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the operational parameters of the storage device based on its configuration context. By detecting RAID array membership, the system transitions the storage device between two operational states: one with device-level parity enabled (providing failure protection but reducing capacity) and one with it disabled (maximizing capacity but relying on RAID-level protection). This parameter change allows the system to optimize for either reliability or capacity based on the operational environment.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Reliability

If storage resource-level failure protection is enabled, then data integrity is improved, but storage efficiency deteriorates due to parity overhead

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata integrityVSAvoidstorage efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements dynamic adjustment of failure protection mechanisms based on the operational context. The storage controller detects whether storage resources are part of a RAID array and selectively enables or disables device-level parity accordingly. When RAID redundancy is detected, device-level parity is disabled to maximize capacity; when standalone operation is detected, device-level parity is enabled to ensure data protection. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by making the protection mechanism context-dependent rather than static.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The patent extracts the failure protection function from the individual storage device level and relocates it to the RAID array level. By disabling device-level parity in RAID configurations, the system removes redundant protection mechanisms and relies solely on RAID-level redundancy. This extraction eliminates the parity overhead at the device level while maintaining overall data integrity through the array-level protection, thereby improving storage efficiency without sacrificing data integrity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Reliability

If device-level parity is used for redundancy, then fault tolerance is improved, but capacity utilization worsens due to overhead

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefault toleranceVSAvoidusable capacity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the failure protection function into the RAID array level rather than maintaining separate device-level protection. By combining the redundancy mechanisms at the array level and disabling device-level parity in RAID configurations, the system eliminates duplicate protection layers. This merging reduces the total overhead while maintaining fault tolerance through the unified RAID-level protection, thereby maximizing usable capacity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements dynamic adjustment of failure protection mechanisms based on the operational context. The storage controller detects whether storage resources are part of a RAID array and selectively enables or disables device-level parity accordingly. When RAID redundancy is detected, device-level parity is disabled to maximize capacity; when standalone operation is detected, device-level parity is enabled to ensure data protection. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by making the protection mechanism context-dependent rather than static.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUS9026845B2System and method for failure protection in a storage array

Publication Date: 2015.05.05 DELL PROD LP

AI summary

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, a system comprising may include a storage controller and a plurality of storage resources communicatively coupled to the storage controller. At least one storage resource of the storage resources may be capable of performing storage resource-level failure protection and configured to disable storage resource-level failure protection in response to a determination that the at least one storage resource is a member of a redundant storage array.