Storage Driver Quota Enforcement in Cloud Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cloud services face difficulties in scaling applications and managing storage quotas for external storage systems that do not provide per-folder or per-tenant quota enforcement, leading to unawareness of available storage space and potential quota exceedance.
Innovation Solution
A distributed computing system with a quota database, activation service, and remote storage driver that tracks usage information, enforces quotas by restricting access when limits are exceeded, and periodically updates the storage usage to maintain accurate tracking and compliance with quotas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If external storage systems provide limited quota enforcement (only at root level), then device complexity is reduced, but storage management precision deteriorates (cannot track per-folder or per-tenant usage)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a storage driver as an intermediary component between the application and the external storage system. This driver intercepts storage operations (read, write, delete) and maintains a local cache of usage information, enabling precise tracking of storage consumption at the application level without requiring the external storage system to provide complex per-folder or per-tenant quota enforcement capabilities.
2Measurement precision
If cloud service tracks storage usage by scanning external storage, then storage usage accuracy is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The storage driver performs preliminary actions by maintaining a local cache of usage information and updating it proactively as storage operations occur. This allows the system to have usage data ready before it is needed for quota checks, eliminating the need for time-consuming scans at the moment of quota verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the storage driver continuously monitors storage operations and updates the usage cache in real-time. The activation service periodically checks this cached information and provides feedback to update the database, creating an efficient closed-loop system that maintains accuracy without continuous scanning.
3Productivity
If multiple processes access external storage independently, then processing speed is improved, but quota management reliability deteriorates (cannot enforce shared quotas)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the quota enforcement functionality into a shared storage driver component that all processes use. The driver maintains a centralized usage cache that aggregates storage consumption from multiple processes, enabling reliable quota enforcement across all processes while allowing them to access storage independently and concurrently.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments are directed to client-side enforcement of storage quotas in a cloud service or distributed computing environment. A storage driver is configured to monitor access to an external storage system by a cloud process and to enforce storage limits for the external storage system. The storage driver intercepts reads and writes from the process to the external storage system and updates a local state to track the process's usage of the external storage system. A storage quota database is periodically checked for an updated storage usage and, if the updated storage usage is not present, then the external storage is scanned to obtain the updated storage usage. The updated storage usage is provided to the storage driver, which overwriting the local state. The storage driver continues to update the local state based upon the intercepted reads and writes.