Containerized Storage Microservice Bypassing OS File System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing storage services in containerized environments face bottlenecks due to operating system management, complexity in ownership and permission management, and security issues related to communications between applications and the operating system.
Innovation Solution
A containerized storage microservice that provides direct access to storage services, bypassing the operating system file system by using a library to intercept and emulate a thin file system, ensuring secure and efficient data access through a stream architecture and object store, while managing ownership and permissions uniquely for each application container.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If storage services are managed through the operating system, then standard file system operations can be performed, but bottlenecks occur where multiple applications compete for storage service completion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a storage microservice as an intermediary component that sits between application containers and the operating system file system. This microservice receives storage requests directly from applications, manages them independently, and communicates with the OS only when necessary. This intermediary architecture eliminates the bottleneck where multiple applications compete for OS storage services, as the microservice can handle multiple requests concurrently and batch them efficiently to the OS.
2Reliability
If the operating system file system is used for storage services, then standard file operations are available, but security issues arise in communications between requesting applications and the operating system
Solution Approach 1:
The storage microservice acts as a security intermediary that establishes encrypted communication channels between application containers and the operating system. It implements authentication and authorization mechanisms, managing ownership and permissions at the container level. This intermediary layer protects sensitive communications from exposure to the general OS file system, ensuring that only authorized applications can access specific storage resources.
3Ease of operation
If ownership and permission criteria are executed among multiple users and applications, then access control is enforced, but bottlenecks and undue complexity occur in executing storage requests
Solution Approach 1:
The storage microservice performs preliminary authentication and authorization checks before processing storage requests. It establishes ownership and permission criteria at container initialization, caching access control decisions for rapid evaluation. This preliminary action prevents the need for repeated complex permission checks during every storage operation, reducing bottlenecks while maintaining security. The microservice pre-configures access policies, allowing subsequent storage requests to be executed with minimal overhead.
Data Source
AI summary
A containerized storage microservice is described. The containerized storage microservice, and its corresponding architecture, provide an environment wherein an application container accesses containerized storage services through a direct connection. This allows the operating system file system to be effectively bypassed in the provision of storage services. In one example, a library provides a basic file system and is arranged underneath the application container. The library essentially intercepts storage requests and emulates a thin file system. Instead of invoking the kernel of the operating system to process each storage request, the library allows the storage request to bypass the kernel and pass the storage request to the storage microservice. The containerized storage microservices are available in different types, and are configured so that they can be stacked to provide customized sets of storage services to different types of application containers.