Storage Network Access Control Lists for Dispersed Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing storage systems, such as RAID, face challenges with data loss due to disk failures, increased maintenance costs, and security issues related to multiple data copies, especially in the context of natural disasters or infrastructure failures.
Innovation Solution
A dispersed storage network (DSN) with tiered storage pools and error encoding techniques, such as Cauchy Reed-Solomon encoding, is implemented to distribute data across multiple storage units, ensuring data integrity and security through redundancy and error correction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data is copied to multiple RAID devices for redundancy, then data loss risk is reduced, but security risk increases due to unauthorized access possibilities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments data into multiple slices and distributes them across different storage units within a storage pool. This segmentation approach provides redundancy without creating multiple complete copies, thereby reducing data loss risk while minimizing security exposure since no single storage unit contains the complete data set.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces access control lists (ACLs) as intermediaries that mediate between data requests and stored data. ACLs enforce security policies and authorization rules, allowing the system to provide redundant storage while maintaining security control over who can access the data, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and security risk.
2Quantity of substance
If more disks are added to RAID array for increased storage capacity, then storage capacity is improved, but maintenance cost increases due to higher disk failure probability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides data into slices and distributes them across multiple storage units in a dispersed manner. This segmentation allows the system to scale storage capacity by adding more storage units while maintaining reliability through the distributed architecture, where the failure of individual units does not compromise the entire system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of data storage from centralized copying (RAID) to distributed slicing. This parameter change enables the system to achieve both high storage capacity and high reliability simultaneously, as the distributed architecture inherently provides fault tolerance without requiring excessive redundancy.
3Reliability
If data is stored in distributed manner across storage pools, then security and reliability are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates storage pools that serve multiple functions: they provide redundancy, enable security through distributed storage, support flexible data migration, and allow for load balancing. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate specialized systems, thereby managing complexity while achieving high reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements automatic data migration capabilities that allow the system to self-manage data placement and relocation across storage pools based on failure conditions or performance requirements. This self-service approach reduces the need for manual intervention and complex management overhead, making the distributed architecture more manageable.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If manual disk replacement is required for RAID systems, then security control is improved, but operational efficiency decreases due to manual intervention
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements automatic data migration and reconstruction capabilities that enable the system to self-heal when storage units fail. When a storage unit fails, the system automatically migrates data from remaining units and reconstructs it on new replacement units, eliminating the need for manual intervention while maintaining security through controlled data access protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates monitoring and feedback mechanisms that detect storage unit failures and automatically trigger data migration and reconstruction processes. This feedback loop enables the system to respond to failures automatically, improving operational efficiency while maintaining security through centralized control of data access and migration operations.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus for storage pool tiering in a storage network. In an embodiment, a method executed by one or more processing modules of a storage network includes maintaining a storage network access control list (ACL) registry. The ACL registry includes a storage network sub-registry and one or more vault sub-registries, and each of the sub-registries includes one or more ACLs. The method further includes receiving a storage network access request from a requesting entity, identifying a request type of the storage network access request, and identifying the one or more ACLs of a sub-registry associated with the request type. The method continues with retrieving the one or more ACLs, identifying an ACL of the one or more ACLs based on an identifier associated with the requesting entity, and comparing the storage network access request to permissions of the identified ACL to determine whether the access request is authorized.