Storage System Polling Reduction via Request Consolidation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Storage systems experience degraded performance due to delays in providing storage system state data when multiple consumers request this information simultaneously, as existing systems handle each request individually, leading to increased polling time and delays in response.
Innovation Solution
Implement a method where a storage system receives and tracks poll requests, initiates polls only for requests received before a certain start time, and provides stored state data from a cache for requests received after the poll start time, reducing the number of polls needed and improving response efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the storage system handles each poll request individually, then each consumer receives storage system state data, but the system experiences degraded performance and delays due to multiple separate polling operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple poll requests into a single polling operation. When multiple consumers request storage system state data, the system consolidates these requests and performs one unified poll to collect the state data, then distributes it to all requesting consumers. This eliminates the need for separate polling operations for each consumer, reducing polling delays and improving response efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary polling actions by proactively collecting storage system state data and caching it before actual consumer requests arrive. The poll manager maintains a cache of state data and uses it to respond to poll requests without immediately initiating new polling operations, thereby reducing the time consumers wait for data while ensuring data availability.
2Reliability
If the storage system performs multiple polls to serve multiple consumers, then each consumer gets current state data, but the number of polls increases leading to system overhead and performance degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple poll requests into a single polling operation. The poll manager receives multiple poll requests from different consumers, consolidates them, and executes one unified poll to gather storage system state data. This single poll serves all consumers simultaneously, maintaining data freshness while eliminating the overhead of multiple separate polling operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates copies of the storage system state data collected during a single poll and distributes these copies to multiple consumers. Instead of performing separate polls for each consumer, the system polls once, caches the state data, then provides copies of this data to all requesting consumers, thereby maintaining data reliability while reducing polling overhead.
3Speed
If the storage system caches state data and serves from cache, then response time improves, but the data may become stale if not updated frequently
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary polling actions by proactively collecting and caching storage system state data before consumers request it. The poll manager maintains an updated cache of state data, ensuring that when poll requests arrive, the system can immediately serve from the pre-collected cache data, achieving fast response times without sacrificing data freshness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where the poll manager monitors incoming poll requests and determines whether to initiate new polling operations based on the current state of the cache and the timing of requests. This feedback loop ensures that the cache is updated at appropriate intervals, maintaining data freshness while avoiding unnecessary polls that would slow down response times.
Data Source
AI summary
Described are methods, systems, and apparatus for reducing storage system polling when collecting and providing storage system state data. A plurality of poll requests for storage system state data is received. For each poll request of the plurality of poll requests, a poll request arrival time associated with the poll request is stored. A first poll is initiated to collect first storage system state data for a first poll request of the plurality of poll requests. A first poll start time associated with the first poll is stored. The first poll is completed, forming the first storage system state data. For each poll request of the plurality of poll requests, the first storage system state data is provided for the poll request provided that the poll request arrival time is before the first poll start time.