Tape Drive Deduplication Using Chunk Pointers and NVM Buffers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data deduplication methods for tape drive storage systems face limitations and speed issues due to sequential data writing and lack of data compression capabilities, which hinder performance and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
Integration of a deduplication software engine within a tape drive hardware device, utilizing two non-volatile memory devices to divide data streams into chunks, identify duplicates, delete redundant chunks, and store pointers for efficient data storage and retrieval, enabling data compression and improved memory utilization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If data deduplication is implemented on tape drive storage systems using sequential writing, then data compression is achieved, but storage speed and performance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the data stream into fixed-size chunks before writing to tape. This segmentation enables the system to process and identify duplicate chunks efficiently while maintaining sequential tape writing, thus achieving deduplication without compromising storage speed
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary processing of data chunks in memory before writing to tape. By pre-processing data to identify duplicates and prepare chunk metadata ahead of time, the system enables fast sequential writing while maintaining deduplication effectiveness
2Loss of substance
If data deduplication is implemented on tape drive storage systems, then data compression is achieved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary buffer memory between the data source and tape drive. This buffer serves as a mediator that performs deduplication processing, chunk segmentation, and metadata management, simplifying the overall system architecture while enabling comprehensive deduplication functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates and maintains copies of chunk metadata and pointers in memory rather than processing entire data sets. By working with compact metadata representations instead of full data copies, the system reduces memory requirements and simplifies the deduplication process
3Productivity
If traditional deduplication methods are used without specialized hardware integration, then implementation flexibility is maintained, but de-duplication performance is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the deduplication engine directly into the tape drive hardware, combining data processing and storage functions in a single integrated system. This integration eliminates data transfer bottlenecks between separate devices and enables optimized processing pipelines that significantly improve deduplication performance
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for improving tape drive memory storage is provided. The method includes receiving, by a storage tape drive, a data stream for storage. The data stream is passed through a non-volatile memory device (NVS2) of the storage tape drive. The data stream is divided into adjacent variable length data chunks and a chunk list file including similarity identifiers for each of the adjacent variable length data chunks is generated and stored within a (non-volatile memory device) NVS1. Duplicate data including duplicated data with respect to a group of data chunks of the adjacent variable length data chunks is identified and deleted from the NVS2 of the storage tape drive such that the group of data chunks remains within NVS2. The group of data chunks is written to a data storage tape cartridge. Pointers identifying each data chunk and an associated storage position are generated and stored.