Two-Level Indexing for Configuration Data Retrieval
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Solution Overview
Problem
Managing and diagnosing configuration changes in complex computing systems is challenging due to the difficulty in tracking changes over time and the voluminous amount of configuration data generated, making it inefficient to determine what has changed and when.
Innovation Solution
A two-level indexing technique is employed, where the first level is indexed by time and the second level by content, allowing for efficient identification of configuration property values during specific time periods, with remote storage services used to store indexes independently of other services, reducing costs and improving efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If configuration data is stored and monitored to track changes over time, then diagnostic capability is improved, but data storage requirements and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the indexing system into two distinct levels: time-based indexes and content-based indexes. Time-based indexes organize configuration data by time periods, enabling efficient temporal queries. Content-based indexes organize data by configuration property values, enabling efficient content-based searches. This segmentation allows the system to handle different query types independently, improving diagnostic capability without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a time dimension to the indexing system by creating time-based indexes that organize configuration data across different time periods. This dimensional approach allows the system to efficiently answer temporal questions about configuration changes while maintaining a structured framework that prevents uncontrolled complexity growth.
2Measurement precision
If all configuration data is retained for historical analysis, then diagnostic accuracy is improved, but storage costs and data management complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential indexing information needed for diagnostics rather than storing all raw configuration data. The time-based indexes extract temporal patterns and the content-based indexes extract configuration property relationships, allowing the system to achieve high diagnostic accuracy while storing only the necessary indexed data structures rather than complete configuration histories.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates compact index structures that serve as simplified copies of the full configuration data. These indexes contain summarized and organized representations of configuration information, enabling efficient queries and accurate diagnostics while occupying significantly less storage space than the complete configuration data sets would require.
3Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If configuration changes are tracked in detail, then problem identification is improved, but the time required to analyze changes increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary organization of configuration data into time-based and content-based indexes before diagnostic queries are executed. This pre-processing arrangement ensures that when problems need to be identified, the data is already structured and searchable, dramatically reducing the time required to analyze changes while maintaining detailed tracking capability for accurate problem identification.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for storing and retrieving configuration data causes time-based and content-based indexes to be stored on a storage service. The system receives a request to identify the value of a property during a time period indicated by the request. The system retrieves, from the storage service, a time-based index associated with the time period. The retrieved time-based index is searched to identify a content index associated with the time period. The system retrieves the content index from the storage service, and searches the content index to identify a value, of the property, that is associated with the time period. The system generates a response to the request based on the results of the search of the content index.