Universal Quota Entry Identification for Cross-Platform Storage Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional network data storage systems face complexity in managing quotas due to the use of platform-specific identification values, which makes it difficult for administrators to track and enforce storage limits across different platforms and users.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a quota management system that translates platform-specific identification values into platform-independent identification values, using a Universal Quota Entry Identification (UQEID) system, allows for unified quota enforcement across various platforms and users, simplifying the tracking and management of storage resources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If platform-specific identification values are used to track user storage usage, then quota enforcement can be implemented for individual platforms, but the system complexity increases significantly when managing multiple platforms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal quota entry identification system where a single quota entry can serve multiple platforms. The storage server maintains a mapping between platform-specific user identification values and a universal quota entry identification value, allowing one quota entry to enforce storage limits across UNIX, WINDOWS, and other platforms simultaneously. This eliminates the need for separate quota entries per platform, reducing system complexity while maintaining reliable quota enforcement.
2Measurement precision
If separate quota entries are maintained for each platform-specific user identification value, then accurate tracking per platform is achieved, but administrative complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system allows a single quota entry to be shared across multiple platforms through the universal identification mechanism. When a data request arrives from any platform, the server translates the platform-specific user ID to the universal quota entry ID and enforces the same storage limit. This maintains precise tracking of user storage usage while dramatically simplifying administration, as administrators manage one quota entry per user rather than one per platform-user combination.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple quota entries are created for the same user across different platforms, then platform-specific quota management is possible, but the number of quota entries and data store size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a mapping mechanism where multiple platform-specific user identification values (UID for UNIX, SID for WINDOWS, TID for Data ONTAP) map to a single universal quota entry identification value. This allows the system to accommodate multiple platforms and their respective identification schemes while maintaining a single quota entry per user. The mapping table stores the relationships between platform-specific IDs and the universal ID, enabling the server to translate and enforce quotas consistently across all platforms without proliferating quota entries.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and a method for determining whether a quota has been violated by using a platform-identification value, instead of the platform-specific identification value. The method may include receiving a quota-sensitive data request from a user at a data storage system, which includes a platform-specific identification value. The method further includes performing a lookup operation on a first data store using the platform-specific identification value to determine a platform-independent identification value that corresponds to the user, and translating the platform-specific identification value into a platform-independent identification value. The first data store includes multiple entries that map multiple platform-specific identification values that correspond to the same user on different platforms to the same platform-independent identification value. Once the platform-specific identification value is translated, the quota-sensitive data request is determined whether a quota is violated using the platform-independent identification value.