Virtual Storage Device Aggregating Multi-File System Data
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing storage management systems face inefficiencies in accessing and aggregating files, metadata, and free space across multiple storage devices with different file systems, leading to increased seek, access, and write times.
Innovation Solution
A virtual storage application that scans ports for coupled storage devices, creates a database of entries based on file systems, and aggregates files, metadata, and free space, reducing seek, access, and write times by organizing entries by file system type.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If storage devices with different file systems are accessed individually through manual configuration, then each device can be accessed reliably, but the seek time, access time, and write time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple physical storage devices with different file systems into a single virtual storage device. The virtual storage application creates a unified namespace that aggregates files, metadata, and free space from multiple sources, allowing the system to access stored data through a single interface rather than manually configuring and accessing each device separately. This merging reduces access time while maintaining reliable access to all underlying devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual storage application acts as an intermediary layer between the user/computing machine and the multiple physical storage devices. It translates access requests to the appropriate underlying device based on file system types and data locations, eliminating the need for users to manually configure each device and reducing the time required to access specific files across different file systems.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple storage devices are manually configured and accessed separately, then device compatibility across different file systems is maintained, but storage management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual storage application provides a universal interface that works with multiple file systems simultaneously. It implements file system detection and adaptation capabilities, automatically identifying the file system type of each connected device and handling access requests appropriately. This allows a single virtual storage device to serve multiple functions across different file systems (NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, etc.) without requiring separate configuration for each, thereby reducing management complexity while maintaining broad compatibility.
3Adaptability or versatility
If files and free space are scattered across multiple storage devices with different file systems, then device versatility is maximized, but access efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual storage application segments the virtual storage device into regions corresponding to different underlying file systems. It maintains metadata that maps file locations to specific physical devices and file system types, allowing efficient routing of access requests. This segmentation enables the system to maintain versatility by supporting multiple file systems while improving access efficiency by directly routing requests to the appropriate segmented region without scanning entire devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-organizing and indexing files, metadata, and free space across multiple storage devices when creating the virtual storage device. It builds a database that catalogs the location and characteristics of data on each underlying device. This preliminary organization enables rapid access to files regardless of which physical device they reside on, significantly improving access efficiency while maintaining support for multiple device types.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for managing a virtual storage device including scanning ports of a device for storage devices coupled to the device and identifying file systems of the storage devices, creating a database to include entries for the storage devices and files included in the storage devices based on the file systems of the storage devices, and aggregating the files listed in the database as a virtual storage device.