US 10,095,708 B2Granted

Data mobility, accessibility, and consistency in a data storage system

AssigneeQumulo, Inc.

InventorsAaron Passey, Neal Fachan, Peter Godman

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Abstract

A transactional block storage system is provided which is capable of supporting a single-phase commit for data writes specifying a protected storage unit. The storage system includes a data storage map that logically links the protected data storage unit to two or more block storage units associated with a layer of the protected data storage unit. The storage system also includes an address abstraction layer which translates write requests to the block storage units and resolves whether those write requests are atomically committed to the storage system in a single phase transaction. The address abstraction layer is further configured to detected when a block storage unit becomes unavailable during a transaction and create a cleaning kit for that block in order to prevent data loss. Additionally, the address abstraction layer facilitates moving, copying, and merging of block storage units without global locking in the storage system.

Claims31

Dependent claims

A data storage system for providing access to data over a network, comprising:

a plurality of data storage devices;
and
one or more computers, including:
one or more memories for storing instructions;
and
one or more processors that execute the instructions to perform actions, including:
instantiating a client interface, by an application layer, to access data stored in a plurality of storage units, wherein each storage unit comprises a plurality of layers that include a plurality of block storage units (bstore) on the plurality of hardware data storage devices, wherein the file system employs a received write request to specify one or more of the storage units as protected (pstore), and;
instantiating a map that corresponds to each pstore with two or more block storage units (bstore), wherein a copy of the map is included in an address abstraction layer that also includes an address for each pstore, and wherein the address abstraction layer communicates with a kernel layer that employs the received write request and associated pstore address to access one or more of the corresponding bstores;
and
employing the address abstraction layer to perform further actions, comprising:
employing each received write request to generate one or more translated write requests, wherein each translated write request specifies a different one of the two or more block storage units that corresponds to each protected data storage volume;
resolving a transaction, collectively representing the one or more translated write requests, as being positive or negative based on commit responses from each write request to the two or more block storage units, wherein the one or more write requests are atomically committed;
and
when one of the two or more block storage units becomes unavailable during the single-phase transaction, performing further actions, including:
adding a new block storage unit to one layer of an available data storage device containing the unavailable block storage unit, wherein the new block storage unit stores data intended for the unavailable block storage unit;
and
updating the unavailable block storage unit with data included in the new block storage unit when the unavailable block storage becomes available.

14 more elements

A computer for providing access to data stored on a plurality of data storage devices over a network, comprising:

one or more memories for storing instructions;
and
one or more processors that execute the instructions to perform actions, including:
instantiating a client interface, by an application layer, to access data stored in a plurality of storage units, wherein each storage unit comprises a plurality of layers that include a plurality of block storage units (bstore) on the plurality of hardware data storage devices, wherein the file system employs a received write request to specify one or more of the storage units as protected (pstore), and;
instantiating a map that corresponds to each pstore with two or more block storage units (bstore), wherein a copy of the map is included in an address abstraction layer that also includes an address for each pstore, and wherein the address abstraction layer communicates with a kernel layer that employs the received write request and associated pstore address to access one or more of the corresponding bstores;
and
employing the address abstraction layer to perform further actions, comprising:
employing each received write request to generate one or more translated write requests, wherein each translated write request specifies a different one of the two or more block storage units that corresponds to each protected data storage volume;
resolving a transaction, collectively representing the one or more translated write requests, as being positive or negative based on commit responses from each write request to the two or more block storage units, wherein the one or more write requests are atomically committed;
and
when one of the two or more block storage units becomes unavailable during the single-phase transaction, performing further actions, including:
adding a new block storage unit to one layer of an available data storage device containing the unavailable block storage unit, wherein the new block storage unit stores data intended for the unavailable block storage unit;
and
updating the unavailable block storage unit with data included in the new block storage unit when the unavailable block storage becomes available.

11 more elements

A method for providing access to data stored on a plurality of data storage devices over a network, comprising:

employing one or more computers to execute instructions, stored in non-transitory memory storage devices to perform actions, including:
instantiating a client interface, by an application layer, to access data stored in a plurality of storage units, wherein each storage unit comprises a plurality of layers that include a plurality of block storage units (bstore) on the plurality of hardware data storage devices, wherein the file system employs a received write request to specify one or more of the storage units as protected (pstore), and;
instantiating a map that corresponds to each pstore with two or more block storage units (bstore), wherein a copy of the map is included in an address abstraction layer that also includes an address for each pstore, and wherein the address abstraction layer communicates with a kernel layer that employs the received write request and associated pstore address to access one or more of the corresponding bstores;
and
employing the address abstraction layer to perform further actions, comprising:
employing each received write request to generate one or more translated write requests, wherein each translated write request specifies a different one of the two or more block storage units that corresponds to each protected data storage volume;
resolving a transaction, collectively representing the one or more translated write requests, as being positive or negative based on commit responses from each write request to the two or more block storage units, wherein the one or more write requests are atomically committed;
and
when one of the two or more block storage units becomes unavailable during the single-phase transaction, performing further actions, including:
adding a new block storage unit to one layer of an available data storage device containing the unavailable block storage unit, wherein the new block storage unit stores data intended for the unavailable block storage unit;
and
updating the unavailable block storage unit with data included in the new block storage unit when the unavailable block storage becomes available.

9 more elements

A non-transitory data storage media that includes instructions for providing access to data stored on a plurality of data storage devices over a network, wherein execution of the instructions by one or more computers performs actions, including:

instantiating a client interface, by an application layer, to access data stored in a plurality of storage units, wherein each storage unit comprises a plurality of layers that include a plurality of block storage units (bstore) on the plurality of hardware data storage devices, wherein the file system employs a received write request to specify one or more of the storage units as protected (pstore), and;
instantiating a map that corresponds to each pstore with two or more block storage units (bstore), wherein a copy of the map is included in an address abstraction layer that also includes an address for each pstore, and wherein the address abstraction layer communicates with a kernel layer that employs the received write request and associated pstore address to access one or more of the corresponding bstores;
and
employing the address abstraction layer to perform further actions, comprising:
employing each received write request to generate one or more translated write requests, wherein each translated write request specifies a different one of the two or more block storage units that corresponds to each protected data storage volume;
resolving a transaction, collectively representing the one or more translated write requests, as being positive or negative based on commit responses from each write request to the two or more block storage units, wherein the one or more write requests are atomically committed;
and
when one of the two or more block storage units becomes unavailable during the single-phase transaction, performing further actions, including:
adding a new block storage unit to one layer of an available data storage device containing the unavailable block storage unit, wherein the new block storage unit stores data intended for the unavailable block storage unit;
and
updating the unavailable block storage unit with data included in the new block storage unit when the unavailable block storage becomes available.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/658,015Filed 13 Mar 2015 · us provisional application
Priority: 23 Apr 2014
Published: US 2015/0310054 A129 Oct 2015
Granted: 9 Oct 2018
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification4 codes

G06F 16/185
File system types: hierarchical storage management [HSM] systems, e.g. file migration or policies thereof
G06F 9/467
Transaction processing: transactional memory
G06F 16/2358
Updating: change logging, detection, and notification
G06F
Computing and data processing