Abstracting namespace mapping in a dispersed storage network through multiple hierarchies

A distributed storage network (DSN) including:

• a plurality of computing devices configured as a plurality of controllers, the plurality of controllers arranged hierarchically in a plurality of levels, where each level includes one or more groups of peer controllers, wherein each group of controllers shares a common parent controller at a next higher level, each group of controllers and a respective common parent controller utilizing a common addressing namespace, and wherein a controller of the plurality of controllers is configured to:
• receive a data access request from a parent controller of the plurality of controllers, the data access request including a higher level address;
• determine, based on the higher level address, that the data access request is not directly serviced by the controller;
• in response to determining that the data access request is not directly serviced by the controller, translate the higher level address to a lower level address of the common addressing namespace;
• identify a child controller associated with the lower level address;
• generate a translated data access request to include the lower level address and an identifier of the child controller;
• and
• send the translated data access request for receipt and processing by the child controller.

A computing device operable as a controller in a hierarchical arrangement of controllers of a dispersed storage network (DSN), the computing device comprises:

• a network interface;
• a local memory, the local memory maintaining an address translation table;
• and
• a processing module operably coupled to the network interface and the local memory, wherein the processing module is configured to:
• receive, via the network interface, a data access request from a parent controller of the hierarchical arrangement of controllers, the data access request including a higher level address;
• determine, based on the higher level address, that the data access request is not directly serviced by the computing device;
• in response to determining that the data access request is not directly serviced by the computing device, translate the higher level address to a lower level address, wherein the lower level address is one of a plurality of addresses of an addressing namespace associated with a respective plurality of controllers configured as child controllers to share a common parent controller;
• identify a child controller associated with the lower level address;
• generate a translated data access request to include the lower level address and an identifier of the child controller;
• and
• send, via the network interface, the translated data access request for receipt and processing by the child controller.