# US 12,216,911 B2 · Storage layout of protection pool of a RAID storage system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,216,911 B2 - Document ID: US12216911B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/314,381 - Filed: 2021-05-07 - Published: 2022-11-10 - Granted: 2025-02-04 - Earliest claimed: 2021-05-07 - Assignees: EMC IP Holding Company LLC - Applicants: EMC IP Holding Company LLC - Inventors: Paul Nehse; Michael Thiels; Devendra Kulkarni - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12216911B2 ## CPC - G06F 3/0619: {in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors} - G06F 3/061: {Improving I/O performance} - G06F 3/0631: {by allocating resources to storage systems} - G06F 3/0644: {Management of space entities, e.g. partitions, extents, pools} - G06F 3/0665: {at area level, e.g. provisioning of virtual or logical volumes} - G06F 3/067: {Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]} - G06F 3/0689: {Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD} - G06F 11/1076: {Parity data used in redundant arrays of independent storages, e.g. in RAID systems} - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) ## Abstract A redundant array of independent disks (raid) array can include one or more virtual disks representing a raid configuration of the raid array. Each of the one or more virtual disks includes a number of physical extents (PEs), where a first PE and a second PE of the PEs have a same size. The first PE is located at a first storage disk of a first storage node of a cluster and the second PE is located at a second storage disk of a second storage node of the cluster. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A redundant array of independent disks (RAID) array, comprising: one or more virtual disks representing a RAID configuration of the RAID array, wherein each of the one or more virtual disks comprises a plurality of physical extents (PEs), the plurality of PEs having a same size, a first virtual disk of the one or more virtual disks comprising a first PE and a second PE, wherein the first PE is located in a first physical disk of a first storage node of a cluster and the second PE is located in a second physical disk of a second storage node of the cluster, the first storage node of the cluster different from the second storage node of the cluster, the first PE managed by a first local disk manager (LDM) executing on the first storage node, the second PE managed by a second LDM executing on the second storage node, and the first virtual disk managed by an array group manager (AGM), the AGM executing on a third storage node, the third storage node different from the first storage node and the second storage node. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The RAID array of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more virtual disks corresponds to a stripe unit index of the RAID array. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The RAID array of claim 1, comprising a 6+2 RAID configuration, wherein the one or more virtual disks of the 6+2 RAID configuration comprises six data virtual disks and two parity virtual disks. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The RAID array of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of PEs has a unique identifier identifying a physical address of the PE, wherein the physical address of the PE comprises: an address corresponding to a storage node, a physical disk of the storage node, and a logical block address on the physical disk. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The RAID array of claim 1, wherein the size of the plurality of PEs is configurable when the cluster is initially created. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The RAID array of claim 1, wherein an ownership of a PE is verified by an LDM of the PE in at least one of conditions: when the RAID array with the PE is created, the RAID array having the PE is expanded, or the PE is part of a parity virtual disk that is allocated to the RAID array. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The RAID array of claim 1, wherein a PE is approvable by an LDM before the PE is allocated to the RAID array. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The RAID array of claim 1, wherein the PE is not approved by a LDM if the LDM has approved the PE for another RAID array. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The RAID array of claim 1, wherein the RAID array is used by a file system running on the first storage node. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The RAID array of claim 1, wherein the RAID array comprises one of levels: RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 2, RAID 3, RAID 4, RAID 5, RAID 6, or a combination there of. ### Claim 11 A first storage node comprising a plurality of redundant array of independent disks (RAID) arrays, wherein a RAID array comprises: one or more virtual disks representing a RAID configuration of the RAID array, wherein each of the one or more virtual disks comprises a plurality of physical extents (PEs), the plurality of PEs having a same size, a first virtual disk of the one or more virtual disks comprising a first PE and a second PE, wherein the first PE is located in a first physical disk of the first storage node of a cluster and the second PE is located in a second physical disk of a second storage node of the cluster, the first PE managed by a first local disk manager (LDM) executing on the first storage node, the second PE managed by a second LDM executing on the second storage node, and the first virtual disk managed by an array group manager (AGM), the AGM executing on a third storage node, the third storage node different from the first storage node and the second storage node. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The RAID array of claim 11, wherein each of the one or more virtual disks corresponds to a stripe unit index of the RAID array. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The RAID array of claim 11, comprising a 6+2 RAID configuration, wherein the one or more virtual disks of the 6+2 RAID configuration comprises six data virtual disks and two parity virtual disks. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The RAID array of claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of PEs has a unique identifier identifying a physical address of the PE, wherein the physical address of the PE comprises: an address corresponding to a storage node, a physical disk of the storage node, and a logical block address on the physical disk. ### Claim 15 (depends on 11) The RAID array of claim 11, wherein the size of the plurality of PEs is configurable when the cluster is initially created. ### Claim 16 (depends on 11) The RAID array of claim 11, wherein an ownership of a PE is verified by an LDM of the PE in at least one of conditions: when the RAID array with the PE is created, the RAID array having the PE is expanded, or the PE is part of a parity virtual disk that is allocated to the RAID array. ### Claim 17 (depends on 11) The RAID array of claim 11, wherein a PE is approvable by an LDM before the PE is allocated to the RAID array. ### Claim 18 (depends on 11) The RAID array of claim 11, wherein the PE is not approved by a LDM if the LDM has approved the PE for another RAID array. ### Claim 19 (depends on 11) The RAID array of claim 11, wherein the RAID array is used by a file system running on the first storage node. ### Claim 20 (depends on 11) The RAID array of claim 11, wherein the RAID array comprises one of levels: RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 2, RAID 3, RAID 4, RAID 5, RAID 6, or a combination there of.