Systems and methods for compression of data for block mode access storage
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsJonathan AMIT, Noah AMIT, Nadav KEDEM
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Abstract
Methods and systems for creating, reading, and writing compressed data for use with a block mode access storage. The compressed data are packed into a plurality of compressed units and stored in a storage logical unit (LU). One or more corresponding compressed units may be read and/or updated with no need of restoring the entire storage logical unit while maintaining a de-fragmented structure of the LU.
Claims36
A method for operating a compression system operatively coupled between at least one computing device and at least one storage device configured as at least one storage logical unit configured to store data compressed by the compression system, wherein the at least one storage device and the compression system are separate network elements and form a storage network, said method comprising:
- receiving, at said storage network, one or more data access-related requests from said computing device, said data access-related requests addressed to said storage logical unit;
- intercepting, by said compression system, said data access-related requests prior to the data access-related requests reaching said storage logical unit;
- compressing, by said compression system, said data access-related requests to create compressed data;
- and
- transmitting, by the compression system, the compressed data to said storage logical unit.
A storage network operable with a block mode access storage protocol, comprising:
- a computing device;
- a storage device configured to store compressed data in a storage logical unit;
- and
- a compression system comprising a processor, the compression system operatively coupled to the computing system and the storage device, wherein the processor is configured to:
- receive one or more data access-related requests from said computing device, said data access-related requests addressed to said storage logical unit,
- intercept said data access-related requests prior to the data access-related requests reaching said storage logical unit,
- compress said data access-related requests to create compressed data, and
- transmit the compressed data to said storage logical unit.
A computer storage medium comprising a computer program product method for operating a compression system operatively coupled with a computing device and a storage device configured to store compressed data in a storage logical unit, the computer storage medium comprising:
- code for receiving one or more data access-related requests from said computing device, said data access-related requests addressed to said storage logical unit;
- code for intercepting said data access-related requests prior to the data access-related requests reaching said storage logical unit;
- code for compressing said data access-related requests to create compressed data;
- and
- code for transmitting the compressed data to said storage logical unit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.