Balancing storage unit utilization within a dispersed storage network

A computer readable storage medium comprises:

• at least one memory section that stores operational instructions that, when executed by one or more processing modules of one or more computing devices of a dispersed storage network (DSN), causes the one or more computing devices to:
• determine to move a range of encoded data slices from a first storage unit to a second storage unit of a plurality of storage units, wherein data objects are dispersed storage error encoded to produce pluralities of sets of encoded data slices, wherein the pluralities of sets of encoded data slices are stored in the plurality of storage units, wherein first encoded data slices of the pluralities of sets of encoded data slices have a first common addressing component within addresses of the first encoded data slices, wherein the first storage unit stores a first sub-set of the first encoded data slices and the second storage unit stores a second sub-set of the first encoded data slices, wherein the range of encoded data slices includes at least some of the first sub-set of the first encoded data slices, and wherein the range of encoded data slices is identified by a corresponding slice address range that includes a range of the addresses of the at least some of the first sub-set of the first encoded data slices;
• transfer the range of encoded data slices from the first storage unit to the second storage unit;
• and
• in response to the transferring the range of encoded data slices from the first storage unit to the second storage unit, transfer a corresponding range of second encoded data slices from a third storage unit to a fourth storage unit, wherein the second encoded data slices of the pluralities of sets of encoded data slices have a second common addressing component within addresses of the second encoded data slices, wherein the third storage unit stores a first sub-set of the second encoded data slices and the fourth storage unit stores a second sub-set of the second encoded data slices, wherein the range of second encoded data slices includes at least some of the first sub-set of the second encoded data slices, and wherein the range of second encoded data slices is identified by a second corresponding slice address range that includes a range of the addresses of the at least some of the first sub-set of the second encoded data slices.

A computing device comprises:

• an interface;
• a memory;
• and
• a processing module operably coupled to the interface and the memory, wherein the processing module functions to:
• determine to move a range of encoded data slices from a first storage unit to a second storage unit of a plurality of storage units, wherein data objects are dispersed storage error encoded to produce pluralities of sets of encoded data slices, wherein the pluralities of sets of encoded data slices are stored in the plurality of storage units, wherein first encoded data slices of the pluralities of sets of encoded data slices have a first common addressing component within addresses of the first encoded data slices, wherein the first storage unit stores a first sub-set of the first encoded data slices and the second storage unit stores a second sub-set of the first encoded data slices, wherein the range of encoded data slices includes at least some of the first sub-set of the first encoded data slices, and wherein the range of encoded data slices is identified by a corresponding slice address range that includes a range of the addresses of the at least some of the first sub-set of the first encoded data slices;
• transfer the range of encoded data slices from the first storage unit to the second storage unit;
• and
• in response to the transferring the range of encoded data slices from the first storage unit to the second storage unit, transfer a corresponding range of second encoded data slices from a third storage unit to a fourth storage unit, wherein the second encoded data slices of the pluralities of sets of encoded data slices have a second common addressing component within addresses of the second encoded data slices, wherein the third storage unit stores a first sub-set of the second encoded data slices and the fourth storage unit stores a second sub-set of the second encoded data slices, wherein the range of second encoded data slices includes at least some of the first sub-set of the second encoded data slices, and wherein the range of second encoded data slices is identified by a second corresponding slice address range that includes a range of the addresses of the at least some of the first sub-set of the second encoded data slices.