Decoupled reliability groups
AssigneeNetApp, Inc.
InventorMark Walter Storer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods and apparatuses for updating members of a data storage reliability group are provided. In one exemplary method, a reliability group includes a data zone in a first storage node and a checksum zone in a second data storage node. The method includes updating a version counter associated with the data zone in response to destaging a data object from a staging area of the data zone to a store area of the data zone without synchronizing the destaging with the state of the checksum zone. The method further includes transmitting, from the data zone to the checksum zone, an update message indicating completion of the destaging of the data object, wherein the update message includes a current value of the version counter.
Claims30
A method comprising:
- updating a version indicator associated with a data zone of a first data storage node in response to destaging a data object from a staging area of the data zone to a store area of the data zone, wherein the destaging is not synchronized with a state of a checksum zone in a second data storage node, the data zone and the checksum zone being members of a reliability group;
- and
- transmitting, from the data zone to the checksum zone, an update message indicating completion of the destaging of the data object, wherein the update message includes a current value of the version indicator.
A method comprising:
- receiving, at a parity zone of a first data storage node from a data zone of a second data storage node, an update message indicating transfer of a data object from a staging area of the data zone to a store area of the data zone, the update message including a revision value associated with the data zone, the data zone and the parity zone being members of a reliability group;
- and
- storing checksum information, generated based on a replica of the data object stored in a staging area of the parity zone, in a store area of the parity zone if a comparison of the revision value to an element of a contribution vector associated with the data zone indicates that all prior updates associated with the data zone have already been processed by the parity zone, wherein the storing of the checksum information is performed out of lockstep with the transfer of the data object from the staging area of the data zone to the store area of the data zone.
A data storage system comprising:
- a memory containing computer-executable instructions;
- and
- a computer processor operably connected to the memory and configured to execute the instructions to:
- store a data object in a staging area of a data storage zone;
- transfer the data object to a store area of the data storage zone without establishing a commit protocol with a parity storage zone;
- update a revision value associated with the data storage zone in response to the transfer;
- identify prior unprocessed updates associated with the data storage zone by comparing the revision value to an element of a contribution vector associated with the data storage zone;
- sequentially generate and store, in a store area of the parity storage zone, checksum information associated with the prior unprocessed updates in an order determined based on the revision value and revision values of the unprocessed updates;
- and
- update the element of the contribution vector.
A method comprising:
- operating a data storage system that includes a plurality of data elements and a checksum element;
- and
- decoupling updating operations in the at least one checksum element from update operations in the data elements by staging data in the checksum element and allowing the checksum element to update error correction data with a timing that is independent of the update operations in the data elements through use of update counters.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.