System and method for applying differing erasure codes to stored data

A method of operating a storage cluster comprising a plurality of storage nodes, the method comprising:

• erasure encoding data for storage across the plurality of storage nodes;
• concurrently storing data encoded under a first erasure coding scheme and data encoded under a second erasure coding scheme different from the first erasure coding scheme;
• and
• determining for data to be encoded which of the first erasure coding scheme or the second erasure coding scheme is to be applied.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a storage cluster comprising a plurality of storage nodes, cause the storage cluster to:

• erasure encode data for storage across the plurality of storage nodes;
• concurrently store data encoded under a first erasure coding scheme and data encoded under a second erasure coding scheme different from the first erasure coding scheme;
• and
• determine, during operation of the storage cluster, for data to be encoded which of the first erasure coding scheme or the second erasure coding scheme is to be applied and to encode the data accordingly.