Method and system for allocating data objects for efficient reads in a mass storage subsystem

A storage system comprising:

• a memory;
• a processor coupled to the memory;
• a storage interface configured to communicate with a mass storage subsystem;
• a data layout structure containing data defining a first logical portion and a second logical portion of the mass storage subsystem;
• a properties component configured to determine one or more physical properties of the mass storage subsystem;
• a layout component configured to assign portions of the mass storage subsystem to the first logical portion and the second logical portion based on the one or more physical properties;
• and
• a write component configured to receive a write request, determine a service level requirement associated with the write request, and selectively store data in the first logical portion or the second logical portion based on the service level requirement.

A method for laying out data on a mass storage subsystem, the method performed by a computing system having a processor and an associated storage area, the method comprising:

• defining, by the computing system, a first logical portion and a second logical portion of the mass storage subsystem based on one or more physical properties associated with the mass storage subsystem, such that read access to data stored in the first logical portion is faster than read access to data stored in the second logical portion.
• storing, by the computing system, a first object in the first logical portion, wherein the first object has a first service level requirement;
• and
• storing, by the computing system, a second object in the second logical portion, wherein the second object has a second service level requirement which is lower than the first service level requirement.

A method for determining a logical data layout on a mass storage subsystem, the method performed by a computing system having a processor and an associated storage area, the method comprising:

• determining, by the computing system, a data chunk width based on a maximum amount of data that can be read from a physical storage device in the mass storage subsystem in a single read operation;
• determining, by the computing system, a seek profile of the physical storage device;
• based, by the computing system, on the seek profile, determining a maximum seek distance that has a substantially constant seek time on the physical storage device;
• using, by the computing system, the data chunk width and the maximum seek distance to define the logical data layout.