Storage unit for use in a dispersed storage network
First Claim
1. A storage unit for use within a dispersed storage network comprises:
- an interface; and
a processing module configured to;
receive an encoded data slice from a dispersed storage network client, wherein the encoded data slice is associated with a DSN logical address and wherein the storage unit is allocated a range of DSN logical addresses and the DSN logical address is within the allocated range of DSN logical addresses;
determine whether to store the encoded data slice in internal local memory of the storage unit or store the encoded data slice in remote memory;
in response to determining to store the encoded data slice to the remote memory, convert the DSN logical address into a local storage unit logical address;
output, via the interface, the encoded data slice to the remote memory in accordance with the local storage unit logical address; and
maintain a remote storage configuration associated with the remote memory, wherein the remote storage configuration includes information sufficient to retrieve, by the storage unit, the encoded data slice from the remote memory, wherein the processing module is further configured to perform maintenance operations on the remote memory, the maintenance operations relating to at least one of storage capacity expansion, memory reallocation, or load balancing.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A storage unit for use within a dispersed storage network comprises an interface and a processing module operable to receive encoded data slices from a dispersed storage network client. The encoded data slices are associated with DSN logical addresses and the storage unit is allocated a range of DSN logical addresses in which the DSN logical addresses are found. The storage unit determines whether to store the encoded data slices in local memory of the storage unit or store them in remote memory. When the storage unit determines to store the encoded data slice to the remote memory it converts the DSN logical address into a local storage unit logical address and outputs the encoded data slices to the remote memory.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A storage unit for use within a dispersed storage network comprises:
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an interface; and a processing module configured to; receive an encoded data slice from a dispersed storage network client, wherein the encoded data slice is associated with a DSN logical address and wherein the storage unit is allocated a range of DSN logical addresses and the DSN logical address is within the allocated range of DSN logical addresses; determine whether to store the encoded data slice in internal local memory of the storage unit or store the encoded data slice in remote memory; in response to determining to store the encoded data slice to the remote memory, convert the DSN logical address into a local storage unit logical address; output, via the interface, the encoded data slice to the remote memory in accordance with the local storage unit logical address; and maintain a remote storage configuration associated with the remote memory, wherein the remote storage configuration includes information sufficient to retrieve, by the storage unit, the encoded data slice from the remote memory, wherein the processing module is further configured to perform maintenance operations on the remote memory, the maintenance operations relating to at least one of storage capacity expansion, memory reallocation, or load balancing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for execution by a storage unit within a dispersed storage network comprises:
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receiving an encoded data slice from a dispersed storage client, wherein the encoded data slice is associated with a DSN logical address and wherein the storage unit is allocated a range of DSN logical addresses and the DSN logical address is within the allocated range of DSN logical addresses; determining whether to store the encoded data slice in internal local memory of the storage unit or to store the encoded data slice in remote memory; in response to determining to store the encoded data slice to the remote memory, convert the DSN logical address into a local storage unit logical address; outputting the encoded data slice to the remote memory in accordance with the local storage unit logical address; maintaining a remote storage configuration associated with the remote memory, wherein the remote storage configuration includes information sufficient to retrieve, by the storage unit, the encoded data slice from the remote memory; and performing a maintenance operation on the remote memory, the maintenance operation relating to at least one of storage capacity expansion, memory reallocation, or load balancing. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification