System and method for on-network storage services

• US 20020004816A1
• Filed: 04/16/2001
• Published: 01/10/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sons of Innovation LLC
• Original Assignee: Sons of Innovation LLC
• Inventors: Neill, Angela, Vange, Mark, Clementoni, Marco
• Application Number:
  US09/835,837
• Publication Number:
  US 20020004816A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/202
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/5021 Priority
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5027 the resource being a machine, e.g. CPUs, Servers, Terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/505 considering the load
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5055 considering software capabilities, i.e. software resources associated or available to the machine
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5088 involving task migration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/14 Routing performance; Theoretical aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/193 at the transport layer, e.g. TCP related
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/24 Traffic characterised by specific attributes, e.g. priority or QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0272 Virtual private networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1408 by monitoring network traffic monitoring network traffic per se H04L43/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1416 Event detection, e.g. attack signature detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1458 Denial of Service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10015 Access to distributed or replicated servers, e.g. using brokers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1008 based on parameters of servers, e.g. available memory or workload monitoring of computer activity G06F11/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/101 : based on network conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1021 : based on client or server locations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1029 : using data related to the state of servers by a load balancer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1031 : Controlling of the operation of servers by a load balancer, e.g. adding or removing servers that serve requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1034 : Reaction to server failures by a load balancer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/142 : Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 : Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 : Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 : Data redirection of data network streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 : Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 : Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 : Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5681 : Pre-fetching or pre-delivering data based on network characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5682 : Policies or rules for updating, deleting or replacing the stored data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/61 : taking into account QoS or priority requirements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 : Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 : in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 : Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 : Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 : Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 : Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A method for managing on-network data storage using a communication network. Requests for data are received within an intermediary server from a plurality of external client applications coupled to the network. Units of data are stored in one or more data storage devices accessible to the intermediary server. Each storage request is associated with a token representing the request. The token is sent to a storage management server coupled to the network and having an interface for communicating with the intermediary server. The storage management server returns specific location information corresponding to the request associated with the received token. The intermediary server accesses the data storage mechanism using the specific location information to retrieve data at the specific location. The retrieved data is delivered to the client application that generated the request.

Claims

1. A data storage system comprising:

a communication network;

a client application coupled to the network and generating an access request for stored data, wherein the client application lacks a priori knowledge of the location of the requested data;

an intermediary server coupled to the network to receive the request;

one or more data storage devices accessible through the intermediary server and having a plurality of data units stored at selected locations therein;

a storage server having knowledge of the location of data units in the storage devices and having an interface for communicating with the intermediary servers;

processes within the intermediary server responsive to a received data access request for communicating with the storage server to obtain knowledge about the location of requested data from the data in response to a received client request; and

processes within the intermediary server for obtaining the data from the specific location and serving the data to the requesting client application.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the data is returned such that the client remains unaware of the specific location of the data.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the intermediary server has a lower latency connection to the client application than does the storage server.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein at least some of the storage devices comprise direct attached storage for the intermediary server.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein at least some of the storage devices comprise network attached storage.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein at least some of the storage device are configured as a storage area network.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the access request is represented by a token.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the processes for communicating with the storage server further comprises transmission of a token representing the requested data.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the processes for communicating with the storage server further comprises processes for receiving a resource locator from the storage server.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the processes for communicating with the storage server further comprise processes for receiving a file name and file path from the intermediary server.

11. A method for managing on-network data storage comprising the acts of:

providing a communication network;

receiving requests for data within an intermediary server from a plurality of external client applications coupled to the network;

storing units of data in one or more data storage devices accessible to the intermediary server;

associating each storage request with a token representing the request;

sending the token to a storage server coupled to the network and having an interface for communicating with the intermediary server;

causing the storage server to return specific location information corresponding to the request associated with the received token;

causing the intermediary server to access the data storage mechanism using the specific location information to retrieve data at the specific location; and

delivering the retrieved data to the client application that generated the request.

12. A method for transferring data between networkconnected computers comprising the acts of:

storing a data object at a specific location in a network-connected storage mechanism;

transmitting a token representing the data object from a first network-connected computer to an intermediary computer;

in the intermediary computer, using the token to identify the specific storage location of the data object;

causing the storage mechanism to transfer the data object to a second network-connected computer.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the step of sending the token further comprises sending an identification of the second network-connected computer.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the act of transferring the data object comprises transferring the data object to a plurality of network-connected computers.

15. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

storing copies of the data object at multiple network-connected storage mechanisms;

using the intermediary computer to select one of the multiple network-connected storage mechanisms; and

causing the selected network-connected storage mechanism to transfer the data object to a second network-connected computer.

16. The method of claim 12 wherein the step of causing the storage mechanism to transfer the data object to a second network-connected computer comprises:

transferring the data object to a front-end server topologically close to the second network-connected computer; and

transferring the data object from the front-end server to the second network-connected computer.

17. The method of claim 12 wherein the data object at the specific location is referred to as a primary data object, the method further comprising:

causing the network-connected storage mechanism to proactively redistributed data objects by transferring in addition to the primary data object, one or more data objects that are sequentially related to the primary data object.

18. A data distribution service comprising:

one or more data storage mechanisms holding a plurality of data objects at specific non-public locations;

an interface for receiving tokens, the tokens associated with particular ones of the data objects and the tokens lacking specific location information indicating the locations of the data objects in the one or more data storage mechanisms; and

in exchange for payment, supplying the specific nonpublic locations of the data objects associated with the received tokens.

19. A method for version control of a data object comprising:

receiving a token representing a first version of a data object;

using the token to identify second version of the data object; and

identifying a specific storage location of the second version data object in response to the received token.