Method for improving mean time to data loss (MTDL) in a fixed content distributed data storage
First Claim
1. In a redundant array of independent nodes networked together, wherein each node executes an instance of an application that provides object-based storage, a protection management method, comprising:
- for each of a set of one or more protection levels, grouping the nodes within one or more protection sets, wherein a number of nodes within a protection set is a function of a given protection level and, at the time of grouping, a given node is a member of one, and only one, protection set; and
as a given object is stored in a node within a given protection set, storing one or more copies of the given object within nodes of the given protection set, and no other protection set.
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Abstract
An archival storage cluster of preferably symmetric nodes includes a data protection management system that periodically organizes the then-available nodes into one or more protection sets, with each set comprising a set of n nodes, where “n” refers to a configurable “data protection level” (DPL). At the time of its creation, a given protection set is closed in the sense that each then available node is a member of one, and only one, protection set. When an object is to be stored within the archive, the data protection management system stores the object in a given node of a given protection set and then constrains the distribution of copies of that object to other nodes within the given protection set. As a consequence, all DPL copies of an object are all stored within the same protection set, and only that protection set. This scheme significantly improves MTDL for the cluster as a whole, as the data can only be lost if multiple failures occur within nodes of a given protection set. This is far more unlikely than failures occurring across any random distribution of nodes within the cluster.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. In a redundant array of independent nodes networked together, wherein each node executes an instance of an application that provides object-based storage, a protection management method, comprising:
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for each of a set of one or more protection levels, grouping the nodes within one or more protection sets, wherein a number of nodes within a protection set is a function of a given protection level and, at the time of grouping, a given node is a member of one, and only one, protection set; and as a given object is stored in a node within a given protection set, storing one or more copies of the given object within nodes of the given protection set, and no other protection set. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method, operative in a redundant array of independent nodes networked together, for improving mean time to data loss (MTDL), wherein each node executes an instance of an application that provides object-based storage, comprising:
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generating a data structure that, for each of a set of one or more data protection levels, groups the nodes into one or more protection sets, wherein a number of nodes within a protection set is a function of a given protection level and, at the time of generating the map, a given node is a member of one, and only one, protection set; and as a given object is stored in a node within a given protection set, storing one or more copies of the given object within nodes of the given protection set, and no other protection set. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
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13. In a redundant array of independent nodes networked together, wherein each node executes an instance of an application that provides object-based storage, a node comprising:
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a map that, for each of a set of one or more data protection levels, groups the nodes into one or more protection sets, wherein a number of nodes within a protection set is a function of a given protection level and, at the time of generating the map, a given node is a member of one, and only one, protection set; and a protection manager, responsive to storage of a given object in the node, for using the map to identify where one or more copies of the given object are to be stored to satisfy a given data protection level; wherein the one or more copies are stored in one or more other nodes of the given protection set, and no other protection set. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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Specification