METHOD FOR MANAGING DATA ACCESS REQUESTS UTILIZING STORAGE META DATA PROCESSING

• US 20070299809A1
• Filed: 09/12/2007
• Published: 12/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Wightwick, Glenn, Browne, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 7,818,309 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2453 Query optimisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24552 Database cache management

Abstract

A method and system are provided for managing requests to access data in a computer environment. In one aspect of the present invention, a request manager receives a request associated with meta data corresponding to data that is maintained separately from the meta data. In another aspect, the request manager informs a data object manager of an anticipated request that will be received by the data object manager to enable it to prepare for the anticipated request. The data object manager commences preparing for the anticipated request in response to being informed of the anticipated request to facilitate a reduction in data access time. In one example of a computing environment utilizing one or more aspects of the invention, a storage subsystem comprising a data object manager prepares for the anticipated request by pre-fetching data blocks from storage media into a cache.

Claims

1. A method of managing requests in a computer environment, said method comprising:

providing a computer environment with functionality for;

receiving by a request manager of the computer environment a first request from a requester, the first request associated with meta data, said meta data corresponding to data maintained separately from the meta data by a data object manager of a storage subsystem of the computer environment;

responsive to receipt of the first request at the request manager, automatically informing, by the request manager, the data object manager of an anticipated, second request to be subsequently received by the data object manager from the requester to enable the data object manager to prepare for the anticipated, second request, wherein the anticipated, second request to be received by the data object manager is at least partially ascertainable from meta data associated with the first request received by the request manager; and

wherein the data object manager prepares for the anticipated, second request by adjusting utilization of a cache of the storage subsystem of the computer environment based on information derived from the meta data associated with the first request by the request manager before the anticipated, second request is received at the data object manager from the requester.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data object manager prepares for the anticipated, second request by at least one of pre-fetching into the cache data required by the anticipated, second request, thereby reducing data access latency, or moving data from the cache to a disk of the storage subsystem, thereby facilitating receipt of data at the cache.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said preparing comprises managing contents of a cache in a data storage subsystem, wherein the data object manager prepares for the anticipated, second request by noting that data associated with the anticipated, second request is not to be cached.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the data object manager prepares for the anticipated, second request by managing the requester'"'"'s access to the data.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending, by the request manager, a reply to the requester in response to the first request substantially simultaneously with said informing; and

thereafter receiving, by the data object manager, the second request from the requester, wherein said preparing by the data object manager begins before the receiving by the data object manager.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein said pre-fetching comprises pre-fetching one or more data blocks from one or more storage media of the data storage subsystem whereby the data blocks are stored in the cache, the data blocks comprising at least some of the data.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the preparing by the data object manager comprises releasing storage locations of the cache, whereby the storage locations become available for storing other data.