PROTECTION SECTOR AND DATABASE USED TO VALIDATE VERSION INFORMATION OF USER DATA

• US 20190065488A1
• Filed: 08/29/2017
• Published: 02/28/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seagate Technology LLC (Seagate Technology Holdings Plc)
• Original Assignee: Seagate Technology LLC (Seagate Technology Holdings Plc)
• Inventors: Colline, Phillip R.
• Granted Patent: US 10,642,816 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0709 in a distributed system consisting of a plurality of standalone computer nodes, e.g. clusters, client-server systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1004 to protect a block of data words, e.g. CRC or checksum G06F11/1076 takes precedence; security arrangements for protecting computers or computer systems against unauthorized activity G06F21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1873 Versioning file systems, temporal file systems, e.g. file system supporting different historic versions of files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/23 Updating

Abstract

A write command includes data targeted to a data sector of a non-volatile memory. The data is committed to be stored in the data sector. Protection information bytes of the data are stored together with the data in the data sector, and the protection information bytes are copied to a distilled protection sector. A read request is received for the data and in response, the protection information in the data sector is validated against the copy of the protection information in the distilled protection sector.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a write command with data targeted to a data sector of a non-volatile memory;

committing the data to be stored in the data sector, protection information bytes of the data being stored together with the data in the data sector;

copying the protection information bytes to a distilled protection sector;

receiving a read request for the data; and

in response to the read request, validating the protection information in the data sector against the copy of the protection information in the distilled protection sector.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to copying the protection information bytes to the distilled protection sector:

incrementing version information stored in the distilled protection sector; and

independently updating a database with the incremented version information, the database separate from the distilled protection sector.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the data sector and distilled protection sector are stored on one or more data storage drives coupled to a storage controller, wherein the database is stored on the storage controller.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the user data sector, the distilled protection sector, and the database are stored on two or more memory sections of a storage drive.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising, in response to the read request, validating the incremented version information between the database and the distilled protection sector, a mismatch between the incremented version information in the database and the distilled protection sector being indicative of a missed write to the distilled protection sector.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a mismatch between the protection information of the data sector and the copy of the protection information in the distilled protection sector is indicative of a missed write to the data sector.

7. A method, comprising:

copying protection information from a data sector to a distilled protection sector on a first, non-volatile, data storage medium, the distilled protection sector comprising a protection block storing version information, the version information being tracked via in a database separate from the distilled protection sector;

responsive to an update of the data sector, copy updated protection information of the data sector to the distilled protection sector, the update to the data sector including storing the updated protection information together with updated data of the data sector;

responsive to copying the updated protection information, changing the version information in the database and recording the changed version information in the protection block of the distilled protection sector; and

for a read of the data sector subsequent to the update, verifying the changed version information data in both the database and the distilled protection sector.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein for the read of the data sector subsequent to the update, validating the updated protection information stored with the data sector against the copy of the updated protection information in the distilled protection sector.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the protection block comprises SCSI T10 protection information, and where the version information is stored in an APP tag of the SCSI T10 protection information.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the version information comprises a two-bit value.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the data sector is stored on a second non-volatile recording medium, the first non-volatile recording medium having higher performance than the second non-volatile recording medium.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein a mismatch in the changed version information between the database and the distilled protection sector is indicative of a missed write to the distilled protection sector.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein the distilled protection sector and the data sector are both stored on one or more drives of an array, and wherein the database is stored on a controller coupled to the array.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the distilled protection sector and the data sector are stored on different drives of the array.

15. The method of claim 7, wherein for the read of the data sector subsequent to the update, validating the distilled protection sector via a guard tag of the protection block.

16. An apparatus comprising:

one or more non-volatile memory sections comprising;

user data sectors;

a distilled protection sector with protection information copied from the user data sectors, the distilled protection sector comprising version information;

a database separate from the distilled protection sector, the database tracking the version information of the distilled protection sector; and

a controller coupled to the one or more non-volatile memory sections and operable to perform;

responsive to an update of a data sector of the user data sectors, copy updated protection information of the data sector to the distilled protection sector, the update to the data sector including storing the updated protection information together with updated data of the data sector;

responsive to copying the updated protection information, changing the version information in the database and recording the changed version information in the distilled protection sector; and

for a read of the data sector subsequent to the update, ensuring the changed version information data matches in both the database and the distilled protection sector.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein for the read of the data sector subsequent to the update, ensuring the updated protection information of the data sector matches the copy of the updated protection information in the distilled protection sector, wherein a mismatch between the updated protection information of the data sector and the copy of the updated protection information in the distilled protection sector is indicative of a missed write to the data sector.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the version information is stored in an APP tag of SCSI T10 protection information appended to the distilled protection sector.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising a storage controller that includes one of the sections of the non-volatile memory that stores the database, the storage controller coupled to a storage drive that includes other sections of the non-volatile memory that store the user data sectors and the distilled protection sector.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein a mismatch in the changed version information between the database and the distilled protection sector is indicative of a missed write to the distilled protection sector.