Computer architectures using shared storage

• US 8,601,307 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2012
• Issued: 12/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Peters, Marc A., Kuehn, Dennis L., Bettger, David D., Stone, Kevin A.
• Primary Examiner(s): MCCARTHY, CHRISTOPHER S
• Application Number:
  US13/432,868
• Publication Number:
  US 20120185725A1
• Time in Patent Office: 615 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 714/4.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0813 with a network or matrix configuration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4221 being an input/output bus, e.g. ISA bus, EISA bus, PCI bus, SCSI bus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/176 Support for shared access to files; File sharing support
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/28 Databases characterised by their database models, e.g. relational or object models
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0607 by facilitating the process of upgrading existing storage systems, e.g. for improving compatibility between host and storage device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0608 Saving storage space on storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0655 Vertical data movement, i.e. input-output transfer; data movement between one or more hosts and one or more storage devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0689 Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/50 Allocation of resources, e.g. of the central processing unit [CPU]

Abstract

A method includes providing a persistent common view of a virtual shared storage system. The virtual shared storage system includes a first shared storage system and a second shared storage system, and the persistent common view includes information associated with data and instructions stored at the first shared storage system and the second shared storage system. The method includes automatically updating the persistent common view to include third information associated with other data and other instructions stored at a third shared storage system in response to adding the third shared storage system to the virtual shared storage system.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing a persistent common view of a virtual shared storage system, wherein the virtual shared storage system comprises a first shared storage system and a second shared storage system, and wherein the persistent common view includes information associated with data and instructions stored at the first shared storage system and the second shared storage system;

receiving a request from a requesting device to access a first service provided via the first shared storage system, and wherein the first service corresponds to a first set of instructions stored at the first shared storage system;

retrieving the first set of instructions from the first shared storage system;

transmitting the first set of instructions to the requesting device, wherein the first set of instructions are executable by the requesting device to provide the first service; and

modifying the first service during execution of the first set of instructions at the requesting device, wherein modifying the first service does not interrupt the first service provided during the execution of the first set of instructions at the requesting device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first shared storage system is located at a first location, and wherein the virtual shared storage system includes at least one other shared storage system that is located remote from the first location.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first shared storage system includes a metadata database that includes information that identifies one or more storage locations of the first set of instructions, wherein the method further comprises accessing the metadata database to identify the one or more storage locations of the first set of instructions, wherein the first set of instructions are retrieved from the first shared storage system based on the one or more storage locations.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first shared storage system includes a first registry that identifies data, services, and infrastructure functions that are accessible via the first shared storage system, and wherein the second shared storage system includes a second registry that identifies data, services, and infrastructure functions that are accessible via the second shared storage system, wherein the method further comprises generating a federated registry based on at least the first registry and the second registry.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first shared storage system comprises two or more storage devices, and wherein the first set of instructions stored at the first shared storage system are striped across the two or more storage devices.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to adding a third shared storage system to the virtual shared storage system, automatically updating the persistent common view to include third information associated with other data and other instructions stored at the third shared storage system.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing a relocation operation to relocate particular data, particular instructions, or a combination thereof, stored at a particular shared storage system of the virtual shared storage system to another shared storage system of the virtual shared storage system, wherein the particular shared storage system is located at a first location, wherein the other shared storage system is located at a second location that is remote from the first location, and wherein the relocation operation is initiated in response to a determination that a first demand for access to the particular data, the particular instructions, or the combination thereof, at the first location is less than a second demand for access to the particular data, the particular instructions, or the combination thereof, at the second location.

8. A system comprising:

a metadata controller communicatively coupled to a plurality of shared storage systems, wherein the metadata controller is configured to;

provide a persistent common view of files, file systems, and services accessible via the plurality of shared storage systems;

receive a request from a requesting device to access a first service provided via a first shared storage system of the plurality of shared storage systems, and wherein the first service corresponds to a first set of instructions stored at the first shared storage system;

retrieve the first set of instructions from the first shared storage system;

transmit the first set of instructions to the requesting device, wherein the first set of instructions are executable by the requesting device to provide the first service; and

modify the first service during execution of the first set of instructions at the requesting device, wherein modifying the first service does not interrupt the first service provided during the execution of the first set of instructions at the requesting device.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the metadata controller is located at a first location, wherein the first shared storage system is located at the first location, and wherein a second shared storage system is located at a location that is remote from the first location.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the metadata controller is further configured to:

receive a request to access content from a requesting device;

determine whether the content corresponds to at least one of files, file systems, and services accessible via the first shared storage system; and

in response to a determination that the content corresponds to at least one of the files, the file systems, and the services accessible via the first shared storage system, transmit metadata associated with the content to the requesting device, wherein the metadata includes information usable by the requesting device to retrieve the content from the first shared storage system.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the metadata controller is further configured to:

in response to a determination that the content corresponds to at least one of files, file systems, and services accessible via a second shared storage system of the plurality of shared storage systems;

retrieve the content from the second shared storage system;

store the retrieved content at the first shared storage system; and

transmit metadata associated with the retrieved content to the requesting device, wherein the metadata includes information usable by the requesting device to retrieve the retrieved content from the first shared storage system.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the metadata controller is further configured to:

determine whether the retrieved content stored at the first shared storage system has been modified; and

in response to a determination that the retrieved content has been modified, synchronize the retrieved content stored at the first shared storage system and the content accessible via the second shared storage system.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the metadata controller is further configured to update a metadata database associated with the first shared storage system to indicate that the retrieved content is accessible via the first shared storage system, wherein the metadata database includes information identifying storage locations of the files, the file systems, and the services accessible via the first shared storage system.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the metadata controller is configured to automatically add information associated with an additional shared storage system to the persistent common view in response to adding the additional shared storage system to the plurality of shared storage systems, wherein the added information is associated with additional files, file systems, and services accessible via the additional shared storage system.

15. The system of claim 8, wherein the metadata controller is further configured to perform a relocation operation to relocate particular files, particular file systems, particular services, or a combination thereof, stored at a particular shared storage system of the shared storage system to another shared storage system of the shared storage system, wherein the particular shared storage system is located at a first location, wherein the other shared storage system is located at a second location that is remote from the first location, and wherein the relocation operation is initiated in response to a determination that a first demand for access to the particular files, the particular file systems, the particular services, or the combination thereof, at the first location is less than a second demand for access to the particular files, the particular file systems, the particular services, or the combination thereof, at the second location.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

provide a persistent common view of files, file systems, and services accessible via a plurality of shared storage systems;

receive, from a client device, a request to access a first service accessible via a first shared storage system of the plurality of shared storage systems, wherein the first service corresponds to one or more instructions stored at the first shared storage system;

in response to the request to access the first service, transmit the one or more instructions to the client device, wherein the first service enables the client device to access media content from a media provider; and

when the client device requests access to first media content from the media provider using the first service;

receive data corresponding to the first media content from the media provider;

write the data to the first shared storage system; and

transmit a first portion of the data to the client device concurrently with writing a second portion of the data to the first shared storage system, wherein transmitting the first portion of the data to the client device concurrently with writing the second portion of the data to the first shared storage system simulates streaming of the media content from the media provider to the client device.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to activate a backup path in response to a determination that a primary path has failed, wherein the primary path and the backup path provide access to the first shared storage system of the plurality of shared storage systems.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to replicate content stored at the first shared storage system of the plurality of shared storage systems at a second shared storage system of the plurality of shared storage systems, wherein the content is associated with at least one of files, file systems, and services stored at the first shared storage system, and wherein the replicated content comprises copies of the content stored at the first shared storage system.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

receive data to be stored at a particular shared storage system of the plurality of shared storage systems, wherein the data comprises an output of a service provided via the particular shared storage system, a new file, a new service to be provided via the particular shared storage system, an output of an infrastructure function provided via the particular shared storage system, a new infrastructure function to be provided via the particular shared storage system, or a combination thereof;

store the data at the particular shared storage system;

update a metadata database associated with the particular shared storage system to indicate that the data is accessible via the particular shared storage system; and

update other metadata databases associated with other shared storage systems of the plurality of shared storage systems to indicate that the data is accessible via the particular shared storage system, wherein the other shared storage systems are accessible to the particular shared storage system.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to automatically add information associated with an additional shared storage system to the persistent common view in response to adding the additional shared storage system to the plurality of shared storage systems, wherein the added information is associated with additional files, file systems, and services accessible via the additional shared storage system.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform a relocation operation to relocate particular files, particular file systems, particular services, or a combination thereof, stored at a particular shared storage system of the shared storage system to another shared storage system of the shared storage system, wherein the particular shared storage system is located at a first location, wherein the other shared storage system is located at a second location that is remote from the first location, and wherein the relocation operation is initiated in response to a determination that a first demand for access to the particular files, the particular file systems, the particular services, or the combination thereof, at the first location is less than a second demand for access to the particular files, the particular file systems, the particular services, or the combination thereof, at the second location.