Systems and methods for load balancing drives and servers

• US 8,782,661 B2
• Filed: 09/29/2005
• Issued: 07/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Overland Storage Incorporated (Silicon Valley Technology Partners LLC)
• Original Assignee: Overland Storage Incorporated (Silicon Valley Technology Partners LLC)
• Inventors: Ulrich, Thomas R., Schweitzer, James R., Bolstad, Gregory D., Randall, Jay G., Staub, John R.
• Primary Examiner(s): An, Meng
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEE, TAMMY EUNHYE
• Application Number:
  US11/238,405
• Publication Number:
  US 20060031287A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,211 Days
• Field of Search: 718/100, 718/104, 718/105
• US Class Current: 718/105
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5083 Techniques for rebalancing the load in a distributed system
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1014 based on the content of a request

Abstract

A file system that balances the loading of filers and the capacity of drives that are associated with the filers is described. The file system includes a first disk drive that includes a first unused capacity and a second disk drive that includes a second unused capacity, wherein the second unused capacity is smaller than the first unused capacity. The file system further includes a first filer that is configured to fill requests from clients through access to at least the first disk drive. The file system further includes a second filer that is configured to fill requests from clients through access to at least the second disk drive. The second filer is configured to select an infrequently accessed file from the second disk drive and to push the infrequently accessed files to the first disk drive, thereby improving a balance of unused capacity between the first and second disk drives without substantially affecting a loading for each of the first and second filers.

Claims

1. A file system that balances the loading of servers and the capacity of drives associated with the servers, the file system comprising:

a first disk drive including a first unused capacity;

a second disk drive including a second unused capacity, wherein the second unused capacity is smaller than the first unused capacity;

a first server configured to fill requests from clients through access to at least the first disk drive; and

a second server configured to fill requests from clients through access to at least the second disk drive, and configured to improve a balance of unused capacity between the first and second disk drives without substantially affecting a throughput for each of the first and second servers, said improving comprising;

determining access frequency information and size information for one or more files,

selecting, based at least in part on the access frequency information and the size information, an infrequently accessed file from the second disk drive, and

pushing said infrequently accessed file to the first disk drive,

wherein the second server pushes the infrequently accessed file through communication with the first server.

2. The file system of claim 1, wherein the second server pushes the infrequently accessed file through communication with the first disk drive.

3. The file system of claim 1, wherein the first server further comprises a server profile comprising information about the first server, and wherein said second server is further configured to select and push said infrequently access file to said first disk drive further based on said server profile.

4. The file system of claim 3, wherein the information about the first server comprises attributes of the first server.

5. The file system of claim 3, wherein the information about the first server comprises performance data of resources connected to the first server.

6. The file system of claim 3, wherein the information about the first server comprises performance data of the first server.

7. The file system of claim 3, wherein the information about the first server comprises substantially static information.

8. The file system of claim 3, wherein the information about the first server comprises dynamic information.

9. A method for balancing the loading of processors and the capacity of drives associated with the processors, the method comprising:

storing first data on a first disk drive having a first unused capacity;

storing second data on a second disk drive having a second unused capacity, wherein the second unused capacity is smaller than the first unused capacity;

filling, with a first processor, requests from clients through access to at least the first disk drive;

filling, with a second processor, requests from clients through access to at least the second disk drive;

determining, with the second processor, access frequency information and size information for one or more files; and

improving a balance of unused capacity between the first and second disk drives without substantially affecting a throughput for each of the first and second processors, said improving comprising;

selecting with said second processor, based at least in part on the access frequency information and the size information, an infrequently accessed file from the second disk drive, and

pushing, with the second processor, said infrequently accessed file to the first disk drive through communication with the first processor.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein at least one of the first and second processors comprises a server.

11. The method of claim 10, additionally comprising pushing, with the second processor, the infrequently accessed file through communication with the first disk drive.

12. A file system that balances the loading of servers and the capacity of drives associated with the servers, the file system comprising:

a first physical storage media, said first physical storage media having a first unused capacity;

a second physical storage media, said second physical storage media having a second unused capacity, wherein the second unused capacity is smaller than the first unused capacity;

a first processor for filling requests from clients through access to at least said first physical storage media; and

a second processor for filling requests from clients through access to at least the second physical storage media, and for improving a balance of unused capacity between the first and second physical storage media without substantially affecting a throughput for each of the first and second processor for filling requests, said improving comprising;

determining, via the second processor, access frequency information and size information for one or more files,

selecting, via the second processor based at least in part on the access frequency information and the size information, at least one infrequently accessed file from said second physical storage media, and

pushing, via the second processor, said at least one infrequently accessed file to the first physical storage media,

wherein said second processor for filling requests pushes the infrequently accessed file through communication with said first processor for filling requests.

13. The file system of claim 12, wherein said second processor for filling requests pushes the infrequently accessed file through communication with said first physical storage media.

14. The file system of claim 12, wherein at least one of said first and second physical storage media comprises a disk drive.

15. The file system of claim 14, wherein said first processor for filling requests comprises a file server.

16. The file system of claim 15, wherein the file server comprises a memory for storing information about the file server, and wherein said second processor is further configured to select and push said infrequently access file to said first physical storage media further based on said stored information.

17. The file system of claim 16, wherein the information about the file server comprises performance data of the file server.