Performance improvement of a capacity optimized storage system including a determiner

• US 8,880,469 B2
• Filed: 04/18/2013
• Issued: 11/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Patterson, R. Hugo
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, PHONG H
• Application Number:
  US13/865,931
• Publication Number:
  US 20130304969A1
• Time in Patent Office: 565 Days
• Field of Search: 707/626, 707/639, 707/649, 707/692, 707/693
• US Class Current: 707/639
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/121 using replacement algorithms
• 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 3/061 Improving I/O performance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0611 in relation to response time
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0619 in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/064 Management of blocks
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0641 De-duplication techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/065 Replication mechanisms
• 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 3/0679 Non-volatile semiconductor memory device, e.g. flash memory, one time programmable memory [OTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0685 Hybrid storage combining heterogeneous device types, e.g. hierarchical storage, hybrid arrays

Abstract

A system for storing data comprises a performance storage unit and a performance segment storage unit. The system further comprises a determiner. The determiner determines whether a requested data is stored in the performance storage unit. The determiner determines whether the requested data is stored in the performance segment storage unit in the event that the requested data is not stored in the performance storage unit.

Claims

1. A system for providing data, comprising:

a performance storage unit, wherein the performance storage unit receives and stores a data item, and wherein the performance storage unit removes the stored data item once the stored data item is stored by taking a snapshot on a segment deduplication storage system;

a segment storage unit, wherein in the event that it is determined, based at least in part on one or more predetermined criteria, that the data item is to be automatically stored in the segment storage unit, the segment storage unit divides the data item into the plurality of segments and generates a deduplicated set of segments including by storing a reference to any segments already stored in the segment storage unit that are determined to be identical to any of the plurality of segments comprising the data item, wherein the data item is removed from performance storage unit in the event that it is determined that the data item is to be automatically stored in the segment storage unit;

a performance segment storage unit, wherein the performance segment storage unit stores the deduplicated set of segments comprising the data item in the event that a user requires the data item to be available for high performance access; and

a determiner for;

determining whether a requested data is stored in the performance storage unit; and

in the event that the requested data is not stored in the performance storage unit, determining whether the requested data is stored in the performance segment storage unit;

in the event that the requested data is not stored in the performance segment storage unit, determining whether the requested data is stored in the segment storage unit.

2. A system as in claim 1, further comprising a provider for providing the requested data from the performance storage unit in the event that the requested data is stored in the performance storage unit.

3. A system as in claim 2, wherein the provider is further comprised for in the event that the requested data is not stored in the performance storage unit and in the event that the requested data is stored in the performance segment storage unit, providing the requested data from the performance segment storage unit.

4. A system as in claim 1, wherein the segment storage unit is replicated using a replica segment storage unit.

5. A system as in claim 1, wherein the performance storage unit comprises one or more of the following:

a flash memory, a fiber channel storage device, a persistent memory, a block addressable memory, or a file system organized memory.

6. A system as in claim 1, wherein the performance segment storage unit comprises one or more of the following:

a flash memory, a fiber channel storage device, or a persistent memory.

7. A system as in claim 1, wherein a snapshot is performed according to a snapshot protocol.

8. A system as in claim 1, wherein a second stored data item of the one or more data items is not captured using any snapshot.

9. A system as in claim 1, wherein a snapshot is taken using a log of changes to the one or more data items stored by the performance storage unit.

10. A system as in claim 1, wherein the segment storage unit stores a snapshot using variable length segments.

11. A system as in claim 1, wherein the segment storage unit has content addressable segments.

12. A system as in claim 1, wherein a data representation in the performance storage unit is not the same as the data representation in the segment storage unit.

13. A system as in claim 12, wherein the data representation in the performance storage unit comprises an uncompressed data representation or the data representation in the segment storage unit comprises a compressed data representation.

14. A system as in claim 1, wherein the performance storage unit includes data stored using both a compressed data representation and an uncompressed data representation.

15. A system as in claim 1, wherein the one or more predetermined criteria for automatically storing the data item in the segment storage unit include at least one of the following:

the performance storage system is full, the data item is finished being used, a time period has transpired, and a scheduled transfer is indicated.

16. A method for retrieving data, comprising:

determining, using a processor, whether a requested data is stored in a performance storage unit, wherein the performance storage unit receives and stores a data item, and wherein the performance storage unit removes the stored data item once the stored data item is stored by taking a snapshot on a segment deduplication storage system; and

in the event that the requested data is not stored in the performance storage unit, determining whether the requested data is stored in a performance segment storage unit, wherein the performance segment storage unit stores a deduplicated set of segments comprising the data item in the event that a user requires the data item to be available for high performance access;

in the event that the requested data is not stored in the performance segment storage unit, determining whether the requested data is stored in the segment storage unit, wherein in the event that it is determined, based at least in part on one or more predetermined criteria, that the data item is to be automatically stored in the segment storage unit, the segment storage unit divides the data item into the plurality of segments and generates the deduplicated set of segments including by storing a reference to any segments already stored in the segment storage unit that are determined to be identical to any of the plurality of segments comprising the data item, wherein the data item is removed from performance storage unit in the event that it is determined that the data item is to be automatically stored in the segment storage unit.

17. A computer program product for storing data, the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:

determining whether a requested data is stored in a performance storage unit, wherein the performance storage unit receives and stores a data item, and wherein the performance storage unit removes the stored data item once the stored data item is stored by taking a snapshot on a segment deduplication storage system; and

in the event that the requested data is not stored in the performance storage unit, determining whether the requested data is stored in a performance segment storage unit, wherein the performance segment storage unit stores a deduplicated set of segments comprising the data item in the event that a user requires the data item to be available for high performance access;

in the event that the requested data is not stored in the performance segment storage unit, determining whether the requested data is stored in the segment storage unit, wherein in the event that it is determined, based at least in part on one or more predetermined criteria, that the data item is to be automatically stored in the segment storage unit, the segment storage unit divides the data item into the plurality of segments and generates the deduplicated set of segments including by storing a reference to any segments already stored in the segment storage unit that are determined to be identical to any of the plurality of segments comprising the data item, wherein the data item is removed from performance storage unit in the event that it is determined that the data item is to be automatically stored in the segment storage unit.