Watermarking slices stored in a dispersed storage network

• US 8,897,443 B2
• Filed: 12/01/2011
• Issued: 11/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pure Storage, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Cleversafe Incorporated (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Grube, Gary W., Markison, Timothy W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoffman, Brandon
• Assistant Examiner(s): Anderson, Michael D
• Application Number:
  US13/309,353
• Publication Number:
  US 20120163596A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,090 Days
• US Class Current: 380/252
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1076 Parity data used in redundant arrays of independent storages, e.g. in RAID systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/62 Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/64 Protecting data integrity, e.g. using checksums, certificates or signatures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0619 in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/062 Securing storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/064 Management of blocks
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/12 Applying verification of the received information cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for data integrity or data verification H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

A method begins by a processing module receiving data for storage in a dispersed storage network (DSN) memory and obtaining watermarking information regarding a source of the data. The method continues with the processing module dispersed storage error encoding the data to produce a plurality of sets of encoded data slices and processing the plurality of sets of encoded data slices and marker slices to produce a plurality of sets of watermarked encoded data slices to have a pattern of encoded data slices and the marker slices in accordance with the watermarking information. The method continues with the processing module outputting the plurality of sets of watermarked encoded data slices to the DSN memory for storage therein.

Claims

1. A dispersed storage (DS) module comprises:

a first module for facilitating receiving data for storage in a dispersed storage network (DSN) memory;

a second module for obtaining watermarking information regarding a source of the data;

a third module for dispersed storage error encoding the data to produce a plurality of sets of encoded data slices;

a fourth module for processing the plurality of sets of encoded data slices and marker slices to produce a plurality of sets of watermarked encoded data slices to have a pattern of encoded data slices and the marker slices in accordance with the watermarking information; and

a fifth module for facilitating outputting the plurality of sets of watermarked encoded data slices to the DSN memory for storage therein.

2. The DS module of claim 1 further comprises:

a sixth module for generating marker slices in accordance with the watermarking information by accessing a marker slice list of a plurality of marker slices to retrieve the marker slices;

or

the sixth module for generating marker slices in accordance with the watermarking information by;

retrieving watermarking data and watermarking error coding dispersal storage parameters; and

error encoding the watermark data based on the watermarking error coding dispersal storage parameters to produce the marker slices.

3. The DS module of claim 1, wherein the third module dispersed storage error encodes the data further by:

error encoding the data in accordance with the watermarking information, wherein the watermarking information includes at least one of;

a watermarking pattern indicator;

error coding dispersal storage function parameters; and

one or more error coding generator matrixes.

4. The DS module of claim 3 further comprises:

the third module for dispersed storage error encoding the data in accordance with the error coding dispersal storage function parameters to produce the plurality of sets of encoded data slices; and

the fourth module for processing the plurality of sets of encoded data slices and marker slices by replacing encoded data slices of the plurality of sets of encoded data slices with marker slices in accordance with the watermarking pattern indicator to produce the plurality of sets of watermarked encoded data slices.

5. The DS module of claim 3 further comprises:

the third module for dispersed storage error encoding the data in accordance with an error coding generator matrix of the one or more error coding generator matrixes to produce the plurality of sets of encoded data slices; and

the fourth module for processing the plurality of sets of encoded data slices and marker slices by inserting marker slices into gaps of the plurality of sets of encoded data slices in accordance with the watermarking pattern indicator to produce the plurality of sets of watermarked encoded data slices.

6. A dispersed storage (DS) module comprises:

a first module for facilitating receiving a data retrieval request for data stored as a plurality of sets of watermarked encoded data slices in a dispersed storage network (DSN) memory;

a second module for obtaining watermarking information associated with the data;

a third module for facilitating retrieving the plurality of sets of watermarked encoded data slices from the DSN memory;

a fourth module for identifying marker slices of the plurality of sets of watermarked encoded data slices;

a fifth module for determining whether the marker slices are in accordance with the watermarking information; and

a sixth module for dispersed storage error decoding a plurality of sets of encoded data slices of the plurality of sets of watermarked encoded data slices to reproduce the data when the marker slices are in accordance with the watermarking information.

7. The DS module of claim 6 further comprises:

the fifth module for indicating a potential authentication issue regarding the storage of the data when the marker slices are not in accordance with the watermarking information.

8. The DS module of claim 6, wherein the fifth module determines whether the marker slices are in accordance with the watermarking information by:

detecting a pattern of the marker slices and the plurality of sets of encoded data slices of the plurality of sets of watermarked encoded data slices; and

determining whether the pattern compares favorably to a watermarking pattern of the watermarking information.

9. The DS module of claim 6, wherein the fourth module identifies marker slices by:

decoding the plurality of sets of watermarked encoded data slices in accordance with dispersed storage error coding parameters using different combinations of marker slices and encoded data slices of a set of the plurality of sets of watermarked encoded data slices to identify potential maker slices; and

validating the potential marker slices in accordance with the watermarking information to produce the marker slices.