Utilizing a dispersed storage network access token module to access a dispersed storage network memory

• US 8,966,341 B2
• Filed: 05/13/2014
• Issued: 02/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pure Storage, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Cleversafe Incorporated (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Grube, Gary W., Markison, Timothy W., Dhuse, Greg, Resch, Jason K., Volvovski, Ilya, Leggette, Wesley
• Primary Examiner(s): Tabone, Jr., John J
• Application Number:
  US14/276,006
• Publication Number:
  US 20140250347A1
• Time in Patent Office: 287 Days
• Field of Search: 714/702, 714/718, 714/751, 714/752, 714/763, 714/769, 714/770, 714/773, 714/799, 714/6.1, 714/6.2, 714/6.22, 714/6.24, 714/42, 711/111, 711/114, 711/170, 709/231, 707/822
• US Class Current: 714/763
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1008 in individual solid state devices G06F11/1004 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1076 Parity data used in redundant arrays of independent storages, e.g. in RAID systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1402 Saving, restoring, recovering or retrying
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1446 Point-in-time backing up or restoration of persistent data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1448 Management of the data involved in backup or backup restore
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/17331 Distributed shared memory [DSM], e.g. remote direct memory access [RDMA]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/805 using a security table for the storage sub-system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/06 Digital input from, or digital output to, record carriers , e.g. RAID, emulated record carriers or networked record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0604 Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. storage management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0619 in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0665 at area level, e.g. provisioning of virtual or logical volumes
• 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 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]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/085 Secret sharing or secret splitting, e.g. threshold schemes

Abstract

A method includes a DSN access token module retrieving one or more sets of at least a threshold number of dispersed storage (DS) error coding function slices from the DSN memory via the computing device. The method continues with the computing device and/or the DSN access token module decoding the one or more sets of the at least a threshold number of DS error coding function slices using a default DS error coding function to recapture a DS error coding function. The method continues with the computing device and/or the DSN access token module generating a plurality of sets of data access requests in accordance with the DS error coding function. The method continues with the computing device sending the plurality of sets of data access requests to the DSN memory.

Claims

1. A method for accessing dispersed storage network (DSN) memory, the method comprises:

retrieving, by a DSN access token module, one or more sets of at least a threshold number of dispersed storage (DS) error coding function slices from the DSN memory via a computing device;

decoding, by at least one of the computing device and the DSN access token module, the one or more sets of the at least a threshold number of DS error coding function slices using a default DS error coding function to recapture a DS error coding function;

generating, by the at least one of the computing device and the DSN access token module, a plurality of sets of data access requests in accordance with the DS error coding function; and

sending, by the computing device, the plurality of sets of data access requests to the DSN memory.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the retrieving the one or more sets of the at least a threshold number of DS error coding function slices further comprises:

sending, by the computing device, a DSN access request to the DSN access token module;

determining, by the DSN access token module, the DS error coding function in response to the DSN access request;

determining, by the DSN access token module, DSN storage information for the DS error coding function;

generating, by the DSN access token module, one more sets of at least a threshold number of DS error coding function slice read requests based on the DSN storage information;

sending, by the DSN access token module, the one or more sets of the at least a threshold number of DS error coding function slices read requests to DSN memory via the computing device; and

receiving, by the DSN access token module, the one or more sets of the at least a threshold number of DS error coding function slices from the DSN memory via the computing device.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprises:

storing, by the DSN access token module, the DS error coding function in memory of the DSN access token module; and

accessing, by the at least one of the computing device and the DSN access token module, the DS error coding function from the memory of the DSN access token module for execution.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprises:

when execution of the DSN error coding function to access the DSN memory is complete, deleting, by the DSN access token module, the DSN error coding function from the memory of the DSN access token module.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprises:

generating, by the at least one of the computing device and the DSN access token module, a plurality of sets of data read requests as the plurality of sets of data access requests; and

in response to a set of the plurality of sets of data slices read requests;

receiving, by the computing device, at least a threshold number of encoded data slices from the DSN memory; and

decoding the at least a threshold number of encoded data slices in accordance with the DS error coding function to produce a decoded data segment.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprises:

encoding, by the at least one of the computing device and the DSN access token module, data using the DS error coding function to produce a plurality of sets of encoded data slices; and

generating, by the at least one of the computing device and the DSN access token module, a plurality of sets of data write requests as the plurality of sets of data access requests, wherein the plurality of sets of data write requests includes the plurality of sets of encoded data slices.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the DS error coding function comprises one or more of:

data segmenting information;

an error coding scheme for execution by an encoder;

a pillar width number;

a decode threshold number;

a write threshold number;

a read threshold number;

DSN address generation information; and

slicing information.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprises:

pairing the DSN access token with the computing device prior to retrieving the one or more sets of the at least a threshold number of DS error coding function slices.

9. A module for facilitating accessing a dispersed storage network (DSN) memory regarding data, the module comprises:

a first module operable to enable a DSN access token module to retrieve one or more sets of at least a threshold number of dispersed storage (DS) error coding function slices from the DSN memory via a computing device;

a second module operable to enable at least one of the computing device and the DSN access token module to;

decode the one or more sets of the at least a threshold number of DS error coding function slices using a default DS error coding function to recapture a DS error coding function; and

generate a plurality of sets of data access requests in accordance with the DS error coding function; and

a third module operable to enable the computing device to send the plurality of sets of data access requests to the DSN memory.

10. The module of claim 9, wherein the first module is further operable to enable the DSN access token module to retrieve the one or more sets of the at least a threshold number of DS error coding function slices by:

receiving, from the computing device, a DSN access request;

determining the DS error coding function in response to the DSN access request;

determine DSN storage information for the DS error coding function;

generate one more sets of at least a threshold number of DS error coding function slice read requests based on the DSN storage information;

send the one or more sets of the at least a threshold number of DS error coding function slices read requests to DSN memory via the computing device; and

receive the one or more sets of the at least a threshold number of DS error coding function slices from the DSN memory via the computing device.

11. The module of claim 9 further comprises:

a fourth module operable to enable the DSN access token module to store the DS error coding function in memory of the DSN access token module; and

a fifth module operable to enable the at least one of the computing device and the DSN access token module to access the DS error coding function from the memory of the DSN access token module for execution.

12. The module of claim 11 further comprises:

a sixth module operable to enable the DSN access token module to delete the DSN error coding function from the memory of the DSN access token module when execution of the DSN error coding function to access the DSN memory is complete.

13. The module of claim 9 further comprises:

the second module is further operable to enable the at least one of the computing device and the DSN access token module to generate a plurality of sets of data read requests as the plurality of sets of data access requests; and

in response to a set of the plurality of sets of data slices read requests;

a fourth module operable to enable the computing device to receive at least a threshold number of encoded data slices from the DSN memory; and

a fifth module operable to enable at least one of a computing device and the DSN access token module to decode the at least a threshold number of encoded data slices in accordance with the DS error coding function to produce a decoded data segment.

14. The module of claim 9 further comprises:

a fourth module operable to enable at least one of a computing device and the DSN access token module to encode data using the DS error coding function to produce a plurality of sets of encoded data slices; and

the second module is further operable to enable the at least one of the computing device and the DSN access token module to generate a plurality of sets of data write requests as the plurality of sets of data access requests, wherein the plurality of sets of data write requests includes the plurality of sets of encoded data slices.

15. The module of claim 9, wherein the DS error coding function comprises one or more of:

data segmenting information;

an error coding scheme for execution by an encoder;

a pillar width number;

a decode threshold number;

a write threshold number;

a read threshold number;

DSN address generation information; and

slicing information.

16. The module of claim 9 further comprises:

a fourth module is further operable to enable pairing of the DSN access token with the computing device prior to retrieving the one or more sets of the at least a threshold number of DS error coding function slices.