Massively scalable object storage system
First Claim
1. A method for coordinating events in a distributed system, comprising:
- synchronizing a master clock to coordinated universal time within a master skew threshold;
synchronizing a first local clock at a first gateway with the master clock within a system skew threshold, and synchronizing a second local clock at a second gateway with the master clock within the system skew threshold;
receiving, at the first gateway, a first request to manipulate a non-volatile data storage, and marking the first request with the time of reception according to the first local clock, with a granularity at least equal to the system skew threshold;
receiving, at the second gateway, a second request to manipulate the non-volatile data storage, and marking the second request with the time of reception according to the second local clock, with a granularity at least equal to the system skew threshold;
evaluate the first request and the second request to determine if they are unambiguously ordered by determining if the first request and the second request are temporally ordered with a granularity greater than the system skew threshold;
if the first request and the second request are unambiguously ordered, modifying the non-volatile data storage as directed in the later request; and
if the first request and the second request are not unambiguously ordered, modifying the non-volatile data storage as directed by a deterministic tiebreaker.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Several different embodiments of a massively scalable object storage system are described. The object storage system is particularly useful for storage in a cloud computing installation whereby shared servers provide resources, software, and data to computers and other devices on demand. In several embodiments, the object storage system includes a ring implementation used to associate object storage commands with particular physical servers such that certain guarantees of consistency, availability, and performance can be met. In other embodiments, the object storage system includes a synchronization protocol used to order operations across a distributed system. In a third set of embodiments, the object storage system includes a metadata management system. In a fourth set of embodiments, the object storage system uses a structured information synchronization system. Features from each set of embodiments can be used to improve the performance and scalability of a cloud computing object storage system.
47 Citations
11 Claims
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1. A method for coordinating events in a distributed system, comprising:
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synchronizing a master clock to coordinated universal time within a master skew threshold; synchronizing a first local clock at a first gateway with the master clock within a system skew threshold, and synchronizing a second local clock at a second gateway with the master clock within the system skew threshold; receiving, at the first gateway, a first request to manipulate a non-volatile data storage, and marking the first request with the time of reception according to the first local clock, with a granularity at least equal to the system skew threshold; receiving, at the second gateway, a second request to manipulate the non-volatile data storage, and marking the second request with the time of reception according to the second local clock, with a granularity at least equal to the system skew threshold; evaluate the first request and the second request to determine if they are unambiguously ordered by determining if the first request and the second request are temporally ordered with a granularity greater than the system skew threshold; if the first request and the second request are unambiguously ordered, modifying the non-volatile data storage as directed in the later request; and if the first request and the second request are not unambiguously ordered, modifying the non-volatile data storage as directed by a deterministic tiebreaker. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A non-transient computer readable medium containing executable instructions, which when executed on a processor:
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synchronizes a first local clock with a second local clock within a system skew threshold; receives a first request to manipulate a system resource and marks the first request with the time of reception according to the first local clock, with a granularity at least equal to the system skew threshold; receives a second request to manipulate the system resource and marks the second request with the time of reception according to the second local clock, with a granularity at least equal to the system skew threshold; evaluates the first request and the second request to determine if they are unambiguously ordered by determining if the first request and the second request are temporally ordered with a granularity greater than the system skew threshold; if the first request and the second request are unambiguously ordered, manipulates the system resource as directed in the later request; and if the first request and the second request are not unambiguously ordered, executes tiebreaker instructions controlling the system resource; and returns a success or error depending on the outcome of the tiebreaker instructions. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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Specification