Utilizing a dispersed storage network access token module to store data in a dispersed storage network memory

• US 9,081,714 B2
• Filed: 01/10/2012
• Issued: 07/14/2015
• 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): Schwartz, Darren B
• Application Number:
  US13/347,140
• Publication Number:
  US 20120198536A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,281 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 for storing data begins with determining, by a computing device, where to store the data and continues with managing, by a dispersed storage network (DSN) access token module, a pairing between the DSN access token module and the computing device. The method continues with sending, by the computing device, at least a portion of the data to the DSN access token module and encoding, by the DSN access token module, the at least a portion of the data using a dispersed storage error encoding function to produce one or more sets of encoded data slices. The method continues with sending, by the DSN access token module, the one or more sets of encoded data slices and storage information to the computing device and sending, by the computing device, the one or more sets of encoded data slices to the DSN memory for storage therein.

Claims

1. A method for storing data comprises:

determining, by a computing device, where to store the data;

when the data is to be stored in dispersed storage network (DSN) memory, managing, by a DSN access token module, a pairing between the DSN access token module and the computing device for acquiring secure token information of the DSN access token module including DSN access information to facilitate access to the DSN memory; and

when the computing device is paired with the DSN access token module, the DSN access token module;

receives at least a portion of the data from the computing device;

in response to receiving the at least a portion of the data from the computing device, encodes the at least the portion of the data using a dispersed storage error encoding function in accordance with dispersed storage error coding parameters to produce one or more sets of encoded data slices; and

sends to the computing device the one or more sets of the encoded data slices and storage information, wherein the storage information pertains to the DSN memory; and

sending, by the computing device, the one or more sets of encoded data slices in accordance with the storage information to the DSN memory for storage therein.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the managing the pairing comprises:

authenticating one or more of;

a vault identifier (ID) of the DSN memory associated with the computing device;

an object number associated with the computing device;

an access credential of the computing device;

a key of the computing device;

a user device ID associated with the computing device; and

a password associated with the computing device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the managing the pairing comprises:

determining whether the DSN access token module is actively paired to the computing device; and

when the DSN access token module is not actively paired to the computing device, facilitating pairing of the DSN access token module to the computing device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing device sending the at least a portion of the data to the DSN access token module further comprises:

sending, by the DSN access token module, a data segmenting command to the computing device;

segmenting, by the computing device, the data in accordance with the data segmenting command to produce data segments; and

sending, by the computing device, one of the data segments as the at least a portion of the data.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining where to store the data further comprises at least one of:

interpreting a write request regarding the data, wherein the write request indicates storing the data in the DSN memory;

receiving a response to a graphical user interface prompt regarding storage location of the data; and

when the computing device is paired with the DSN access token module, indicating storage in the DSN memory.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the storage information comprises:

a set of write requests for a set of the one or more sets of encoded data slices, wherein a write request of the set of write requests includes a slice name for a corresponding one of the encoded data slices of the set and DSN addressing information for the corresponding one of the encoded data slices.

7. A dispersed storage network (DSN) access token module comprises:

an interface module for interfacing with a computing device;

memory; and

a processing module operably coupled to the memory and operable to;

manage a pairing between the DSN access token module and the computing device for acquiring secure token information of the DSN access token module that includes DSN access information to facilitate access to the DSN memory;

when the computing device is paired with the DSN access token module, the DSN token module;

receives, via the interface module, at least a portion of data to be stored in DSN memory;

in response to receiving the at least a portion of the data to be stored in the DSN memory, encodes the at least the portion of the data using a dispersed storage error encoding function in accordance with dispersed storage error coding parameters to produce one or more sets of encoded data slices; and

sends, via the interface module, the one or more sets of the encoded data slices and storage information that pertains to the DSN memory to the computing device, wherein the storage information, when processed by the computing device, causes the computing device to send the one or more sets of encoded data slices in accordance with the storage information to the DSN memory for storage therein.

8. The DSN access token module of claim 7, wherein the interface module comprises at least one of:

a universal serial bus (USB) interface module;

a personal area network (PAN) interface module;

a serial interface module for high bandwidth communications;

a 60 gigahertz (GHz) wireless transceiver; and

a Wi-Fi interface module.

9. The DSN access token module of claim 7, wherein the managing the pairing comprises:

authenticating one or more of;

a vault identifier (ID) of the DSN memory associated with the computing device;

an object number associated with the computing device;

an access credential of the computing device;

a key of the computing device;

a user device ID associated with the computing device; and

a password associated with the computing device.

10. The DSN access token module of claim 7, wherein the managing the pairing comprises:

determining whether the DSN access token module is actively paired to the computing device; and

when the DSN access token module is not actively paired to the computing device, facilitating pairing of the DSN access token module to the computing device.

11. The DSN access token module of claim 7, wherein the receiving the at least a portion of the data further comprises:

sending a data segmenting command to the computing device that, when executed by the computing device, causes the computing device to segment the data in accordance with the data segmenting command to produce data segments; and

receiving, from the computing device, one of the data segments as the at least a portion of the data.

12. The DSN access token module of claim 7, wherein the storage information comprises:

a set of write requests for a set of the one or more sets of encoded data slices, wherein a write request of the set of write requests includes a slice name for a corresponding one of the encoded data slices of the set and DSN addressing information for the corresponding one of the encoded data slices.

13. A user device for facilitating storage of data in a dispersed storage network (DSN) memory, the user device comprises:

a first module for determining where to store the data;

when the data is to be stored in the DSN memory, a second module for managing a pairing between a DSN access token module and a computing device;

when the computing device is paired with the DSN access token module;

a third module for sending at least a portion of the data to the DSN access token module, wherein the DSN access token module is configured, in response to receiving the at least a portion of the data, to encode the at least the portion of the data received using a dispersed storage error encoding function in accordance with dispersed storage error coding parameters to produce one or more sets of encoded data slices;

a fourth module for sending, from the DSN access token module, the one or more sets of the encoded data slices and storage information pertaining to the DSN memory to the computing device; and

a fifth module for sending the one or more sets of encoded data slices in accordance with the storage information to the DSN memory for storage therein.

14. The user device of claim 13, wherein the managing of the pairing comprises providing, for authentication by the DSN access token module, at least one of:

a vault identifier (ID) of the DSN memory associated with the computing device;

an object number associated with the computing device;

an access credential of the computing device;

a key of the computing device;

a user device ID associated with the computing device; and

a password associated with the computing device.

15. The user device of claim 13, wherein the third module is further for:

receiving, from the DSN access token module, a data segmenting command to the computing device;

segmenting the data in accordance with the data segmenting command to produce data segments; and

sending one of the data segments as the at least a portion of the data.

16. The user device of claim 13, wherein the first module is further for determining where to store the data by at least one of:

interpreting a write request regarding the data, wherein the write request indicates storing the data in the DSN memory;

receiving a response to a graphical user interface prompt regarding storage location of the data; and

when the computing device is paired with the DSN access token module, indicating storage in the DSN memory.

17. The user device of claim 13, wherein the storage information comprises:

a set of write requests for a set of the one or more sets of encoded data slices, wherein a write request of the set of write requests includes a slice name for a corresponding one of the encoded data slices of the set and DSN addressing information for the corresponding one of the encoded data slices.