Distributed fault tolerant and secure storage

• US 20030084020A1
• Filed: 12/19/2001
• Published: 05/01/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Incorporated
• Inventors: Shu, Li
• Application Number:
  US10/025,113
• Publication Number:
  US 20030084020A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1076 Parity data used in redundant arrays of independent storages, e.g. in RAID systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2211/1028 Distributed, i.e. distributed RAID systems with parity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0009 by adapting the channel coding H04L1/1812 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0041 Arrangements at the transmitter end
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0057 Block codes H04L1/0061, H04L1/0064 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0059 Convolutional codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0066 Parallel concatenated codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0083 Formatting with frames or packets; Protocol or part of protocol for error control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/06 using space diversity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/18 Automatic repetition systems, e.g. Van Duuren systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2001/0092 Error control systems characterised by the topology of the transmission link
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2001/0093 Point-to-multipoint
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2001/0096 Channel splitting in point-to-point links
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/14 Channel dividing arrangements , i.e. in which a single bit stream is divided between several baseband channels and reassembled at the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/24 Multipath
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1441 Countermeasures against malicious traffic countermeasures against attacks on cryptographic mechanisms H04L9/002
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/18 using different networks or channels, e.g. using out of band channels cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key distribution involving distinctive intermediate devices or communication paths H04L9/0827; cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for authentication using a plurality of channels H04L9/3215
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 : Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/033 : of the user plane, e.g. user's traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 : Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/06 : Optimizing the usage of the radio link, e.g. header compression, information sizing , discarding information system modifying transmission characteristic according to link quality by modifying frame length H04L1/0007; dynamic adaptation of the packet size for flow control or congestion control H04L47/365
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 : Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/12 : based on transmission quality or channel quality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 : Network addressing or numbering for mobility support

Abstract

The invention features an apparatus and method for facilitating reliable storage of a file. The apparatus includes a file processor that converts the file into N storage segments. The N segments enable reassembly of the file from a subset of any M of the storage segments. N and M are positive integers, and N >M≧1. The apparatus includes means facilitating storage of at least M of the N storage segments.

Claims

1. An apparatus for facilitating reliable storage of a file, comprising:

a file processor for converting the file into N storage segments that enable reassembly of the file from a subset of any M of the storage segments, where N and M are positive integers, and

N>

M≧

1; and

means facilitating storage of at least M of the N storage segments.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the means facilitating storage is a storage segment transmitter that transmits at least M storage segments toward one or more storage devices.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 further comprising a storage segment retriever that requests the at least M storage segments from the one or more storage devices, and a file reassembler that reassembles the file after receiving as few as M of the N storage segments.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the storage segment transmitter transmits each one of the N storage segments to one of N geographically distributed storage devices.

5. A method of facilitating reliable storage of a file, comprising the steps of:

converting the file into N storage segments that enable reassembly of the file from a subset of any M of the storage segments, where N and M are positive integers, and

N>

M≧

1; and

storing at least M of the N storage segments.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising the steps of retrieving at least M of the N storage segments and reassembling the file from the retrieved storage segments.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the step of storing comprises transmitting at least M storage segments toward one or more storage devices, and the step of retrieving comprises transmitting a request for storage segments of the file to the one or more storage devices.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of transmitting at least M storage segments comprises transmitting the N storage segments to N storage devices.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of transmitting at least M storage segments comprises transmitting the N storage segments to N geographically distributed storage devices.

10. The method of claim 6 wherein the step of storing comprises transmitting at least M storage segments to one or more storage devices of a plurality of network devices, and the step of retrieving comprises transmitting to a server a request for storage segments of the file, wherein the server posts messages to the one or more storage devices requesting the one or more storage devices to transmit storage segments of the file to a requester.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of storing, at the server, identity information about the plurality of network devices to impede an intruder from learning the identity information about the plurality of storage devices.

12. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of storing, at the server, identity information about the one or more storage devices storing the at least M storage segments to impede an intruder from learning the identity information about the one or more storage devices.

13. The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of causing conversion of at least one of the M storage segments into N₂ storage segments that enable reassembly of the at least one storage segment from a subset of any M₂ of the N₂ message segments, where N₂ and M₂ are positive integers and N₂>

M₂≧

1; and

wherein the step of storing at least M of the N storage segments comprises storing at least M₂ of the N₂ message segments.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the step of causing conversion of at least one of the M storage segments comprises causing conversion by a node, and wherein the step of storing further comprises:

transmitting the at least one of the M storage segments to the node; and

causing the node to transmit the at least M₂ storage segments to one or more storage devices.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising the steps of:

causing retrieval of at least M₂ of the N₂ storage segments; and

reassembling the at least one of the M storage segments before reassembling the file from at least M of the N storage segments.