Model-Based Resource Allocation

• US 20100011002A1
• Filed: 07/10/2008
• Published: 01/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Juniper Networks Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Blackwave Inc.
• Inventors: Gerovac, Branko J., Carver, David C.
• Granted Patent: US 8,364,710 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: N/A
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes

Abstract

A computer-implemented method includes receiving a description of a pattern of access to a first group of items of content; and partitioning a storage space based at least in part on the description of the pattern of access. The description of the pattern of access is a function of at least a first attribute that characterizes one or more operational objectives of a second group of items of content to be stored in a storage system. The partitioning the storage space includes defining each one of a plurality of categories in relation to a range of values of the first attribute; and associating each one of the plurality of categories with a respective one of a plurality of resource allocation arrangements.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a description of a pattern of access to a first group of items of content, the description of the pattern of access being a function of at least a first attribute that characterizes one or more operational objectives of a second group of items of content to be stored in a storage system; and

partitioning a storage space based at least in part on the description of the pattern of access, including;

defining each one of a plurality of categories in relation to a range of values of the first attribute; and

associating each one of the plurality of categories with a respective one of a plurality of resource allocation arrangements.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the storage system has a predetermined configuration.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining each one of the plurality of resource allocation arrangements such that an aggregate of resource requirements associated with the plurality of resource allocation arrangements is compatible with the predetermined configuration of the storage system.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the aggregate of resource requirements includes requirements for both access and storage capacities.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

based on a result of the partitioning the storage space, determining a configuration of the storage system for storing the second group of items of content.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the determining the configuration of the storage system includes determining characteristics of each one of a set of storage components of the storage system.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the determining the configuration of the storage system includes:

iteratively generating a candidate configuration of the storage system based on the result of the partitioning the storage space; and

selecting a preferred configuration of the storage system according to a predetermined design objective.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the predetermined design objective is characterized by a design objective function, and the iteratively generating the candidate configuration includes:

providing an initial set of definitions to each one of the plurality of categories in relation to the range of values of the first attribute; and

making adjustments to the initial set of definitions to optimize the design objective function.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the design objective includes minimizing a level of resources requirements for the storage system.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the design objective includes minimizing a degree of contention between potential resource consumption by different items in the second group of items.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the description of the pattern of access is a function of a plurality of attributes that characterize one or more operational objectives of the second group of items of content.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein each one of the plurality of categories is defined in relation to a respective range of values of each one of the plurality of attributes.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of categories collectively represents a full range of values of the first attribute.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more operational objectives of the second group of content comprise one or more of the following:

accessibility, integrity, resilience and power consumption.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the description of the pattern of access relates to a description of one or more of the following types:

an access rate, a level of bandwidth consumption, a statistical usage distribution, a geographical usage distribution, and a projected usage distribution based on empirical data.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein, for each one of the plurality of categories, the respective resource allocation arrangement includes a specification of the number of instances of an item associated with the category will be stored in the storage system.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the first group of items share a common characteristic with the second group of items of content, such that the pattern of access to the first group of items forms a reasonable basis for projecting a pattern of access to the second group of items.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein each of the first and second group of items is a collection of movie titles.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein each of the first and second group of items is a collection of content of one or more of the following types:

online video ads, user-generated content, music video, video of sport-event, news segments, and TV episodes.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the second group of items includes at least a subgroup of items that is included in the first group of items.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the second group of items are substantially different in content from the first group of items.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the second group does not include any item in the first group of items.

23. A system comprising:

an interface for receiving a description of a pattern of access to a first group of items of content, the description of the pattern of access being a function of at least a first attribute that characterizes one or more operational objectives of a second group of items of content to be stored in a storage system;

a machine-readable medium that stores instructions executable by a processor to partition a storage space based at least in part on the description of the pattern of access, wherein the instructions to partition the storage space include instructions to;

define each one of a plurality of categories in relation to a range of values of the first attribute; and

associate each one of the plurality of categories with a respective one of a plurality of resource allocation arrangements; and

a database for storing the plurality of resource allocation arrangements.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the instructions to partition the storage space further include instructions to:

determine a configuration of the storage system for storing the second group of items of content based on a result of the partitioning the storage space.

25. The system of claim 23, wherein the instructions to partition the storage space further include instructions to:

define a design objective function characterizing a predetermined design objective of the storage system; and

compute a preferred configuration of the storage system that optimizes the design objective function.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the design objective includes reducing a level of resource requirements for the storage system.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the design objective further includes minimizing the level of resource requirements for the storage system.

28. The system of claim 25, wherein the design objective includes reducing a degree of contention between potential resource consumption by different items in the second group of items.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the design objective further includes minimizing the degree of contention between potential resource consumption by different items in the second group of items.