Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080301081 | Method and apparatus for generating configuration rules for computing entities within a computing environment using association rule mining - A method and apparatus for generating computer configuration rules comprising receiving configuration data regarding a plurality of computers, analyzing the configuration data to determine associations within the configuration data, and generating configuration rules from a result of the analysis. | 12-04-2008 |
20120311291 | SPACE RECLAMATION IN MULTI-LAYERED AND THIN PROVISIONED STORAGE SYSTEMS - An approach to efficient space reclamation in multi-layered thinly provisioned systems. A parent storage volume is thinly provisioned, and uses one or more child storage volumes that are also thinly provisioned for storage. A reclamation command sent to the device providing the parent thinly provisioned storage volume identifies that data has been released, and that the physical storage storing that data can be placed in a free pool and used to satisfy future write requests in the parent storage volume. An identify module identifies which child storage volumes supporting the parent storage volume are thinly provisioned. The data is released at the level of the parent storage volume, and the reclamation command is sent to the child storage volumes supporting the parent storage volume and that are themselves thinly provisioned. The storage is thus released by all affected thinly provisioned storage volumes, and not just the parent storage volume that received the reclamation command. | 12-06-2012 |
20120331224 | PRESERVING DATA AVAILABILITY AND I/O PERFORMANCE WHEN CREATING VIRTUAL RAID VOLUMES - A method for preserving data availability and I/O performance when creating a virtual RAID volume includes exposing a set of backend virtual volumes. The backend virtual volumes are implemented on a set of physical storage devices (e.g., physical disks or solid state drives) residing on a storage system. The method further enables selection of the set of backend virtual volumes to create a virtual RAID volume having a selected RAID level. The method further provides verification that the backend virtual volumes will be implemented on the physical storage devices in a way that preserves the data availability and I/O performance associated with the selected RAID level. A corresponding computer program product and apparatus are also described. | 12-27-2012 |
20120331225 | PRESERVING DATA AVAILABILITY AND I/O PERFORMANCE WHEN CREATING VIRTUAL RAID VOLUMES - A method for preserving data availability and I/O performance when creating a virtual RAID volume includes exposing a set of backend virtual volumes. The backend virtual volumes are implemented on a set of physical storage devices (e.g., physical disks or solid state drives) residing on a storage system. The method further enables selection of the set of backend virtual volumes to create a virtual RAID volume having a selected RAID level. The method further provides verification that the backend virtual volumes will be implemented on the physical storage devices in a way that preserves the data availability and I/O performance associated with the selected RAID level. | 12-27-2012 |
20130042049 | ENHANCED COPY-ON-WRITE OPERATION FOR SOLID STATE DRIVES - A method for increasing the efficiency of a “copy-on-write” operation performed on an SSD to extend the life of the SSD is disclosed herein. In one embodiment, such a method includes receiving a first logical address specifying a logical location where new data should be written to an SSD. The first logical address maps to a first physical location, storing original data, on the SSD. The method further receives a second logical address specifying a logical location where the original data should be available on the SSD. The second logical address maps to a second physical location on the SSD. To efficiently perform the copy-on-write operation, the method writes the new data to a new physical location on the SSD, maps the first logical address to the new physical location, and maps the second logical address to the first physical location. A corresponding apparatus is also disclosed. | 02-14-2013 |
20130054846 | NON-DISRUPTIVE CONFIGURATION OF A VIRTUALIZATION COTROLLER IN A DATA STORAGE SYSTEM - Embodiments of the invention relate to configuring a virtualization controller in SAN data storage system without disrupting I/O operations. One aspect of the invention concerns a method that comprises establishing a first data path between a host and a storage controller in the same communication zone wherein the storage controller comprises disks for storing data; adding a virtualization controller to the zone wherein the virtualization controller maps the disks to virtual volumes and establishes a second data path between the host and the disks through the virtual volumes; removing the first data path in response to the host detecting the second data path; and performing I/O operations between the host and the disks through the second data path. | 02-28-2013 |
20130067273 | Optimizing and Enhancing Performance for Parity Based Storage - A mechanism is provided for optimizing and enhancing performance for parity based storage, particularly redundant array of independent disk (RAID) storage. The mechanism optimizes a repetitive pattern write command for performance for storage configurations that require parity calculations. The mechanism eliminates the need for laborious parity calculations that are resource intensive and add to IO latency. For repetitive write commands that span across the full stripe of a RAID5 or similar volume, the mechanism calculates parity by looking at the pattern and the number of columns in the volume. The mechanism may avoid the XOR operation altogether for repetitive pattern write commands. The mechanism may enhance secure delete operations that use repetitive pattern write commands by eliminating data reliability operations like parity generation and writing altogether. | 03-14-2013 |
20130117505 | SETTING OPTIMAL SPACE ALLOCATION POLICY FOR CREATING DEPENDENT SNAPSHOTS TO ENHANCE APPLICATION WRITE PERFORMANCE AND REDUCE RESOURCE USAGE - In one embodiment, a system includes a network storage controller having logic adapted for receiving a request to duplicate at least a portion of a volume stored on the first disk array, logic adapted for creating at least one dependent volume on the first disk array, and logic adapted for duplicating the at least the portion of the volume to the at least one dependent volume on the first disk array to create a snapshot. Other systems, computer program products, and methods are described according to more embodiments. | 05-09-2013 |
20130238869 | ENHANCED COPY-ON-WRITE OPERATION FOR SOLID STATE DRIVES - A method for increasing the efficiency of a “copy-on-write” operation performed on an SSD to extend the life of the SSD is disclosed herein. In one embodiment, such a method includes receiving a first logical address specifying a logical location where new data should be written to an SSD. The first logical address maps to a first physical location, storing original data, on the SSD. The method further receives a second logical address specifying a logical location where the original data should be available on the SSD. The second logical address maps to a second physical location on the SSD. To efficiently perform the copy-on-write operation, the method writes the new data to a new physical location on the SSD, maps the first logical address to the new physical location, and maps the second logical address to the first physical location. A corresponding apparatus is also disclosed. | 09-12-2013 |
20130238876 | Efficient Inline Data De-Duplication on a Storage System - A mechanism is provided in a storage system for efficient inline data de-duplication. The mechanism receives a write command and a hash key for a portion of data to be written from an application host to a write address. The write command indicates whether the application host is tolerant or intolerant to data loss. Responsive to the write command indicating the application host is tolerant to data loss, the mechanism performs a hash key lookup in a hash index. The mechanism determines whether the portion of data has previously been written to the storage system. Responsive to determining the portion of data has previously been written to the storage system, the mechanism stores a pointer to the previously written data at the write address. | 09-12-2013 |
20130282669 | PRESERVING REDUNDANCY IN DATA DEDUPLICATION SYSTEMS - Various embodiments for preserving data redundancy in a data deduplication system in a computing environment are provided. An indicator is configured. The indicator is provided with a selected data segment to be written through the data deduplication system to designate that the selected data segment must not be subject to a deduplication operation, such that repetitive data can be written stored on physical locations despite being identical. | 10-24-2013 |
20130282670 | PRESERVING REDUNDANCY IN DATA DEDUPLICATION SYSTEMS BY DESIGNATION OF VIRTUAL ADDRESS - Various embodiments for preserving data redundancy of identical data in a data deduplication system in a computing environment are provided. A selected range of virtual addresses of a virtual storage device in the computing environment is designated as not subject to a deduplication operation. Other system and computer program product embodiments are disclosed and provide related advantages. | 10-24-2013 |
20130282671 | PRESERVING REDUNDANCY IN DATA DEDUPLICATION SYSTEMS BY DESIGNATION OF VIRTUAL DEVICE - Various embodiments for preserving data redundancy in a data deduplication system in a computing environment are provided. At least one virtual device out of a volume set is designated as not subject to a deduplication operation. | 10-24-2013 |
20130282673 | PRESERVING REDUNDANCY IN DATA DEDUPLICATION SYSTEMS BY INDICATOR - Various embodiments for preserving data redundancy in a data deduplication system in a computing environment are provided. In one embodiment, a method for such preservation is disclosed. An indicator is configured. The indicator is provided with a selected data segment to be written through the data deduplication system to designate that the selected data segment must not be subject to a deduplication operation, such that repetitive data can be written stored on physical locations despite being identical. | 10-24-2013 |
20130282674 | PRESERVING REDUNDANCY IN DATA DEDUPLICATION SYSTEMS BY DESIGNATION OF VIRTUAL ADDRESS - Various embodiments for preserving data redundancy of identical data in a data deduplication system in a computing environment are provided. In one embodiment, a method for such preservation is disclosed. A selected range of virtual addresses of a virtual storage device in the computing environment is designated as not subject to a deduplication operation. Other system and computer program product embodiments are disclosed and provide related advantages. | 10-24-2013 |
20130282675 | PRESERVING REDUNDANCY IN DATA DEDUPLICATION SYSTEMS BY DESIGNATION OF VIRTUAL DEVICE - Various embodiments for preserving data redundancy in a data deduplication system in a computing environment are provided. In one embodiment, a method for such preservation is disclosed in a multi-device file system. At least one virtual device out of a volume set is designated as not subject to a deduplication operation. | 10-24-2013 |
20130283058 | PRESERVING REDUNDANCY IN DATA DEDUPLICATION SYSTEMS BY ENCRYPTION - Various embodiments for preserving data redundancy in a data deduplication system in a computing environment are provided. A selected data segment, to be written through the data deduplication system, is encrypted such that the selected data segment is not subject to a deduplication operation. Other system and computer program product embodiments are disclosed and provide related advantages. | 10-24-2013 |
20130283062 | PRESERVING REDUNDANCY IN DATA DEDUPLICATION SYSTEMS BY ENCRYPTION - Various embodiments for preserving data redundancy in a data deduplication system in a computing environment are provided. In one embodiment, a method for such preservation is disclosed. A selected data segment, to be written through the data deduplication system, is encrypted such that the selected data segment is not subject to a deduplication operation. | 10-24-2013 |
20130290598 | Reducing Power Consumption by Migration of Data within a Tiered Storage System - Mechanisms identify one or more first storage devices in a first tier of the tiered storage system that may be placed in a minimal power consumption state and identify one or more data segments stored on the one or more first storage devices that are most likely to be accessed during a period of time in which the one or more first storage devices are in the minimal power consumption state. The mechanisms migrate the one or more data segments to one or more second storage devices in one of the first tier or a second tier of the storage system and place the one or more first storage devices in the minimal power consumption state. Access requests to the one or more data segments are serviced by the one or more second storage devices while the one or more first storage devices are in the minimal power consumption state. | 10-31-2013 |
20130297569 | ENHANCING DATA PROCESSING PERFORMANCE BY CACHE MANAGEMENT OF FINGERPRINT INDEX - Various embodiments for improving hash index key lookup caching performance in a computing environment are provided. In one embodiment, for a cached fingerprint map having a plurality of entries corresponding to a plurality of data fingerprints, reference count information is used to determine a length of time to retain the plurality of entries in cache. Those of the plurality of entries having a higher reference counts are retained longer than those having lower reference counts. | 11-07-2013 |
20130297872 | ENHANCING TIERING STORAGE PERFORMANCE - Various embodiments for improving data storage and retrieval performance, for a tiered storage environment having levels corresponding to storage performance, are provided. In one embodiment, by way of example only, reference count information of at least one data segment maintained in the tiered storage environment is used to determine which of the levels in the tiered storage environment the at least one data segment is assigned. Those of the at least one data segment having higher reference counts are assigned to a higher performance level than those having lower reference counts. | 11-07-2013 |
20130297873 | ENHANCING TIERING STORAGE PERFORMANCE - Various embodiments for improving data storage and retrieval performance, for a tiered storage environment having levels corresponding to storage performance, are provided. In one embodiment, by way of example only, reference count information of at least one data segment maintained in the tiered storage environment is used to determine which of the levels in the tiered storage environment the at least one data segment is assigned. Those of the at least one data segment having higher reference counts are assigned to a higher performance level than those having lower reference counts. | 11-07-2013 |
20130297884 | ENHANCING DATA PROCESSING PERFORMANCE BY CACHE MANAGEMENT OF FINGERPRINT INDEX - Various embodiments for improving hash index key lookup caching performance in a computing environment are provided. In one embodiment, for a cached fingerprint map having a plurality of entries corresponding to a plurality of data fingerprints, reference count information is used to determine a length of time to retain the plurality of entries in cache. Those of the plurality of entries having a higher reference counts are retained longer than those having lower reference counts. | 11-07-2013 |
20130297885 | ENHANCING DATA CACHING PERFORMANCE - For a cache in which a plurality of frequently accessed data segments are temporarily stored, reference count information of the plurality of data segments, in conjunction with least recently used (LRU) information, is used to determine a length of time to retain the plurality of data segments in the cache according to a predetermined weight, where notwithstanding the LRU information, those of the plurality of data segments having a higher reference counts are retained longer than those having lower reference counts. | 11-07-2013 |
20130325801 | APPLICATION-CONTROLLED SUB-LUN LEVEL DATA MIGRATION - An application programming interface (API) is used to migrate, from a specified source LUN to a specified target LUN, at least one specified sub-LUN data chunk, the API functioning as an interface between a storage controller and an owning application. | 12-05-2013 |
20130325802 | APPLICATION-CONTROLLED SUB-LUN LEVEL DATA MIGRATION - An application programming interface (API), functioning as an interface between a storage controller and an owning application, is used to migrate, from a specified source LUN to a specified target LUN, at least one specified sub-LUN data chunk, the at least one specified sub-LUN data chunk having a predefined chunk size fixed by the storage controller. A specified total migration size is incrementally reduced by each completed migration of the at least one specified sub-LUN data chunk until the total migration size is zero and the migration is completed. | 12-05-2013 |
20130326182 | APPLICATION-CONTROLLED SUB-LUN LEVEL DATA MIGRATION - A source code-based specification is implemented for use as an interface between a storage controller and an owning application to migrate a specified size of data from physical storage behind the LUN to a new physical location. | 12-05-2013 |
20130326183 | APPLICATION-CONTROLLED SUB-LUN LEVEL DATA MIGRATION - A source code-based specification is implemented for use as an interface between a storage controller and an owning application to migrate a specified size of data from physical storage behind the LUN to a new physical location. | 12-05-2013 |
20130326545 | APPLICATION-CONTROLLED SUB-LUN LEVEL DATA MIGRATION - An application programming interface (API) is used to migrate, from a specified source LUN to a specified target LUN, at least one specified sub-LUN data chunk, the API functioning as an interface between a storage controller and an owning application. | 12-05-2013 |
20130326546 | APPLICATION-CONTROLLED SUB-LUN LEVEL DATA MIGRATION - An application programming interface (API), functioning as an interface between a storage controller and an owning application, is used to migrate, from a specified source LUN to a specified target LUN, at least one specified sub-LUN data chunk, the at least one specified sub-LUN data chunk having a predefined chunk size fixed by the storage controller. A specified total migration size is incrementally reduced by each completed migration of the at least one specified sub-LUN data chunk until the total migration size is zero and the migration is completed. | 12-05-2013 |
20140068211 | CONVERTING A FIRST ADDRESS MAPPING FUNCTION FOR MAPPING ADDRESSES TO STORAGE LOCATIONS TO A SECOND ADDRESS MAPPING FUNCTION - Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for converting a first address mapping function for mapping addresses to storage locations to a second address mapping function. For each of a plurality of addresses allocated in the storage using the first address mapping function, a node is generated in the second address mapping function. Each node in the second address mapping function associates a logical address with a physical location for the logical address. A determination is made of addresses having unused space and storage space is freed for the determined addresses having the unused space. Indication is made in the second address mapping function that the storage space for the determined addresses has been freed. | 03-06-2014 |
20140075007 | Zero Copy Data Transfers without Modifying Host Side Protocol Stack Parameters - Mechanisms are provided for instigating the sending of an acknowledgement response from a host system. A buffer of a data processing system is monitored to determine if there is a data transfer pending in the buffer. In response to a determination that there are no data transfers pending in the buffer, a determination is made as to whether there is an outstanding data transfer, on a corresponding network connection with the host system, for which an acknowledgement response has not been received from the host system. In response to a determination that there is an outstanding data transfer for which an acknowledgement response has not been received, an acknowledgement instigation message is sent to the host system to instigate the host system sending an acknowledgement response for the outstanding data transfer. | 03-13-2014 |
20140185157 | UTILIZATION OF DISK BUFFER FOR BACKGROUND REPLICATION PROCESSES - Embodiments of the present invention utilize a hard disk drive buffer to minimize seek delays during background replication of a first volume and fulfillment of application input/output requests. According to one aspect of the present invention, a requested first sector of data is read along with one or more additional sectors of data. Upon determining that one or more of the read sectors of data should be replicated, the sectors are read from the disk buffer and written to a second volume. | 07-03-2014 |
20140195698 | NON-DISRUPTIVE CONFIGURATION OF A VIRTUALIZATION COTROLLER IN A DATA STORAGE SYSTEM - Embodiments of the invention relate to configuring a virtualization controller in SAN data storage system without disrupting I/O operations. One aspect of the invention concerns a method that comprises establishing a first data path between a host and a storage controller in the same communication zone wherein the storage controller comprises storage devices for storing data; adding a virtualization controller to the zone wherein the virtualization controller maps the storage devices to virtual volumes and establishes a second data path between the host and the storage devices through the virtual volumes; removing the first data path in response to the host detecting the second data path; and performing I/O operations between the host and the storage devices through the second data path. | 07-10-2014 |
20140201478 | De-Duplication Aware Secure Delete - A mechanism is provided in a data processing system for de-duplication aware secure delete. Responsive to receiving a secure delete request for a file, the mechanism identifies a list of file blocks to be securely deleted from a physical disk device. Responsive to determining at least one virtual block of another file refers to a given disk block corresponding to a file block in the list, the mechanism copies the given disk block to generate a copied disk block in the physical disk device and updates a pointer of the at least one virtual block to refer to the copied disk block. The mechanism writes a secure delete pattern for each file block in the list of file blocks to a disk block in the physical disk device without performing de-duplication processing. | 07-17-2014 |
20140359245 | I/O LATENCY AND IOPS PERFORMANCE IN THIN PROVISIONED VOLUMES - A storage system receives an anticipatory write command corresponding to a potential subsequent write command to be received by the storage system, wherein the anticipatory write command indicates an anticipated region of logical address space that may be written to by the potential subsequent write command. The storage system determines that physical storage is not allocated to the anticipated region of logical address space. The storage system allocates physical storage to the anticipated region of logical address space from a pool of available storage managed by the storage system. The storage system creates an association between the anticipated region of logical address space and the allocated physical storage in a virtual-to-physical mapping. | 12-04-2014 |
20150039816 | UTILIZATION OF DISK BUFFER FOR BACKGROUND REPLICATION PROCESSES - A method for replicating data from a first volume to a second volume includes receiving a first data request comprising a request for a first portion of data, wherein the first portion is part of a first volume. The first portion of data is read, and so is at least a second portion of data in addition to the first portion of data requested in the first data request. In response to determining that the second portion of data should be replicated to the second volume, the second portion of data is written to the second volume. | 02-05-2015 |
20150066871 | DATA DEDUPLICATION IN AN INTERNET SMALL COMPUTER SYSTEM INTERFACE (iSCSI) ATTACHED STORAGE SYSTEM - Embodiments of the present invention disclose a method, computer program product, and system for data deduplication. Receiving a protocol data unit (PDU) that includes data to be stored on a system and a hash value that corresponds to the data. Determining whether the hash value of the received PDU matches a stored hash value that corresponds to data that is stored in the system. Responsive to determining that the hash value of the received PDU does not match a stored hash value, storing the data included in the received PDU in the system. In another embodiment, the system is an iSCSI attached storage system, and the PDU is an iSCSI PDU. | 03-05-2015 |
20150067281 | RESERVATION OF STORAGE SPACE FOR A THIN PROVISIONED VOLUME - For reserving storage space, a determination module determines if required storage space is available for a write in response to logical storage address for the write being unallocated. The logical storage address is a thin provisioned storage space. A reservation module reserves the required storage space for the write in response to determining that the required storage space is available. In addition, the reservation module may communicate an allocation success in response to determining the required storage space is available. The allocation success is communicated prior to allocating the required storage space. The reservation module may communicate a write failure in response to determining the required storage space is not available. | 03-05-2015 |