Method for rebuilding meta-data in a data storage system and a data storage system
US6738863B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 13, 2001 |
| Grant date | May 18, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 16, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F2211/1038
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method for rebuilding meta-data stored in a data storage system (104) having storage devices (106) in which segments of data are located; for example, a storage system in the form of a log structured array. Data is written in segments to the storage devices (106) from a plurality of flows (122) of data and each segment of data contains meta-data relating to that segment. The meta-data stored in the storage system (104) can be rebuilt in the event of a failure by scanning the meta-data in each segment. A first scan of the meta-data in each segment in the storage devices (106) identifies the last segment written from each flow (122) and these segments are excluded from the rebuilding process as they may contain incomplete or inconsistent information. A second scan of the meta-data in each segment in the storage devices (106) identifies any segments which do not contain any live data tracks and these segments are also excluded from the, rebuilding process. The meta-data in the storage system (104) can then be rebuilt using the meta-data in the segments, excluding those segments identified.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.