Implementing I/O locks in storage systems with reduced memory and performance costs
US7647443B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 11, 2008 |
| Grant date | Jan 12, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 17, 2028 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F3/0689
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Technologies are described for implementing locks to control I/O operations in a storage system. The lock implementations can have reduced resource requirements for memory and processing. Through the utilization of the technologies and concepts presented herein, an I/O process preparing to acquire a write lock can advertise its need for the lock for a pre-determined time before the lock is granted. The time period for advertisement can be specified so that all I/O operations that were initiated before the advertisement are guaranteed to have completed by the time the advertisement period is over. As such, a lock controller may only need to track outstanding I/Os that begin once the advertisement starts. This can reduce the typical requirement to maintain and process a lock structure for every unit of storage in the system at all times.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.