Method, system, apparatus, and computer-readable medium for improving disk array performance
US7711897B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 9, 2006 |
| Grant date | May 4, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 15, 2028 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F2212/262
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method, system, apparatus, and computer-readable medium are provided for improving storage in a disk array are provided. According to aspects of the invention, a redundant disk array is combined with a mechanism for thin provisioning of the array. Thin provisioning refers to a process of allocating physical capacity to logical volumes on an as-needed basis. Data structures containing a mapping between the logical location of stored data and its actual location on a physical device are maintained. Through the use of the thin provisioning mechanism, physical storage space can be allocated sequentially, regardless of the order of logical writes. In this manner, the data stored on the array grows in a linear manner. The data structures maintained by the thin provisioning mechanism can be used to identify the portions of a device or an array that have been previously written. This information allows redundant arrays, such as RAID arrays, to perform initialization, rebuild, and data migration operations only on portions that been written, and not on areas that have not been utilized by a higher layer.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.