Patent · US Active

Allocation strategies for storage device sets

US8793463B2 · kind B2 · utility

6Cited by
9References
20Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateSep 12, 2011
Grant dateJul 29, 2014
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 25, 2032

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F12/023
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A storage device set may allocate capacity for spaces (e.g., logical volumes) according to an allocation strategy, e.g., allocating capacity from the storage device having the greatest available capacity, or maximizing the distribution of allocated capacity across the storage devices. However, such allocation strategies may be inefficient (e.g., limiting the capability of the storage device set to satisfy subsequent requests with constraints such as a minimum distribution of capacity across several storage devices). The techniques presented herein achieve efficient allocation by first allocating capacity on storage devices having ample available capacity using a round-robin technique, and if such storage devices do not satisfy the capacity request, allocating capacity on storage devices having limited available capacity. Additionally, the techniques presented herein facilitate thin provisioning through capacity reservations, wherein storage devices withhold unallocated storage for particular spaces that may be utilized as a reserve if unreserved capacity is exhausted.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.