NetApp Assigned Ten Patents

Metadata subsystem for distributed object store
in network storage system
NetApp, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, has been assigned a patent (8,484,259) developed by Gaurav Makkar, Bangalore, India, Sudhir Srinivasan, Acton, MA, and Ravi Kavuri, Inver Grove Heights, MN, for a “metadata subsystem for a distributed object store in a network storage system.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A network storage server system includes a distributed object store and a metadata subsystem. The metadata subsystem stores metadata relating to the stored data objects and allows data objects to be located and retrieved easily via user-specified search queries. It manages and allows searches on at least three categories of metadata via the same user interface and technique. These categories include user-specified metadata, inferred metadata and system-defined metadata. Search queries for the metadata can include multi-predicate queries.”

The patent application was filed on Aug. 9, 2010 (12/853,191).

Software module for using flash memory
as secondary permanent storage device
NetApp, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, has been assigned a patent (8,499,132) developed by four co-inventors for a “software module for using flash memory as a secondary permanent storage device.”

The co-inventors are Shankar Pasupathy, Sunnyvale, CA, Garth Goodson, Fremont, CA, Kaladhar Voruganti, San Jose, CA, and Kiran Srinivasan, Cupertino, CA.

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “Described herein is a flash remapping (FR) layer in a storage OS for utilizing flash memory as a secondary permanent storage device in a storage system. The FR layer collects particular information (specified by collection parameters) of received access requests for data stored on primary storage devices of the storage system. Based on the collected information and a predetermined access pattern (specified by pattern parameters), the FR layer selects data sets on the primary storage devices to be transferred permanently to flash memory, whereby subsequent access requests to the selected data sets are redirected to flash memory. New parameters may be received by the FR layer (from a user or program) to dynamically reconfigure the functions of the FR layer. The FR layer may be implemented in the OS without requiring other code of the storage OS to be modified.”

The patent application was filed on Feb. 12, 2008 (12/030,168).

Cut-through cache management
for mirrored virtual volume of virtualized storage system
NetApp, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, has been assigned a patent (8,504,766) developed by Howard Young, Thousand Oaks, CA, for “methods and apparatus for cut-through cache management for a mirrored virtual volume of a virtualized storage system.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “Methods and apparatus for cut-through cache memory management in write command processing on a mirrored virtual volume of a virtualized storage system, the virtual volume comprising a plurality of physical storage devices coupled with the storage system. Features and aspects hereof within the storage system provide for receipt of a write command and associated write data from an attached host. Using a cut-through cache technique, the write data is stored in a cache memory and transmitted to a first of the plurality of storage devices as the write data is stored in the cache memory thus eliminating one read-back of the write data for transfer to a first physical storage device. Following receipt of the write data and storage in the cache memory, the write data is transmitted from the cache memory to the other physical storage devices.”

The patent application was filed on April 15, 2010 (12/761,270).

PCI error resilience
NetApp, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, has been assigned a patent (8,510,592) developed by Johnny Kang-wing Chan, Sunnyvale, CA, for “a PCI error resilience.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “Error handling and recovery, implemented in a storage server, detects an error in a peripheral device of the storage server. If the error is recoverable, the system contains the error by isolating the peripheral device to prevent the generation of additional interrupt signals and migrates operations of the peripheral device to a backup peripheral device. The system initiates error recovery by calling a recovery routine and a reinitialization routine, both provided by a device driver for the peripheral device. After device recovery is complete, the system migrates operations of the backup peripheral device back to the peripheral device.”

The patent application was filed on Sept. 15, 2009 (12/560,296).

Restoring data to storage device based on backup image
NetApp, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, has been assigned a patent (8,504,529) developed by Ling Zheng, Saratoga, CA, and Hsing Yuan, Palo Alto, CA, for a “system and method for restoring data to a storage device based on a backup image.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A system for restoring data to a storage server generates a lookup data structure based on a backup image, where the lookup data structure defines a correspondence between individual block identifiers and individual data blocks of a plurality of data blocks in the backup image. The system then generates a directory structure on the storage server based on the backup image. After generating the directory structure, the system generates an empty restored file in the directory structure based on the backup image. The system then populates file contents of the restored file based on the lookup data structure.”

The patent application was filed on June 19, 2009 (12/488,468).

Triple parity technique for recovery
from triple failures in storage array
NetApp, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, has been assigned a patent (8,516,342) developed by Peter F. Corbett, Lexington, MA, and Atul Goel, Foster City, CA, for a “triple parity technique for enabling efficient recovery from triple failures in a storage array.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A triple parity (TP) technique reduces overhead of computing diagonal and anti-diagonal parity for a storage array adapted to enable efficient recovery from the concurrent failure of three storage devices in the array. The diagonal parity is computed along diagonal parity sets that collectively span all data disks and a row parity disk of the array. The parity for all of the diagonal parity sets except one is stored on the diagonal parity disk. Similarly, the anti-diagonal parity is computed along anti-diagonal parity sets that collectively span all data disks and a row parity disk of the array. The parity for all of the anti-diagonal parity sets except one is stored on the anti-diagonal parity disk. The TP technique provides a uniform stripe depth and an optimal amount of parity information.”

The patent application was filed on May 15, 2012 (13/472,133).

Context based file system
NetApp, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, has been assigned a patent (8,516,023) developed by Balaji Cherukuri, Balaji Ramani, Bangalore, India, and Rajesh Rajaraman, Waltham, MA, for a “context based file system.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A context-based file system (CBFS) receives a request to perform an operation in a hierarchy of directories from a virtual host running on a node in a storage server, the hierarchy having a parent-child relationship and a root directory. An identifier is obtained for the virtual host from an OS. A directory associated with the virtual host is selected from the hierarchy based on a type of the operation and a position of the directory in the hierarchy. A result is received as a result of performing the operation on the selected directory.”

The patent application was filed on June 3, 2010 (12/793,633).

Scalable heterogeneous and homogeneous
unified enterprise storage clusters
NetApp, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, has been assigned a patent (8,516,044) developed by Subhasish Chakraborty and Pawan Hosakote Nagesh, Bangalore, India, for “systems and methods for scalable heterogeneous and homogeneous unified enterprise storage clusters.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “The techniques introduced here include systems and methods for scalable heterogeneous or homogeneous unified enterprise cluster storage systems that include a first cluster-compliant server, a second cluster compliant server, and optionally a non-cluster-compliant server. The first cluster-compliant server can be configured for operation as a member of a cluster with the second cluster-compliant server, and further configured to service a client request from a client of the cluster storage system by utilizing the client request to send a server request to the second cluster-compliant server or the non-cluster-compliant server. The second cluster-compliant server and the non-cluster-compliant server are configured to service the server request from the first cluster-compliant server by retrieving data and sending the data to the first cluster-compliant server. The second cluster-compliant server can transition from clustering operations with the first cluster-compliant server to data serving operations with the optional non-cluster-compliant server.”

The patent application was filed on Sept. 14, 2012 (13/620,703).

Operating storage server on virtual machine
NetApp, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, has been assigned a patent (8,532,973) developed by Joseph CaraDonna, Ashland, MA, and Brian McCarthy, Nashua, NH, for “operating a storage server on a virtual machine.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A system and method of testing, during development, the operation of a clustered storage server system and its associated storage operating system. The system includes at least one host computer having a host operating system, and at least one virtual computer having a simulated storage operating system, at least one simulated disk, a simulated NVRAM, and a simulated flashcard within a guest operating system hosted by the host operating system. The simulated storage operating system represents an actual storage operating system. Facilities of the simulated storage operating system including the simulated disk, the simulated NVRAM, and the simulated flashcard are mapped onto corresponding facilities of the host operating system via virtualization components of the virtual computer so that the simulated storage operating system operates substantially the same as the actual storage operating system on low cost host hardware platforms.”

The patent application was filed on June 27, 2008 (12/215,487).