IBM Assigned Fiveteen Patents

Storing data on unused areas of storage medium
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (10,134,427) developed by Hasegawa, Tohru, Tokyo, Japan, and Abe, Atsushi, Ebina, Japan, for “storing data on unused areas of a storage medium.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “Mounting a data storage medium having information recorded thereon, where: the information is formatted according to a self-describing format standard that includes first write and first read functions, the information includes first and second datasets, the first dataset includes a first file mark, an index, and an empty space between the second dataset and a combination of the first file mark and the index, receiving, from a first application, a data block and a corresponding write command for writing the data block onto the data storage medium, and in response to receiving the write command: determining that the empty space is present in the first dataset, writing, by a second write function, the data block into the empty space, and writing a second file mark in the second dataset, wherein the empty space of the data storage medium is inaccessible to the first write function of the self-describing format standard.”

The patent application was filed on March 7, 2018 (15/914,695).

Resynchronizing to first storage system
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (10,133,643) developed by Brandner, Michael, Muenster, Germany, Frankenberg, Michael, Saerbeck, Germany, McClure, Alan G., Sahuarita, AZ, Petersen, David B., Great Falls, VA, Roman, Daniel, Saint Drezery, France, Spear, Gail A., and Thompson, John G., Tucson, AZ, for a “resynchronizing to a first storage system after a failover to a second storage system mirroring the first storage system.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for performing a failover between a first storage system and a second storage system. Data is synchronized between the first storage system and the second storage system. A failover is performed from the first storage system to the second storage system in response to a failover event at the first storage system while synchronizing the data. A determination is made that a first storage unit of the first storage system is inoperable and that that a second storage unit of the first storage system is operable in response to the failover event. In response to determining that the second storage unit is operable, a resynchronization is initiated to copy updates to a second storage unit of the second storage system mirroring the second storage unit of the first storage system to the second storage unit of the first storage system.”

The patent application was filed on May 5, 2015 (14/704,893).

Low-width vault in distributed storage
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (10,133,635) developed by Alnafoosi, Ahmad, Streamwood, IL, Baptist, Andrew D., Mt. Pleasant, WI, Leggette, Wesley B., and Resch, Jason K., Chicago, IL, for a “low-width vault in distributed storage system.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A method includes storing a first set of data slices in a standard-width vault using a first group of DS units of a distributed storage network, (DSN). The first set of data slices corresponds to a first representation of a data object, and includes a first write-threshold number of data slices encoded using a first set of dispersal parameters specifying first write and read widths associated with the standard-width vault. A second set of data slices, corresponding to a second representation of the data object, is stored in a low-width vault using a second group of DS units. The second set of data slices includes at least a second write-threshold number of data slices encoded using a second set of dispersal parameters specifying second write and read widths associated with the low-width vault. The low-width vault has a lower width read and/or write width than the standard-width vault.”

The patent application was filed on November 20, 2017 (15/817,427).

Performing in-place disk format changes in distributed storage network
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (10,133,634) developed by Motwani, Manish, Chicago, IL, for a “method for performing in-place disk format changes in a distributed storage network.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A method begins by processing modules in a dispersed storage network, (DSN) identifying a memory device having a legacy slice storage format, (SSF) to a second SSF and that includes a first encoded data slice, (EDS) of a set of EDSs. When at least a predetermined threshold number of EDSs of the set of EDSs are included within one or storage units, (SUs) excluding the first EDS the method continues by transitioning the first SSF of the memory device to the second SSF, and performing a rebuilding process using the at least the decode threshold number of EDSs of the set of EDSs to generate a rebuilt first EDS. The method continues by storing the rebuilt first EDS within the memory device to replace the first EDS that was deleted during the transitioning.”

The patent application was filed on March 30, 2017 (15/473,942).

Determining completion of migration in dispersed storage network
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (10,133,632) developed by Leggette, Wesley B., Motwani, Manish, and Resch, Jason K., Chicago, IL, for a “determining completion of migration in a dispersed storage network.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A method for determining completion of a data migration that results from a distributed agreement protocol, (DAP) change within a distributed storage network, (DSN). The method begins by transferring, in accordance with the DAP change, encoded data slices to one or more other storage units within the DSN. The method continues by maintaining a storage unit migration tracking repository that tracks migration of the encoded data slices. The method continues by maintaining a storage pool migration tracking repository based on the storage unit migration tracking repositories of the plurality of storage units. The method continues by maintaining a DSN migration tracking repository based on the storage pool migration tracking repositories of the plurality of storage pools. The method continues by indicating completion of the data migration as a result of the DAP change based on information within the DSN tracking repository.”

The patent application was filed on April 11, 2017 (15/485,160).

Multi option rebuilding in dispersed storage network
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (10,133,631) developed by Dhuse, Greg R., Leggette, Wesley B., Resch, Jason K., and Vossberg, Trevor J., Chicago, IL, for a “multi option rebuilding in a dispersed storage network.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A method includes identifying an encoded slice for rebuilding. The method further includes determining whether the set of encoded slices is stored in an encrypted section of a vault or within an unencrypted section of the vault. The method further includes, when the set of encoded slices is stored in the unencrypted section of the vault, determining whether the set of storage units have viewing rights. The method further includes, when the set of storage units does not have the viewing rights, enabling a restricted rebuilding process to rebuild the encoded slice. The method further includes, when the set or storage units does have the viewing rights, enable an unrestricted rebuilding process to rebuild the encoded slice.”

The patent application was filed on September 13, 2016 (15/264,160).

Disposable subset parities for use in distributed RAID
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (10,133,630) developed by Agombar, John P., Winchester, Great Britain, Boden, Ian, Eastleigh, Great Britain, Cooper, Alastair, Winchester, Great Britain, and Hutchison, Gordon D., Eastleigh, Great Britain, for “disposable subset parities for use in a distributed RAID.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A method for recovering a failed storage drive in a redundant array of independent disks, (RAID) includes storing, on a first distributed spare of the RAID, a first parity subset for a first set of drives in the RAID. The method further stores, on a second distributed spare of the RAID, a second parity subset for a second set of drives in the RAID. In the event a storage drive in the RAID fails, the method determines whether the storage drive belongs to the first set or second set. In the event the failed storage drive belongs to the first set, the method uses the first parity subset on the first set of drives in the RAID to recover the failed storage drive. In the event the failed storage drive belongs to the second set, the method uses the second parity subset on the second set of drives in the RAID to recover the failed storage drive. A corresponding system and computer program product are also disclosed.”

The patent application was filed on September 6, 2016 (15/257,325).

Managing data storage in distributed virtual environment
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (10,129,357) developed by Geng, Jian Hua, Beijing, China, Huang, Yan, Hui Zhou, China, and Zhu, Ke, Durham, NC, for a “managing data storage in distributed virtual environment.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A mechanism is provided for managing data storage in a distributed virtual environment. A write access request to a virtual machine in the distributed virtual environment is received from a user, the virtual machine running on a hypervisor node in the distributed virtual environment. The data associated with the write access request is cached at the hypervisor node. The user is notified of a completion of the write access request. The cached data is transmitted to a storage node in the distributed virtual environment, the storage node providing physical storage to the virtual machine.”

The patent application was filed on August 21, 2015 (14/832,195).

Retrieval of file from multiple storage nodes
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (10,129,327) developed by Corrao, Ann, Raleigh, NC, and Iyengar, Ranganath G., Karnataka, India, for a “retrieval of a file from multiple storage nodes.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A system and associated computer program product for retrieving a file from a distribution of storage nodes. A client computer sends a request for a file to a proxy layer and in response, the proxy layer generates a script for obtaining the requested file and sends the script to the client computer. The client computer executes the script, resulting in portions of the requested file being obtained from respective storage nodes in a storage layer. The portions of the requested file are concatenated to form the requested file.”

The patent application was filed on June 12, 2017 (15/619,616).

Enhancing security for multiple storage configurations
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (10,129,023) developed by Baptist, Andrew D., Mt. Pleasant, WI, Factor, Michael E., Haifa, Israel, Leggette, Wesley B., Chicago, IL, and Wozniak, Ethan S., Park Ridge, IL, for an “enhancing security for multiple storage configurations.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A method begins by a processing module identifying, for a DSN, (Dispersed Storage Network) memory using multiple IDA, (Information Dispersal Algorithms) configurations simultaneously, a first IDA configuration with a highest security level relative to each of the multiple IDA configurations. The method continues by generating at least one master key. The method continues by encoding the master key with a secure error coding function to produce master key slices according to the first IDA configuration. The method continues by storing the master key slices in the DSN memory using the first IDA configuration. The method continues by, when storing data with a second IDA configuration having a security level lower than the first IDA configuration, retrieving the master key slices, decoding the master key slices to obtain the master key and encrypting the data using the master key.”

The patent application was filed on August 11, 2016 (15/234,306).

Systematic erasure code encoding of data packages
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (10,127,402) developed by Resch, Jason K, Chicago, IL, for a “systematic erasure code encoding of data packages.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A method begins by combining integrity information and a data segment to produce a data package. The data package is encrypted using a secret key to produce an encrypted data package, which is dispersed storage error encoded using a systematic erasure code, to produce a set of encoded encrypted slices. The secret key is encoded utilizing a secret sharing algorithm to produce a set of secret shares. The set of encoded encrypted slices is sent to a distributed storage network, (DSN) memory for storage, and the set of secret shares is sent to the DSN memory for storage.”

The patent application was filed on November 2, 2016 (15/341,456).

Fast recovery using self-describing replica files in distributed storage
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (10,127,243) developed by Saxena, Mohit, San Jose, CA, for a “fast recovery using self-describing replica files in a distributed storage system.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “The embodiments relate to performing a write operation in a filesystem. Replica files embedded with respective sets of data are stored are on persistent storage local to replica nodes of the filesystem. The storage includes atomically updating the replica files to the replica nodes. Each set of data has information for self-characterizing each replica file. A map stored at persistent storage local to a remote node is updated. The map maintains information for identifying each replica file stored at each replica node.”

The patent application was filed on September 22, 2015 (14/860,771).

Reallocating storage in dispersed storage network
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (10,127,110) developed by Baptist, Andrew D., Mt. Pleasant, WI, Motwani, Manish, and Resch, Jason K., Chicago, IL, for a “reallocating storage in a dispersed storage network.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A method for execution by a dispersed storage and task, (DST) execution unit includes updating a plurality of weighting factors corresponding to each of a plurality of memories in response to an indication of a change in memory capacity of one of the plurality of memories. At least one encoded data slice is received for storage by the DST execution unit. A plurality of scores are generated corresponding to each of the plurality of memories, wherein each of the plurality of scores is based on one of the plurality of weighting factors of a corresponding one of the plurality of memories. One of the plurality of memories is selected based on the plurality of scores, and the at least one encoded data slice is stored in the selected memory.”

The patent application was filed on May 2, 2016 (15/143,815).

Managing data operations in quorum-based data replication system
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (10,126,980) developed by Laden, Guy, Tel-Aviv, Israel, Mandler, Benjamin, Zichron Yaakov, Israel, and Tock, Yoav, Haifa, Israel, for a “managing data operations in a quorum-based data replication system.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “When a request is received to perform a data operation requiring an interaction with any one of multiple data replicas stored on one or more data storage devices and managed by a quorum-based data management protocol in which completion of a data update is reported to an initiator of the data update when acceptance of the data update is reported by a majority of the data replicas, the data operation is routed to be performed using one of a predefined minority of the data replicas if the data operation requires less than strong consistency, is a read-only data operation, and meets a predefined criterion of being computationally time-intensive or computationally resource-intensive, or routed to be performed using a predefined majority of the data replicas if the data operation requires strong consistency or requires a data write operation or does not meet the predefined criterion.”

The patent application was filed on April 29, 2015 (14/698,874).

Storage mirroring decision by capability sets
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (10,126,975) developed by Aloni, Miron, Rishon Lezion, Israel, Atia, Ohad, Haifa, Israel, Avraham, Amalia, Petach Tikva, Israel, Berman, Shay, Modlin, Israel, Harel, Ran, Kfar-Saba, Israel, and Theodorou, Erez A., Petach Tikva, Israel, for a “storage mirroring decision by capability sets.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “Methods, computing systems and computer program products implement embodiments of the present invention that include defining multiple storage capabilities for a set of storage resources in multiple storage systems, the storage resources including storage space, and identifying two of the storage systems including one or more storage capabilities required by a first logical volume. A first given identified storage system is configured to store the first logical volume, and a second given identified storage system is configured to store a second logical volume, the second given storage system different from the first given storage system. Upon storing data to the first logical volume, the data can be mirrored to the second logical volume. In some embodiments, a software defined storage system can be configured including defined services, wherein the first given storage system includes a first given service, and wherein the second given storage system includes a second given service.”

The patent application was filed on January 6, 2016 (14/988,950).