Oracle Assigned Thirteen Patents

Reducing data I/O using in-memory data structures
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood Shores, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,198,363) developed by MacNicol, Roger D., Hummelstown, PA, Lahiri, Tirthankar, Palo Alto, CA, Umamageswaran, Kothanda, Sunnyvale, CA, Ng, Adrian Tsz Him, Redwood City, CA, Wang, Laura Liaoruo, Menlo Park, CA, and Meiyyappan, Krishnan, Fremont, CA, for a “reducing data I/O using in-memory data structures.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”Techniques are described herein for generating and using in-memory data structures to represent columns in data block sets. In an embodiment, a database management system, (DBMS) receives a query for a target data set managed by the DBMS. The query may specify a predicate for a column of the target data set. The predicate may include a filtering value to be compared with row values of the column of the target data set. Prior to accessing data block sets storing the target data set from persistent storage, the DBMS identifies an in-memory summary that corresponds to a data block set, in an embodiment. The in-memory summary may include in-memory data structures, each representing a column stored in the data block set. The DBMS determines that a particular in-memory data structure exists in the in-memory summary that represents a portion of values of the column indicated in the predicate of the query. Based on the particular in-memory data structure, the DBMS determines whether or not the data block set can possibly contain the filtering value in the column of the target data set. Based on this determination, the DBMS skips or retrieves the data block set from the persistent storage as part of the query evaluation.”

The patent application was filed on September 16, 2016 (15/268,524).

Two-tier storage protocol for committing changes in storage
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood Shores, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,191,936) developed by Sawhney, Aditya, Erie, CO, for a “two-tier storage protocol for committing changes in a storage system.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”Systems and methods for implementing a two-tier commit protocol are described herein. In one or more embodiments, a storage system is configured to receive a request to store an object within a storage system, the object comprising, (a) data and, (b) metadata. Responsive to the request, the metadata is transmitted to a metadata tier of the storage system, which generates a first acknowledgment that a metadata record has been created in the metadata tier with a pending status. Responsive to the first acknowledgment, the object data is transmitted to a data tier of the storage system. A second acknowledgment is then generated indicating that a data record has been created with a pending status. Responsive to the second acknowledgement, the metadata record is updated to a committed status. The data record in the data tier is then updated to a committed status.”

The patent application was filed on October 31, 2016 (15/338,829).

Managing space in storage device
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood Shores, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,180,901) developed by Taylor, Eric Carl, Superior, CO, for “apparatus, system and method for managing space in a storage device.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”Aspects of the present disclosure disclose systems and methods for managing space in storage devices. In various aspects, the disclosure is directed to providing more efficient method for managing free space in the storage system, and related apparatus and methods. In particular, the system provides for freeing blocks of memory that are no longer being used based on the information stored in a file system. More specifically, the system allows for reclaiming of large segments of free blocks at one time by providing information on aggregated blocks that were being freed to the storage devices.”

The patent application was filed on February 18, 2013 (13/769,749).

Boot path and production path accessible storage
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood Shores, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,180,844) developed by Aimone, Jon K., Tracy, CA, for “boot path and production path accessible storage system.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “The concepts described herein include a storage access system including two access paths using different path configurations resulting in the ability to do a two part boot from the same boot memory. The two storage access paths address the boot memory using a globally unique identifier. The first storage path is a slower path that transfers instructions from the boot memory to configure the second storage path used to transfer the operating system from the boot memory.“

The patent application was filed on January 20, 2017 (15/411,467).

Optical storage system divider based DRAW verification
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood Shores, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,176,837) developed by Wang, Lingtao, Broomfield, CO, for an “optical storage system divider based DRAW verification with high frequency writing strategy pattern.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “An optical storage system includes an optical head configured to split a light beam into a higher power main beam and at least one lower power side beam. The optical storage system also includes a controller configured to alter an optical medium, via modulation of the higher power main beam according to a writing strategy waveform that defines at least n pulses for every n bits of data to be written to the medium, while processing a first signal resulting from the at least one lower power side beam being reflected from the medium and a second signal indicative of the writing strategy waveform to remove noise from the first signal caused by the higher power main beam to generate output indicative of the data directly after writing.”

The patent application was filed on November 18, 2016 (15/355,891).

Supporting persistent store versioning and integrity in distributed data grid
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood Shores, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,176,184) developed by Lee, Robert H., San Carlos, CA, Howes, Jason John, Somerville, MA, Falco, Mark, Burlington, MA, and Gleyzer, Gene, Lexington, MA, for “system and method for supporting persistent store versioning and integrity in a distributed data grid.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A system and method can support persistence in a distributed data grid, such as persistent store versioning and integrity. A resolver in the distributed data grid can receive a plurality of identifiers from one or more members of the distributed data grid, wherein each said identifier is associated with a persisted partition in a persistent storage for the distributed data grid. Then, the resolver can select an identifier for each partition, wherein each selected identifier is associated with a most recent valid version of a partition. Furthermore, the resolver can determine a member in the distributed data grid that is responsible for recovering said partition from a persisted partition associated with the selected identifier.”

The patent application was filed on May 6, 2014 (14/271,150).

Restoring instance of storage server
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood Shores, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,175,910) developed by Smith, Jeffrey Anderson, Hutto, TX, Shivam, Piyush, and Baker, William Eugene, Austin, TX, for “method and apparatus for restoring an instance of a storage server.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “Implementations of the present disclosure involve a system and/or method for gracelessly rebooting a storage appliance. The method and system includes a storage appliance in association with an event that will result in the loss of a state table from volatile memory that halts changes to at least one state table of the storage appliance. The state tables describe a plurality of file system states of one or more clients connected to the first storage appliance. The state information is written to a persistent memory of the storage appliance. The state table may then be repopulated using the state table information stored in persistent memory.”

The patent application was filed on April 27, 2016 (15/140,141).

UOA migration
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood Shores, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,162,826) developed by Joglekar, Maura, Milpitas, CA, Ye, Hui, Shakopee, MN, and Price, Todd, Chanhassen, MN, for an “UOA migration.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “Systems and methods are disclosed for a migration tool that rapidly transfers metadata between a source content archive and a target content archive. In one aspect, the rapid transfer is facilitated by customizable multithreading that includes the ability to suspend and/or resume migration. In a further aspect, migration between the source content archive and the target content archive is facilitated by allowing at least metadata associated with content stored in the source archive to be transferred between the systems. An external data storage component is provided that allows applications to access the target system using the migrated metadata while also providing access to associated content stored in other locations. Therefore, the actual content in the original source archive may be eventually migrated to the target system while applications are provided seamless access.”

The patent application was filed on July 31, 2014 (14/447,867).

Smart flash cache logger
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood Shores, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,152,412) developed by Aya, Selcuk, San Carlos, CA, Shi, Jia, Burlingame, CA, Umamageswaran, Kothanda, Sunnyvale, CA, and Loaiza, Juan, Woodside, CA, for a “smart flash cache logger.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “Techniques herein are for chaining nonvolatile storage devices to achieve high availability. A method involves a storage server receiving a write request to store data blocks in a first nonvolatile memory device. The storage server comprises a plurality of nonvolatile memory devices that cache data blocks stored on primary storage. The plurality of nonvolatile memory devices comprises the first nonvolatile memory device. The storage server maintains a cache index of data blocks that reside in the plurality of nonvolatile memory devices. Based on one or more criteria, the storage server reroutes the write request to a second nonvolatile memory device of the plurality of nonvolatile memory devices and stores an identifier of the second nonvolatile memory device in the cache index.”

The patent application was filed on July 8, 2015 (14/794,107).

Bad block detection and predictive analytics in NAND flash storage
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood Shores, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,146,604) developed by Rudy, David, Stoneham, MA, Kechriotis, George, Arlington, MA, O’Grady, Patrick, Chelmsford, MA, and Gemmell, James, Ottawa, Canada, for “bad block detection and predictive analytics in NAND flash storage devices.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “Utilities for use in actively detecting the occurrence of bad blocks in NAND flash storage devices and diagnosing the devices as faulty at some point before complete failure of the devices, (e.g., before a number of allowable bad blocks has been reached) to allow a corresponding service processor to continue to write to available blocks for a period of time until a replacement NAND flash device can be identified. The utilities may also be utilized to predict the future occurrence of bad blocks in NAND flash devices, such as during the ‘burn-in’ process of the devices, (e.g., which tests the quality of the NAND flash device before being placed into service to weed out devices with defects).”

The patent application was filed on August 23, 2016 (15/244,190).

Linear actuator with coil winding portions having opposing current flow directions
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood Shores, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,097,075) developed by Yeakley, Darryl Wayne, Erie, CO, and Goodknight, Frank A., Niwot, CO, for a “linear actuator with coil winding portions having opposing current flow directions.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A linear actuator for linearly positioning a recording head in a data storage mechanism. The disclosed linear actuator includes an electrically conductive coil having first and second parts that are both wound in the same rotary direction about an axis, and a magnet spaced from the electrically conductive coil by an air gap. Transmission of an electric current through the first part of the electrically conductive coil in a first current flow direction about the axis and through the second part of the electrically conductive coil in an opposite second current flow direction about the axis induces linear movement of one of the electrically conductive coil and magnet relative to the other of the electrically conductive coil and magnet.”

The patent application was filed on May 2, 2018 (15/968,973).

Linear actuator with coil winding portions having opposing current flow directions
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood Shores, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,079,035) developed by Yeakley, Darryl Wayne, Erie, CO, and Goodknight, Frank A., Niwot, CO, for a “linear actuator with coil winding portions having opposing current flow directions.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A linear actuator for linearly positioning a recording head in a data storage mechanism. The disclosed linear actuator includes an electrically conductive coil having first and second parts that are both wound in the same rotary direction about an axis, and a magnet spaced from the electrically conductive coil by an air gap. Transmission of an electric current through the first part of the electrically conductive coil in a first current flow direction about the axis and through the second part of the electrically conductive coil in an opposite second current flow direction about the axis induces linear movement of one of the electrically conductive coil and magnet relative to the other of the electrically conductive coil and magnet.”

The patent application was filed on May 2, 2018 (15/968,965).

Storage using automatic data translation
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood Shores, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,073,899) developed by Tempero, Russell, Pinczes, Jennifer, and Wall, Robert Lyle, Bozeman, MT, for an “efficient storage using automatic data translation.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “Techniques are disclosed for automatic data translation in computing systems. Certain techniques are disclosed herein that enable applications to utilize data in optimal formats specific to each application in an effectively transparent manner, removing the burden to perform data format or type checking, conversions, etc. An automatic data translation module, (ADTM) is implemented that automatically translates data as it passes between certain applications. In some embodiments, the ADTM receives a first particular format of data from a first application and automatically/transparently converts the first particular format of data into another representation of the same data, but in a second format utilized by a recipient application. The ADTM may be configured as part of a database application programming interface, (API), and can translate textual versions of IP addresses into binary representations for efficient database storage, and translate returned binary representations back into textual representations for convenience and enhanced trace functionalities.”

The patent application was filed on May 18, 2015 (14/714,743).