Steven A Morley

US Patent:

7277986, Oct 2, 2007

Filed:

Mar 30, 2005

Appl. No.:

11/094118

Inventors:

Steven A. Morley - Upton MA, US
Joel J. Young - Milford MA, US

Assignee:

EMC Corporation - Hopkinton MA

International Classification:

G06F 13/00

US Classification:

711113, 711118

Abstract:

Software that writes to storage disks using a differently sized sector format than that of the storage disks can require sector edges to be read from sectors of the disks before the write operation can occur. Write operations can consequently incur a performance penalty by having to pre-read sector edges. A sector-edge cache avoids this performance penalty by storing sector edges obtained from the sectors during previously executed read and write operations. Instead of having to pre-read a sector edge from disk during a write operation, an input/output controller can examine the sector-edge cache to determine if each appropriate sector edge is already present and then combine new data with that cached sector edge. RAID-5 implementations, which use a read-modify-write process to perform write operations, benefit from sector caches by reading and caching sector edges during the read phase so that no additional pre-reads are needed during the write phase.

US Patent:

7574558, Aug 11, 2009

Filed:

Sep 14, 2007

Appl. No.:

11/855400

Inventors:

Steven A. Morley - Upton MA, US
Joel J. Young - Milford MA, US

Assignee:

EMC Corporation - Hopkinton MA

International Classification:

G06F 13/00

US Classification:

711113, 711118

Abstract:

Software that writes to storage disks using a differently sized sector format than that of the storage disks can require sector edges to be read from sectors of the disks before the write operation can occur. Write operations can consequently incur a performance penalty by having to pre-read sector edges. A sector-edge cache avoids this performance penalty by storing sector edges obtained from the sectors during previously executed read and write operations. Instead of having to pre-read a sector edge from disk during a write operation, an input/output controller can examine the sector-edge cache to determine if each appropriate sector edge is already present and then combine new data with that cached sector edge. RAID-5 implementations, which use a read-modify-write process to perform write operations, benefit from sector caches by reading and caching sector edges during the read phase so that no additional pre-reads are needed during the write phase.

US Patent:

20220342542, Oct 27, 2022

Filed:

Apr 23, 2021

Appl. No.:

17/238613

Inventors:

- Hopkinton MA, US
Lior Kamran - Rishon LeZion, IL
Steven Morley - Mendon MA, US

Assignee:

EMC IP Holding Company LLC - Hopkinton MA

International Classification:

G06F 3/06
G06F 12/02

Abstract:

A method is provided for use in a storage processor, the method comprising: receiving a write request, the write request including a request to store user data in an array that includes a plurality of solid-state drives (SSD); executing the write request by: identifying metadata that is associated with the write request, and writing the user data and the metadata to different data streams that are opened on the plurality of SSDs; wherein writing the user data and the metadata to different data streams causes: (i) the user data to be stored in one or more first erase units of any of the plurality of SSDs, and (ii) the metadata to be stored in one or more second erase units of any of the plurality of SSDs, such that no part of the metadata is stored on any of the one or more first erase units, and no part of the user data is stored on any of the one or more second erase units.

US Patent:

20210117132, Apr 22, 2021

Filed:

Oct 17, 2019

Appl. No.:

16/656046

Inventors:

- Hopkinton MA, US
Philippe Armangau - Acton MA, US
Daniel E. Cummins - Hudson NH, US
Steven A. Morley - Mendon MA, US

International Classification:

G06F 3/06
G06F 12/02

Abstract:

Host data stored in one or more source physical extents of non-volatile data storage is identified as valid and determined to be infrequently written by host I/O requests, and is therefore compressed to generate a highly compressed version of the valid host data. The highly compressed version is then stored into at least one target physical extent. The valid host data may be initially compressed before it is stored in the source physical extent(s), and may be re-compressed to generate the highly compressed version. If the valid host data is also infrequently read, it may be recompressed using larger blocks of host data than were used to perform the initial compression. The performance tier of the target physical extent may be different from (e.g. lower than) the performance tier of the source physical extent. The technology may be embodied in a background process such as a garbage collector.

US Patent:

20210034534, Feb 4, 2021

Filed:

Jul 29, 2019

Appl. No.:

16/525227

Inventors:

- Hopkinton MA, US
Steven A. Morley - Mendon MA, US

International Classification:

G06F 12/0871
G06F 12/0882
G06F 12/02
G06F 9/30
G06F 9/50

Abstract:

A method, computer program product, and computer system for identifying a first node that has written a first page of a plurality of pages to be flushed. A second node that has written a second page of the plurality of pages to be flushed may be identified. It may be determined whether the first page of the plurality of pages is to be flushed by one of the first node and the second node and whether the second page of the plurality of pages is to be flushed by one of the first node and the second node based upon, at least in part, one or more factors. The first node may allocate the first page of the plurality of pages and the second page of the plurality of pages to be flushed in parallel by one of the first node and the second node based upon, at least in part, the one or more factors.

US Patent:

20200250040, Aug 6, 2020

Filed:

Jan 31, 2019

Appl. No.:

16/263347

Inventors:

- Hopkinton MA, US
Philippe Armangau - Acton MA, US
Steven A. Morley - Mendon MA, US
Shuyu Lee - Acton MA, US
Daniel E. Cummins - Hudson NH, US

International Classification:

G06F 11/14
G06F 3/06
G06F 11/16
G06F 11/20

Abstract:

Techniques for sharing private space among storage system components. The techniques include determining an amount of private space for each of a rebuild component, an FSCK component, and a deduplication component, reserving private space equal to the sum of (i) the amount determined for the rebuild component and (ii) the maximum of the amounts determined for the FSCK and deduplication components, and allocating the remaining amount of storage space as user space. If a storage device fails, then the rebuild component rebuilds the failed drive data on a hot spare drive in the private space reserved for the rebuild component. If data files become corrupted, then the FSCK component performs offline recovery operations using the private space for the hot spare drive. If such private space for the hot spare drive is unavailable, then the FSCK component performs offline recovery operations using the private space reserved for the deduplication component.

US Patent:

20200210606, Jul 2, 2020

Filed:

Dec 31, 2018

Appl. No.:

16/237128

Inventors:

- Hopkinton MA, US
Michael C. Brundage - Cary NC, US
Alan L. Taylor - Cary NC, US
Michael J. Noeth - Cary NC, US
Peter J. McCann - Mason NH, US
Steven A. Morley - Mendon MA, US

International Classification:

G06F 21/62
G06F 21/60
H04L 29/08
G06F 12/14
G06F 11/20
G06F 16/907

Abstract:

Techniques are presented for implementing a scalable approach to keeping track of the metadata validity of persistently-stored metadata for storage objects. In contrast with prior approaches, improved techniques only store a list of the invalid (or quarantined) objects rather than all objects regardless of validity of their metadata. Under normal circumstances, only a small number of storage objects are invalid at any given time, as the system generally takes steps to repair the invalid objects in the normal course of operation. Thus, the number of invalid objects tends to be small, barring some catastrophic system failure. Only a small amount of expensive privileged persistent storage is therefore needed. A health level may also be used to indicate many failures, indicative of catastrophic system failure.