Providing application aware storage

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2021286546-A1
Application number	US-202117326969-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	May 21, 2021
Priority date	Nov 22, 2016
Publication date	Sep 16, 2021
Grant date	—

Abstract

Providing application aware storage, including: identifying one or more sub-regions of data stored on a storage device that is associated with an application, including determining, in dependence upon data contained in the one or more sub-regions, whether the one or more sub-regions are associated with a known application type; and compiling quantifiable characteristics for the application, including information describing the application's utilization of the storage system.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method comprising:
identifying one or more sub-regions of data stored on a storage device that is associated with an application, including determining, in dependence upon data contained in the one or more sub-regions, whether the one or more sub-regions are associated with a known application type; and compiling quantifiable characteristics for the application, including information describing the application's utilization of the storage system.

2 . The method of claim 1 wherein the quantifiable characteristics for the application are compiled from statistics maintained for each of the one or more sub-regions of the stored data associated with the application.

3 . The method of claim 1 wherein identifying one or more sub-regions of data stored on a storage device that is associated with an application further comprises:
identifying, from the data stored on the block storage device, one or more application related components stored on the storage device; and
identifying, in dependence upon the one or more application related components stored on the storage device and an application profile that includes information identifying one or more components of the application, one or more sub-regions of the data stored on the storage device that are associated with the application.

4 . The method of claim 1 wherein determining whether the one or more sub-regions are associated with the known application type further comprises:
reading a portion of the one or more sub-regions of the data; and
determining, in dependence upon the data contained in the portion of the one or more sub-regions, whether the one or more sub-regions are associated with the known application type.

5 . The method of claim 1 wherein identifying one or more sub-regions of data stored on a storage device that is associated with an application further comprises identifying, from a snapshot of at least a portion of the data stored on the storage device, one or more sub-regions of the data stored on the storage device that are associated with the application.

6 . The method of claim 1 wherein compiling quantifiable characteristics for the application further comprises updating cumulative statistics for the application in response to one or more of the sub-regions of the stored data associated with the application being accessed.

7 . The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving a request for cumulative statistics for the application.

8 . The method of claim 1 further comprising presenting, to a user of the storage system, the cumulative statistics for the application.

9 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:
detecting that a storage system objective was not satisfied; and
identifying, in dependence upon cumulative statistics for a plurality of applications, an application that most significantly contributed to not satisfying the storage system objective.

10 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:
tracking historical cumulative statistics for the application;
determining, in dependence upon the historical cumulative statistics for the application and the cumulative statistics for the application, whether a deviation threshold has been met.

11 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:
tracking historical cumulative statistics for the application;
projecting, in dependence upon the historical cumulative statistics for the application and the cumulative statistics for the application, future cumulative statistics for the application.

12 . An apparatus including a computer processor and a computer memory, the computer memory including computer program instructions that, when executed by the computer processor, cause the apparatus to carry out the steps of:
identifying one or more sub-regions of data stored on a storage device that is associated with an application, including determining, in dependence upon data contained in the one or more sub-regions, whether the one or more sub-regions are associated with a known application type; and compiling quantifiable characteristics for the application, including information describing the application's utilization of the storage system.

13 . The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the quantifiable characteristics for the application are compiled from statistics maintained for each of the one or more sub-regions of the stored data associated with the application.

14 . The apparatus of claim 12 wherein identifying one or more sub-regions of data stored on a storage device that is associated with an application further comprises:
identifying, from the data stored on the block storage device, one or more application related components stored on the storage device; and
identifying, in dependence upon the one or more application related components stored on the storage device and an application profile that includes information identifying one or more components of the application, one or more sub-regions of the data stored on the storage device that are associated with the application.

15 . The apparatus of claim 12 wherein determining whether the one or more sub-regions are associated with the known application type further comprises:
reading a portion of the one or more sub-regions of the data; and
determining, in dependence upon the data contained in the portion of the one or more sub-regions, whether the one or more sub-regions are associated with the known application type.

16 . The apparatus of claim 12 wherein identifying one or more sub-regions of data stored on a storage device that is associated with an application further comprises identifying, from a snapshot of at least a portion of the data stored on the storage device, one or more sub-regions of the data stored on the storage device that are associated with the application.

17 . The apparatus of claim 12 wherein compiling quantifiable characteristics for the application further comprises updating cumulative statistics for the application in response to one or more of the sub-regions of the stored data associated with the application being accessed.

18 . The apparatus of claim 12 further comprising computer program instructions that, when executed by the computer processor, cause the apparatus to carry out the steps of:
tracking historical cumulative statistics for the application;
determining, in dependence upon the historical cumulative statistics for the application and the cumulative statistics for the application, whether a deviation threshold has been met.

19 . The apparatus of claim 12 further comprising computer program instructions that, when executed by the computer processor, cause the apparatus to carry out the steps of:
detecting that a storage system objective was not satisfied; and
identifying, in dependence upon cumulative statistics for a plurality of applications, an application that most significantly contributed to not satisfying the storage system objective.

20 . A computer program product disposed on a computer readable medium, the computer readable medium including computer program instructions that, when executed, carry out the steps of:
identifying one or more sub-regions of data stored on a storage device that is associated with an application, including determining, in dependence upon data contained in the one or more sub-regions, whether the one or more sub-regions are associated with a known application type; and compiling quantifiable characteristics for the application, including information describing the appl

Assignees

• Pure Storage Inc

Inventors

• Hodgson Steven
• Karr Ronald

Classifications

• G06F2212/1056

  Simplification · CPC title

• G06F12/0246

  in block erasable memory, e.g. flash memory · CPC title

• G06F2212/7208

  Multiple device management, e.g. distributing data over multiple flash devices · CPC title

• G06F2212/7204

  Capacity control, e.g. partitioning, end-of-life degradation · CPC title

• G06F3/0653 Primary

  Monitoring storage devices or systems · CPC title