File retrieval during a legacy storage system to dispersed storage network migration

Abstract

A method begins by a processing module receiving a retrieval request for a file and determining whether the file is being migrated from a legacy storage system to a dispersed error coding storage system. The method continues with the processing module determining a retrieval option for the file when the file is being migrated from the legacy storage system to the dispersed error coding storage system. The method continues with the processing module retrieving the file, based on the retrieval option, in at least one of a legacy format from the legacy storage system and a plurality of sets of encoded data slices from the dispersed error coding storage system.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENTS[0001]This patent application is claiming priority under 35 USC §119 to a provisionally filed patent application entitled “MEMORY UTILIZATION IN A DISPERSED STORAGE NETWORK,” having a provisional filing date of Nov. 1, 2010, and a provisional Ser. No. 61 / 408,971, pending, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and made part of the present U.S. Utility patent application for all purposes.STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT[0002]NOT APPLICABLEINCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC NOT APPLICABLEBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]1. Technical Field of the Invention[0004]This invention relates generally to computing systems and more particularly to data storage solutions within such computing systems.[0005]2. Description of Related Art[0006]Computers are known to communicate, process, and store data. Such computers range from wireless smart phones to data centers that suppor...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Despite the standardization of the computer and its storage system, memory devices fail; especially commercial grade memory devices that utilize technologies incorporating physical movement (e.g., a disc drive).

For example, it is fairly common for a disc drive to routinely suffer from bit level corruption and to completely fail after three years of use.

One solution is to a higher-grade disc drive, which adds significant cost to a computer.

While RAID addresses the memory device failure issue, it is not without its own failures issues that affect its effectiveness, efficiency and security.

For instance, as more discs are added to the array, the probability of a disc failure increases, which increases the demand for maintenance.

For example, when a disc fails, it needs to be manually replaced before another disc fails and the data stored in the RAID device is lost.

While this addresses the loss of data issue, it raises a security issue since multiple copies of data are available, which increases the chances of unauthorized access.

Further, as the amount of data being stored grows, the overhead of RAID devices becomes a non-trivial efficiency issue.

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