| Patent application number | Description | Published |
| 20080288556 | MAINTAINING MEMORY CHECKPOINTS ACROSS A CLUSTER OF COMPUTING NODES - A method and system for increasing reliability and availability of a multi-processor network. A system includes a network with at least two nodes, with each node comprising a multi-processor unit (mpu) and memory. The mpu includes one or more processors and a wiretap unit. The wiretap unit and the memory included in the node are coupled to the processors in the node. The wiretap unit is configured to monitor memory accesses of the processors and convey data indicative of such accesses to a second node. The second node maintains a replica of memory in the first node, and is configured to undo modifications to the memory if needed. In the event of a hardware or software fault, the nodes are configured to restart the application on another node. | 11-20-2008 |
| 20090240664 | Scalable Database Management Software on a Cluster of Nodes Using a Shared-Distributed Flash Memory - A distributed database system has multiple compute nodes each running an instance of a database management system (DBMS) program that accesses database records in a local buffer cache. Records are persistently stored in distributed flash memory on multiple storage nodes. A Sharing Data Fabric (SDF) is a middleware layer between the DBMS programs and the storage nodes and has API functions called by the DBMS programs when a requested record is not present in the local buffer cache. The SDF fetches the requested record from flash memory and loads a copy into the local buffer cache. The SDF has threads on a home storage node that locate database records using a node map. A global cache directory locks and pins records to local buffer caches for updating by a node's DBMS program. DBMS operations are grouped into transactions that are committed or aborted together as a unit. | 09-24-2009 |
| 20090240869 | Sharing Data Fabric for Coherent-Distributed Caching of Multi-Node Shared-Distributed Flash Memory - A Sharing Data Fabric (SDF) causes flash memory attached to multiple compute nodes to appear to be a single large memory space that is global yet shared by many applications running on the many compute nodes. Flash objects stored in flash memory of a home node are copied to an object cache in DRAM at an action node by SDF threads executing on the nodes. The home node has a flash object map locating flash objects in the home node's flash memory, and a global cache directory that locates copies of the object in other sharing nodes. Application programs use an applications-programming interface (API) into the SDF to transparently get and put objects without regard to the object's location on any of the many compute nodes. SDF threads and tables control coherency of objects in flash and DRAM. | 09-24-2009 |
| 20110252181 | FLEXIBLE WAY OF SPECIFYING STORAGE ATTRIBUTES IN A FLASH MEMORY-BASED OBJECT STORE - Approaches for performing a write operation on a solid state device (SSD). One or more containers are maintained on the solid state device. Each container is a logical grouping of objects independent from where the logical grouping of objects are physically stored on the solid state device. When a write operation is received at the SSD, the manner is which changes requested by the write operation should be stored are determined based on which container is being written. Containers provide a flexible approach for specifying attributes of how data should be stored and accessed which is independent from where the data is physically stored. Containers also have particular utility in performing load balancing and ensuring high availability and recovery. | 10-13-2011 |
| 20110252186 | MINIMIZING WRITE OPERATIONS TO A FLASH MEMORY-BASED OBJECT STORE - Approaches for minimizing the amount of write transactions issued to an object store maintained on a solid state device (SSD). Transactions requested against an object store maintained on a SSD may be committed once transaction information for the transaction is durably stored in a non-volatile dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which may be maintained in a HDD controller. Further, data blocks stored in a volatile cache of a database server that issues write requests to an object store maintained on one or more SSDs may be considered persistent stored once confirmation is received that the data blocks are written to a double-write buffer stored on a non-volatile medium, such as NV RAM in a HDD controller. Additionally, any data blocks that are to be written over in a non-volatile DRAM are first ensured to be no longer present within the volatile write cache maintained a the solid state device. | 10-13-2011 |
| 20110252192 | EFFICIENT FLASH MEMORY-BASED OBJECT STORE - Approaches for an object store implemented, at least in part, on one or more solid state devices. The object store may store objects on a plurality of solid state devices. The object store may include a transaction model means for ensuring that the object store performs transactions in compliance with atomicity, concurrency, isolation, and durability (ACID) properties. The object store may include means for providing parallel flushing in a write cache maintained on each of the solid state devices. The object store may include means for maintaining one or more double-write buffers, for the object store, at a location other than the solid state devices. The object store may optionally comprise means for maintaining one or more circular transaction logs, for the object store, at a location other than the solid state devices. The object store may operate to minimize write operations performed on the solid state devices. | 10-13-2011 |
| 20110283045 | EVENT PROCESSING IN A FLASH MEMORY-BASED OBJECT STORE - Approaches for processing an event in an objects store, such as an MySQL database management system or a memcached caching system, that are maintained on one or more solid state devices. A plurality of threads may be instantiated. Each of the threads may be configured to retrieve items from a queue of items. Each item in the queue of items may be associated with a particular event occurring within the object store. Each event is a message that indicates an activity requiring work has occurred within the object store. When a particular thread retrieves an item from the queue of items, the particular thread processes the particular event associated with the item retrieved by the particular thread. In this way, event handling in object stores such as MySQL and memcached may be performed more efficiently on a solid state device. | 11-17-2011 |
| 20110320403 | APPROACHES FOR THE REPLICATION OF WRITE SETS - Approaches for replicating data in a distributed transactional system. At a first node of a cluster, a per-transaction write set that comprises a plurality of write operations that are performed against a first data store maintained by the first node is committed. The per-transaction write set is replicated from the first node to a second node of the cluster. At the second node, the plurality of write operations, specified by the per-transaction write set, may be performed in parallel against a second data store maintained by the second node. At the second node, two or more threads may perform a portion of the plurality of write operations against data blocks stored within an in-memory buffer. | 12-29-2011 |