Distributed multi-level protection in a hyper-converged infrastructure

Abstract

A storage controller of a data storage subsystem including a plurality of storage devices in a redundant array of independent drives (RAID) configuration writes a first RAID stripe to the plurality of storage devices. Writing the first RAID stripe includes for each storage device of a subset of the plurality of storage devices, writing within a page of the storage device, user data, and checksums that validate the user data stored on storage devices of the subset of the plurality of storage devices and writing, within a page of a particular storage device of the plurality of storage devices inter-device redundancy data, intra-page error recovery data, and inter-page protection data.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer system comprising:
 a data storage subsystem comprising a plurality of storage devices in a redundant array of independent drives (RAID) configuration; and   a storage controller to:
 write a first RAID stripe to the plurality of storage devices including:
 for each storage device of a subset of the plurality of storage devices, writing within a page of the storage device, user data, and checksums that validate the user data stored on storage devices of the subset of the plurality of storage devices; and 
 writing, within a page of a particular storage device of the plurality of storage devices:
 inter-device redundancy data, the inter-device redundancy data to protect the user data stored on each storage device of a first subset of the plurality of storage devices, 
 intra-page error recovery data, the intra-page error recovery data is generated from the inter-device redundancy data stored on the particular storage device, and 
 inter-page protection data, the inter-page protection data is generated from the checksums stored on the storage devices of the subset of the plurality of storage devices. 
 
 
   
     
     
         2 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the storage controller is further to write a second RAID stripe to a second subset of the plurality of storage devices, the first RAID stripe having a first RAID layout and the second RAID stripe having a second RAID layout. 
     
     
         3 . The computer system of  claim 2 , wherein the first RAID layout is an L+x layout, and the second RAID layout is an M+y layout, wherein L, x, M, and, y are positive integers, and wherein at least one of: (1) L is not equal to M, or (2) x is not equal to y. 
     
     
         4 . The computer system of  claim 2 , wherein the first RAID layout is selected from a first device group and the second RAID layout is selected from a second device group. 
     
     
         5 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of storage devices are solid state storage devices. 
     
     
         6 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of storage devices comprise flash memory cells. 
     
     
         7 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the computer system is a flash memory based system. 
     
     
         8 . A method, comprising:
 writing, by a storage controller of a data storage subsystem comprising a plurality of storage devices in a redundant array of independent drives (RAID) configuration, a first RAID stripe to the plurality of storage devices, wherein writing the first RAID stripe comprises:
 for each storage device of a subset of the plurality of storage devices, writing within a page of the storage device, user data, and checksums that validate the user data stored on storage devices of the subset of the plurality of storage devices; and 
 writing, within a page of a particular storage device of the plurality of storage devices:
 inter-device redundancy data, the inter-device redundancy data to protect the user data stored on each storage device of a first subset of the plurality of storage devices, 
 intra-page error recovery data, the intra-page error recovery data is generated from the inter-device protection data stored on the particular storage device, and 
 inter-page protection data, the inter-page protection data is generated from the checksums stored on the storage devices of the subset of the plurality of storage devices. 
 
   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising writing a second RAID stripe to a second subset of the plurality of storage devices, the first RAID stripe having a first RAID layout and the second RAID stripe having a second RAID layout. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the first RAID layout is an L+x layout, and the second RAID layout is an M+y layout, wherein L, x, M, and, y are positive integers, and wherein at least one of: (1) L is not equal to M, or (2) x is not equal to y. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the first RAID layout is selected from a first device group and the second RAID layout is selected from a second device group. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the plurality of storage devices are solid state storage devices. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the plurality of storage devices comprise flash memory cells. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the data storage subsystem is a flash memory based system. 
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a processor of a storage controller, cause the processor to:
 write, by the storage controller of a data storage subsystem comprising a plurality of storage devices in a redundant array of independent drives (RAID) configuration, a first RAID stripe to the plurality of storage devices, wherein writing the first RAID stripe comprises:
 for each storage device of a subset of the plurality of storage devices, write within a page of the storage device, user data, and checksums that validate the user data stored on storage devices of the subset of the plurality of storage devices; and 
 write, within a page of a particular storage device of the plurality of storage devices:
 inter-device redundancy data, the inter-device redundancy data to protect the user data stored on each storage device of a first subset of the plurality of storage devices, 
 intra-page error recovery data, the intra-page error recovery data is generated from the inter-device protection data stored on the particular storage device, and 
 inter-page protection data, the inter-page protection data is generated from the checksums stored on the storage devices of the subset of the plurality of storage devices. 
 
   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 15 , wherein the storage controller is further to write a second RAID stripe to a second subset of the plurality of storage devices, the first RAID stripe having a first RAID layout and the second RAID stripe having a second RAID layout. 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 16 , wherein the first RAID layout is an L+x layout, and the second RAID layout is an M+y layout, wherein L, x, M, and, y are positive integers, and wherein at least one of: (1) L is not equal to M, or (2) x is not equal to y. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 16 , wherein the first RAID layout is selected from a first device group and the second RAID layout is selected from a second device group. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 15 , wherein the plurality of storage devices are solid state storage devices. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 15 , wherein the plurality of storage devices comprise flash memory cells.