US 11,947,803 B2
Effective utilization of different drive capacities
Daniel E. Cummins, Hudson, NH (US); Vamsi K. Vankamamidi, Hopkinton, MA (US); and Shuyu Lee, Acton, MA (US)
Assigned to EMC IP Holding Company LLC, Hopkinton, MA (US)
Filed by EMC IP Holding Company LLC, Hopkinton, MA (US)
Filed on Oct. 26, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/079,968.
Prior Publication US 2022/0129165 A1, Apr. 28, 2022
Int. Cl. G06F 3/06 (2006.01)
CPC G06F 3/0613 (2013.01) [G06F 3/0619 (2013.01); G06F 3/0631 (2013.01); G06F 3/064 (2013.01); G06F 3/0653 (2013.01); G06F 3/0689 (2013.01)] 11 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of providing effective utilization of different drive capacities in a storage appliance, comprising:
providing a storage appliance that includes a storage drive array, the storage drive array including a first set of storage drives and a second set of storage drives, each of the storage drives in the first set having a first total storage capacity, each of the storage drives in the second set having a second total storage capacity, the first total storage capacity of the storage drives in the first set being higher than the second total storage capacity of the storage drives in the second set, the first total storage capacity having a first storage sub-capacity and a second storage sub-capacity, the first storage sub-capacity being equal to the second total storage capacity, the first storage sub-capacity corresponding to a first predetermined threshold percentage of the first total storage capacity, and the second storage sub-capacity corresponding to a second predetermined threshold percentage of the first total storage capacity;
allocating the first storage sub-capacity of each storage drive in the first set for storing hot data;
allocating the second total storage capacity of each storage drive in the second set for storing hot data, the allocated first storage sub-capacity of the storage drives in the first set and the allocated second total storage capacity of the storage drives in the second set collectively corresponding to a hot storage tier;
allocating the second storage sub-capacity of each storage drive in the first set for storing cold data, the allocated second storage sub-capacity of the storage drives in the first set corresponding to a cold storage tier;
determining free space in the allocated first storage sub-capacity of each storage drive in the first set;
determining blocks of cold data stored in the allocated second storage sub-capacity transitioning to blocks of hot data; and
in response to the blocks of cold data stored in the allocated second storage sub-capacity transitioning to the blocks of hot data:
reallocating the first storage sub-capacity of each storage drive in the first set, wherein reallocating the first storage sub-capacity comprises placing the blocks of hot data in the reallocated first storage sub-capacity in accordance with a RAID configuration that spans all the storage drives in the first set and all the storage drives in the second set, the reallocated first storage sub-capacity maintaining the first predetermined threshold percentage of the first total storage capacity; and
reallocating the second storage sub-capacity of each storage drive in the first set, wherein reallocating the second storage sub-capacity comprises including the free space in a portion of the reallocated second storage sub-capacity, the reallocated second storage sub-capacity maintaining the second predetermined threshold percentage of the first total storage capacity.