N-way Parity for Virtual Disk Resiliency

摘要

Resiliency techniques for a virtual disk are described that enable user control over storage efficiency and recovery time. Configuration parameters for a virtual disk are obtained that indicate a number of available storage devices and a specified tolerance for storage device failures. A default configuration for the virtual disk that designates a default amount of redundancy data to store with client data to balance storage efficiency and recovery time is derived based on the configuration parameters. Options may then be provided to specify a custom configuration that changes the amount of redundancy data to customize the level of storage efficiency and recovery time. The virtual disk is configured and data is stored thereon in accordance with the default configuration or the custom configuration as directed by the user.

主权项

1. A method implemented by a computing device, the method comprising:
ascertaining a designated number of units of redundancy data to store with client data on a virtual disk, the designated number being determined during configuration of the virtual disk from a range of options for resiliency made available for user customization of the virtual disk configuration; configuring a storage scheme for the virtual disk in accordance with the selected number of units of redundancy data; obtaining client data for storage on the virtual disk; generating redundancy data for the client data to include the designated number of units of redundancy data; and storing the client data and the redundancy data across multiple physical storage devices of the virtual disk in accordance with the storage scheme.