INITIALIZING STORAGE UNIT PERFORMANCE RANKINGS IN NEW COMPUTING DEVICES OF A DISPERSED STORAGE NETWORK
Methods for use in a dispersed storage network (DSN) to enable sharing of storage unit performance ranking information between computing devices. In one example, a new computing device of the DSN requests performance ranking information from one or more established computing devices, or from a database of such information that is curated by the DSN. After receiving and storing such information, the new computing device utilizes it to select one or more storage units/sets of storage units for performing dispersed storage operations (e.g., retrieval or storage of dispersed storage error encoded data). The computing device may then update the stored performance ranking information with information regarding such dispersed storage operations, and subsequently share the updated performance ranking information with other computing devices of the DSN and/or a database maintained by the DSN.
1 . A method for execution by one or more processing modules of a first computing device of a dispersed storage network (DSN), the DSN having storage resources including a plurality of storage units, the method comprises:
determining that the first computing device and the plurality of storage units have not engaged in dispersed storage operations;
requesting, from at least a second computing device of the DSN, performance ranking information relating to the plurality of storage units; and
receiving responsive performance ranking information, the received performance ranking information including data generated by the at least a second computing device based on dispersed storage operations between the at least a second computing device and the plurality of storage units.
2 . The method of claim 1 further comprises:
performing a dispersed storage operation involving the first computing device and one or more of the plurality of storage units;
generating, by the first computing device, additional performance ranking information based on the dispersed storage operation; and
updating the responsive performance ranking information to include the additional performance ranking information.
3 . The method of claim 2 further comprises:
receiving, by the first computing device, a request for performance ranking information relating to the plurality of storage units; and
transmitting, by the first computing device, responsive performance ranking information that includes the additional performance ranking information.
4 . The method of claim 2 , wherein performing a dispersed storage operation involving the first computing device and the one or more of the plurality of storage units includes:
selecting, by the first computing device, the one or more of the plurality of storage units for the dispersed storage operation based at least in part on the received performance ranking information.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the performance ranking information includes at least one of: historical error rates regarding dispersed storage operations involving the plurality of storage units, bandwidth capabilities of respective ones of the plurality of storage units, or average data access latencies for respective ones of the plurality of storage units.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the performance ranking information further includes at least one of: location information relating to the at least a second computing device or identification information relating to the at least a second computing device.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the dispersed storage operations include data retrieval operations involving dispersed storage error encoded data stored in the plurality of storage units.
8 . A method for execution by one or more processing modules of a first computing device of a dispersed storage network (DSN), the DSN having storage resources including a plurality of storage units, the method comprises:
initializing the first computing device for participation in the DSN, participation including access to one or more of the plurality of storage units;
querying a database, maintained in a second computing device of the DSN, for performance ranking information relating to the one or more of the plurality of storage units;
receiving responsive performance ranking information from the database, the received performance ranking information including data generated by a third computing device of the DSN based on dispersed storage operations between the third computing device and the one or more of the plurality of storage units; and
storing the received performance ranking information in a memory of the first computing device.
9 . The method of claim 8 further comprises:
performing a dispersed storage operation between the first computing device and the one or more of the plurality of storage units;
generating, by the first computing device, additional performance ranking information based on the dispersed storage operation between the first computing device and the one or more of the plurality of storage units; and
updating the stored performance ranking information to include the additional performance ranking information.
10 . The method of claim 9 further comprises:
communicating the additional performance ranking information to the second computing device for inclusion in the database.
11 . The method of claim 9 , wherein performing a dispersed storage operation between the first computing device and the one or more of the plurality of storage units includes:
selecting, by the first computing device, the one or more of the plurality of storage units for the dispersed storage operation based at least in part on the received performance ranking information.
12 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the performance ranking information includes at least one of: historical error rates regarding dispersed storage operations involving the plurality of storage units, bandwidth capabilities of respective ones of the plurality of storage units, or average data access latencies for respective ones of the plurality of storage units.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the performance ranking information further includes at least one of: location information relating to the third computing device or identification information for the third computing device.
14 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the dispersed storage operations include data retrieval operations involving dispersed storage error encoded data stored in the plurality of storage units.
15 . A computing device of a group of computing devices of a dispersed storage network (DSN), the DSN having storage resources including a plurality of storage units, the computing device comprises:
an interface;
a local memory; and
a processing module operably coupled to the interface and the local memory, wherein the processing module operates to:
determine that the computing device and the plurality of storage units have not engaged in dispersed storage operations;
issue, via the interface, a request to at least a second computing device of the DSN for performance ranking information relating to the plurality of storage units;
receive, via the interface, responsive performance ranking information, the received performance ranking information including data generated by the at least a second computing device based on dispersed storage operations between the at least a second computing device and the plurality of storage units; and
store the received performance ranking information in the local memory.
16 . The computing device of claim 15 , wherein the processing module further functions to:
initiate, via the interface, a dispersed storage operation involving the computing device and one or more of the plurality of storage units;
generate additional performance ranking information based on the dispersed storage operation; and
update the stored performance ranking information to include the additional performance ranking information.
17 . The computing device of claim 16 , wherein the processing module further functions to:
receive, via the interface, a request for performance ranking information relating to the plurality of storage units; and
transmitting, via the interface, responsive performance ranking information that includes the additional performance ranking information.
18 . The computing device of claim 15 , wherein the processing module further functions to:
initiate the dispersed storage operation involving the computing device and the one or more of the plurality of storage units by selecting the one or more of the plurality of storage units for the dispersed storage operation based at least in part on the received performance ranking information.
19 . The computing device of claim 15 wherein the performance ranking information includes at least one of: historical error rates regarding dispersed storage operations involving the plurality of storage units, bandwidth capabilities of respective ones of the plurality of storage units, or average data access latencies for respective ones of the plurality of storage units.
20 . The computing device of claim 19 , wherein the performance ranking information further includes at least one of: location information relating to the at least a second computing device or identification information relating to the at least a second computing device.