Detecting storage errors in a dispersed storage network

1. A method for execution by one or more computing devices of a dispersed storage network (DSN), the method comprises:

determining a root cause for a rebuilding request of an encoded data slice of a set of encoded data slices, wherein the rebuilding request includes a slice name of the encoded data slice corresponding to a slice error;

establishing a pricing level as a user pricing level when the root cause is a user-centric root cause;

establishing the pricing level as a non-user pricing level when the root cause is a non-user-centric root cause;

facilitating the rebuilding of the encoded data slice; and

generating billing information for the rebuilding based on the pricing level.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining the root cause for the rebuilding request is based on one or more of:

an error message;

an event log;

a query; and

a test.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the slice error comprises at least one of:

an indication that the encoded data slice is missing; and

an indication that the encoded data slice is associated with an unfavorable integrity value.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the root cause is the user-centric root cause comprises at least one of:

detecting that the encoded data slice is not written in DSN memory;

detecting that the encoded data slice was not successfully committed in a write operation; and

detecting that an old slice revision of the encoded data slice was not deleted from the DSN memory.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the root cause is the non-user-centric root cause comprises at least one of:

detecting a memory device failure within a storage unit storing the encoded data slice;

detecting a storage unit failure within the storage unit;

detecting a network outage effecting the storage unit;

detecting that the storage unit is untrusted; and

detecting that the encoded data slice is maliciously corrupted.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the generating billing information comprises:

generating first billing information based on the user pricing level when the root cause is a user-centric root cause; and

generating second billing information based on the non-user pricing level when the root cause is a non-user-centric root cause, wherein the user pricing level is not equal to the non-user pricing level.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the facilitating the rebuilding of the encoded data slice comprises:

rebuilding the encoded data slice to produce a rebuilt encoded data slice; and

outputting the rebuilt encoded data slice to a storage unit of the DSN.

8. A computing device of a dispersed storage network (DSN), the computing device comprises:

an interface;

memory; and

a processing module operably coupled to the memory and the interface, wherein the processing module is operable to:

determine a root cause for a rebuilding request of an encoded data slice of a set of encoded data slices, wherein the rebuilding request includes a slice name of the encoded data slice corresponding to a slice error;

establish a pricing level as a user pricing level when the root cause is a user-centric root cause;

establish the pricing level as a non-user pricing level when the root cause is a non-user-centric root cause;

facilitate the rebuilding of the encoded data slice; and

generate billing information for the rebuilding based on the pricing level.

9. The computing device of claim 8 , wherein the processing module is operable to determine the root cause for the rebuilding request based on one or more of:

an error message;

an event log;

a query; and

a test.

10. The computing device of claim 8 , wherein the slice error comprises at least one of:

an indication that the encoded data slice is missing; and

an indication that the encoded data slice is associated with an unfavorable integrity value.

11. The computing device of claim 8 , wherein the processing module is operable to determine that the root cause is the user-centric root cause by at least one of:

detecting that the encoded data slice is not written in DSN memory;

detecting that the encoded data slice was not successfully committed in a write operation; and

detecting that an old slice revision of the encoded data slice was not deleted from the DSN memory.

12. The computing device of claim 8 , wherein the processing module is operable to determine that the root cause is the non-user-centric root cause by at least one of:

detecting a memory device failure within a storage unit storing the encoded data slice;

detecting a storage unit failure within the storage unit;

detecting a network outage effecting the storage unit;

detecting that the storage unit is untrusted; and

detecting that the encoded data slice is maliciously corrupted.

13. The computing device of claim 8 , wherein the processing module is operable to generate the billing information by:

generating first billing information based on the user pricing level when the root cause is a user-centric root cause; and

generating second billing information based on the non-user pricing level when the root cause is a non-user-centric root cause, wherein the user pricing level is not equal to the non-user pricing level.

14. The computing device of claim 8 , wherein the processing module is operable to facilitate the rebuilding of the encoded data slice by:

rebuilding the encoded data slice to produce a rebuilt encoded data slice; and

outputting the rebuilt encoded data slice to a storage unit of the DSN.