Abstract: A method includes identifying traits associated with a number of storage units of a storage network to produce identified traits. The method further includes determining a plurality of sets of storage pool traits based on the identified traits, where a first set of storage pool traits of the plurality of sets of storage pool traits has a common trait of the identified traits. The method further includes selecting a plurality of groups of storage units from the number of storage units based on the plurality of sets of storage pool traits. The method further includes selecting a storage unit from each of the plurality of groups of storage units in accordance with a selection approach to produce a storage set of selected storage units. The method further includes utilizing the storage set of selected storage units for storing data in the storage network.

Abstract: Delaying deletion of a dataset, including: associating an eradication timer with the dataset, wherein the eradication timer specifies an amount of time to delay a requested deletion of the dataset; determining that the amount of time to delay the requested deletion of the dataset should be modified; and modifying the eradication timer to specify a modified amount of time to delay the requested deletion of the dataset.

Abstract: A method for execution by a computing device of a storage network includes dispersed storage error decoding a plurality of sets of encoded data slices to recover a plurality of secure packages, where the plurality of secure packages include a plurality of encrypted data segments and a plurality of sets of encoded key slices, and where encoded key slices are appended to the encrypted data segments in accordance with an appending approach. The method includes splitting the plurality of secure packages into the plurality of encrypted data segments and the plurality of sets of encoded key slices. The method includes decoding the at least the decode threshold number of each set of the plurality of sets of encoded key slices to recover a plurality of encryption keys. The method includes decrypting the plurality of encrypted data segments using the plurality of encryption keys to recover the data segments.

Abstract: A system establishes spools that have spool regions in first memory. The system communicates first spool insertions into the spools, and from the spools to the storage devices, to write into a first partition of second memory of the storage devices. The first spool insertions include data and are optimized towards a first spool insertion size. The system communicates second spool insertions into the spools, and from the spools to the storage devices, to write into a second partition of the second memory of the storage devices. The second spool insertions include metadata and are optimized towards a second spool insertion size.

Abstract: An illustrative method includes identifying, based on an output of a machine learning model that receives data associated with an operation of a hardware component as an input, an anomaly in the data, determining that the anomaly is representative of an issue associated with the hardware component, and performing, based on the determining that the anomaly is representative of the issue associated with the hardware component, a remedial action that affects a performance of the operation of the hardware component.

Abstract: A method includes a computing device of a storage network obfuscating encoded data slices of a first set of encoded data slices of a plurality of sets of encoded data slices using an obfuscating method to produce obfuscated encoded data slices. The method further includes the computing device of the storage network outputting the obfuscated encoded data slices for storage in the storage network.

Abstract: A virtual storage volume that includes storage space on potentially many different physical disks may be implemented as one or more chunks. This allows for dynamic volume storage adjustment. Dynamic volume storage adjustment allows for increasing volume size without moving data unnecessarily. In addition, dynamic volume storage adjustment also allows freeing up storage space in a node with minimum movement of data.

Abstract: A method for preserving a media access control (MAC) address of a virtual server is provided. The method includes assigning a physical computing resource to a virtual server, assigning a physical storage memory resource to the virtual server, and assigning a physical network resource to the virtual server. The method includes assigning a virtual MAC address to the virtual server, the virtual MAC address to remain with the virtual server despite reassignment of one or more of the physical computing resource, the physical storage memory resource or the physical network resource, wherein at least one method operation is performed by a processor. A computing and storage system is also provided.

Abstract: A method includes determining an information dispersal algorithm width number and determining a number of primary storage slots from a number of storage slots associated with a set of storage units deployed across multiple sites, where the number of primary storage slots is equal to or greater than the information dispersal algorithm width number. The method further includes determining a mapping of primary storage slots to storage units. The method further includes sending configuration information to the set of storage units that includes the mapping. The method further includes storing a set of encoded data slices in the primary storage slots in accordance with the configuration information, where a data segment is error encoded into the set of encoded data slices in accordance with the information dispersal algorithm width number and a decode threshold number, which is a number of encoded data slices are needed to reconstruct the data segment.

Abstract: Dynamically adjusting an amount of log data generated for a storage system that includes a plurality of storage devices, including: setting, for a component within the storage system, a logging level for the component, the logging level specifying the extent to which log data should be generated for a particular component; determining, in dependence upon one or more measured operating characteristics of the storage system, whether the logging level for the component should be changed; and responsive to determining that the logging level for the component should be changed, changing the logging level associated with the component.

Abstract: A method includes receiving, by a storage unit of a set of storage units of a storage network, a write request regarding an encoded data slice, where the write request includes a slice payload and a corresponding revision level of the encoded data slice. The method further includes determining whether the corresponding revision level of the encoded data slice is a next revision level. The method further includes generating a write response message that includes a status message for the encoded data slice based on the determining whether the corresponding revision level of the encoded data slice is the next revision level, where when the corresponding revision level is the next revision level, the status message includes an operation succeeded message. The method further includes sending the write response message to a computing device of the storage network.

Abstract: An example system may be configured to instantiate a first application container based on a plurality of application image layers; and instantiate a second application container based, at least in part, on the plurality of application image layers; wherein a private page cache stores storage information for the plurality of application image layers and is used to provide shared access to the plurality of application image layers by the first application container and the second application container.

Abstract: A method begins by a processing module of a storage unit of a storage network identifying a first storage format used to store a plurality of encoded data slices in a first memory of the storage unit and continues with the processing module determining to utilize another storage format for storage of the plurality of encoded data slices. The method then continues, with the storage unit selecting a second storage format for storage of the plurality of encoded data slices and initiating migration of the plurality of encoded data slices from the first storage format to storage using the second storage format. Finally, the method continues with updating a performance metric for at least a portion of the storage network while initiating migrating the plurality of encoded data slices.

Abstract: Secure cloud-based storage system management that includes: establishing, within a cloud-based services provider and based on one or more user credentials, a cloud-based user session to execute one or more commands on a remote storage system that includes physical storage devices; extending, based on using an access token based on the one or more user credentials to securely issue the one or more data storage operations to the remote storage system, the cloud-based user session to the remote storage system.

Abstract: Distributed storage systems are implemented with rule based rebalancing mechanisms. Methods includes steps for creating a set of rules for rebalancing data storage space in a storage node cluster, as well as steps for performing a rebalance operation across the storage node cluster using the set of rules. The distributed storage systems include one or more labels for storage pools and storage volumes.

Abstract: An illustrative method includes a data protection system detecting a request to perform a restricted operation with respect to a recovery dataset configured to be used by a storage system to recover from a data corruption event within the storage system, monitoring, in response to the request, for an occurrence of a predetermined set of one or more authorization events performed with one or more hardware tokens, and preventing the restricted operation from being executed until the each of the one or more authorization events included in the predetermined set occurs.

Abstract: Nonsequential readahead based on data access patterns, the method comprising: determining a set of access patterns for stored content; determining, based on the set of access patterns, a list of storage locations for content expected to be used; and prefetching, based on the list of storage locations for content expected to be used, one or more data objects.

Abstract: A method of address resolution broadcasting in a networked device is provided. The method includes receiving, at a switch fabric of the networked device, an address resolution request from one of a plurality of nodes of the networked device and substituting, as a source address, a cluster MAC address for a MAC address of the one of the plurality of nodes in the address resolution request. The method includes sending the address resolution request over a network and receiving, at the switch fabric, an address resolution reply over the network. The method includes substituting, as a destination address, an address for transmission to each of the plurality of nodes for the cluster MAC address in the address resolution reply, and transmitting the address resolution reply to the plurality of nodes.

Abstract: An illustrative method includes a data protection system identifying one or more input operations and one or more output operations performed between a source and a storage system, identifying an anomaly in a relationship between the one or more input operations and the one or more output operations, and determining, based on the identifying of the anomaly, that the storage system is possibly being targeted by a security threat.

Abstract: A storage system is provided. The storage system includes a plurality of storage nodes, each of the plurality of storage nodes having a plurality of storage units with storage memory. The system includes a first network coupling the plurality of storage nodes and a second network coupled to at least a subset of the plurality of storage units of each of the plurality of storage nodes such that one of the plurality of storage units of a first one of the plurality of storage nodes can initiate or relay a command to one of the plurality of storage units of a second one of the plurality of storage nodes via the second network without the command passing through the first network.