Patents by Inventor Alexander Lloyd
Alexander Lloyd has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Publication number: 20260119474Abstract: The technology relates to cosharding tables within a distributed storage system. A data table including one or more rows may be received. Each row in the data table may include an identifier key and pieces of data. Each piece of data in the data table may be indexed into individual rows of an index table, wherein each row in the index table includes data associated with the identifier key of the data table from which the piece of data in the respective row was indexed. The index table may be sharded into splits based on the identifier key of the data table from which the piece of data in the respective row was indexed. The splits may be more stored into two or more or more portions of the distributed storage system.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 23, 2025Publication date: April 30, 2026Inventors: Alexander Khesin, Alexander Lloyd, Sebastian Kanthak
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Patent number: 12541497Abstract: The technology relates to cosharding tables within a distributed storage system. A data table including one or more rows may be received. Each row in the data table may include an identifier key and pieces of data. Each piece of data in the data table may be indexed into individual rows of an index table, wherein each row in the index table includes data associated with the identifier key of the data table from which the piece of data in the respective row was indexed. The index table may be sharded into splits, wherein the sharding includes assigning each row of the index table into one of the splits based on the identifier key of the data table from which the piece of data in the respective row was indexed. The splits may be more stored into two or more or more portions of the distributed storage system.Type: GrantFiled: October 3, 2023Date of Patent: February 3, 2026Assignee: Google LLCInventors: Alexander Khesin, Alexander Lloyd, Sebastian Kanthak
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Patent number: 12468667Abstract: The subject matter described herein provides techniques to ensure that queries of a distributed database observe a consistent read of the database without locking or logging. In this regard, next-write timestamps uniquely identify a set of write transactions whose updates can be observed by reads. By publishing the next-write timestamps from within an extendable time lease and tracking a “safe timestamp,” the database queries can be executed without logging read operations or blocking future write transactions, and clients issuing the queries at the “safe timestamp” observe a consistent view of the database as it exists on or before that timestamp. Aspects of this disclosure also provide for extensions, done cheaply and without the need for logging, to the range of timestamps at which read transactions can be executed.Type: GrantFiled: April 23, 2024Date of Patent: November 11, 2025Assignee: Google LLCInventors: Wilson Cheng-Yi Hsieh, Eric Hugh Veach, Michael James Boyer Epstein, Alexander Lloyd
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Patent number: 12386384Abstract: The present technology proposes techniques for generating globally coherent timestamps. This technology may allow distributed systems to causally order transactions without incurring various types of communication delays inherent in explicit synchronization. By globally deploying a number of time masters that are based on various types of time references, the time masters may serve as primary time references. Through an interactive interface, the techniques may track, calculate and record data relative to each time master thus providing the distributed systems with causal timestamps.Type: GrantFiled: March 6, 2024Date of Patent: August 12, 2025Assignee: Google LLCInventors: Peter Hochschild, Alexander Lloyd, Wilson Cheng-Yi Hsieh, Robert Edman Felderman, Michael James Boyer Epstein
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Patent number: 12380092Abstract: The present technology proposes techniques for ensuring globally consistent transactions. This technology may allow distributed systems to ensure the causal order of read and write transactions across different partitions of a distributed database. By assigning causally generated timestamps to the transactions based on one or more globally coherent time services, the timestamps can be used to preserve and represent the causal order of the transactions in the distributed system. In this regard, certain transactions may wait for a period of time after choosing a timestamp in order to delay the start of any second transaction that might depend on it. The wait may ensure that the effects of the first transaction are not made visible until its timestamp is guaranteed to be in the past. This may ensure that a consistent snapshot of the distributed database can be determined for any past timestamp.Type: GrantFiled: August 23, 2023Date of Patent: August 5, 2025Assignee: Google LLCInventors: Wilson Cheng-Yi Hsieh, Alexander Lloyd, Peter Hochschild, Michael James Boyer Epstein, Sean Quinlan
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Patent number: 12314231Abstract: The various embodiments described herein include methods, devices, and systems for reading and writing data from a database table. In one aspect, a method includes: (1) initiating a read transaction to read from a first non-key column of a row in the database table, the database table having a plurality of rows, each row comprising a primary key and a plurality of non-key columns, the initiating including: (a) determining that a write transaction holds a lock on a second non-key column of the row in the database table, and (b) determining that no lock is held on the first non-key column; and (2) in response, concurrently reading data from the first non-key column and writing a new column value to the second non-key column; where each non-key column includes a last-write timestamp that indicates when the last write occurred for the respective non-key column.Type: GrantFiled: December 21, 2023Date of Patent: May 27, 2025Assignee: Google Inc.Inventors: Wilson Cheng-Yi Hsieh, Alexander Lloyd, Eric Hugh Veach
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Publication number: 20250086200Abstract: Paxos transactions are pipelined in a distributed database formed by a plurality of replica servers. A leader server is selected by consensus of the replicas, and receives a lock on leadership for an epoch. The leader gets Paxos log numbers for the current epoch, which are greater than the numbers allocated in previous epochs. The leader receives database write requests, and assigns a Paxos number to each request. The leader constructs a proposed transaction for each request, which includes the assigned Paxos number and incorporates the request. The leader transmits the proposed transactions to the replicas. Two or more write requests that access distinct objects in the database can proceed simultaneously. The leader commits a proposed transaction to the database after receiving a plurality of confirmations for the proposed transaction from the replicas. After all the Paxos numbers have been assigned, inter-epoch tasks are performed before beginning a subsequent epoch.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 12, 2024Publication date: March 13, 2025Inventors: Wilson Cheng-Yi Hsieh, Alexander Lloyd
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Patent number: 12061625Abstract: Paxos transactions are pipelined in a distributed database formed by a plurality of replica servers. A leader server is selected by consensus of the replicas, and receives a lock on leadership for an epoch. The leader gets Paxos log numbers for the current epoch, which are greater than the numbers allocated in previous epochs. The leader receives database write requests, and assigns a Paxos number to each request. The leader constructs a proposed transaction for each request, which includes the assigned Paxos number and incorporates the request. The leader transmits the proposed transactions to the replicas. Two or more write requests that access distinct objects in the database can proceed simultaneously. The leader commits a proposed transaction to the database after receiving a plurality of confirmations for the proposed transaction from the replicas. After all the Paxos numbers have been assigned, inter-epoch tasks are performed before beginning a subsequent epoch.Type: GrantFiled: September 27, 2021Date of Patent: August 13, 2024Assignee: Google LLCInventors: Wilson Cheng-Yi Hsieh, Alexander Lloyd
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Patent number: 12007956Abstract: The subject matter described herein provides techniques to ensure that queries of a distributed database observe a consistent read of the database without locking or logging. In this regard, next-write timestamps uniquely identify a set of write transactions whose updates can be observed by reads. By publishing the next-write timestamps from within an extendable time lease and tracking a “safe timestamp,” the database queries can be executed without logging read operations or blocking future write transactions, and clients issuing the queries at the “safe timestamp” observe a consistent view of the database as it exists on or before that timestamp. Aspects of this disclosure also provide for extensions, done cheaply and without the need for logging, to the range of timestamps at which read transactions can be executed.Type: GrantFiled: October 13, 2022Date of Patent: June 11, 2024Assignee: Google LLCInventors: Wilson Cheng-Yi Hsieh, Eric Hugh Veach, Michael James Boyer Epstein, Alexander Lloyd
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Publication number: 20240143560Abstract: The various embodiments described herein include methods, devices, and systems for reading and writing data from a database table. In one aspect, a method includes: (1) initiating a read transaction to read from a first non-key column of a row in the database table, the database table having a plurality of rows, each row comprising a primary key and a plurality of non-key columns, the initiating including: (a) determining that a write transaction holds a lock on a second non-key column of the row in the database table, and (b) determining that no lock is held on the first non-key column; and (2) in response, concurrently reading data from the first non-key column and writing a new column value to the second non-key column; where each non-key column includes a last-write timestamp that indicates when the last write occurred for the respective non-key column.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 21, 2023Publication date: May 2, 2024Inventors: Wilson Cheng-Yi Hsieh, Alexander Lloyd, Eric Hugh Veach
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Patent number: 11953938Abstract: The present technology proposes techniques for generating globally coherent timestamps. This technology may allow distributed systems to causally order transactions without incurring various types of communication delays inherent in explicit synchronization. By globally deploying a number of time masters that are based on various types of time references, the time masters may serve as primary time references. Through an interactive interface, the techniques may track, calculate and record data relative to each time master thus providing the distributed systems with causal timestamps.Type: GrantFiled: May 10, 2022Date of Patent: April 9, 2024Assignee: Google LLCInventors: Peter Hochschild, Alexander Lloyd, Wilson Cheng-Yi Hsieh, Robert Edman Felderman, Michael James Boyer Epstein
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Publication number: 20240037085Abstract: The technology relates to cosharding tables within a distributed storage system. A data table including one or more rows may be received. Each row in the data table may include an identifier key and pics of data. Each piece of data in the data table may be indexed into individual rows of an index table, wherein each row in the index table includes data associated with the identifier key of the data table from which the piece of data in the respective row was indexed. The index table may be sharded into splits, wherein the sharding includes assigning each row of the index table into one of the splits based on the identifier key of the data table from which the piece of data in the respective row was indexed. The splits may be more stored into two or more or more portions of the distributed storage system.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 3, 2023Publication date: February 1, 2024Inventors: Alexander Khesin, Alexander Lloyd, Sebastian Kanthak
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Patent number: 11853269Abstract: The various embodiments described herein include methods, devices, and systems for reading and writing data from a database table. In one aspect, a method includes: (1) initiating a read transaction to read from a first non-key column of a row in the database table, the database table having a plurality of rows, each row comprising a primary key and a plurality of non-key columns, the initiating including: (a) determining that a write transaction holds a lock on a second non-key column of the row in the database table, and (b) determining that no lock is held on the first non-key column; and (2) in response, concurrently reading data from the first non-key column and writing a new column value to the second non-key column; where each non-key column includes a last-write timestamp that indicates when the last write occurred for the respective non-key column.Type: GrantFiled: May 25, 2022Date of Patent: December 26, 2023Assignee: Google LLCInventors: Wilson Cheng-Yi Hsieh, Alexander Lloyd, Eric Hugh Veach
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Patent number: 11831711Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for sending and receiving remote procedure calls (RPCs). Based on a message in a first RPC, a second set of RPCs are created by one or more computing devices, where each of the second set of RPCs includes a portion of the message in the first RPC. The message in the first RPC is replaced with a reference to each RPC of the second set of RPCs. The one or more computing devices send the first RPC with the references, and also send the second set of RPCs.Type: GrantFiled: November 3, 2022Date of Patent: November 28, 2023Assignee: Google LLCInventors: Iulian Moraru, Brian Frank Cooper, Sebastian Kanthak, Alexander Lloyd, Mert Akdere
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Patent number: 11816086Abstract: The technology relates to cosharding tables within a distributed storage system. A data table including one or more rows may be received. Each row in the data table may include an identifier key and pieces of data. Each piece of data in the data table may be indexed into individual rows of an index table, wherein each row in the index table includes data associated with the identifier key of the data table from which the piece of data in the respective row was indexed. The index table may be sharded into splits, wherein the sharding includes assigning each row of the index table into one of the splits based on the identifier key of the data table from which the piece of data in the respective row was indexed. The splits may be stored into two or more portions of the distributed storage system.Type: GrantFiled: December 21, 2022Date of Patent: November 14, 2023Assignee: Google LLCInventors: Alexander Khesin, Alexander Lloyd, Sebastian Kanthak
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Patent number: 11789938Abstract: The present technology proposes techniques for ensuring globally consistent transactions. This technology may allow distributed systems to ensure the causal order of read and write transactions across different partitions of a distributed database. By assigning causally generated timestamps to the transactions based on one or more globally coherent time services, the timestamps can be used to preserve and represent the causal order of the transactions in the distributed system. In this regard, certain transactions may wait for a period of time after choosing a timestamp in order to delay the start of any second transaction that might depend on it. The wait may ensure that the effects of the first transaction are not made visible until its timestamp is guaranteed to be in the past. This may ensure that a consistent snapshot of the distributed database can be determined for any past timestamp.Type: GrantFiled: July 28, 2022Date of Patent: October 17, 2023Assignee: Google LLCInventors: Wilson Cheng-Yi Hsieh, Alexander Lloyd, Peter Hochschild, Michael James Boyer Epstein, Sean Quinlan
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Publication number: 20230214374Abstract: The technology relates to cosharding tables within a distributed storage system. A data table including one or more rows may be received. Each row in the data table may include an identifier key and pieces of data. Each piece of data in the data table may be indexed into individual rows of an index table, wherein each row in the index table includes data associated with the identifier key of the data table from which the piece of data in the respective row was indexed. The index table may be sharded into splits, wherein the sharding includes assigning each row of the index table into one of the splits based on the identifier key of the data table from which the piece of data in the respective row was indexed. The splits may be stored into two or more portions of the distributed storage system.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 21, 2022Publication date: July 6, 2023Inventors: Alexander Khesin, Alexander Lloyd, Sebastian Kanthak
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Publication number: 20230052324Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for sending and receiving remote procedure calls (RPCs). Based on a message in a first RPC, a second set of RPCs are created by one or more computing devices, where each of the second set of RPCs includes a portion of the message in the first RPC. The message in the first RPC is replaced with a reference to each RPC of the second set of RPCs. The one or more computing devices send the first RPC with the references, and also send the second set of RPCs.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 3, 2022Publication date: February 16, 2023Inventors: Iulian Moraru, Brian Frank Cooper, Sebastian Kanthak, Alexander Lloyd, Mert Akdere
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Patent number: 11561953Abstract: The technology relates to cosharding tables within a distributed storage system. A data table including one or more rows may be received. Each row in the data table may include an identifier key and pieces of data. Each piece of data in the data table may be indexed into individual rows of an index table, wherein each row in the index table includes data associated with the identifier key of the data table from which the piece of data in the respective row was indexed. The index table may be sharded into splits, wherein the sharding includes assigning each row of the index table into one of the splits based on the identifier key of the data table from which the piece of data in the respective row was indexed. The splits may be stored into two or more portions of the distributed storage system.Type: GrantFiled: March 18, 2020Date of Patent: January 24, 2023Assignee: Google LLCInventors: Alexander Khesin, Alexander Lloyd, Sebastian Kanthak
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Patent number: 11556375Abstract: In a distributed system where a client's call to commit a transaction occurs outside the transaction's lock-hold interval, computation of timestamp information for the transaction is moved to a client library, while ensuring that no conflicting reads or writes are performed between a time of the computation and acquiring all locks for the transaction. The transaction is committed in phases, with each phase being initiated by the client library. Timestamp information is added to the locks to ensure that timestamps are generated during lock-hold intervals. An increased number of network messages is thereby overlapped with a commit wait period in which a write in a distributed database is delayed in time to ensure concurrency in the database.Type: GrantFiled: June 8, 2020Date of Patent: January 17, 2023Assignee: Google LLCInventors: Brian Frank Cooper, Alexander Lloyd, Sebastian Kanthak, Andrew Fikes, Christopher Taylor