Abstract: A block storage service can ensure volumes are placed in a same region as an attached virtual machine instance for performance and durability guarantees. A region can reference multiple things, but one example is that a volume is within a same spine as a virtual machine in order to meet performance guarantees. Each region can have a buffer of server computers held in reserve for volumes having a type where performance guarantees are required. If performance guarantees cannot be met, a rejection is transmitted to the customer. In another embodiment, the customer can provide a list in priority order of different volume types so that if a desired volume type cannot be placed, then alternative volume types can be used.

Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for handling requests to create multiple volumes with an expected usage correlation on a block storage service. Rather than handling each request to create a volume independently, embodiments described herein can handle the request in bulk, quickly determining whether the request as a whole can be handled at the system. In one embodiment, the service allows for oversubscription of use on hosts, as well as parallelization of placement decisions, by rejecting placement requests when a number of possible hosts for a volume within a requested set falls below a candidate set size, which is determined based on factors such as a number of requested volumes and an expected accuracy of state information for the service at a placement engine within a distributed set of engines.

Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for handling requests to create multiple volumes with an expected usage correlation on a block storage service. Rather than handling each request to create a volume independently, embodiments described herein can handle the request in bulk. In one embodiment, the service allows for oversubscription of use on hosts, as well as parallelization of placement decisions, by distributing requests among a set of parallelized placement engines. Each engine can distribute its subset of volumes at least partly randomly among a candidate set of volumes, with the size of the candidate set selected based on a total number of volumes. This distribution mechanism can ensure distribution of volumes without requiring centralized placement of the volumes.

Abstract: A new metadata field is described that can be used with requests to store a volume in a block storage service. The metadata field is a parameter included in the request and is a logical association identifier that associates the volume to be stored with other already-stored volumes. Using this logical association identifier, the block storage service can ensure that all volumes having the same identifier are sufficiently spread across server computers. The logical association identifier can be a workload identifier indicating that the volumes are all from a same relational database, application, etc. Target customers are defined as customers that request an action of a service within a cloud environment and the service then makes a request to the block storage service. In this case, the service is a customer of the block storage service and it can pass the target customer identifier as the logical association identifier.

Abstract: A distributed system allocates capacity in response to client requests. The system monitors a rate of capacity allocation. Based on the monitored rate and on a set of parameters, the system generates a forecast of capacity available for allocation and determines a time when available capacity will fall below a threshold level. The system adjusts the parameters to cause the predicted time to align with a target time, and then causes the system to be reconfigured according to the adjusted parameters.

Abstract: A block storage service can ensure volumes are placed in a same region as an attached virtual machine instance for performance and durability guarantees. A region can reference multiple things, but one example is that a volume is within a same spine as a virtual machine in order to meet performance guarantees. Each region can have a buffer of server computers held in reserve for volumes having a type where performance guarantees are required. If performance guarantees cannot be met, a rejection is transmitted to the customer. In another embodiment, the customer can provide a list in priority order of different volume types so that if a desired volume type cannot be placed, then alternative volume types can be used.

Abstract: A block storage service can ensure volumes are placed in a same region as an attached virtual machine instance for performance and durability guarantees. A region can reference multiple things, but one example is that a volume is within a same spine as a virtual machine in order to meet performance guarantees. Each region can have a buffer of server computers held in reserve for volumes having a type where performance guarantees are required. If performance guarantees cannot be met, a rejection is transmitted to the customer. In another embodiment, the customer can provide a list in priority order of different volume types so that if a desired volume type cannot be placed, then alternative volume types can be used.