Patents by Inventor Samuel Mullis

Samuel Mullis 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).

  • Patent number: 11010332
    Abstract: Disclosed is a method, apparatus, and system for a method for implementing a mutual-exclusion semantic for target update, the method comprising: receiving a tagset update request for a tagset associated with an object, the tagset update request comprising one or more metadata tags to be updated; determining whether updating the tagset based on the received tagset update request would cause a value of any existing metadata tag in the tagset to change; and in response to determining that updating the tagset based on the received tagset update request would cause a value of at least one existing metadata tag in the tagset to change, rejecting the tagset update request.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
    Inventors: Robert L. Fair, Samuel Mullis
  • Publication number: 20190332685
    Abstract: Disclosed is a method, apparatus, and system for a method for implementing a mutual-exclusion semantic for target update, the method comprising: receiving a tagset update request for a tagset associated with an object, the tagset update request comprising one or more metadata tags to be updated; determining whether updating the tagset based on the received tagset update request would cause a value of any existing metadata tag in the tagset to change; and in response to determining that updating the tagset based on the received tagset update request would cause a value of at least one existing metadata tag in the tagset to change, rejecting the tagset update request.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 27, 2018
    Publication date: October 31, 2019
    Inventors: Robert L. Fair, Samuel Mullis
  • Patent number: 9916112
    Abstract: A copy technique involves generating, upon receiving a command to copy at least a portion of a source file, a set of pointers for a destination file that point to a set of pointers for the source file (“physical block pointers”), which in turn point to physical blocks storing data of the file in a storage system. In response to the copy command, a storage processor allocates an inode from an inode table of a file system for the destination file and stores a set of inode pointers in the inode of the destination file that point to the set of pointers for the source file. Thus, instead of creating a redundant copy of the data of the source file, the improved creates technique creates pointers that point to the data stored for the source file.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: EMC IP Holding Company LLC
    Inventors: Alan L. Taylor, Karl M. Owen, Samuel Mullis
  • Patent number: 8959388
    Abstract: A technique of managing thin pool logical unit (TLU) recovery is performed in a data storage array that forms TLUs from a slice storage pool of logical unit (LUN) slices. The technique involves allocating a set of LUN slices of the slice storage pool to support TLU recovery. The technique further involves, after the set of LUN slices has been allocated, taking offline a TLU which currently requires TLU recovery. The technique further involves, while the TLU is offline, performing a TLU recovery procedure to recover the TLU. The TLU recovery procedure utilizes the set of LUN slices that was allocated to support TLU recovery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2015
    Assignee: EMC Corporation
    Inventors: Yaming Kuang, Dennis Duprey, Samuel Mullis, Changxin Liu
  • Patent number: 8924681
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer readable media for an adaptive block allocation mechanism are disclosed. According to one aspect, a method for allocating slices of storage in a storage medium based on scores is disclosed. The method occurs at a storage processor for controlling access to a storage medium divided into a plurality of logical slices of storage. The method includes determining one or more scores associated with one or more slices. Determining one or more scores includes combining plural dissimilar characteristics of the slice into a single value. The method further includes receiving a slice allocation request, and in response to the slice allocation request, selecting a slice for allocation using the scores.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2014
    Assignee: EMC Corporation
    Inventors: Dean D. Throop, Miles A. de Forest, Samuel Mullis, Dean Herington, David Haase
  • Patent number: 8443163
    Abstract: According to one aspect, the subject matter described herein includes a method for tier-based slice allocation and data relocation in a data storage array. The method is performed at a data storage array including physical data storage capacity being logically divided into one or more logical units (LUs) and each of the one or more LUs being further subdivided into one or more slices, where the data storage array includes a resource pool being divided into a plurality of resource groupings, where each resource grouping includes one or more resources of a common type. The method includes receiving a slice allocation request for allocating a slice from the data storage array, where the slice allocation request includes at least one constraint. In response to receiving the slice allocation request, a slice that honors the at least one constraint is allocated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2013
    Assignee: EMC Corporation
    Inventors: Charles Christopher Bailey, Prabu Surendra, Miles Aram de Forest, David Haase, Samuel Mullis, Dean Herington
  • Patent number: 8316196
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer readable media for improving synchronization performance after partially completed writes are disclosed. According to one aspect, a method for improving synchronization performance after partially completed writes includes receiving, from a requesting entity, data to be written to storage. The data to be written is sent to each of a plurality of data storage entities, including a primary data storage entity and at least one secondary data storage entity for providing a duplicate of the primary data storage entity. For each of the plurality of data storage entities, the portion of the data that was stored to the respective data storage entity is determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2012
    Assignee: EMC Corporation
    Inventors: Samuel Mullis, James Mark Holt, Dennis Duprey