Abstract: Partially overwriting a compression group without decompressing compressed data can consumption of resources for the decompression. A storage server partially overwrites the compression group when a file block identifier of a client's write request resolves to the compression group. The compression group remains compressed while the partial overwriting is performed.

Abstract: A network adapter receives a request to store a data block. The data block is sent from the network adapter to a compression module. The compression module generates a compressed data block from the data block. The compressed data block or a reference to the compressed data block is stored in a buffer cache. The compressed data block is stored in nonvolatile memory. It is determined that the compressed data block should be flushed a storage device. In response to determining that the compressed data block should be flushed to the storage device, the compressed data block is flushed from the nonvolatile memory to the storage device.

Abstract: A storage server is coupled to a storage device that stores data blocks, and generates a fingerprint for each data block stored on the storage device. The storage server creates a master datastore and a plurality of datastore segments. The master datastore comprises an entry for each data block that is written to the storage device and a datastore segment comprises an entry for a new data block or a modified data block that is subsequently written to the storage device. The storage server merges the entries in the datastore segments with the entries in the master datastore in memory to free duplicate data blocks in the storage device. The storage server overwrites the master datastore with the entries in the plurality of datastore segments and the entries in the master datastore to create an updated master datastore in response to detecting that the number of datastore segments meets a threshold.

Abstract: One or more techniques and/or systems are provided for non-disruptively addressing misalignment between a virtual data format and an underlying data format. Virtual data, such as a guest operating system of a virtual machine, may be stored within a virtual structure, such as a virtual machine disk, according to a virtual data format. The virtual structure may be stored within a storage device according to a storage data format. If misalignment is detected, then a new data container may be created within the storage device. A shim, sized according to a misalignment offset, may be inserted into the new data container in order to align the new data container with the storage device. Virtual data may be migrated from the virtual structure to the new data container to achieve alignment. During the migration, the virtual data may remain available from the virtual structure (e.g., a virtual machine may still execute).

Abstract: A storage server is configured to receive a request to store a data block from a client. The request to store the data block is serviced by the storage server by compressing the data block into a compression group, which includes a number of compressed data blocks. The storage server stores the compression group in a non-volatile memory and flushes the compression group from the non-volatile memory to a physical storage device in response to reaching a consistency point. By compressing data to be stored in system memory of a storage server, the amount of data that can be processed during a given time period by a data storage system is increased. Furthermore, an increase in performance can be achieved at a lower cost, since the cost of additional physical system memory modules can be avoided.

Abstract: A storage server is configured to receive a request to store a data block from a client. The request to store the data block is serviced by the storage server by compressing the data block into a compression group, which includes a number of compressed data blocks. The storage server stores the compression group in a non-volatile memory and flushes the compression group from the non-volatile memory to a physical storage device in response to reaching a consistency point. By compressing data to be stored in system memory of a storage server, the amount of data that can be processed during a given time period by a data storage system is increased. Furthermore, an increase in performance can be achieved at a lower cost, since the cost of additional physical system memory modules can be avoided.

Abstract: A data set on a physical storage device is associated with an active bitmap and a persistent point-in-time image (PPI) exclusion bitmap, where each bit in the bitmaps is associated with a data block in the data set. The active bitmap and the PPI exclusion bitmap are used to determine which of the data blocks in the data set are to be included in a PPI of the data set.

Abstract: A storage server is configured to receive a request to store a data block from a client. The request to store the data block is serviced by the storage server by compressing the data block into a compression group which includes a number of compressed data blocks. The storage server stores the compression group in a non-volatile memory and flushes the compression group from the non-volatile memory to a physical storage device in response to reaching a consistency point. By compressing data to be stored in system memory of a storage servers the amount of data that can be processed during a given time period by a data storage system is increased.