Provenance Based Rebuild: Using Data Provenance to Improve Reliability

Published as Storage Systems Research Center Technical Report UCSC-SSRC-11-04.

Abstract

Traditionally, data preservation and reliability have used error correcting codes (ECCs) to ensure data safety. The development of general data provenance tracking sys- tems provides a new opportunity for data reliability. We present a method that utilizes provenance to determine a datum’s generating process and inputs, and then uses this information to recompute lost data. This method, called Provenance Based Rebuild (PBR) provides a new, com- plimentary reliability mechanism that integrates with tra- ditional systems to offer a variety of benefits including fine grained prioritized rebuild and parallel rebuild. While PBR offers benefits that address weaknesses in current techniques, it also faces a number of challenges such as data placement, and infrastructure provisioning.

Publication date:
May 2011

Authors:
Brian Madden
Ian Adams
Mark W. Storer
Ethan L. Miller
Darrell D. E. Long
Thomas Kroeger

Projects:
Reliable Storage

Available media

Full paper text: PDF

Bibtex entry

@techreport{madden-ssrctr1104,
  author       = {Brian Madden and Ian Adams and Mark W. Storer and Ethan L. Miller and Darrell D. E. Long and Thomas Kroeger},
  title        = {Provenance Based Rebuild: Using Data Provenance to Improve Reliability},
  institution  = {University of California, Santa Cruz},
  number       = {UCSC-SSRC-11-04},
  month        = may,
  year         = {2011},
}