Patent ID: 8880835
Filing Date: 2014-11-04
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method, in a data processing system, for managing data segments in a tiered storage system, comprising: maintaining, in the data processing system, at least one counter for each data segment in the tiered storage system, wherein each counter in the at least one counter counts a number of access operations to a corresponding data segment for a predetermined time interval; performing, by the data processing system, one or more analytical operations based on one or more values of the at least one counter for each data segment to make residence determinations for each data segment; and adjusting, in the tiered storage system, a storage location of one or more data segments in tiers of the tiered storage system to thereby move the one or more data segments to appropriate tiers of the tiered storage system based on results of the one or more analytical operations, wherein performing the one or more analytical operations comprises: determining a plurality of access rates for a data segment based on values of the at least one counter associated with the data segment; determining if a distribution of the plurality of access rates is uniform; and in response to determining that the distribution of the plurality of access rates is not uniform, comparing a most recent access rate of the plurality of access rates, or an average of the plurality of access rates, with one or more predetermined thresholds indicative of whether to promote or demote the data segment from a current tier of the tiered storage system to another of the tiers in the tiered storage system.