Patent ID: 8126997

Claim:
A hot data management method based on a hit counter, comprising: checking, by data servers of an asymmetric storage system, the hit counter for data stored in the data servers to maintain hit counter information on the data in a latest state; transmitting, by the data servers, the hit counter information to a metadata server at predetermined intervals; and performing, by the data server, making or deletion of a copy of data according to a determination of the metadata server, wherein the maintaining of hit counter information comprises: configuring one or more data hit counter entries comprising a data identifier field and a disk identifier field for discriminating data, a hit counter field for recording hit counter, and a top list field for connecting each of the data hit counter entries; preparing a hash table comprising a predetermined number of hash heads for rapidly discriminating the hit counter entry; and managing the hit counter for data using the data hit counter entry and the hash table, wherein the managing of hit counter for data comprises: adding a data identifier in a hash function to obtain a result value, and checking whether a data hit counter entry having a corresponding data identifier exists in the hash head, when a data read or deletion request is received; increasing the hit counter field by one when the data hit counter entry exists and the read request is received and changing a rank of the data hit counter entry; generating a new data hit counter entry when the data hit counter entry does not exist and the data read request is received; and removing a corresponding data hit counter entry when the data hit counter entry exists and the deletion request is received, wherein the changing of a rank comprises: searching a data hit counter entry having higher priority than the data hit counter entry having the increased data hit counter; and adjusting a rank of the data hit counter entry as a rank next to the searched data hit counter entry when the data hit counter entry having higher priority is searched, and adjusting the data hit counter entry as an entry having highest priority when the data hit counter entry having higher priority is selected.