Codes for Distributed Storage

TL;DR

This paper discusses the evolution of coding theory to develop reliable, efficient codes for distributed storage systems that can recover from single device failures with minimal overhead.

Contribution

It reviews recent advances in coding strategies specifically designed for quick recovery from single storage unit failures in distributed data storage.

Findings

Coding theory has adapted to address single failure recovery.

New codes improve efficiency and reliability in distributed storage.

The chapter highlights recent developments in this field.

Abstract

This chapter deals with the topic of designing reliable and efficient codes for the storage and retrieval of large quantities of data over storage devices that are prone to failure. For long, the traditional objective has been one of ensuring reliability against data loss while minimizing storage overhead. More recently, a third concern has surfaced, namely of the need to efficiently recover from the failure of a single storage unit, corresponding to recovery from the erasure of a single code symbol. We explain here, how coding theory has evolved to tackle this fresh challenge.