Netapp, Inc.

Network Appliance, Inc.

Brian J Pawlowski

Vijayan Rajan

Mohan Srinivasan

Jeffrey S Kimmel

Arthur F Lent

Herman Lee

Joseph C Pittman

Gary Ross

Blake H Lewis

David Brittain Bolen

Brian M Hackworth

Jing Shi

Daniel Nghia Truong

Mrinmoy Majumdar

A system management tool provides a comprehensive summary of operational information of a storage system. For example, the system management tool presents a digital dashboard ('dashboard') in a graphical user interface. The system management tool also presents, via the dashboard, views that correspond to different dimensions of the storage system. In response to expansion of a selected view, the system management tool can automatically collapse the other views into a non-expanded views or move the other views to visible areas remaining after expansion of the selected view. Thus, all of the views remain continuously visible via the dashboard despite the modification to the appearance of the selected view.

Providing continuous context for operational information of a storage system

A system integrates an intelligent storage switch with a flexible virtualization system to enable the intelligent storage switch to provide efficient service of file and block protocol data access requests for information stored on the system. A storage operating system executing on a storage system coupled to the switch implements the virtualization system to provide a unified view of storage to clients by logically organizing the information as named files, directories and logical unit numbers. The virtualization system may be embodied as a file system having a write allocator configured to provide a flexible block numbering policy to the storage switch that addresses volume management capabilities, such as storage virtualization.

Integrated storage virtualization and switch system

A system and method employs one or more clients of a virtualized compute cluster as an execution engine for a portion of a storage operating system implemented as a virtual machine on a storage system node of a storage system cluster. If there is processing bandwidth of a client that is not fully utilized and the load on the storage system node is high, the portion of the storage operating system is ported to the client of the compute cluster in a manner that externally distributes the storage architecture from the storage system cluster. Advantageously, the processing performance of the storage system cluster is improved by, among other things, offloading some of the network processing load from the storage system node.

System and method for utilizing a virtualized compute cluster as an execution engine for a virtual machine of a storage system cluster

A system and method enabling transparent access to blocks, such as virtual disks, stored on a storage system using a file-based protocol. The system and method traps in-coming file-based protocol open commands to check for a predetermined modification to the file name. If the system and method detects the predetermined modification, then the virtual disk associated with the file name is exported to the client issuing the open command and the client receives a response from the storage system. The client, in response to receiving the response to the open command, creates a new device instantiation for reading and writing raw data to the virtual disk.

System and method for transparently accessing a virtual disk using a file-based protocol

A multi-protocol storage appliance serves file and block protocol access to information stored on storage devices in an integrated manner for both network attached storage (NAS) and storage area network (SAN) deployments. A storage operating system of the appliance implements a file system that cooperates with novel virtualization modules to provide a virtualization system that 'virtualizes' the storage space provided by the devices. Notably, the file system provides volume management capabilities for use in block-based access to the information stored on the devices. The virtualization system allows the file system to logically organize the information as named file, directory and virtual disk (vdisk) storage objects to thereby provide an integrated NAS and SAN appliance approach to storage by enabling file-based access to the files and directories, while further enabling block-based access to the vdisks.

Multi-protocol storage appliance that provides integrated support for file and block access protocols

A system integrates an intelligent storage switch with a flexible virtualization system to enable efficient service of file and block protocol data access requests for information stored on the system. A storage operating system executing on a storage system coupled to the switch implements the virtualization system to provide a unified view of storage to clients by logically organizing the information as named files, directories and logical unit numbers. The virtualization system is illustratively embodied as a file system having a write allocator configured to provide a flexible block numbering policy that addresses volume management capabilities, such as storage virtualization, at a finer granularity (e.g., a single block) than that of previous non-flexible storage virtualization schemes. The flexible block numbering policy also yields substantial benefits in terms of increased write efficiency and elimination of storage 'hot spots', as well as a compelling point-in-time read-only data image (snapshot) mechanism.

A system and method for clustered failover of storage appliances is provided. In the event of a failover of one storage appliance to a surviving storage appliance, the surviving storage appliance assumes the identity of the failed storage appliance. This assumption of the identifier is accomplished by activating a network interface controller or host bus adapter with a network address associated with the failed storage appliance and by mapping a iSCSI name from the failed storage appliance to the surviving storage appliance.

System and method for transport-level failover for loosely coupled iSCSI target devices

A system and method for clustered failover of storage appliances is provided. In the event of a failover of one storage appliance to a surviving storage appliance, the surviving storage appliance assumes the identity of the failed storage appliance. This assumption of the identifier is accomplished by initializing a Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter on the surviving storage appliance with the NodeName and PortNames of the failed storage appliance.

System and method for transport-level failover of FCP devices in a cluster

A system and method enabling transparent access to blocks, such as virtual disks, stored on a storage system using a file-based protocol. The system and method traps incoming file-based protocol open commands to check for a predetermined modification to the file name. If the system and method detects the predetermined modification, then the virtual disk associated with the file name is exported to the client issuing the open command and the client receives a response from the storage system. The client, in response to receiving the response to the open command, creates a new device instantiation for reading and writing raw data to the virtual disk.

A storage virtualization selection technique 'automates' a virtualization selection process to create virtual disk (vdisk) storage objects over a volume of a file system implemented by a storage operating system of a multi-protocol storage appliance. The file system provides a virtualization system that aggregates physical storage of a set of disks or portions (e.g., extents) of disks into a pool of blocks that can be dynamically allocated to form a vdisk. The file system also provides reliability guarantees for the vdisks in accordance with its underlying architecture. That is, the file system organizes its storage within volumes created among the managed disks. The vdisk is thereafter created as a storage object within a volume and, thus, inherits the underlying reliability configuration associated with that volume. The portions are aggregated and allocated as a vdisk with reliability guarantees in response to a request to create the vdisk from a user of the storage appliance and without further user involvement.

Storage virtualization by layering virtual disk objects on a file system

A user interface system that simplifies management of a storage system, such as a multi-protocol storage appliance, by a user or system administrator. The user interface system comprise a command line interface (CLI) and/or a graphical user interface (GUI) that obviates the need for the system administrator to explicitly configure and specify disks used when creating virtual disks (vdisks) that may be exported as logical unit numbers (luns). Management of the storage appliance is further simplified through the use of a novel command set used to, inter alia, create a vdisk, destroy a vdisk, increase/decrease the size of a vdisk, and manage an initiator group (igroup).

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Palo Alto, CA, United States of America

Brian J Pawlowski