Network Appliance, Inc.

Netapp, Inc.

Darrell Gene Suggs

John A Scott

David Slik

Robert L Fair

Eric C Hamilton

Joseph P CaraDonna

Jeffrey S Kimmel

Alan Rowe

Joydeep Sen Sarma

Mardiros Z Chakalian

Aswini S Kumar

A network connection is established between a virtual storage appliance (VSA) in a virtual machine and a storage server system. The virtual machine can run on a computing device remote to the storage server system. Access is provided to a second shared namespace of data at the VSA over the network connection. The second shared namespace is a policy defined subset of a first shared namespace of the storage server system. Data in the second shared namespace is accessible at the storage server system by at least one other computing device communicatively coupled to the storage server system. The data in the second shared namespace at the VSA is replicated to create a local copy at the computing device. Changes to the local copy are synchronized with the data in the second shared namespace at the storage sever system.

Virtual storage appliance gateway

Methods and apparatuses for operating a storage system are provided. In one example, a storage system includes a storage server and a virtual storage appliance (VSA) implemented in a virtual machine. The storage server provides access to a first shared namespace of data. The VSA is operatively connected to the storage server system over a network connection and provides access to a second shared namespace of data over the network connection. The second shared namespace is defined by a policy and includes a subset of the first shared namespace. The VSA also replicates data of a third shared namespace of data at the VSA making the third shared namespace available at the VSA when the network connection is unavailable. The third namespace is defined by the policy and includes a subset of the second shared namespace.

The techniques introduced here provide for a write-back sparse volume cache in a storage system. The write-back sparse volume cache is implemented by a first storage server that is connected to communicate with a second storage server that hosts the origin storage volume. The first storage server receives a write request from a client to write data to the origin storage volume. In response to receiving the write request, the first storage server writes the data to the sparse volume cache maintained by the first storage server and acknowledges to the client a successful write operation. The data is maintained in the sparse volume cache such that the presence of the data in the sparse volume cache is transparent to the client and subsequent requests for the written data are serviced by the first storage server from the sparse volume cache. The data can later be flushed to the origin storage volume.

System and method for write-back cache in sparse volumes

In one embodiment of the present invention, a method and system are provided to control access to the non-volatile log (NVlog) of a storage server. By controlling access to the NVLog of a storage server the relative disk write bandwidth available to different client write requests can be controlled. The incoming write request can be categorized, and, during times of heavy load, only be permitted to use NVLog space as permitted based on the categorization of each write request. In one embodiment, the present invention includes receiving a write request from a client at a storage server, and determining whether the received write request can be presently logged in a NVlog based on a category of the write request.

Controlling write request access to a non-volatile log

A clustered storage server detects an offline condition in another storage server in the cluster and executes a cluster takeover procedure which includes taking control of the storage system associated with the offline storage server, and merging a local control-of-service policy with a control-of-service policy associated with the offline storage server.

Integrating control of service during cluster failover

A system and method are provided to manage different types of workload. The method comprises receiving a request, determining a class of the request, determining a priority level associated with the class of the request, and servicing the request utilizing the priority level of the class of the request. The class of the request may be associated with a target volume, as well as with a network protocol, or with a network port.

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Raleigh, NC, United States of America

Darrell Gene Suggs