Lsi Corporation

Avago Technologies General IP (singapore) Pte. Ltd.

Lsi Logic Corporation

Other

Gerald Edward Smith

James A Rizzo

Basavaraj Gurupadappa Hallyal

Anant Baderdinni

Vinu Velayudhan

Adam Weiner

Robert L Sheffield

Paresh Chatterjee

Mark Ish

Stephen B Johnson

Brad D Besmer

Senthil Thangaraj

Parag Ranjan Maharana

Naveen Krishnamurthy

Lawrence James Rawe

Steven R Jones

Anuj Kumar Jain

Subhankar Mukherjee

Loyola Pitchai

David Moon

Russell M Foster

Methods and structure are provided for defining span sizes for Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) systems. One embodiment is a RAID controller that includes a control system and a span manager. The control system is able to identify storage devices coupled with the controller and is able to receive input requesting the creation of a RAID logical volume. The span manager is able to define multiple RAID spans to implement the volume, each span comprising one or more of the coupled storage devices, at least one of the spans including a different number of drives than at least one other span.

Redundant array of independent disks systems that utilize spans with different storage device counts for a logical volume

Disclosed is a system and method for generating IO in PCIe devices and flow management of the IO.

Method and system for I/O flow management using RAID controller with DMA capabilitiy to directly send data to PCI-E devices connected to PCI-E switch

A storage controller system is provided for the monitoring of fast path processing of I/Os to a storage device where the storage controller system allows for processing of I/Os to be monitored through the use of counters in a storage controller based upon the type of I/O issued to the storage controller as well as the conditions associated with the I/O, while providing a bitmap and associated divert bits and counters to monitor the processing of the I/Os in the storage controller. Methods for monitoring the processing of I/Os issued to the storage controller are also provided where the processing of the I/Os is based upon the type fast path I/Os issued to the storage controller and the conditions associated with the issued I/Os while providing a bitmap and associated divert bits and counters to monitor the processing of the I/Os in the storage controller, are also disclosed.

Confirmed divert bitmap to synchronize raid firmware operations with fast-path hardware I/O processing

Methods and structure for improved processing of fast path I/O requests in a clustered storage system. In a storage controller of a clustered storage system, the controller comprises a fast path I/O request processing circuit tightly coupled with host system drivers for fast processing of requests directed to storage devices of a logical volume. The controller also comprises a logical volume I/O processing stack (typically implemented as programmed instructions) for processing I/O requests from a host system directed to a logical volume. Based on detecting a change of ownership of a device or volume and/or a change to logical to physical mapping of a logical volume, fast path I/O requests may be converted to logical volume requests based on mapping context information within the fast path I/O request and shipped within the clustered storage system for processing.

Methods and structure for improved processing of I/O requests in fast path circuits of a storage controller in a clustered storage system

A map of storage locations that indicates storage locations associated whose associated I/O transactions are to be processed by firmware running on a storage controller is maintained. The map is communicated to a storage controller driver. The storage controller driver receives a first I/O transaction request. Based on the map, and the storage location to be accessed by the first I/O transaction request, the first I/O transaction request is sent to a storage device without further processing by the firmware running on the storage controller. The storage controller driver receives a second I/O transaction request. Based on the map and the location to be accessed by the second I/O transaction request, the second I/O transaction request is sent for further processing by the firmware running on the storage controller.

I/O path selection

Methods and structure for improved shipping of I/O requests among multiple storage controllers of a clustered storage system. Minimal processing of a received I/O request is performed in a first controller to determine whether the I/O request is directed to a logical volume that is owned by the first controller or to a logical volume owned by another controller. For requests to logical volumes owned by another controller, the original I/O request is modified to indicate the target device address of the other controller. The first controller then ships the request to the other controller and configures DMA capabilities of the first controller to exchange data associated with the shipped request between the other controller and memory of the host system.

Methods and structure for improved I/O shipping in a clustered storage system

A first I/O transaction request is sent to a storage controller for processing by firmware running on the storage controller. A second I/O transaction request is sent to storage hardware without further processing by the firmware running on the storage controller. Since the firmware did not process the second I/O transaction request, information associated with the second I/O transaction is stored in in a circular buffer accessible to the firmware running on the storage controller. The firmware running on the storage controller reads, from the circular buffer, the information associated with the second I/O transaction that was stored in the circular buffer.

Sharing of bypassed I/O transaction information

Methods and systems for using one or more solid-state drives (SSDs) as a shared cache memory for a plurality of storage controllers coupled with the SSDs and coupled with a plurality of storage devices through a common switched fabric communication medium. All controllers share access to the SSDs through the switched fabric and thus can assume control for a failed controller by, in part, accessing cached data of the failed controller in the shared SSDs.

Methods and systems using solid-state drives as storage controller cache memory

A data storage system having a slow tier and a fast tier maintains hot data on the fast tier by migrating data from the slow tier to reserve space on the fast tier as data becomes hot over time. The system maintains a reserve space table and performs a mass migration of data from the fast tier to the slow tier. Data migration is frequently unidirectional with data migrating from the slow to the fast tier, reducing overhead during normal operation.

Apparatus to manage efficient data migration between tiers

Methods and system for implementing a clustered storage solution are provided. One embodiment is a storage controller that communicatively couples a host system with a storage device. The storage controller comprises an interface and a control unit. The interface is operable to communicate with the storage device. The control unit is operable to identify ownership information for a storage device, and to determine if the storage controller is authorized to access the storage device based on the ownership information. The storage controller is operable to indicate the existence of the storage device to the host system if the storage controller is authorized, and operable to hide the existence of the storage device from the host system if the storage controller is not authorized.

Methods and structure for managing visibility of devices in a clustered storage system

A method and storage controller for providing active-active RAID functionality within storage controller device(s). An embodiment may utilize zoning capabilities to assign a subset of physical storage devices with each storage controller. One or more storage controllers may detect that a storage controller/server has failed and may reconfigure zoning of the physical storage devices originally zoned in with the failed storage controller such that the physical storage devices of the failed zone are zoned out of the failed zone and zoned in with at least one of the remaining functional storage controllers. A reverse process may be used on recovery. An embodiment may further represent each of the physical devices zoned in with a storage controller as at least one virtual storage device and configure an additional comprehensive zone incorporating the storage controllers such that each storage controller has access to all physical storage devices through the virtual storage devices.

High availability raid using low-cost direct attached raid controllers

A plurality of modes is provided for communicating between a host system and a peripheral storage system controller. A first communication mode may be selected from the plurality of communication modes based on a bit length required to communicate a physical address. During runtime, a switch from the first communication mode to a second communication mode may be performed in order to improve the efficiency of processing address requests at the storage system controller.

Address buffer mode switching for varying request sizes

A system, apparatus and method for maintaining information related to a write operation is described. In one embodiment of the invention, a write journal is provided that contains a list of entries that store information related to active write operations so that a particular write may be restarted in order to correct an inconsistency. The journal may have a battery backed cache, in which data is stored prior to writing to a disk, which is provided power in the case of a power failure. The journal may be located in memory positioned at various locations within a system including on a controller card for a disk array system or on a motherboard of a host system.

Write journaling using battery backed cache

Methods and structure for customizable BIOS in a peripheral device adapter. The controller of a peripheral device adapter senses a selection indicative of a desired customized BIOS configuration. BIOS information is updated to reflect the desired customized selection. In one embodiment, customization may be by updating portions of a default BIOS configuration with updated information stored in a selected custom BIOS information element. In another embodiment, each custom BIOS information element may store an entire snapshot of BIOS information customized for a particular application. The selected custom BIOS information may then be copied to a BIOS memory or BIOS memory accesses may be mapped to the selected custom BIOS information element.

Methods and structure for BIOS reconfiguration

A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for configuring a set of controllers. The configuration of multiple controllers may be achieved through a combination of a host application and a controller application. A host application and a controller application are employed to configure the set of controllers in which the host application is employed to relay commands from the controller application to other controllers as well as provide other functions, such as, for example, a user interface to receive input for configuring the controllers. A request is sent from the controller application executing on a selected controller within the set of controllers to the host application executing in host memory. The request is for an execution of a command in at least one of the set of controllers in response to a requirement to configure the set of controllers. Execution of the command in one or more controllers in the set of controllers is initiated by the host application in response to receiving the request from the controller application.

Growing community of inventors

Niwot, CO, United States of America

Gerald Edward Smith