Network Appliance, Inc.

Netapp, Inc.

Emc Corporation

John A Scott

Dean Alan Kalman

Sudha Sundaram

Eric C Hamilton

Darrell Gene Suggs

Robert L Fair

James Gregory Jones

Methods and systems for a networked storage system are provided. One method includes assigning a quality of service (QOS) parameter for a storage volume of a networked storage environment having a first storage node and a second storage node, where the QOS parameter is defined by a throughput value that defines a maximum data transfer rate and a number of input/output (I/O) operations executed within a time period (IOPS); distributing the QOS parameter between the first storage node and the second storage node; determining that throughput credit is available for processing an I/O request for using the storage volume; determining that IOPS credit is available for processing the request by the first storage node; and processing the I/O request when both the throughput credit and the IOPS credit is available.

Methods and systems for managing quality of service in a networked storage environment

The present technology relates to managing workload within a storage system. A quality of service parameter proposal associated with managing incoming network traffic is generated and provided to a plurality of nodes. The generated quality of service parameter proposal to manage the incoming network traffic is modified based on a response received from the nodes. The incoming network traffic is serviced using the data from the modified quality of service parameter proposal.

Methods for managing workloads in a storage system and devices thereof

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 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.

Control of service workload management

A method in a storage system reads blocks having both physical addresses and logical addresses in the storage system from a first set of locations in non-volatile storage to a cache memory and determines the level of data fragmentation in the non-volatile storage. If the level of data fragmentation exceeds a threshold level, the cache memory is marked and the blocks are written to physically sequential locations with new physical addresses in the non-volatile storage at a data consistency point without changing the logical addresses of the blocks.

Storage defragmentation based on modified physical address and unmodified logical address

In a write-anywhere filesystem, a write-in-place property allows the write-anywhere filesystem to selectively perform write-in-place processing for write allocation to selected data blocks. The filesystem stores a data block in a storage, and references the data block with both physical and virtual or logical block number references. The block number references allow the filesystem to manage storage of the data blocks through indirection. The data block may be modified, which generates an updated data block in memory having the new data. The filesystem performs write allocation to store the updated data block to the storage. Write-in-place within the write-anywhere filesystem allows the write-anywhere filesystem to write the data block to the same physical location and thus maintain the same physical block number reference while modifying the virtual block number reference.

Write-in-place within a write-anywhere filesystem

A system and method for byte swapping file access data structures is provided. A file server, upon receipt of a file access data structure, byte swaps the header of the data structure and passes the data structure to the appropriate file access system process to process the operation defined by the data structure. The file access system process calls a byte swapping engine to perform byte swapping on individual elements of the data structure as needed. The byte swapping engine utilizes a descriptor look up table to determine what action should be performed on each element of a data structure.

System and method for byte swapping file access data structures

A system and method for clustered failover over transport media that does not support moving of transport addressed between network interface controllers is provided. This reviving file server of a cluster, upon detection of the failure of its partner, assumes ownership of the disks owned by the failed file server. The surviving file server activates a secondary discriminator or port for access by clients who normally utilized the failed file server. Clients generate the name of the surviving or failover file server by appending at set item to the name of the failed file server.

System and method for clustered failover without network support

A communications passthrough mechanism for high availability network communications between a shared system resource and clients of the system resource. The system resource includes a control/processing sub-system including multiple peer blade processors. A port of each blade processor is connected to each client/server network path and each client is connected to a corresponding port of each blade processor. Each blade processor includes a network fault detector exchanging beacon transmissions with other blade processors through corresponding blade processor ports and network paths. Each blade processor includes response generator responsive to a failure to receive a beacon transmission from a failed port of an other blade processor for redirecting the client communications to the failed port on the other blade processor to the corresponding port of the blade processor. A path manager in the blade processor is responsive to operation of the response generator for modifying the communications routing table to correspond with the redirection message to route the client communications to the failed port of the other blade processor to the other blade processor through the inter-processor communications link. Each blade processor may also include an inter-blade communications monitor for detecting a failure in the inter-processor communications link between the blade processor and another blade processor, reading the communications routing table to select a functional network communications path to a port of the other blade processor, and modifying the communications routing table to redirect inter-processor communications to the selected functional network communications path.

Fault tolerant shared system resource with communications passthrough providing high availability communications

A method and apparatus for assigning a network address of a target server/host system in a network system having server/host systems interconnected by network links. The apparatus includes a first part residing in a management server/host system and a second part residing in the target server/host system and each part includes a plurality of network address sub-mechanisms and an address manager mechanism for controlling operation of the network address mechanisms. The network address mechanism include, for example, a setup wizard mechanism, a reverse address resolution protocol mechanism, a unit-cast address discovery mechanism and a dynamic host configuration protocol mechanism. The address manager mechanism directs the operation of the network address sub-mechanisms through three modes of operation designated as the address discovery mode, the address verification mode and the operation mode, using each network address sub-mechanism cooperatively and in its own mode of operation, and in certain instances concurrently, to obtain a network address, a subnetwork mask and a gateway address for the target server/host system.

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Cary, NC, United States of America

John A Scott