Pure Storage, Inc.

Netapp, Inc.

Logan Jennings

Aaron Dailey

Nicole Tselentis

Ronald S Karr

Roland Dreier

Daquan Zuo

Kiran Kumar Modukuri

John Colgrove

Stephen Allen Whitney

Ganga Kondapalli

Andrew R Bernat

Peter E Kirkpatrick

Kevin David Jamieson

Gaurav Agarwal

Sandeep Mann

Gobikrishnan Sundharraj

Anatoliy Glagolev

Leo Janze

Robert Bartozynski

Robert Przykucki

Bryan Freed

Supporting multiple replication schemes across distinct network layers, including: replicating, over a first type of network messaging layer, data between a first storage system and a second storage system; selecting a different messaging layer for data replication; and replicating, over a second type of network messaging layer, data between the first storage system and the second storage system.

Switching between network layers for replication

Selective communication protocol layering for synchronous replication, including: initiating, by a first storage system issuing a command in accordance with a first communication protocol, a connection specifying the first storage system to be a target of storage content from a second storage system; receiving, from the second storage system by the first storage system, a connection request in accordance with the first communication protocol, wherein the connection request specifies the first storage system to be a source of storage content to the second storage system; and based on both initiating the connection and receiving the connection request in accordance with the first communication protocol: establishing, by the first storage system and in accordance with a second communication protocol, both a connection for receiving storage content from the second storage system and a connection for sending storage content to the second storage system.

Selective communication protocol layering for synchronous replication

Supporting multiple replication schemes across distinct network layers

Continuing replication during storage system transportation, including: replicating, between a first storage system and a second storage system, a dataset; connecting, by the first storage system during movement of the first storage system to a new physical location, to a communication network available at one or more intermediate physical locations; and continuing the replicating of the dataset between the first storage system at one or more of the intermediate physical locations and the second storage system over the communication network available at one or more of the intermediate physical locations.

Continuing replication during storage system transportation

Replication handling during storage system transportation, including: replicating, between a first storage system and a second storage system that are both located at a first physical location, a dataset; connecting, by the first storage system and responsive to movement of the first storage system to an intermediate physical location, to a communication network available at the intermediate physical location; and continuing, between the first storage system at the intermediate physical location and the second storage system at the first physical location, replication of the dataset over the communication network available at the intermediate physical location.

Replication handling during storage system transportation

Replication handling among distinct network transfer layers, including: establishing, over a first type of network messaging layer, a communication link for replication between a first storage system and a second storage system; initiating, over a second type of network messaging layer, a configuration change to one or more aspects of the first storage system; and replicating, without disrupting the configuration change to the one or more aspects of the first storage system, data from the first storage system to the second storage system.

Replication handling among distinct networks

A storage system includes a plurality of solid-state storage devices and a storage group controller. The storage group controller receives, from a central storage controller, a command comprising information associated with a RAID rebuild operation to reconstruct data stored at the set of solid-state storage devices. In response to receiving the information associated with the RAID rebuild operation, the storage group controller reads other data and parity data stored associated with the data to be reconstructed at the set of solid-state storage devices based on the information associated with the RAID rebuild operation. Upon reading the other data and the parity data stored at the set of solid-state storage devices, the storage group controller reconstructs the data based on the other data, the parity data and the information associated with the RAID rebuild operation and transmits, to the central storage controller, the reconstructed data.

Performance of RAID rebuild operations by a storage group controller of a storage system

A storage controller coupled to a storage array includes a device driver running in a kernel space that receives an administrative command from an application running in a user space of the storage controller and writes the administrative command to a first submission queue of a plurality of submission queues associated with a storage device in the storage array, where the first submission queue is reserved for use by the device driver. An input/output (I/O) command received from the application running in the user space, however, is written directly to a second submission queue of the plurality of submission queues without being routed through the kernel space, where the second submission queue being reserved for direct access by the application running in the user space.

User space and kernel space access to memory devices through private queues

Machine implemented method and system for generating a disaster recovery copy of an expandable storage volume having a namespace for storing information for accessing data objects stored at a data constituent volume is provided. A transfer operation for transferring a point in time copy of the expandable storage volume from a first location to a second location is generated. Information regarding the expandable storage volume from the first location is retrieved and a destination expandable storage volume is resized to match components of the expandable storage volume at the first location. Thereafter, the point in time copy of the expandable storage volume from the first location to the second location is transferred and configuration information regarding the point in time copy is copied from the first location to the second location; a data structure for storing information regarding the transferred point in time copy of the expandable storage volume is updated.

Methods and systems for replicating an expandable storage volume

Machine implemented method for generating and accessing a point in time copy of an expandable storage volume in a network storage system is provided. The expandable storage volume includes a namespace for storing information for accessing data objects stored at a plurality of data constituent volumes managed by a plurality of nodes of the storage system. The method includes initiating a logical fence first for the namespace and then for the data constituent volumes for generating the point in time copy of the expandable storage volume. The logical fence filters out any information written after the fence is initiated from the point in time copy of the expandable storage volume.

Machine implemented method and system for generating a disaster recovery copy of an expandable storage volume having a namespace for storing information for accessing data objects stored at a data constituent volume is provided. A transfer operation for transferring a point in time copy of the expandable storage volume from a first location to a second location is generated. Information regarding the expandable storage volume from the first location is retrieved and a destination expandable storage volume is resized to match components of the expandable storage volume at the first location. Thereafter, the point in time copy of the expandable storage volume is transferred from the first location to the second location and configuration information regarding the point in time copy is copied from the first location to the second location.

A machine implemented method and system for allocating a storage volume from among a plurality of storage volumes for storing information in a storage system is provided. The storage system maintains a plurality of groups for segregating the plurality of storage volumes based on storage volume utilization at any given time. A storage volume, when available, is selected from a group that was previously used to select another storage volume. After an end of the group has been reached for allocating the other storage volume, and a threshold value for using the same group to allocate storage volumes has been reached, then another group is used to select the next storage volume.

Efficient methods and systems for allocating storage volumes

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and system, in a network storage system, for a remote key manager performing cryptographic operations upon a failure of a protected key manager, using a hardware encryption key (key) automatically migrated from the protected key manager. During initialization, the protected and remote key managers authenticate the communication channel (e.g. trustee link) between each other. A new key generated by dedicated hardware of the protected key manager is used by the protected key manager to perform cryptographic operations on data of a storage server. The remote key manager then requests and obtains the new key from the protected key manager across the trustee link. Upon a failure of the protected key manager, the remote key manager performs cryptographic operations on data of the storage server using the migrated key, ensuring accessibility and security of such data.

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Menlo Park, CA, United States of America

Logan Jennings