Vmware, Inc.

Datera, Inc.

Marc Fleischmann

Claudio Fleiner

Anjaneya Prasad Gondi

Jinpyo Kim

Shoby A Cherian

Nicholas Bellinger

Michael Kromer

Yongqi Hu

Some embodiments provide a hierarchical data service (HDS) that manages many resource clusters that are in a resource cluster hierarchy. In some embodiments, each resource cluster has its own cluster manager, and the cluster managers are in a cluster manager hierarchy that mimics the hierarchy of the resource clusters. In some embodiments, both the resource cluster hierarchy and the cluster manager hierarchy are tree structures, e.g., a directed acyclic graph (DAG) structure that has one root node with multiple other nodes in a hierarchy, with each other node having only one parent node and one or more possible child nodes.

Implementing state change in a hierarchy of resources in an SDDC

Managing a hierarchy of resources in an SDDC

High availability management for a hierarchy of resources in an SDDC

Some embodiments provide a method of providing distributed storage services to a host computer from a network interface card (NIC) of the host computer. At the NIC, the method accesses a set of one or more external storages operating outside of the host computer through a shared port of the NIC that is not only used to access the set of external storages but also for forwarding packets not related to an external storage. In some embodiments, the method accesses the external storage set by using a network fabric storage driver that employs a network fabric storage protocol to access the external storage set. The method presents the external storage as a local storage of the host computer to a set of programs executing on the host computer. In some embodiments, the method presents the local storage by using a storage emulation layer on the NIC to create a local storage construct that presents the set of external storages as a local storage of the host computer.

Accessing multiple external storages to present an emulated local storage through a NIC

Emulating a local storage by accessing an external storage through a shared port of a NIC

Using machine executing on a NIC to access a third party storage not supported by a NIC or host

A fault-tolerant configuration to share computer accessible data storage devices contained in a computer system with other such computer systems. Embodiments of the present invention allow sharing data storage devices contained in a first computer storage system with a second computer system by providing two or more independent connections to the data storage devices, such connections to the second computer system being independent of a motherboard (or a component thereon) contained in the first computer system, and thus ensuring continued access to the storage devices in the presence of component failures of the first computer system, such components being redundant.

System and method for sharing data storage devices

Growing community of inventors

Palo Alto, CA, United States of America

Marc Fleischmann