Avago Technologies General IP (singapore) Pte. Ltd.

Lsi Corporation

Avago Technologies International Sales Pte. Limited

Naveen Krishnamurthy

Naresh Madhusudana

Sridhar Rao Veerla

Rajeev Srinivasa Murthy

James A Rizzo

Robert L Sheffield

Horia Cristian Simionescu

Luca Bert

Sumanesh Samanta

Kapil Sundrani

Gerald Edward Smith

Basavaraj Gurupadappa Hallyal

Adam Weiner

Anuj Kumar Jain

Kashyap Dushyantbhai Desai

Subhankar Mukherjee

David Moon

Anand Narayanamurthy

Robert L Sheffield, Jr

Robert L Sheffield Jr

Embodiments herein provide for dynamic storage system configuration. In one embodiment, a storage controller is operable to configure a storage volume from a plurality of storage devices. The storage controller includes an interface operable to receive a first write I/O request from a host system, and to extract a storage configuration attribute from the first write I/O request. The storage controller also includes a processor communicatively coupled to the interface and operable to identify a storage configuration required by the first write I/O request based on the storage configuration attribute, to determine whether the storage volume comprises the required storage configuration of the first write I/O request, and to configure a portion of the storage volume according to the storage configuration required by the first write I/O request in response to a determination that the storage volume does not comprise the required storage configuration.

Dynamic storage system configuration

Embodiments herein provide for redundant data storage. One storage system includes first and second host systems each comprising a memory and a persistent storage device. The storage system also includes first and second storage controllers each comprising a memory (e.g., DRAM). The memory of the first storage controller is mapped to the memory of the first host system and the memory of the second storage controller is mapped to the memory of the second host system. The first storage controller is operable to DMA data from the persistent storage device of the first host system to the memory of the first storage controller, and to direct the second storage controller to DMA the data to the persistent storage device of the second host system via the memory of the second storage controller.

Data replication across host systems via storage controller

Systems and methods presented herein provide for region lock management in an expander. In one embodiment, an expander, being operable to link a plurality of initiators to a plurality of Redundant Array of Independent Disks logical volumes, includes a plurality of physical transceivers, each being operable to link the logical volumes to the initiators, and a region lock manager operable to receive a request from a first of the initiators to lock a region of the logical volumes for an input/output operation by the first initiator. The region lock manager is also operable to determine if the requested region is unlocked, to lock the requested region from the remaining initiators to allow the input/output operation of the first initiator after determining the requested region is unlocked, and to unlock the requested region after the input/output operation of the first initiator is complete.

Cache coherency and synchronization support in expanders in a raid topology with multiple initiators

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

Methods and structure for redirecting writes in Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) systems are provided. One exemplary embodiment is a RAID controller that includes a memory and a control unit. The memory is able to store mapping information that correlates Logical Block Addresses of a RAID volume with physical addresses of storage devices. The control unit is able to generate a request to write volume data to at least one of the physical addresses, to determine that a storage device has failed to complete the request, to alter the mapping information by correlating Logical Block Addresses for the request with physical addresses of a spare storage device, to redirect the request to the spare storage device, and to rebuild remaining Logical Block Addresses that are correlated with the storage device that failed.

Write redirection in redundant array of independent disks systems

Methods and structure for coordinating between Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) storage controllers are provided. An exemplary system includes a RAID controller. The RAID controller includes a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) interface, a Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface (SAS) port operable to communicate with another RAID controller, and a command unit. The command unit is able to direct the interface to contact another PCIe interface at the other controller, to acquire an identifier of the other controller stored in a PCIe Inbound Map (PIM) for the other interface, and to activate a feature for the controller that enables cooperative management of storage devices between the controller and the other controller, if the identifier of the other controller matches discovery information maintained at the controller.

Coordination techniques for redundant array of independent disks storage controllers

Methods and structure for migrating logical volumes are provided. The system includes a Redundant Array of Independent Disks controller, which includes a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express interface, a Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface port operable to communicate with another Redundant Array of Independent Disks controller, and a command unit. The command unit is able to direct the interface to access another Peripheral Component Interconnect Express interface at the other controller, to synchronize with Disk Data Format information from a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express Inbound Map of the other interface, to detect that the other controller has failed, and to utilize the Disk Data Format information to migrate a logical volume from the other controller to the controller.

Logical volume migration in single server high availability environments

Systems and methods herein provide a storage system that optimizes the boot time when the storage system is rebooted. One embodiment includes a storage controller operable to determine a topology of one or more storage devices. The storage controller stores the topology in memory. When the storage controller detects a system reboot event, it provides the stored topology to the host and directs the host to reboot with the stored topology.

Optimizing boot time of a storage system

Clustered storage systems and methods are presented herein. One clustered storage system includes a logical volume comprising first and second pluralities of storage devices. The first plurality of storage devices is different from the second plurality of storage devices and includes at least the same data as the second plurality of devices. The storage system also includes a first storage node operable to process first I/O requests to the first plurality of storage devices and a second storage node communicatively coupled to the first storage node and operable to process second I/O requests to the second plurality of storage devices. An I/O request of the first I/O requests initiates a redirection condition that the first storage node detects. Then, based on the redirection condition, the first storage node directs the second storage node to process data of the I/O request.

I/O request mirroring in a clustered storage system

Methods and structure within a storage controller for using region locks to efficiently divert an I/O request received from an attached host system to one of multiple processing stacks in the controller. A region lock module within the controller allows each processing stack to request a region lock for a range of block addresses of the storage devices. A divert-type lock request may be established to identify a range of block addresses for which I/O requests should be diverted to a particular one of the multiple processing stacks.

Methods and structure for using region locks to divert I/O requests in a storage controller having multiple processing stacks

Systems and methods presented herein provide for input/output shipping between storage controllers in a storage system. One storage system comprises a plurality of logical volumes, a host driver operable to process input/output requests to the logical volumes, and a plurality of storage controllers coupled between the server and the logical volumes. A first of storage controllers is operable to receive an input/output request from the host driver for one of the logical volumes, and transfer a command to a second of the storage controllers to retrieve the data of the input/output request. The second storage controller processes the command from the first storage controller, and retrieves the data associated with the input/output request.

Input/output request shipping in a storage system with multiple storage controllers

A modified or host driver operable on a host computer communicates with a host interface of a PCIe adapter. A controller memory space is managed by the kernel space of the host operating system. The modified driver entirely avoids the overhead associated with making a copy from the application or user space to a separate kernel space managed by the operating system in the host computer. The modified driver uses a base address register to identify the location of the cache storage in the controller memory space. The size of the cache store is communicated to the modified driver upon a power on initialization of the PCIe adapter and the host computer. A memory map managed by the modified driver identifies cache storage locations as an offset from the base address register.

Performance improvements in input/output operations between a host system and an adapter-coupled cache

The present invention is directed to a command block protocol which may implemented by RAID firmware for synchronizing I/Os in a RAID system which includes co-existing hardware and software-based I/O paths. The command block protocol of the present disclosure ensures that there aren't any I/Os outstanding in the fast path or any other hardware engine by making sure that the region lock (ex.&#x2014;Sentinel Region Lock) is taken for the entire size of the volume. When the Sentinel Region Lock is granted, the RAID firmware may assume that there aren't any commands outstanding in the fast path hardware or pending for the region lock to be obtained. The RAID firmware would not be able to maintain integrity of user data in the absence of the new command block protocol disclosed herein.

I/O control, synchronization method in a raid environment with co-existing hardware and software-based I/O paths

Methods and structure are provided for performing a rebuild using a Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) expander. The SAS expander includes an SMP target operable to receive, from a Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) controller, a Serial Management Protocol (SMP) command for initiating a rebuild of a RAID volume at the SAS expander. The SAS expander also includes a control unit operable to initiate a rebuild of the RAID volume based on the received SMP command from the controller, and a Serial SCSI Protocol (SSP) initiator operable to generate SSP commands for performing the RAID rebuild based upon input from the control unit.

Methods and structure for performing a rebuild of a logical volume with a serial attached SCSI expander

Methods and structure are disclosed for improved processing of fast path I/O requests in a storage controller utilizing version information embedded in the fast path I/O requests. The version information allows the storage controller to determine if the mapping information utilized by the host system in generating a fast path I/O request specifies the mapping information utilized by the storage controller. 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 software stack for processing I/O requests from a host system directed to a logical volume. If the mapping information utilized by the host does not match the mapping information utilized by the storage controller, fast path I/O requests are transferred to the I/O request processing stack for subsequent processing.

Growing community of inventors

Bengaluru, India

Naveen Krishnamurthy