Dell Products Inc.

Nikhith Ganigarakoppal Kantharaju

Abhijit Shashikant Mirajkar

Ajay Sukumaran Nair Syamala Bai

Rama Rao Bisa

Shinose Abdul Rahiman

Dharma Bhushan Ramaiah

Vineeth Radhakrishnan

Sumalatha Pagadala

Abhijit Rajkumar Khande

Sushmitha Naik

Richa Kumari

Ramesha He

A crash-based RAID data storage system includes a chassis housing storage subsystems coupled to an operating system and a software RAID subsystem. During a runtime mode of the operating system, the software RAID subsystem reserves a RAID driver telemetry storage portion of a RAID logical storage subsystem provided by at least one storage device in the storage subsystems. In response to the operating system entering a crash dump mode from the runtime mode, the software RAID subsystem initializes respective controller devices in each of the storage subsystems, and during the crash dump mode of the operating system the software RAID subsystem stores RAID driver telemetry data generated by the software RAID subsystem in the RAID driver telemetry storage portion of the RAID logical storage subsystem provided by the at least one storage device using the respective controller device for that storage device.

Crash-based raid data storage system

A direct-attached storage device software RAID system includes a chassis housing a software RAID subsystem coupled to physical storage devices, controller devices, and a hypervisor subsystem housed in the chassis. The software RAID subsystem uses the physical storage devices to provide a logical storage device to the hypervisor subsystem. The software RAID subsystem also presents a first controller device to the hypervisor subsystem as a primary controller device that is connected to the logical storage device. When the software RAID subsystem receives a command from the hypervisor subsystem directed to the primary controller device and identifying a logical storage subsystem in the logical storage device, it transmits the command to each of a subset of the physical storage devices that provide the logical storage subsystem in the logical storage device via a respective one of the controller devices that couples the software RAID subsystem to that physical storage device.

Direct-attached storage device software RAID system

A software-RAID-protected boot data vSAN system includes a chassis housing a software RAID subsystem coupled to storage devices and to controller devices. The software RAID subsystem designates a RAID controller device and a vSAN controller device from the controller devices, and configures a first subset of the storage devices for boot storage and a second subset of the storage devices for vSAN storage. The software RAID subsystem then provides a RAID path from the RAID controller device to the boot storage provided by the first subset of the storage devices, and provides a vSAN path from the vSAN controller device to the vSAN storage provided by the second subset of the storage devices. The software RAID subsystem then routes boot storage commands along the RAID path, and routes vSAN storage commands along the vSAN path.

Software-RAID-protected boot data vSAN system

A direct-attached storage device software RAID control communication system includes a chassis housing a software RAID subsystem coupled to an operating system and a controller device. The software RAID subsystem provides a virtual adapter device and a virtual miniport driver for the operating system, provides a physical miniport driver for the controller device, and provides a helper driver between the virtual miniport driver and the physical miniport driver. The helper driver identifies, via the physical miniport driver, a communication entry point for the controller device and logical storage subsystem(s) provided by storage device(s) connected to the controller device, and identifies them to the virtual miniport driver. The virtual miniport driver then presents a logical storage device to the operating system that includes at least some of the logical storage subsystem(s), and uses the communication entry point to transmit communications between the operating system and the physical miniport driver.

Direct-attached storage device software raid control communication system

A system claims ownership of a shared mailbox, and configures the shared mailbox as a redundant array of independent drives (RAID) controller. The system creates a RAID volume from at least one non-volatile memory express drive, and exposes the RAID volume during a boot process to a basic input/output system.

Enable boot on a non-volatile memory express software redundant array of independent drives volume

A software RAID/management communication system includes a chassis housing a software Redundant Array of Independent Disk (RAID) subsystem and a management subsystem that are each coupled to a storage device having a storage device memory subsystem. The software RAID subsystem provides a software RAID information request in the storage device memory subsystem that requests the management subsystem provide software RAID information associated with the operation of a software RAID provided by the software RAID subsystem, the software RAID subsystem then periodically accesses the storage device memory subsystem and, when the software RAID subsystem determines that the management subsystem has provided a software RAID information response in the storage device memory subsystem, the software RAID subsystem retrieves the software RAID information that was provided in the storage device memory subsystem by the management subsystem.

Software raid/management communication system

A RAID distributed parity generation system includes a chassis housing a RAID subsystem coupled to storage devices. The RAID subsystem receives a write instruction including new primary data for a subset of the storage devices that it uses to generate first intermediate parity data that it provides in a parity data storage device. The RAID engine then causes a first primary data storage device that is not in the subset to generate second intermediate parity data using its first primary data and respective second primary data in second primary data storage device(s) that are not in the subset, and provide the second intermediate parity data in the first primary data storage device. The RAID subsystem then causes the parity data storage device to generate final parity data using the first intermediate parity data and the second intermediate parity data.

Raid distributed parity generation system

A direct-attached storage device software Redundant Array of Independent Disk (RAID) crash dump system includes a chassis housing a software RAID subsystem coupled to each of a plurality of physical storage devices, each of a plurality of controller devices, and an operating system. While in a runtime mode, the software RAID subsystem presents the operating system with a primary controller device from the plurality of controller devices as being connected to a logical storage device provided by the plurality of physical storage devices. In response to entering a crash dump mode from the runtime mode, the software RAID subsystem provides a storage driver subsystem for the primary controller device and uses it to initialize at least one secondary controller device in the plurality of controller devices that controls at least one of the plurality of physical storage devices that provides a boot logical storage subsystem in the logical storage device.

Direct-attached storage device software raid crash dump system

A software RAID/management communication system includes a chassis housing a software RAID subsystem coupled to a shared memory subsystem and storage devices, and a management subsystem that is coupled to the storage devices, and that is coupled to the shared memory subsystem via an MMBI connection. The management subsystem determines that at least one of the storage devices does not include a storage device memory subsystem that is configured for software RAID/management communications and, in response, transmits MCTP communications via the MMBI connection to retrieve RAID configuration information from the storage device(s) via the software RAID subsystem and the shared memory subsystem. The management subsystem then uses the RAID configuration information to perform at least one RAID management operation on at least one RAID logical storage device provided by the storage device(s).

A direct-attached storage device software RAID hibernation system includes a chassis having an operating system, a bus driver subsystem, controller devices coupled to physical storage devices, and a software RAID subsystem coupled to the operating system and the controller devices. While in a runtime mode, the software RAID subsystem presents the operating system a primary controller device as being connected to a logical storage device provided by the physical storage devices, and provides a filter subsystem in a secondary controller device that controls at least one of the physical storage devices. While in the runtime mode, the filter subsystem identifies a controller initialization request from the operating system that requests initialization of the secondary controller device and, in response, transmits a power-down prevention communication to the bus driver subsystem that is configured to prevent the bus driver subsystem from powering down the secondary controller device during a hibernation mode.

Direct-attached storage device software RAID hibernation system

A direct-attached storage device software RAID boot system includes a chassis housing PCIe subsystems coupled to a UEFI subsystem and a software RAID subsystem. The software RAID subsystem identifies a first PCIe subsystem that is not claimed by a UEFI driver provided by the UEFI subsystem, and determines that the first PCIe subsystem is one of a PCIe bridge device or a PCIe root device. In response, the software RAID subsystem claims the first PCIe subsystem, installs a RAID protocol on the first PCIe subsystem, attaches at least one RAID logical storage subsystem provided by at least one PCIe endpoint device in the PCIe subsystems to the first PCIe subsystem, and presents the UEFI subsystem with a PCIe controller device in the first PCIe subsystem as being connected to the at least RAID logical storage subsystem.

Direct-attached storage device software raid boot system

A resilient software Redundant Array of Independent Disk (RAID)/management communication system includes a chassis housing a software RAID subsystem coupled to a plurality of storage devices that are also coupled to a management subsystem. The software RAID subsystem designates a first storage device in the plurality of storage devices as a primary storage device and a second storage device in the plurality of storage devices as a secondary storage device, and uses the respective storage device memory subsystem in the first storage device to transmit first management communications with the management subsystem. If the software RAID subsystem determines that the first storage device is unavailable, it uses the respective storage device memory subsystem in the second storage device to transmit second management communications with the management subsystem.

Resilient software raid/management communication system

A software Redundant Array of Independent Disk (RAID)/management trusted storage-device-based communication system includes a chassis housing a software Redundant Array of Independent Disk (RAID) subsystem, a storage device that is coupled to the software RAID subsystem and that includes a storage device memory subsystem, and a management subsystem that is coupled to the storage device. The management subsystem authenticates the storage device to establish management subsystem/storage device trust between the management subsystem and the storage device and, in response, uses the storage device to establish management subsystem/software RAID subsystem trust between the management subsystem and the software RAID subsystem. In response to establishing the management subsystem/storage device trust and the management subsystem/software RAID subsystem trust, the management subsystem transmits communications with the software RAID subsystem via the storage device memory subsystem in the storage device.

Software raid/management trusted storage-device-based communication system

A direct-attached storage device software RAID crash dump system includes a chassis housing a software RAID subsystem coupled to physical storage devices, controller devices, and a hypervisor subsystem. The software RAID subsystem presents a primary controller device to the hypervisor subsystem as being connected to a logical storage device provided by the physical storage devices. When the software RAID subsystem receives a first crash dump command from the hypervisor subsystem directed to the primary controller device and identifying a crash dump logical storage subsystem in the logical storage device, it transmits a respective second crash dump command to each of a subset of the physical storage devices that provide the crash dump logical storage subsystem via a respective controller device that couple the software RAID subsystem to that physical storage device, confirms completion of the respective second crash dump commands, and transmits a crash dump confirmation to the hypervisor subsystem.

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Hassan, India

Nikhith Ganigarakoppal Kantharaju