Lenovo (singapore) Pte. Ltd.

International Business Machines Corporation

Patrick Leo Caporale

Pravin S Patel

Theodore Brian Vojnovich

David W Cosby

Jonathan Randall Hinkle

Fred Allison Bower, Iii

Keith Manders Campbell

Caihong Zhang

Michael Neil Condict

Warren D Bailey

Caroline Magdy Metry

Gregory Brian Pruett

Josep Cors

Michael DeCesaris

Michael Robert Turner

Todd Jon Rosedahl

Christopher Landon Wood

Alfredo Aldereguia

James Joseph Parsonese

Brent William Jacobs

Jeffrey Ross Hamilton

Joseph Edward Bolan

Randolph Scot Kolvick

Mark Elliot Andresen

Douglas Michael Boecker

Christopher Harry Austen

Anthony C Yu

Mark McCool

Christopher Anthony Widmann

Theodore Baumeister, Iv

Manjunatha Hebbar

Xiao Dong Du

Brett Scrivner

An orchestration controller in a storage solution may establish namespaces, assign each namespace to a host, and establish software-defined storage controllers to handle input-output operations between the hosts and the namespaces. Each namespace is assigned to a given host and the input-output operations to and from the namespace are handled by a specific primary software-defined storage controller. In response to failure of the software defined controller, a secondary software-defined storage controller will take over handling of the input-output operations to and from the namespace. Also, in response to the failure of the software-defined storage controller, the host will direct subsequent input-output operations destined for the namespace to the secondary software-defined storage controller.

Automatic failover of a software-defined storage controller to handle input-output operations to and from an assigned namespace on a non-volatile memory device

Topology discovery between compute nodes and interconnect switches including creating, on an interconnect switch, a virtual topology discovery device for a first port, wherein the interconnect switch is coupled to a compute node via the first port, and wherein the virtual topology discovery device comprises a port identifier for the first port; mapping the virtual topology discovery device to the first port; receiving an inventory request from the compute node via the first port; routing the inventory request to the virtual topology discovery device for the first port; and sending, from the virtual topology discovery device for the first port, the port identifier to the compute node.

Topology discovery between compute nodes and interconnect switches

Computing device expansion modules and control of their operation based on temperature are disclosed. According to an aspect, an expansion module includes an interface configured to operably connect to a computing device including a service manager. Further, the expansion module includes a controller configured to determine whether communication with the service manager of the computing device is enabled or not enabled. The controller is also configured to set a first temperature level at which operation of the expansion module is reduced in response to determining that communication with the service manager is enabled. Further, the controller is configured to set a second temperature level at which operation of the expansion module is reduced in response to determining that communication with the service manager is not enabled. The second temperature level is lower than the first temperature level.

Computing device expansion modules and control of their operation based on temperature

An apparatus for secure multiple server access to a non-volatile storage device is disclosed. A method and storage device product also perform the functions of the apparatus. An apparatus includes a storage device with three or more ports. Each port includes at least one lane and each port is configured to connect to a different server over the at least one lane of the port. The storage device includes a storage controller in the storage device for each port. Each storage controller controls storage to non-volatile storage of the storage device. The storage device includes a logical namespace assigned to each port. Each logical namespace is assigned to a portion of the non-volatile storage of the storage device. The logical namespace of a first port of the three or more ports is inaccessible to a second port of the three or more ports.

Secure multiple server access to a non-volatile storage device

Shared virtual media in a composed system, including generating, in a switch of a fabric of the composed system, a virtual media device; associating media data with the virtual media device; and sending, by the switch, via the fabric, to one or more compute nodes of the composed system, the media data.

Shared virtual media in a composed system

A network communications component may be configured to self-lock at a signaled transmission rate. The network communications component may receive a first transmission rate signal indicating a first transmission rate. It may be determined that a transmission rate for the network communications component is unset on the network communications component. Determining that the transmission rate for the network communications component is unset may include accessing an entry for the transmission rate in a vital product data stored on the network communications component. The transmission rate for the network communications component may be set by storing an indication of the received first transmission rate in a memory location on the network communications component. Data transmission by the network communications component may be limited, in accordance with the stored indication of the first transmission rate, to not exceed the set transmission rate.

Self-locking a network communications component transmission rate

Configuring NVMe devices for redundancy and scaling includes: identifying, by a first SSD ('Solid State Drive') driver executing on a first CPU ('Central Processing Unit'), address space of a first SSD coupled to the first CPU by a first PCI (&#x2018;Peripheral Component Interconnect&#x2019;) switch, the first PCI switch including one or more non-transparent bridges (&#x2018;NTBs&#x2019;); partitioning, by the first SSD driver, the address space of the first SSD amongst the NTBs of the first PCI switch and the first CPU, where each NTB is configured to translate CPU memory addresses received from a CPU into a drive address in the address space partitioned to the NTB; and partitioning, by the first SSD driver, a plurality of namespaces of the first SSD amongst the first CPU and the NTBs.

Configuring NVMe devices for redundancy and scaling

According to one embodiment, a computer program embodied on a tangible computer readable medium includes computer code for identifying a wireless communications gateway in communication with a management controller, computer code for establishing a wireless communications connection between one or more drives and the management controller, utilizing the wireless communications gateway, and computer code for communicating one or more of monitoring data and control data between the management controller and the one or more drives, utilizing the wireless communications connection.

Wireless communication between a management controller and one or more drives

A storage-area network (SAN) manager running on a computing device connected to a fabric receives a request to allocate and mount a logical volume on a client computing device connected to the fabric. The manager groups storage drives connected to the fabric by failure domains. The manager filters the storage drives by native capabilities, available capacities, and dynamic performance to remove from consideration any storage drive having insufficient native capabilities, an insufficient available capacity, and/or an insufficient dynamic performance to satisfy the request. The manager selects a set of storage drives on which to store data of the logical volume, from the remaining storage drives, taking into account the failure domains. The manager sends a command to each such storage drive to provision a drive volume, and a command to a software agent on the client device to create and mount the logical volume using these drive volumes.

Selection of fabric-attached storage drives on which to provision drive volumes for realizing logical volume on client computing device within storage area network

A storage-area network (SAN) system includes one or more storage drives directly connected to a fabric. Each storage drive provisions and operates a drive volume, and creates a security token for the drive volume. The system includes a client computing device directly connected to the fabric, and that executes a SAN software agent to create, mount, and use a logical volume realized by drive volumes of the storage drives. The client computing device accesses each drive volume using the security token for the drive volume. The system includes a SAN manager directly connected to the fabric that manages the drive volumes of the storage drives, manages the logical volume that the SAN software agent operates, receives from each storage drive the security token for the drive volume of the storage drive, and sends the security token for the drive volume of each storage drive to the SAN software agent.

Security within storage area network having fabric-attached storage drives, SAN agent-executing client devices, and SAN manager

Settings are provided by a chassis management controller to an expansion card in a multi-slot server chassis. The chassis management controller in a multi-slot server chassis provides an operating parameter to a server management controller in a server, and the server management controller writes the operating parameter to a port expander of an expansion card installed on the server. The operating parameter is written to the port expander prior to expansion card power up, and the expansion card uses the operating parameter after power up to derive one or more SERDES value. The SERDES value is used to program an ASIC chip comprising a SERDES converter on the expansion card. In one example, the operating parameter is determined by the capabilities of a chassis midplane at the slot where the compute node is installed.

Providing expansion card settings

Managing stability of a link coupling an adapter of a computing system to a port of a networking device for in-band data communications, the adapter and the network device coupled for out-of-band data communications to a management module, where link stability is managed by: monitoring link health including retrieving adapter link statistics from the adapter and networking device link statistics from the networking device; determining, in dependence upon the adapter and networking device link statistics, whether the link health meets predefined health acceptability criteria; and if the link health does not meet predefined health acceptability criteria, instructing the adapter to execute one or more predefined corrective actions.

Managing stability of a link coupling an adapter of a computing system to a port of a networking device for in-band data communications

Configuring expansion component interconnect ('ECI') physical functions on an ECI device in a computing system, including: configuring by an ECI device configuration manager, during run-time of the computing system, vital product data to include an ECI physical function configuration, wherein the ECI physical function configuration comprises data describing a type of ECI physical function; retrieving by an ECI device configuration manager, upon a subsequent startup of the computing system, the ECI physical function configuration from the vital product data; and configuring, by an ECI device configuration manager, a physical function of the ECI device to carry out the type of ECI physical function described in the ECI physical function configuration.

Configuring expansion component interconnect ('ECI') physical functions on an ECI device in a computing system

A system and method are directed towards a pseudo multi-master operation on a serial bus. The pseudo multi-master operation allows multiple devices without standard multi-master functionality to operate on the serial bus as masters. In a disclosed example, the serial bus is an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) bus, which is isolated when an adapter card requires access to the I2C bus, such as to update vital product data (VPD) to a memory device, and to cache the updated VPD to a chassis management module.

Pseudo multi-master I2C operation in a blade server chassis

A microprocessor based system, such as a Personal Computer (PC), server, router, word processor or like devices, includes circuit arrangement that monitors the processor for a heartbeat pulse. If the heartbeat pulse is not sensed within a specified time interval the circuit arrangement issues a Soft Reset signal (Unmasked Interrupt) that causes the microprocessor to execute a program that logs the current state of selected entities within the system and a Hard Reset Pulse that resets the system hardware. The log can be used to identify the cause of a problem, whereas the Hard Reset causes the system to reboot and continue normal operation.

Growing community of inventors

Cary, NC, United States of America

Patrick Leo Caporale