Emc Corporation

Qing Liu

Ying Guo

Qi Zhang

Peter E Tolvanen

Hongliang Tang

T David Evans

Brahmadev Anand

Kevin Richards

A system that provides efficient expansion capability of a storage unit under test including multiple storage processors and reduces a number of required Ethernet ports on a client device and a reduced number of physical connections on the client device. A first processor and a peer processor of a storage processor system may be coupled to counterpart processors on one or more other storage processor systems using direct port-to-port connections and/or using a network infrastructure. A command from the client device may be passed among first processors and peer processors of the multiple storage processor systems until the correct destination processor for the command is reached, and data packets may be passed from a source processor of a storage processor system through processors of other storage processor systems until the client device is reached.

Communication with multiple storage processors using network infrastructure

A method is used in managing ownership of logical volumes. A path to a logical volume is determined, where upper-layer software selects the path to the logical volume. Based on the selection of the path, ownership of the logical volume is assigned. Lower-layer software assigns ownership of the logical volume based on information received from the upper-layer software.

Managing ownership of logical volumes

Communication with multiple storage processors via direct connections

A method is used in determining alternate paths in faulted systems. It is detected that a first processor has a problem accessing a target. The first processor has a first path to the target. An alternate path to the target is determined by identifying that a second processor has better access to the target than the first processor. The second processor has a second path to the target. Responsibility for I/O communication with the target is transferred from the first processor to the second processor. Responsibility for I/O communication with the target is transferred back to the first processor upon resolution of the problem.

Determining alternate paths in faulted systems

A system for pre-execution environment (PXE) booting a storage processor from a peer storage processor allows for the ability to reboot and/or restart the storage processor without an externally connected PXE server. In response to a reboot request of the storage processor, the peer storage processor pushes an operating system boot image and/or other information to the storage processor for PXE booting the storage processor, and vice versa. The system may also operate with multiple coupled computers.

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Grafton, MA, United States of America

Qing Liu