System for bypassing a server to achieve higher throughput between data network and data storage system

Abstract

A networked system is described in which the majority of data bypass the server(s). This design improves the end-to-end performance of network access by achieving higher throughput between the network and storage system, improving reliability of the system, yet retaining the security, flexibility, and services that a server-based system provides. The apparatus that provides this improvement consists of a network interface, server computer interface, and storage interface. It also has a switching element and a high-layer protocol decoding and control unit. Incoming traffic (either from the network or storage system) is decoded and compared against a routing table. If there is a matching entry, it will be routed, according to the information to the network, the storage interface, or sent to the server for further processing (default). The routing table entries are set up by the server based on the nature of the applications when an application or user request initially comes in. Subsequently, barring any changes or errors, there will be no data exchange between the server and the device (although, a control message may still flow between them). There may also be a speed matching function between the network and storage, load balancing function for servers, and flow control for priority and QoS purposes. Because the majority of data traffic will bypass the bus and the operating system (OS) of the server(s), the reliability and throughput can also be significantly improved. Therefore, for a given capacity of a server, much more data traffic can be handled. Certain improvements concerning one particular,embodiment of the invention are also disclosed.