The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 06, 2003
Filed:
Dec. 29, 1999
Thomas Linnell, Northborough, MA (US);
William R. Tuccio, Sutton, MA (US);
Christopher J. Mulvey, Shrewsbury, MA (US);
EMC Corporation, Hopkinton, MA (US);
Abstract
A data storage system wherein a host computer is coupled to a bank of disk drives through a system interface. The interface has a plurality of directors and a memory interconnected by a plurality of busses for controlling data transfer between the host computer and the bank of disk drives as such data passes through the memory. A portion of the directors have input/output interfaces coupled to disk drive bank through input/output adapters. The system interface includes a system printed circuit board, such printed circuit board having the directors and the memory plugged into one side thereof and having the input/output adapters plugged into an opposite side thereof. A disk backplane is provided. The disk backplane has having plugged therein: a pair of disk drive sections, each section having a plurality of disk drives in the bank of disk drives; and a pair of port by-pass card, each one of the port by-pass cards being coupled to a corresponding one of the pair of disk drive sections. Each one of the input/output adapters includes a fibre channel hub. The hub is configured to provide a selected one of a plurality of fibre channel loops between one of the directors and a selected one, or more, of the pair disk drive sections. A first one of such loops is between the director and one of the pair of disk drive sections coupled thereto through a first one of the pair of port by-pass cards coupled thereto. A second one of such loops is between the director and the one of the pair of disk drive sections coupled thereto through a second one of the pair of port by-pass cards to A third one of such loops is between the director through the first one of the pair of port by-pass cards to the one of the pair of disk drive sections coupled thereto then through the second one of the pair of port by-pass cards to the one of the pair of disk drive sections coupled thereto.