Universal storage management system

Abstract

A universal storage management system which facilitates storage of data from a client computer and computer network is disclosed. The universal storage management system functions as an interface between the client computer and at least one storage device, and facilitates reading and writing of data by handling I / O operations. I / O operation overhead in the client computer is reduced by translating I / O commands from the client computer into high level commands which are employed by the storage management system to carry out I / O operations. The storage management system also enables interconnection of a normally incompatible storage device and client computer by translating I / O requests into an intermediate common format which is employed to generate commands which are compatible with the storage device receiving the request. Files, error messages and other information from the storage device are similarly translated and provided to the client computer.

Description

PRIORITY[0001]This is a reissue application of U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,128 that issued on Aug. 1, 2000. A claim of priority is made to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60 / 003,920 entitled UNIVERSAL STORAGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, filed Sep. 18 1995.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention is generally related to data storage systems, and more particularly to cross-platform data storage systems and RAID systems.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]One problem facing the computer industry is lack of standardization in file subsystems. This problem is exacerbated by I / O addressing limitations in existing operating systems and the growing number of non-standard storage devices. A computer and software application can sometimes be modified to communicate with normally incompatible storage devices. However, in most cases such communication can only be achieved in a manner which adversely affects I / O throughput, and thus compromises performance. As a result, many computers in use t...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0005]Disclosed is a universal storage management system which facilitates storage of data from a client computer. The storage management system functions as an interface between the client computer and at least one storage device and facilitates reading and writing of data by handling I / O operations. More particularly, I / O operation overhead in the client computer is reduced by translating I / O commands from the client computer to high level I / O commands which are employed by the storage management system to carry out I / O operations. The storage management system also enables interconnection of a normally incompatible storage device and client computer by translating I / O requests into an intermediate common format which is employed to generate commands which are compatible with the storage device receiving the request. Files, error messages and other information from the storage device are similarly translated and provided to the client computer.

[0006]The universal storage management system provides improved performance since client computers attached thereto are not burdened with directly controlling I / O operations. Software applications in the client computers generate I / O commands which are translated into high level commands which are sent by each client computer to the storage system, The storage management system controls I / O operations for each client computer based on the high level commands. Overall network throughput is improved since the client computers are relieved of the burden of processing slow I / O requests.

[0008]By providing a common interface between a plurality of client computers and a plurality of shared storage devices, network updating overhead is reduced. More particularly, the storage management system allows addition of drives to a computer network without reconfiguration of the individual client computers in the network. The storage management system thus saves installation time and removes limitations associated with various network operating systems to which the storage management system may be connected.

[0009]The universal storage management system reduces wasteful duplicative storage of data. Since the storage management system interfaces incompatible client computers and storage devices, the storage management system can share files across multiple heterogeneous platforms. Such file sharing can be employed to reduce the overall amount of data stored in a network. For example, a single copy of a given database can be shared by several incompatible computers, where multiple database copies were previously required. Thus, in addition to reducing total storage media requirements, data maintenance is facilitated.

[0010]The universal storage management system also provides improved protection of data. The storage management system isolates regular backups from user intervention, thereby addressing problems associated with forgetful or recalcitrant employees who fail to execute backups regularly.

Problems solved by technology

One problem facing the computer industry is lack of standardization in file subsystems.

This problem is exacerbated by I / O addressing limitations in existing operating systems and the growing number of non-standard storage devices.

However, in most cases such communication can only be achieved in a manner which adversely affects I / O throughput, and thus compromises performance.

As a result, many computers in use today are “I / O bound.” More particularly, the processing capability of the computer is faster than the I / O response of the computer, and performance is thereby limited.

However, such a solution is hardly feasible for reasons of practicality.

Further, those who design operating systems and associated computer and network architectures show little propensity toward cooperation and standardization with competitors.

As a result, performance and ease of use suffer.

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