Common Drive Slots for Accelerators in Storage Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional storage systems face bottlenecks due to differing connection requirements between drives and accelerators, limiting the number of accelerators that can be mounted and hindering performance improvement, especially in midrange models with space and thermal constraints.
Innovation Solution
A storage system design that includes common slots capable of accommodating either drives or accelerators, with distinct connection ports for each, allowing flexible device selection to meet system requirements, thereby increasing the number of accelerators that can be mounted and enhancing performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If drives are connected to both storage controllers to ensure availability, then system reliability is improved, but the number of available slots for accelerators is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designates certain drive slots as common slots that can accommodate either drives or accelerators. When accelerators are installed in common slots, they connect to only one storage controller, while drives in dedicated slots connect to both controllers for redundancy. This multi-functional slot design allows the system to maintain reliability through dual-connection drives while also accommodating accelerators without requiring separate dedicated slots for each device type.
2Quantity of substance
If accelerators are mounted in drive slots, then the number of accelerators that can be mounted is increased, but the connection requirements for both drives and accelerators cannot be simultaneously satisfied
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments drive slots into two types: dedicated slots and common slots. Dedicated slots are reserved for drives that require connection to both storage controllers for high availability. Common slots can be configured to accommodate either drives or accelerators, with the understanding that accelerators in common slots will connect to only one storage controller. This segmentation allows the system to satisfy the different connection requirements of drives and accelerators simultaneously while maximizing the number of accelerators that can be mounted.
3Productivity
If PCIe x8 connection is provided for accelerators, then accelerator performance is improved, but the transmission route bandwidth is consumed that could be used for drives
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the spatial dimension of slot configuration to resolve bandwidth allocation. By providing separate dedicated slots for drives and common slots for accelerators, the system can allocate PCIe bandwidth independently to each device type. Accelerators in common slots receive the necessary PCIe x8 bandwidth for high-performance processing without competing for transmission routes with drives in dedicated slots, as each slot type has its own dedicated connection paths to the storage controllers.
Data Source
AI summary
A storage system includes a plurality of drive slots into which a drive storing data is insertable and one or more controllers including a processor. At least a part of the plurality of drive slots is a common slot into which a first device of a different type from the drive is insertable. A port of the controller at a connection destination of the drive from the common slot and a port of the controller at a connection destination of the first device from the common slot are different.