Embedded Pattern Search in Storage Channel Command Word
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current command mode channel processing for pattern searches in storage systems is inefficient due to excessive handshaking signals and limitations in architectures based on spinning disk technology, leading to reduced performance and increased overhead in identifying record locations.
Innovation Solution
Embedding a pattern search request in a device command word (DCW) for transport mode processing, allowing the storage server to perform all or substantial search and comparison work in response to a single DCW, thereby reducing channel handshaking and enhancing efficiency by using existing fields in the zHPF protocol.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If command mode channel processing is used for pattern searches, then the storage server can identify record locations, but excessive handshaking signals increase overhead and reduce performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the pattern search request with the transport mode command word into a single integrated structure. The search parameters (search key, search field indicators) are embedded within the command word itself, allowing the storage server to process both the search operation and data transfer in one unified command rather than through multiple separate handshaking signals.
Solution Approach 2:
The transport mode command word is extended to serve multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as both a data transfer command and a pattern search request. The command word structure includes fields for both transport control and search parameters, enabling a single command to accomplish what previously required multiple separate commands and handshakes.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple separate commands are used for pattern search, then search functionality is maintained, but I/O processing efficiency decreases due to increased command overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the pattern search functionality with the transport mode command by embedding search parameters (search key, search field indicators, target record identification) directly within the command word structure. This integration allows the storage server to execute pattern matching and data transfer operations in a single unified command rather than processing multiple separate commands sequentially.
Solution Approach 2:
The command word structure is segmented into distinct functional fields: transport mode indicators, search key fields, search field indicators, and target record identification. This segmentation allows the storage server to efficiently parse and execute different aspects of the command simultaneously while maintaining the versatility needed for various pattern search operations.
3Measurement precision
If traditional search commands are used, then pattern matching can be performed, but channel bandwidth is consumed by excessive handshaking signals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple signal functions into a single command word transmission. The transport mode command word carries both the search request and the associated data transfer instructions in one unified signal, eliminating the need for separate handshaking signals that would otherwise be required to coordinate the search operation and data transfer.
Solution Approach 2:
The command word structure is designed to be universal, handling both search operations and data transfer in a single message. The embedded fields for search key, search parameters, and target record identification allow the same command structure to accomplish multiple functions that traditionally required separate dedicated commands and handshakes.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for processing request directed through a channel subsystem to a storage server. In one embodiment, a pattern search request is embedded in a Device Command Word (DCW) which allows the storage server to do all or substantially all of the search and comparison work in response to as few as a single DCW from the host. In addition, I/O processing can be enhanced to use the target record of interest of a successful embedded pattern search request as the starting point for read/write I/O processing, all in response to as few as a single DCW. Still further, orientation rules can also be relaxed such that once a target record is found, any and all fields of the record can be accessed and utilized in execution of subsequent commands of the initial or subsequent DCWs of the chain.