Fabric-Attached Storage Virtualization via Load Balancer
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fabric-attached storage devices require individual connections with hosts, leading to increased CPU resources and I/O operations, as they do not efficiently distribute data across multiple devices, necessitating software management of volumes spanning multiple storage devices.
Innovation Solution
A load balancer is used to establish a shared transport connection and network address among fabric-attached storage devices, allowing them to be accessed as a single logical storage device, distributing data and managing sequence numbers and acknowledgments, thereby reducing the burden on the host.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If fabric-attached storage devices use individual connections with hosts, then each device can be accessed independently, but CPU resources and I/O operations increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple fabric-attached storage devices into a single virtualized storage pool that presents one logical device to the host. This consolidation allows the host to access multiple physical devices through a single connection interface, reducing the number of individual connections required while maintaining independent access capabilities through virtualization management.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a virtualization layer as an intermediary between the host and multiple storage devices. This intermediary manages connections, data distribution, and device coordination, allowing efficient resource utilization without requiring the host to directly manage individual device connections, thereby reducing CPU overhead.
2Ease of operation
If fabric-attached storage devices use individual connections with hosts, then direct device access is enabled, but the number of I/O operations increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple storage devices into a unified virtualized storage pool, allowing the host to perform I/O operations against a single logical device rather than managing separate operations for each physical device. This merging reduces the total number of I/O operations while maintaining direct access performance through optimized data paths.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple storage devices are managed separately, then device independence is maintained, but software management of volumes becomes necessary
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a virtualization layer as an intermediary that manages the complexity of coordinating multiple independent storage devices. This intermediary handles volume management, data distribution, and device coordination transparently, allowing device independence to be maintained while eliminating the need for complex software management at the host level.
4Ease of operation
If fabric-attached storage devices establish separate connections, then device-specific control is achieved, but resource management efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple storage devices into a unified virtualized resource pool that maintains device-specific control capabilities through virtualization management. This consolidation improves resource management efficiency by enabling centralized allocation, load balancing, and optimization across all devices while preserving the ability to control individual devices when needed.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are systems and methods of providing virtualized storage that may include establishing, through a load balancer, a transport connection between a device and a group of fabric-attached storage devices, and transferring data between the device and the group of fabric-attached storage devices through the transport connection using a transport protocol, wherein the group of fabric-attached storage devices comprises two or more fabric-attached storage devices and is accessed by the device as a logical storage device. A storage device may include a storage medium, a network fabric interface, and a storage controller configured to transfer data between the storage medium and a device through the network fabric interface over a transport connection, wherein the storage controller is configured to share the transport connection with another data storage device that is fabric-attached.