NIC Non-Volatile Memory Caching for Diskless Boot Acceleration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current diskless client computing devices experience prolonged boot times due to the large size of modern operating systems, as they rely on network booting, which is limited by network performance, resulting in boot times of minutes rather than seconds, failing to meet user expectations.
Innovation Solution
The integration of non-volatile memory (NVM) accessible to the network interface card (NIC) to cache a bootable subset of the operating system, utilizing pattern matching hardware to intercept and redirect boot file requests, allowing for local storage and retrieval of OS files, thereby reducing network traffic and accelerating boot performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If network booting is used to enable diskless operation, then device complexity is reduced and ease of operation is improved, but boot time increases significantly due to large OS file sizes and network performance limitations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-fetching and caching critical boot files (such as the operating system loader and essential system files) in the NIC's non-volatile memory before they are actually needed for booting. This allows the boot process to proceed much faster by retrieving files from local cache rather than downloading them from the network during boot, thus significantly reducing boot time while maintaining the diskless operation benefit.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the operating system files into critical boot files and other files. Only the critical boot files are cached in the NIC's limited non-volatile memory space, while other files remain on the network storage. This segmentation allows the system to optimize boot performance by caching only the essential files needed for initialization, rather than caching the entire OS, thus resolving the contradiction between boot time and storage requirements.
2Loss of time
If non-volatile memory is added to the NIC to cache boot files, then boot time is reduced and network traffic is decreased, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the non-volatile memory storage function directly into the network interface card (NIC). By integrating the cache memory within the NIC hardware itself, the system eliminates the need for separate storage devices or complex file system management software. This merging approach reduces overall device complexity despite adding storage capability, as the NIC already handles network communication and the added memory simply provides local caching without requiring additional processing complexity.
3Productivity
If pattern matching hardware is used to intercept and redirect boot requests, then network traffic is reduced and boot performance is accelerated, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by using pattern matching hardware in the NIC to automatically intercept and redirect boot requests without requiring complex software control or external intervention. The hardware autonomously identifies boot-related network traffic patterns and redirects them to the appropriate cached files or network locations based on predefined patterns, eliminating the need for complex software-based request routing and simplifying manufacturing.
Data Source
AI summary
In some embodiments, the invention involves a network controller having a pattern matching unit to identify whether boot file requested from a network accessible storage device for booting are stored locally in non-volatile memory accessible to the network controller. When required boot files are stored locally, the locally stored files are sent to the processor to boot the operating system. In an embodiment, retrieved boot files are automatically cached by the network controller in the accessible non-volatile memory. In other embodiments, a service operates to ensure coherency between locally store boot files and the boot filed stored on the network accessible storage. In another embodiment, data other than boot files may be stored and retrieved from the non-volatile memory. Other embodiments are described and claimed.