HyperConverged NVMF Storage-NIC Card Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current hyper-converged infrastructure systems face challenges in achieving high bandwidth and low latency when accessing storage resources across servers, as existing solutions often require additional NVM cards and multiple PCIe slots, leading to increased complexity and costs.
Innovation Solution
A storage and communication apparatus with a tightly coupled NIC and NVM storage on the same circuit board, utilizing a dedicated PCIe bus for high-speed access, and implementing NVM Express over Fabrics protocol to expose SSD NVMe memory over the network, reducing latency and increasing bandwidth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If additional NVM cards and multiple PCIe slots are used to achieve high bandwidth and low latency storage access, then storage performance is improved, but device complexity and system cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the NVM storage device and NIC into a single integrated apparatus that plugs into one PCIe slot. The NVM devices are mounted on the circuit board and connected to the CPU via dedicated internal bus, while the MAC processor provides network connectivity. This integration eliminates the need for separate NVM cards and multiple PCIe slots, resolving the contradiction between achieving high storage performance and reducing system complexity.
2Productivity
If additional NVM cards and multiple PCIe slots are used to achieve high bandwidth and low latency storage access, then storage performance is improved, but system cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The integrated design consolidates multiple hardware components (NVM storage devices, NIC with MAC processor, CPU) onto a single circuit board that occupies one PCIe slot. This reduces the total component count, simplifies assembly, and lowers system cost while maintaining high storage performance through the dedicated internal PCIe bus connection between CPU and NVM devices.
Data Source
AI summary
A storage and communication apparatus for plugging into a server, includes a circuit board, a bus interface, a Medium Access Control (MAC) processor, one or more storage devices and at least one Central Processing Unit (CPU). The bus interface is configured to connect the apparatus at least to a processor of the server. The MAC is mounted on the circuit board and is configured to connect to a communication network. The storage devices are mounted on the circuit board and are configured to store data. The CPU is mounted on the circuit board and is configured to expose the storage devices both (i) to the processor of the server via the bus interface, and (ii) indirectly to other servers over the communication network.