SAS Expander Virtualization for Drive Sharing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional storage systems require a one-to-one correspondence between the number of drives and servers, leading to underutilization and increased costs as storage demands do not scale efficiently with capacity, especially in environments where drives need to be shared across multiple hosts.
Innovation Solution
Implementing storage drive virtualization by using a device that subdivides storage space into logical partitions, allowing each physical drive to appear as multiple virtual drives, decoupling the number of drives from the number of servers and eliminating the need for centralized controllers, using stateless switching fabrics and SAS expanders to support multiple servers with fewer physical drives.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional storage controllers are used to implement volume management and carve out volumes from shared drives, then storage partitioning and LUN management can be achieved, but system cost increases and scalability deteriorates as the number of hosts and LUNs increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the storage controller functionality by separating the virtualization layer from the physical drive management layer. The storage virtualization device creates virtual drives that are then managed by storage controllers, dividing the complex task of managing multiple hosts and LUNs across multiple smaller, more manageable controller instances. This segmentation allows each controller to handle fewer LUNs while the virtualization layer coordinates access across all virtual drives.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a storage virtualization device as an intermediary between physical drives and storage controllers. This intermediary layer creates virtual drives that abstract the physical drive configuration, allowing storage controllers to manage virtual drives rather than directly managing complex physical drive configurations. The intermediary handles the complexity of drive sharing and presents simplified virtual drive interfaces to controllers.
2Quantity of substance
If the number of physical drives is increased to meet growing storage demands, then storage capacity increases, but system cost increases and drive utilization decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements drive virtualization that allows a single physical drive to serve multiple virtual drive functions simultaneously. The storage virtualization device enables one physical drive to be presented as multiple virtual drives to different hosts, making the physical drive universal and multi-functional. This eliminates the need to purchase additional physical drives for each host or application, improving utilization while maintaining the required storage capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates virtual copies of physical drives through the storage virtualization device. Instead of purchasing multiple physical drives, the system creates virtual drive copies that can be presented to multiple hosts. These virtual copies allow multiple systems to access storage resources simultaneously without requiring duplicate physical hardware, reducing costs while maintaining capacity requirements.
3Ease of operation
If one-to-one correspondence between drives and servers is maintained, then system simplicity is preserved, but storage utilization deteriorates and cost efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The storage virtualization device acts as an intermediary that maintains operational simplicity while enabling many-to-many drive-server mappings. It presents a simplified virtual drive interface to hosts while handling the complex mapping to physical drives in the background. This intermediary layer preserves ease of operation for individual hosts while achieving high overall storage utilization across the system.
Solution Approach 2:
The storage virtualization system implements self-service capabilities where the virtualization device automatically manages drive allocation, virtual drive creation, and host access coordination. This automated self-service approach maintains simplicity by eliminating manual configuration complexity while enabling efficient multi-host utilization of shared storage resources.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are provided for an access device, such as a Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface (SAS) expander, that is in communication with a storage device to subdivide the storage space of the storage device into a plurality of logical storage spaces, where the access device mediates storage and retrieval of data to and from the storage device. The access device maintains a unique identifier assigned to each of the logical storage spaces. Storage and retrieval of data to and from at least one of the logical storage spaces by way of the access device is based on the assigned unique identifier. The storage space may be subdivided using logical block addresses (LBAs) of the storage device without physically partitioning the available storage on the storage device.