Storage Network Adapter With Direct OTN Encapsulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
In optical transport networks (OTN), the OTN frame determination is delayed due to multiple transmissions and encapsulations, leading to low communication efficiency between end-to-end devices, especially when handling large data amounts.
Innovation Solution
A storage device with a network adapter that includes a data processing chip and optical transceiver directly encapsulates data into OTN frames without Ethernet encapsulation, enabling direct output to the optical communication network, reducing latency and simplifying the encapsulation process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data is transmitted through multiple devices (storage device, Ethernet network adapter, Ethernet switch, OTN device) with multiple encapsulations, then data can be transmitted through standard Ethernet protocols, but transmission latency increases and communication efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the Ethernet encapsulation layer from the transmission path. Instead of encapsulating data in Ethernet frames and passing through Ethernet switches, the system directly encapsulates data into OTN frames at the storage device's network adapter, removing unnecessary intermediate protocol layers and devices from the data path.
Solution Approach 2:
The network adapter in the storage device is designed to perform multiple functions: it can directly encapsulate data into OTN frames and transmit them through the optical transceiver, eliminating the need for separate Ethernet network adapters and switches for specific OTN transmissions, while still supporting standard Ethernet protocols when needed.
2Adaptability or versatility
If data undergoes multiple encapsulations through different protocol layers (Ethernet, OTN), then data can be transmitted through heterogeneous networks, but the encapsulation procedure becomes complex and communication efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically selects the appropriate encapsulation method based on the transmission requirements. When transmitting to OTN devices, it uses direct OTN frame encapsulation; when needing to communicate through standard Ethernet infrastructure, it uses Ethernet encapsulation. This dynamic adaptation simplifies the most common path while maintaining versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The network adapter acts as an intermediary that can perform either Ethernet or OTN encapsulation. It mediates between the storage device's data and the optical communication network, selecting the most efficient encapsulation method based on the destination and transmission requirements, thereby simplifying the overall system architecture.
3Ease of operation
If data is transmitted through Ethernet switches, then data can be routed through standard network infrastructure, but packet loss may occur and communication efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network transmission path into two distinct modes: a standard Ethernet path for general-purpose networking and a direct OTN path for high-reliability, low-latency transmissions. By segmenting the transmission protocol into these separate paths, the system can avoid Ethernet switches for critical data transmissions, eliminating packet loss risks associated with switch buffering and forwarding.
Data Source
AI summary
A storage device, a data communication method, and a system, related to the field of optical communication technologies. A network adapter in the storage device implements OTN encapsulation of data, so that an OTN frame to which the data is mapped can be generated without transmission and encapsulation of the data through a plurality of devices. This reduces transmission latency of the data from a memory to an optical transceiver, and improves data communication efficiency. In addition, because the data does not need to be processed through an Ethernet switch, a protocol stack used by the storage device to encapsulate the data into the OTN frame does not need to use an Ethernet protocol. This simplifies an encapsulation procedure required for generating the OTN frame, reduces an amount of data included in the OTN frame, and helps further improve the data communication efficiency.