Storage Distribution Apparatus IO Routing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional storage systems face inefficiencies in IO processing due to increased data transmission delays and load on controllers when forwarding data requests between storage controllers, and they lack effective redundancy and load balancing mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A storage system architecture with a distribution apparatus that connects to multiple storage controllers via dedicated interfaces, allowing direct routing of IO instructions to the home storage controller based on identifiers, reducing the need for inter-controller forwarding and enabling dynamic route configuration and load balancing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a controller forwards data requests to another controller through the interconnection exchange network, then data access can be achieved across controllers, but data transmission delay increases and controller load increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-establishing direct physical connections between storage units and their home controllers through dedicated back-end interfaces. The distribution apparatus is pre-configured with routing information that maps storage units to their home controllers, allowing IO instructions to be directly routed without real-time network forwarding decisions, thus eliminating transmission delays while maintaining cross-controller data access capability
Solution Approach 2:
The distribution apparatus serves as an intermediary that receives IO instructions from the front-end interface and intelligently routes them to the appropriate home controller based on pre-configured routing information. This intermediary function eliminates the need for storage units to directly query controller availability through the interconnection network, reducing transmission delays while maintaining system reliability
2Reliability
If a controller forwards data requests to another controller through the interconnection exchange network, then data access can be achieved across controllers, but controller processing load increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the forwarding decision-making function from the storage controllers and relocates it to the distribution apparatus. The distribution apparatus handles all routing decisions based on pre-configured information, while storage controllers only execute received IO instructions directly, thereby reducing controller processing load while maintaining cross-controller data access capability
Solution Approach 2:
Each storage unit has a designated home controller that directly handles its IO operations without requiring controller-to-controller coordination. The system is designed so that storage units serve themselves by having dedicated home controllers, eliminating the need for controllers to forward requests and process additional load from cross-controller operations
3Productivity
If multiple storage controllers share the same front-end interface, then resource utilization improves, but system reliability decreases when a controller fails
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the connection architecture by providing dedicated back-end interfaces for each storage controller and establishing unique home controller relationships for each storage unit. This segmentation allows the front-end interface to maintain high resource utilization while backend connectivity ensures that controller failures do not impact front-end access, as the distribution apparatus can route IO instructions to alternative home controllers
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes the routing parameter (home controller assignment) based on controller availability. When a controller fails, the distribution apparatus updates its routing information to redirect IO instructions to different home controllers, maintaining system reliability while preserving front-end interface resource utilization
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a storage system, including a distribution apparatus and a storage device; the storage device includes at least two storage controllers and multiple storage units, where each storage unit is configured with any one of the at least two storage controllers as a home storage controller; and the distribution apparatus includes a front-end interface and at least two back-end interfaces, where the front-end interface is configured to connect to a host device, and each back-end interface is connected to each storage controller in a one-to-one correspondence manner. According to the technical solutions provided in the present disclosure, the distribution apparatus parses an IO read/write instruction, so that the IO read/write instruction can be accurately sent to the home storage controller, which avoids forwarding the IO read/write instruction between the storage controllers, thereby improving IO processing efficiency of the storage system.