Storage Front-End Connection Management for Faster NVMe/TCP Sessions
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Solution Overview
Problem
In storage systems using NVMe/TCP, the establishment of sessions with multiple connections becomes time-consuming and prone to failure due to the need for the storage controller to manage a large number of connections, which can lead to delayed session establishment.
Innovation Solution
A storage system design that includes a front-end interface (FE I/F) to manage connection information and session management, allowing the FE I/F to control access from the host by referring to stored connection management information, thereby reducing the time required for session establishment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the storage controller manages a large number of connections in NVMe/TCP sessions, then the system can support high IO parallelism, but the session establishment time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the connection management function from the session management function. The front-end interface (FE I/F) handles connection management independently while the storage controller handles session management. This segmentation allows connection establishment to proceed in parallel without blocking session establishment, thus maintaining high IO parallelism while reducing session establishment time.
Solution Approach 2:
The FE I/F performs preliminary connection management actions before the storage controller needs to establish sessions. By pre-managing connections at the front-end interface, the system prepares the connection infrastructure in advance, allowing sessions to be established more quickly when needed without the overhead of managing numerous connections at the controller level.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the storage controller manages all connections, then session management is centralized, but the complexity of connection management increases with the number of CPU cores
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides connection management complexity away from the storage controller by implementing it at the front-end interface. This segmentation allows the controller to focus on session management logic while the FE I/F handles the complex task of managing individual connections, especially important when scaling to systems with over 100 CPU cores.
Solution Approach 2:
The FE I/F acts as an intermediary between the external connections and the storage controller. It mediates connection management tasks, absorbing the complexity of handling numerous connections while presenting a simplified session management interface to the controller, thus reducing overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A storage system communicates with a host in a session including one or more connections. The storage system includes a front-end interface, a processor, and a storage area. The storage area stores session management information for managing the session of the communication with the host. The front-end interface stores connection management information for managing the connection of the session. The front-end interface controls access from the host by referring to the connection management information.