Patent Application
20060106947
This invention relates to an information storage and retrieval system comprising a storage controller and a Fibre Channel switch controller.
Data storage and retrieval systems are used to store information provided by one or more host computer systems. Such data storage and retrieval systems receive requests to write information to one or more data storage devices, and requests to retrieve information from those one or more data storage devices. Upon receipt of a write request, the system stores information received from a host computer in a data cache. In certain implementations, a copy of that information is also stored in a nonvolatile storage device. Upon receipt of a read request, the system recalls information from the one or more data storage devices and moves that information to the data cache. Thus, the system is continuously moving information to and from data storage devices, and to and from the data cache.
What is needed, for the reasons set forth herein, is an information storage and retrieval system which comprises two controllers, where one of those system controller comprises a storage controller and where the other of those two controllers does not comprise a storage controller.
Applicants' invention comprises an information storage and retrieval system, comprising a storage controller, comprising one or more host adapter ports, one or more device adapter ports, a Fibre Channel initiator, and a first Fibre Channel switch. The information storage and retrieval system further comprises a Fibre Channel switch controller consisting essentially of a second Fibre Channel switch. The information storage and retrieval system further comprises a plurality of data storage devices, where each of those data storage devices is interconnected with the storage controller and with the Fibre Channel switch controller.
The invention will be better understood from a reading of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which like reference designators are used to designate like elements, and in which:
This invention is described in preferred embodiments in the following description with reference to the Figures, in which like numbers represent the same or similar elements. The invention will be described as embodied in an information storage and retrieval system which comprises two clusters, a plurality of host adapter ports, a plurality of device adapter ports, and a data cache.
Referring now to
Host computer 390 comprises a computer system, such as a mainframe, personal computer, workstation, and combinations thereof, including an operating system such as Windows, AIX, Unix, MVS, LINUX, etc. (Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation; AIX is a registered trademark and MVS is a trademark of IBM Corporation; and UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries licensed exclusively through The Open Group.) In certain embodiments, host computer 390 further comprises a storage management program. The storage management program in the host computer 390 may include the functionality of storage management type programs known in the art that manage the transfer of data to a data storage and retrieval system, such as the IBM DFSMS implemented in the IBM MVS operating system.
In certain embodiments, Applicants' information storage and retrieval system 100 comprises a first plurality of host adapter ports 101 which comprises adapters 102-105 and 107-110; and a second plurality of host adapter ports 111 which comprises adapters 112-115 and 117-120. In other embodiments, Applicants' information storage and retrieval system comprises fewer than 16 host adapter ports. In still other embodiments, Applicants' information storage and retrieval system comprises more than 16 host adapter ports.
Regardless of the number of host adapter ports disposed in any embodiments of Applicants' system, each of those host adapter ports comprises a shared resource that has equal access to both central processing/cache elements 130 and 140. Each host adapter port may comprise one or more Fibre Channel ports, one or more FICON ports, one or more ESCON ports, or one or more SCSI ports, or one or more iSCSI ports. Each host adapter port is connected to both clusters through interconnect bus 121 such that each cluster can handle I/O from any host adapter port. Internal buses in each subsystem are connected via a Remote I/O bridge 155/195 between the processor portions 130/140 and I/O portions 160/170, respectively.
Processor portion 130 comprises processor 132 and cache 134. In certain embodiments, processor portion 130 further comprises memory 133. In certain embodiments, memory device 133 comprises random access memory. In certain embodiments, memory device 133 comprises non-volatile memory.
Processor portion 140 comprises processor 142 and cache 144. In certain embodiments, processor portion 140 further comprises memory 143. In certain embodiments, memory device 143 comprises random access memory. In certain embodiments, memory device 143 comprises non-volatile memory.
I/O portion 160 comprises a plurality of device adapter ports 161 which in the illustrated embodiment of
I/O portion 170 comprises a plurality of device adapter ports 171 which in the illustrated embodiment of
In certain embodiments of Applicants' system, one or more host adapter ports 101, processor portion 130, and one or more device adapter ports 161, are disposed in a single controller, such as controller 210 (
In the illustrated embodiment of
In certain embodiments, one or more of the data storage devices comprise a plurality of hard disk drive units. In certain embodiments, arrays 180 and 190 utilize a RAID protocol. In certain embodiments, arrays 180 and 190 comprise what is sometimes called a JBOD array, i.e. “Just a Bunch Of Disks” where the array is not configured according to RAID. In still other embodiments, arrays 180 and 190 comprise what is sometimes called a SBOD array, i.e. “Switched Bunch Of Disks,” where those arrays are not configured according to RAID.
The illustrated embodiment of
Referring now to
In the illustrated embodiment of
In certain embodiments, processor 218 comprises an SES processor. In certain embodiments, that SES processor comprises a Fibre Channel initiator. In other embodiments, Applicants' storage controller 210 comprises more than two host adapter ports, and/or more that two device adapter ports.
Communication link 213 interconnects host adapter port 212 to one or more host computers. Communication link 215 interconnects host adapter port 214 to one or more host computers.
In the illustrated embodiment of
In certain embodiments, processor 228 comprises an SES processor. In certain embodiments, that SES processor comprises a Fibre Channel initiator. In other embodiments, Applicants' storage controller 220 comprises more than two host adapter ports, and/or more that two device adapter ports.
Fibre Channel switch 216 is interconnected to midplane 230 by plurality of communication links 258. Fibre Channel switch 226 is interconnected to midplane 230 by plurality of communication links 268. Midplane 230 is interconnected to plurality of data storage devices 240 by plurality of communication links 270.
Referring now to
Each switch domain control card comprises a switch and a processor. In certain embodiments, the switch comprises a Fibre Channel switch. In certain embodiments, the processor comprises an SES processor. In the illustrated embodiment of
In the illustrated embodiment of
Referring to
As those skilled in the art will appreciate, removing one of the two storage controllers from information storage and retrieval system 300 results in a cost reduction. Although removal of one of two storage controllers results in a cost reduction, that cost reduction carries with it a performance reduction in that each data storage device disposed in the system is available through a single I/O path comprising a single Fibre Channel port. Therefore such a prior art single storage controller implementation cannot take advantage of the dual ported nature of the FC-AL drives which provides availability when one drive port is failed.
In certain embodiments, Applicants' information storage and retrieval system 100 comprises a storage controller in combination with a Fibre Channel switch controller, where each of those controllers is interconnected to a plurality of data storage devices, wherein each of those data storage devices comprises two Fibre Channel ports, and wherein each of the two Fibre Channel ports are utilized to provide two I/O paths to each of the data storage devices.
For example, in the illustrated embodiment of
Processor 218, disposed in storage controller 210 is interconnected to processor 415, disposed in the Fibre Channel switch controller 410, by communication link 610. Storage logic 211, disposed in storage controller 210, is interconnected to Fibre Channel switch 420, disposed in Fibre Channel switch controller 410, by communication link 620.
A plurality of communication links, such as links 258, interconnect Fibre Channel switch 216, disposed in storage controller 210 to midplane 230. A plurality of communication links 268 interconnect the Fibre Channel switch 420 to midplane 230. A plurality of communication links 270 interconnect each of two Fibre Channel ports disposed on each of the storage devices comprising plurality of data storage devices 240 to midplane 230.
In the illustrated embodiment of
A storage services provider offering storage services to storage services customers utilizing the apparatus of
In certain embodiments, Applicants' information storage and retrieval system 100 comprises a storage controller, such as storage controller 210, a Fibre Channel switch controller, such as system controller 410, where each of those controllers is interconnected to dual Fibre Channel arbitrated loops (“FC-AL”), where each of those Fibre Channel loops comprises a plurality of switch domain controllers. In the illustrated embodiment of
Further in the illustrated embodiment of
In the illustrated embodiment of
For example, each of plurality of data storage devices 370 is disposed in a first switch domain comprising switch domain controller 310, and in a second switch domain comprising switch domain controller 340. Similarly, each of plurality of data storage devices 380 is disposed in a first switch domain comprising switch domain controller 320, and in a second switch domain comprising switch domain controller 350. In addition, each of plurality of data storage devices 390 is disposed in a first switch domain comprising switch domain controller 330, and in a second switch domain comprising switch domain controller 360.
Information can be read from, and/or written to, each of plurality of data storage devices 370 via two different I/O paths, wherein a first I/O path is disposed in a first switch domain comprising switch domain controller 310, and wherein a second I/O path is disposed in a second switch domain comprising switch domain controller 340. Similarly, information can be read from, and/or written to, each of plurality of data storage devices 380 via two different I/O paths, wherein a first I/O path is disposed in a first switch domain comprising switch domain controller 320, and wherein a second I/O path is disposed in a second switch domain comprising switch domain controller 350. In addition, information can be read from, and/or written to, each of plurality of data storage devices 390 via two different I/O paths, wherein a first I/O path is disposed in a first switch domain comprising switch domain controller 330, and wherein a second I/O path is disposed in a second switch domain comprising switch domain controller 360.
A storage services provider offering storage services to storage services customers utilizing the apparatus of
While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated in detail, it should be apparent that modifications and adaptations to those embodiments may occur to one skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention as set forth in the following claims.
