Storage system and method for executing file-based firmware commands and collecting response data

• US 10,474,391 B2
• Filed: 09/05/2017
• Issued: 11/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (JP Morgan Chase & Co)
• Original Assignee: Western Digital Technologies Incorporated (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: Velusamy, Sivaraj, Kannappan, Vithya, Ravimohan, Narendhiran Chinnaanangur, Jayaraman, Muralitharan
• Primary Examiner(s): Cardwell, Eric
• Application Number:
  US15/695,686
• Publication Number:
  US 20190073156A1
• Time in Patent Office: 798 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/196 Specific adaptations of the file system to access devices and non-file objects via standard file system access operations, e.g. pseudo file systems dedicated interfaces to storage systems G06F3/0601
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0604 Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. storage management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0643 Management of files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0658 Controller construction arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0659 Command handling arrangements, e.g. command buffers, queues, command scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0664 at device level, e.g. emulation of a storage device or system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0671 In-line storage system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0688 Non-volatile semiconductor memory arrays

Abstract

A storage system and method for executing file-based firmware commands and collecting response data are provided. In one embodiment, a storage system is provided comprising a memory and a controller. The controller is configured to: receive a request from a host in communication with the storage system to write data in a file, wherein the file is identified by a file path name; determine whether the file path name matches a predetermined file path name; in response to determining that the file path name does not match the predetermined file path name, write the data in the file; and in response to determining that the file path name matches the predetermined file path name, execute a command represented by the data. Other embodiments are provided.

Claims

1. A storage system comprising:

a memory; and

a controller in communication with the memory, wherein the controller is configured to;

receive a request from a host in communication with the storage system to write data in a file, wherein the file is identified by a file path name and the host does not address logical block addresses in the memory and, thus, cannot access diagnostic or configuration functionality only accessible by logical block addresses;

determine whether the file path name matches a predetermined file path name;

in response to determining that the file path name does not match the predetermined file path name, write the data in the file; and

in response to determining that the file path name matches the predetermined file path name;

execute a command represented by the data;

write, in the file, a response to the command after the command is executed;

receive a request from the host to read the file; and

in response to receiving the request from the host to read the file, send the response written in the file to the host;

wherein;

the file is requested to be written to by the host to execute the command;

the file is read by the host to provide the response to the command; and

the command comprises a diagnostic command or a configuration command.

2. The storage system of claim 1, wherein:

the command is encrypted; and

the controller is further configured to decrypt the command prior to executing the command.

3. The storage system of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to:

identify a logical block address associated with the file path name; and

determine whether the file path name matches a predetermined file path name by determining whether the logical block address associated with the file path name matches a predetermined logical block address.

4. The storage system of claim 1, wherein the memory comprises a three-dimensional memory.

5. The storage system of claim 1, wherein the storage system is removably connected to the host.

6. A method for executing a command in a storage system, the method comprising:

performing the following in a storage system comprising a memory;

receiving a request from a host to write data in a file in the memory, wherein the host does not address logical block addresses in the memory and, thus, cannot access diagnostic or configuration functionality only accessible by logical block addresses;

based on a location of the file in a directory structure of the memory, determining that the data represents a command to be executed and not data to be written in the file;

executing the command;

writing, in the file, a response to the command after the command is executed;

receiving a request from the host to read the file; and

in response to receiving the request from the host to read the file, sending the response written in the file to the host;

wherein;

the file is requested to be written to by the host to execute the command;

the file is read by the host to provide the response to the command; and

the command comprises a diagnostic command or a configuration command.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein:

the command is encrypted; and

the method further comprises decrypting the command prior to execution.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the storage system identifies the location of the file in the directory structure based on an associated logical block address.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the memory comprises a three-dimensional memory.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the storage system is removably connected to the host.

11. A storage system comprising:

a memory;

means for receiving a request from a host to write data in a file in the memory, wherein the host does not address logical block addresses in the memory and, thus, cannot access diagnostic or configuration functionality only accessible by logical block addresses;

means for determining that the data represents a command to be executed and not data to be written in the file, based on a location of the file in a directory structure of the memory;

means for executing the command;

means for writing, in the file, a response to the command after the command is executed;

means for receiving a request from the host to read the file; and

means for sending the response written in the file to the host in response to receiving the request from the host to read the file;

wherein;

the file is requested to be written to by the host to execute the command;

the file is read by the host to provide the response to the command;

at least one of the means comprises a processor; and

the command comprises a diagnostic command or a configuration command.

12. The storage system of claim 11, wherein the memory comprises a three-dimensional memory.