Methods and systems for a storage system including an improved switch

• US 20040088514A1
• Filed: 10/31/2002
• Published: 05/06/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mobile Networking Solutions, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Ring Technology Enterprises of Texas LLC (IPNav)
• Inventors: Bullen, Melvin James, Lynch, William Thomas, Dodd, Steven Louis, Herbison, David James
• Granted Patent: US 7,415,565 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/202
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0613 in relation to throughput
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0635 by changing the path, e.g. traffic rerouting, path reconfiguration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

A storage system that may include one or more memory devices, a memory interface device corresponding to one or more of the memory devices, which are organized in sections, a section controller, and a switch. The switch is capable of reading a data request including a data block identifier and routing the data request and any associated data through the switch on the basis of this data block identifier, such that a data request may be routed to a memory section. The section controller, in response, determines the addresses in the memory devices storing the requested data, and it transfers these addresses to those memory devices storing the requested data.

Claims

1. A storage system comprising

one or more memory sections, including

one or more memory devices including storage locations for storing data, and

a memory section controller for providing addresses to the memory devices, the addresses identifying storage locations for a memory device,

wherein the memory devices use the provided addresses to perform a function selected from the set of reading and writing data to/from the memory devices;

one or more switches for receiving a data request including a data block identifier and switching the data request based on the data block identifier to one or more of the memory sections, the data block identifier identifying a set of storage locations;

wherein the memory sections to which the data request was switched forward the received data block identifier to its memory section controller which maps the data block identifier to a set of addresses for the storage locations identified by the data block identifier, and provides the set of addresses to one or more of the memory section'"'"'s memory devices.

2. The storage system of claim 1, further comprising

a management system for providing an algorithm to at least one of the one or more switches, wherein the switch executes the algorithm in switching the data request based on the data block identifier.

3. The storage system of claim 2, further comprising:

a management system capable of performing fault management in response to a fault being detected.

4. The storage system of claim 3, wherein the management system is capable of detecting a fault with regard to a memory section in response to not receiving a message from the memory section.

5. The storage system of claim 3, wherein one or more of the memory sections are capable of detecting a fault in the memory section.

6. The storage system of claim 3, wherein the management system includes:

one or more control processors for performing fault management; and

one or more administration processors for collecting statistical data from the one or more switches and the one or more memory sections.

7. The storage system of claim 1, further comprising:

a management system capable of instructing the storage system to store a back-up of data stored by one or more of the memory sections into a non-volatile storage device connected to at least one of the switches, receiving a fault message from a memory section, and instructing the storage system to load the back-up of the memory section'"'"'s data from the non-volatile storage device into a functioning memory section.

8. The storage system of claim 1, further comprising

an interface for connecting to an external management system such that configuration management may be performed through the external management system.

9. The storage system of claim 1, further comprising:

one or more memory interface devices for receiving from at least one of the memory devices data stored in the storage locations identified by the addresses, combining the data with an identifier for use in forwarding the requested data, and forwarding the data to one or more of the switches;

wherein the switches to which the data was forwarded switch the data using the identifier and forward the data to the destination device.

10. The storage system of claim 9, wherein the identifier for use in forwarding the requested data is an address for a device to which the data are to be forwarded.

11. The storage system of claim 9, wherein the identifier for use in forwarding the requested data is an identifier for identifying the data that are to be forwarded.

12. The storage system of claim 9, wherein the memory devices include outputs, and wherein at least one of the memory interface devices includes:

at least one set of shift registers interconnected in series, wherein at least one of the shift registers receives a clock signal having a shift frequency, and wherein the shift register is capable of shifting data loaded into the shift register to a next one of the shift registers in the set according to the shift frequency; and

wherein data from one or more of the output of a memory device is loaded into a corresponding shift register in the sets of shift registers and the loaded data is shifted from the shift register to a next one of the shift registers in the set according to the shift frequency, such that the shift register maintains its shift frequency during any loading of the data.

13. The storage system of claim 9, wherein the memory devices include outputs, and wherein at least one of the memory interface devices includes:

at least one set of shift registers interconnected in series, wherein at least one of the shift registers receives a clock signal having a shift frequency, and wherein the shift register is capable of shifting data loaded into the shift register to a next one of the shift registers in the set according to the shift frequency; and

wherein data in the set of shifted register is loaded according to the clock signal from one or more shift registers in the set into one or more of the memory devices via an input corresponding to the shift register, such that the shift register maintains its shift frequency during any loading of the data.

14. The storage system of claim 1, wherein at least one memory section further includes

a temporary storage device for storing data to be written to a memory device;

and

a temporary storage interface device for storing data in and retrieving data from the temporary storage device;

wherein at least one of the switches is capable of, in response to receiving data to be stored in the memory section, forwarding the data to the temporary storage interface device, and wherein the temporary storage interface stores the data in the temporary storage device if a memory device to which the data is to be written is busy, and wherein the temporary storage interface device retrieves the data from the temporary storage device when the memory device is no longer busy and forwards the data to the memory device such that the memory device stores the data.

15. The storage system of claim 1, wherein at least one memory section further includes at least one communications channel interface for receiving data to be stored by the memory section and transferring the data to be stored to one or more of the memory devices, and wherein the communications channel interface is further capable of receiving data read from the memory devices and transferring the data read from the memory devices to one or more of the switches, and wherein the communications channel interface is further capable of receiving data requests and forwarding the data requests to the memory section controller.

16. A method for use in a storage system, comprising:

storing data in storage locations in a memory device;

receiving by a switch a data request including a data block identifier;

the switch switching the data request based on the data block identifier to a memory section including the memory device, the data block identifier identifying a set of storage locations in the memory device;

forwarding the received data block identifier to a memory section controller;

the memory section controller mapping the data block identifier to a set of addresses for the storage locations identified by the data block identifier; and

the memory section controller providing the set of addresses to the memory device; and

the memory device using the provided addresses to perform a function selected from the set of reading and writing data to/from the memory device;

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising

a management system providing an algorithm to the switch;

and

the switch executing the algorithm in switching the data request based on the data block identifier.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

a management system performing fault management in response to a fault being detected.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

the management system detecting a fault in response to not receiving a message from the memory section controller.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

the memory section controller detecting a fault.

21. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

storing a back-up of data stored by the memory device into a non-volatile storage device connected to the switch;

a management system receiving a fault message from the memory section controller; and

the management system instructing the non-volatile storage device to send the back-up of the memory device'"'"'s data to a functioning memory device.

22. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

a memory interface device receiving from the memory device data stored in the storage locations identified by the addresses;

the memory interface device combining the data with an identifier for use in forwarding the requested data;

the memory interface device forwarding the data to the switch;

the switch switching the data using the identifier; and

the switch forwarding the data to a destination device.

23. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

a memory interface device in the memory section receiving, in response to the memory section receiving a data request, data from a memory device;

shifting data in one or more shift registers in a set of shift registers interconnected in series from the shift register to a next one of the shift registers in the set on the basis of a clock signal having a shift frequency, wherein the shift registers are included in the memory interface device;

loading data from the memory device into a corresponding shift register in the set; and

shifting the data loaded into one or more of the shift registers to a next one of the shift registers in the set according to the clock signal, wherein the shift register maintains its shift frequency during the loading of the data from the memory devices into the shift registers.

24. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

a memory interface device in the memory section receiving, in response to the memory section receiving a data request, data from a memory device;

shifting data in one or more shift registers in a set of shift registers interconnected in series from the shift registers to a next one of the shift registers in the set on the basis of a clock signal having a shift frequency, the shift registers included in the memory interface device;

loading data from one or more of the shift registers to a memory device; and

shifting the data loaded from the one or more shift registers to a next one of the shift registers in the set according to the shift frequency after the data is loaded into the memory device, wherein the shift register maintains its shift frequency during the loading of the data.

25. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

the memory section receiving data to be stored in the memory device;

forwarding the data to a temporary storage interface device;

the temporary storage device storing the data in a temporary storage device if the memory device to which the data is to be written is busy;

the temporary storage interface device retrieving the data from the temporary storage device when the memory device to which the data is to be stored is no longer busy; and

the memory device storing the data.

26. A storage system, comprising:

means for storing, including;

means for storing data in storage locations, the means for storing data in storage locations including means for reading data stored in the storage locations using an address;

means for controlling the means for storing, the means for controlling including;

means for mapping a data block identifier to a set of addresses,

means for providing the addresses to the means for storing data in storage locations, the addresses identifying storage locations;

means for switching, including

means for receiving a data request including a data block identifier;

means for switching the data request based on the data block identifier to a means for storing, the data block identifier identifying a set of storage locations in the means for storing data in storage locations; and

means for forwarding the received data block identifier to the means for storing.