Apparatus, system, and method for data access management
First Claim
1. A client apparatus for data access on a storage device connected to a storage area network, the apparatus comprising:
- a first network interface configured to allow the apparatus to communicate with a storage server;
a second network interface configured to allow the apparatus to communicate with a storage device on a storage area network;
a storage management client configured to communicate with the storage server and coordinate use of the storage device; and
a metadata management module configured to minimize metadata processing on the apparatus by communicating at least a portion of the metadata to the storage server to be exclusively stored in a centralized metadata database on the storage server, the metadata associated with file data corresponding to a client.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for data access management on a storage device connected to a storage area network. A client includes network connections to a first and second network, where the second network comprises a storage area network (SAN). The client also includes a storage management client and a storage agent. The storage agent is configured to minimize the amount of metadata processing that occurs on the client by sending the metadata or a copy thereof to a storage server to be stored in a centralized metadata database. The storage server also includes a storage manager that is configured to manage data access by the storage agent to the requested storage device.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. A client apparatus for data access on a storage device connected to a storage area network, the apparatus comprising:
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a first network interface configured to allow the apparatus to communicate with a storage server;
a second network interface configured to allow the apparatus to communicate with a storage device on a storage area network;
a storage management client configured to communicate with the storage server and coordinate use of the storage device; and
a metadata management module configured to minimize metadata processing on the apparatus by communicating at least a portion of the metadata to the storage server to be exclusively stored in a centralized metadata database on the storage server, the metadata associated with file data corresponding to a client. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A server apparatus for data access management on a storage device connected to a storage area network, the apparatus comprising:
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a first network interface configured to allow the apparatus to communicate with a storage agent;
a centralized metadata database configured to exclusively store at least a portion of metadata from the storage agent, the metadata associated with file data and received by the storage agent from a client via a data access request; and
a storage manager configured to manage a data access by the storage agent to a storage device. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system for data access management on a storage device connected to a storage area network, the system comprising:
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a first network configured to communicate network data;
a second network configured to communicate file data between a node and a storage device;
a storage server connected to the first network, the storage server having a storage manager and a centralized metadata database, the storage server configured to manage a data access to the storage device; and
a client computer connected to the first and second networks, the client computer having a storage management client and a metadata management module, the storage management client configured to communicate with the storage server and coordinate use of the storage device, and the metadata management module configured to minimize metadata processing on the client computer by communicating at least a portion of the metadata to the storage server to be exclusively stored in the centralized metadata database, the metadata associated with the file data. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. A computer readable storage medium comprising computer readable code configured to carry out a method for data access management on a storage device connected to a storage area network, the method comprising:
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receiving a data access request from a client, the data access request including metadata associated with file data corresponding to a client;
processing at least a portion of the metadata at a storage agent and accessing a storage device according to a volume management scheme; and
communicating the metadata to a storage server and exclusively storing at least a portion of the metadata in a centralized metadata database on the storage server. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method for data access management on a storage device connected to a storage area network, the method comprising:
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receiving a data access request from a client, the data access request including metadata associated with file data corresponding to a client;
processing at least a portion of the metadata at a storage agent and accessing a storage device according to a volume management scheme; and
communicating the metadata to a storage server and exclusively storing at least a portion of the metadata in a centralized metadata database on the storage server. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28)
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29. An apparatus for data access management on a storage device connected to a storage area network, the apparatus comprising:
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means for receiving a data access request from a client, the data access request including metadata associated with file data corresponding to a client;
means for processing at least a portion of the metadata at a storage agent and accessing a storage device according to a volume management scheme; and
means for communicating the metadata to a storage server and exclusively storing at least a portion of the metadata in a centralized metadata database on the storage server.
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Specification