Providing redundancy for a device within a network

• US 20060253543A1
• Filed: 06/30/2006
• Published: 11/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ServStor Technologies, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Zetera Corporation
• Inventors: Ludwig, Thomas, Babbitt, William, Hanan, Thomas, Frank, Charles
• Granted Patent: US 7,882,252 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/215
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/28 characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks] wireless communication networks H04W ; arrangements for dividing the transmission path H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2832 Interconnection of the control functionalities between home networks single bridge functionality H04L12/4625
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2836 Protocol conversion between an external network and a home network controlling appliance services of a home automation network from a device located outside the home and the home network H04L12/2818; protocol conversion H04L69/08; adaptation of digital video signals for transport over a specific home network H04N7/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/46 Interconnection of networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4616 LAN interconnection over a LAN backbone
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/35 involving non-standard use of addresses for implementing network functionalities, e.g. coding subscription information within the address or functional addressing, i.e. assigning an address to a function
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/161 Implementation details of TCP/IP or UDP/IP stack architecture; Specification of modified or new header fields
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A storage device has partitions that are separately addressed by distinct IP addresses. This allows direct access of the partitions, on a peer-to-peer basis, by any other device that can communicate using IP. Preferred storage devices support spanning between or among partitions of the same device, as well as between or among different storage devices. Both multicast and proxy spanning are contemplated. Combinations of the inventive storage devices with each other, and with prior art storage devices are contemplated, in all manner of mirroring and other arrangements. In still other aspects of the invention, a given storage device can comprise one or more types of media, including any combination of rotating and non-rotating media, magnetic and optical, and so forth.

Claims

1-21. -21. (canceled)

22. A method of implementing redundancy for a device within a network, the method comprising:

(a) providing different first and second addresses sufficient to access concurrently active, redundant first and second functional units, respectively, where each functional unit represents a functional portion of the device;

(b) the network delivering duplicate commands to each of the functional units; and

wherein the first and second functional units can produce identical responses to the duplicate commands.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the first functional unit comprises a memory.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the first functional unit comprises a partition associated with the memory.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein the second functional unit mirrors the first functional unit.

26. The method of claim 22 wherein the first and second addresses comprise IP addresses.

27. The method of claim 26 further comprising providing a third address sufficient to access both the first and second functional units.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein the third address comprises a multicast address.

29. The method of claim 22 wherein the response of the first and second functional units comprises taking an action associated with data storage.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the action includes writing data to a storage media.

31. The method of claim 29 wherein the action includes reading data from a storage media.

32. The method of claim 22 further comprising the second functional unit continuing to produce a response to the duplicate commands after the first functional unit fails.

33. The method of claim 32 further comprising accepting the response as correct output.