APPARATUS, SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR A DEVICE SHARED BETWEEN MULTIPLE INDEPENDENT HOSTS

• US 20080183882A1
• Filed: 12/06/2007
• Published: 07/31/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jpmorgan Chase Bank NA As The Agent
• Original Assignee: SanDisk Technologies LLC (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: Flynn, David, Thatcher, Jonathan, Strasser, John
• Granted Patent: US 9,734,086 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/183 Internal mounting support structures, e.g. for printed circuit boards, internal connecting means for buses G06F13/409
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/108 Parity data distribution in semiconductor storages, e.g. in SSD
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0246 in block erasable memory, e.g. flash memory
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0804 with main memory updating G06F12/0806 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0868 Data transfer between cache memory and other subsystems, e.g. storage devices or host systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/12 Replacement control
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/121 using replacement algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/123 with age lists, e.g. queue, most recently used [MRU] list or least recently used [LRU] list
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/28 using burst mode transfer, e.g. direct memory access DMA, cycle steal G06F13/32 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4022 using switching circuits, e.g. switching matrix, connection or expansion network G06F13/4009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/426 using an embedded synchronisation, e.g. Firewire bus, Fibre Channel bus, SSA bus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2211/002 Bus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2211/103 Hybrid, i.e. RAID systems with parity comprising a mix of RAID types
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/1032 Reliability improvement, data loss prevention, degraded operation etc
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/1044 Space efficiency improvement
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/2022 Flash memory
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/222 Non-volatile memory
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/70 Details relating to dynamic memory management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/7203 Temporary buffering, e.g. using volatile buffer or dedicated buffer blocks
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/7205 Cleaning, compaction, garbage collection, erase control
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/7208 : Multiple device management, e.g. distributing data over multiple flash devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0604 : Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. storage management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0608 : Saving storage space on storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0613 : in relation to throughput
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0619 : in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0643 : Management of files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/065 : Replication mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0652 : Erasing, e.g. deleting, data cleaning, moving of data to a wastebasket
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0656 : Data buffering arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0659 : Command handling arrangements, e.g. command buffers, queues, command scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0679 : Non-volatile semiconductor memory device, e.g. flash memory, one time programmable memory [OTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0685 : Hybrid storage combining heterogeneous device types, e.g. hierarchical storage, hybrid arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0688 : Non-volatile semiconductor memory arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/52 : Program synchronisation; Mutual exclusion, e.g. by means of semaphores
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/54 : Interprogram communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 : based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• 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: H05K 7/1444 : Complex or three-dimensional-arrangements; Stepped or dual mother boards
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/1487 : Blade assemblies, e.g. blade cases or inner arrangements within a blade
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 : Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

The invention includes a proxy request receiver module and a proxy request command module. The proxy request receiver module executes on a designated command proxy host and receives a proxy request from a requesting host. The requesting host is one of two or more hosts. Each of the hosts executes an operating system independent from the other hosts and a shared device. One of the hosts is designated as the command proxy host. A system bus connects the hosts and shared device. The proxy request includes a control request to be executed by the shared device sufficient to configure the shared device for a data transfer between the requesting host and shared device independent of the command proxy host. The control request is free of data. The proxy request command module transmits the control request to the shared device.

Claims

1. An apparatus for sharing a device between multiple hosts, the apparatus comprising:

a proxy request receiver module, executing on a designated command proxy host, that receives a proxy request from a requesting host,

the requesting host comprising one of two or more hosts, wherein each of the two or more hosts execute an operating system independent from the other hosts and a shared device, and wherein one of the two or more hosts is designated as the command proxy host, the two or more hosts and the shared device connected through a system bus,

the proxy request comprising a control request to be executed by the shared device, the control request sufficient to configure the shared device for a data transfer between the requesting host sending the proxy request and the shared device, the data transfer executing independent of the command proxy host, the control request being substantially free of data to be transferred between the requesting host and the shared device; and

a proxy request command module, executing on the command proxy host, that transmits the control request to the shared device in response to the proxy request receiver module receiving the control request.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

an interrupt receiver module, executing on the command proxy host, that receives an interrupt from the shared device, the interrupt comprising information that the shared device has one or more of data to be transmitted to a host and has already transmitted data to a host; and

an interrupt transmission module that transmits the information included in the interrupt to the host, the information sufficient for the host receiving the information to continue a process of receiving the data transmission.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the hosts other than the command proxy host are incapable of receiving the interrupt.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a path module, executing in the command proxy host, that determines if a communication path exists between a host and the shared device, the communication path comprising one or more of a data path and a command path, and that creates the communication path in response to determining that the communication path does not exist, the data path being sufficient to transfer one or more of data and control requests between the host and the shared device.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the communication path module determines if a communication path exists in response to one of a proxy request from the host and an interrupt from the shared device.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the shared device comprises a network interface that transfers data received from one of the two or more hosts over a computer network to a device and transfers data received through a computer network from a device to one of the two or more hosts.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the shared device comprises one or more of a storage device and a storage controller.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the storage device further comprises a solid-state storage device and the storage controller comprises a solid-state storage controller.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the system bus comprises a peripheral component interconnect express (“

PCI-e”

).

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the PCI-e bus and the shared device supports PCI-e input/output virtualization (“

PCIe-IOV”

).

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein two or more of the two or more hosts share the shared device within a single context.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the command proxy host executes in one of:

a root;

one of the two or more hosts;

the shared device;

a third party element managing commands to the shared device independent of the two or more hosts; and

a device that combines one or more of;

the root,

the one of the two or more hosts;

the shared device; and

the third party element managing commands.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the independent operating systems include a virtual machine layer with one or more operating systems operating above the virtual machine layer.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the shared device uses one of direct memory access (“

DMA”

) and remote direct memory access (“

RDMA”

) to transfer data between the host identified in the control request and the shared device.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a standard device emulation module, executing on the command proxy bus, that emulates a device to one or more of the hosts as a standard device attached to the system bus prior to loading the one or more hosts with code specific to the operation of the device, the standard device being supported by an industry standard BIOS.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the device emulated by the standard device emulation module comprises the shared device.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the standard device emulation module for the standard device supports I/O virtualization.

18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the system bus further comprises a system bus switch with a non-transparent port, wherein a first initialization process executing on a host discovers at least the command proxy host to the host and is unable to discover the shared device, wherein the discovered command proxy host is identified for communication with at least the host executing the first initialization process as a result of the first initialization process.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein a second initialization process executing on the command proxy host discovers at least the shared device to the command proxy host, wherein the shared device is identified for communication with at least the command proxy host as a result of the initialization process.

20. An apparatus for sharing a device between multiple hosts, the apparatus comprising:

a shared device control request receiver module, executing on the shared device, that receives a control request from a host designated as a command proxy host,

the command proxy host comprising one of two or more hosts, wherein each of the two or more hosts execute an operating system independent from the other hosts and the shared device, the two or more hosts and the shared device connected through a system bus,

the command proxy host transmitting the control request in response to receiving a proxy request from a requesting host, the requesting host comprising one of the two or more hosts; and

a control request response module, executing on the shared device, that configures the shared device for a data transfer between the requesting host and the shared device, the control request being substantially free of data of the data transfer, the data transfer executing independent of the command proxy host.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, further comprising:

an interrupt transmission module, executing on the shared device, that transmits an interrupt to the command proxy host, the interrupt comprising information that one of the shared device has data to be transmitted to a host and the shared device has transferred data to a host, the information sufficient for the host to continue a process of receiving the data, wherein the command proxy host transmits the information to the host.

22. An apparatus for sharing a device between multiple hosts, the apparatus comprising:

a proxy request transmitter module that transmits a proxy request from a requesting host to a designated command proxy host, the requesting host and the command proxy host each comprising one of two or more hosts and a shared device connected to a system bus, wherein each of the two or more hosts execute an operating system independent from the other hosts and the shared device, the proxy request comprising a control request to be executed by the shared device, the command proxy host transmitting the control request to the shared device, the control request sufficient to configure the shared device for a data transfer between the shared device and the requesting host transmitting the proxy request, the control request being substantially free of data to be transferred between the requesting host and the shared device; and

a host data transmitter module, executing on the requesting host, that initiates transfer of data between the requesting host and the shared device, the transfer executing independent of the command proxy host.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising:

a host interrupt receiver module, executing on a host, that receives information from the command proxy host that the shared device has one or more of data to be transmitted to the host and already transmitted data to the host, the information derived from an interrupt received by the command proxy host from the shared device;

a host data receiver module that continues a process of receiving the data transmission, the data transmission executing independent of the command proxy host.

24. An system for sharing a device between multiple hosts, the system comprising:

a system bus;

a shared device connected to the system bus;

two or more hosts connected to the system bus, wherein each of the two or more hosts execute an operating system independent from the other hosts and the shared device, and wherein one of the two or more hosts is a designated command proxy host;

a proxy request receiver module, executing on the command proxy host, that receives a proxy request from a requesting host, the proxy request sufficient to configure the shared device for a data transfer between the requesting host sending the proxy request and the shared device, the data transfer executing independent of the command proxy host, the control request being substantially free of data to be transferred between the requesting host and the shared device; and

a proxy request command module, executing on the command proxy host, that transmits the control request to the shared device in response to the proxy request receiver module receiving the control request.

25. The system of claim 24, further comprising:

an interrupt receiver module, executing on the command proxy host, that receives an interrupt from the shared device, the interrupt comprising information that the shared device has one or more of data to be transmitted to a host and has already transmitted data to a host; and

an interrupt transmission module that transmits the information from the interrupt to the host, the information sufficient for the host receiving the information to continue a process of receiving the data transmission.

26. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having computer usable program code executable to perform operations for sharing a device between multiple hosts, the operations of the computer program product comprising:

receiving a proxy request from a requesting host,

the requesting host comprising one of two or more hosts, wherein each of the two or more hosts execute an operating system independent from the other hosts and a shared device, and wherein one of the two or more hosts is designated as the command proxy host, the two or more hosts and the shared device connected through a system bus,

the proxy request comprising a control request to be executed by the shared device, the control request sufficient to configure the shared device for a data transfer between the requesting host sending the proxy request and the shared device, the data transfer executing independent of the command proxy host, the control request being substantially free of data to be transferred between the requesting host and the shared device; and

transmitting the control request to the shared device in response to the proxy request receiver module receiving the control request.

27. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having computer usable program code executable to perform operations for sharing a device between multiple hosts, the operations of the computer program product comprising:

receiving a control request from a host designated as a command proxy host,

the command proxy host comprising one of two or more hosts, wherein each of the two or more hosts execute an operating system independent from the other hosts and the shared device, the two or more hosts and the shared device connected through a system bus,

the command proxy host transmitting the control request in response to receiving a proxy request from a requesting host, the requesting host comprising of the two or more hosts; and

configuring the shared device for a data transfer between the requesting host and the shared device, the control request being substantially free of data of the data transfer, the data transfer executing independent of the command proxy host.

28. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having computer usable program code executable to perform operations for sharing a device between multiple hosts, the operations of the computer program product comprising:

transmitting a proxy request from a requesting host to a designated command proxy host, the requesting host and the command proxy host each comprising one of two or more hosts and a shared device connected to a system bus, wherein each of the two or more hosts execute an operating system independent from the other hosts and the shared device, the proxy request comprising a control request to be executed by the shared device, the command proxy host transmitting the control request to the shared device, the control request sufficient to configure the shared device for a data transfer between the shared device and the requesting host transmitting the proxy request, the control request being substantially free of data to be transferred between the requesting host and the shared device; and

initiating transfer of data between the requesting host and the shared device, the transfer executing independent of the command proxy host.