Techniques for Command Validation for Access to a Storage Device by a Remote Client

• US 20140325013A1
• Filed: 01/16/2013
• Published: 10/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tahoe Research Limited (f/k/a Learndale Limited) (Vector Capital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Tamir, Eliezer, Makhervaks, Vadim, Friedman, Ben-Zion, Willke, Theodore L., Cayton, Phil
• Granted Patent: US 10,360,176 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/212
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4282 on a serial bus, e.g. I2C bus, SPI bus on daisy chain buses G06F13/4247
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/167 using a common memory, e.g. mailbox
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/17331 Distributed shared memory [DSM], e.g. remote direct memory access [RDMA]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/44 Program or device authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/79 in semiconductor storage media, e.g. directly-addressable memories
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/80 in storage media based on magnetic or optical technology, e.g. disks with sectors preventing unauthorised reproduction or copying of disc-type recordable media G11B20/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2213/0026 PCI express
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/061 Improving I/O performance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0611 in relation to response time
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0655 Vertical data movement, i.e. input-output transfer; data movement between one or more hosts and one or more storage devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0659 Command handling arrangements, e.g. command buffers, queues, command scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0683 Plurality of storage devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0688 Non-volatile semiconductor memory arrays
• 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 69/12 Protocol engines
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

Examples are disclosed for command validation for access to a storage device maintained at a server. In some examples, a network input/output device coupled to the server may receive the command from a client remote to the server. For these examples, elements or modules of the network input/output device may be capable of validating the command and reporting the status of the received command to the client. Other examples are described and claimed.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

circuitry for a network input/output device coupled to a server;

a receive module for execution by the circuitry to receive a command from a client remote to the server, the command to provide the client access to a storage device controlled by a Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) controller maintained at the server;

a validation module for execution by the circuitry to validate the command based, at least in part, on whether an operation code (Opcode) indicated in the command is supported by the network input/output device and on whether an index identifier indicated in the command associates the client with an NVMe Namespace Identifier allocated to the client; and

a report module for execution by the circuitry to indicate a status of the received command to the client, the status to include one of an invalid command or a completed command.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, the network input/output device, the storage device and the NVMe controller arranged to operate in compliance with an industry standard to include PCIe Base Specification, revision 3.0 or NVMe Specification, revision 1.1.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, the command received in a packet compatible with a remote direct memory access (RDMA) protocol to include one of Internet Wide Area RDMA protocol (iWARP), Infinband or RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE).

4. The apparatus of claim 1, the Opcode included in the command includes one of a flush, a write, a read, a write uncorrectable or a compare.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, the storage device to include a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), the SSD having non-volatile memory comprising at least one of 3-dimensional cross-point memory, flash memory, ferroelectric memory, silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) memory, polymer memory, nanowire, ferroelectric transistor random access memory (FeTRAM or FeRAM), nanowire or electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM).

6. The apparatus of claim 1, the index identifier that associates the client with the Namespace Identifier is included in an index that indicates allocated resources provided to the client by the server for access to the storage device, the allocated resources to include a buffer maintained by the server and a first queue pair accessible to the client that includes a command submission queue to the NVMe controller and a command completion queue from the NVMe controller.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, the allocated resources to also include a second queue pair accessible to the NVMe controller that includes a second command submission queue to the NVMe controller and a second command completion queue from the NVMe controller.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, the report module capable of indicating the status of the received command as a completed command via an indication in the first command completion queue that indicates the received command to access the storage device was executed by the NVMe controller.

9. The apparatus of claim 6, the allocated resources to include a portion of a memory capacity for the buffer, the validation module to also validate the command based on whether a transaction size to access the storage device indicated in the command exceeds the portion of the memory capacity.

10. The apparatus of claim 6, the index identifier that associates the client with the NVMe Namespace Identifier also associates the client with a first transaction context assigned to the buffer, the validation module to also validate the command based on whether a second transaction context indicated in the received command matches the first transaction context.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, the index identifier that associates the client with the NVMe Namespace Identifier also associates the NVMe Namespace Identifier with an Opcode, the validation module to also validate the command based on whether the Opcode indicated in the command is associated with the NVMe Namespace Identifier.

12. A method comprising:

receiving, at a network input/output device coupled to a server, a command for a client remote to the server to access a storage device controlled by a Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) controller maintained at the server;

validating the command based on whether an operation code (Opcode) indicated in the command is supported by the network input/output device and on whether an index identifier indicated in the command associates the client with an NVMe Namespace Identifier allocated to the client; and

indicating a status of the received command to the client as one of an invalid command or a completed command.

13. The method of claim 12, comprising the network input/output device, the storage device and the NVMe controller arranged to operate in compliance with an industry standard to include PCIe Base Specification, revision 3.0 or NVMe Specification, revision 1.1.

14. The method of claim 12, the command received in a packet compatible with a remote direct memory access (RDMA) protocol to include one of Internet Wide Area RDMA protocol (iWARP), Infinband or RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE).

15. The method of claim 12, the Opcode indicated in the command includes one of a flush, a write, a read, a write uncorrectable or a compare.

16. The method of claim 12, the index identifier that associates the client with the NVMe Namespace Identifier is included in an index that indicates allocated resources provided to the client by the server for access to the storage device, the allocated resources to include a buffer maintained by the server and a first queue pair accessible to the client that includes a first command submission queue to the NVMe controller and a first command completion queue from the NVMe controller.

17. The method of claim 16, the allocated resources to also include a second queue pair accessible to the NVMe controller that includes a second command submission queue to the NVMe controller and a second command completion queue from the NVMe controller.

18. The method of claim 16, indicating the status of the received command as a completed command via a completion indication placed in the first command completion queue, the completion indication to indicate that the received command to access the storage device was executed by the NVMe controller.

19. The method of claim 16, the index that associates the client with the NVMe Namespace Identifier also associates the client with a first transaction context assigned to the buffer, validating the command to also include validating the command based on whether a second transaction context indicated in the received command matches the first transaction context.

20. The method of claim 12, the storage device to include a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), the SSD having non-volatile memory comprising at least one of 3-dimensional cross-point memory, flash memory, ferroelectric memory, silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) memory, polymer memory, nanowire, ferroelectric transistor random access memory (FeTRAM or FeRAM), nanowire or electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM).

21. At least one machine readable medium comprising a plurality of instructions that in response to being executed on a network input/output device coupled to a server cause the network input/output device to:

receive a command for a client remote to the server to access a storage device controlled by a Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) controller maintained at the server, the command received in a packet compatible with a remote direct memory access (RDMA) protocol to include one of Internet Wide Area RDMA protocol (iWARP), Infinband or RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE);

validate the command based on whether an operation code (Opcode) indicated in the command is supported by the network input/output device and on whether an index identifier indicated in the command associates the client with an NVMe Namespace Identifier allocated to the client; and

indicate a status of the received command to the client as one of an invalid command or a completed command.

22. The at least one machine readable medium of claim 21, the network input/output device, the storage device and the NVMe controller arranged to operate in compliance with an industry standard to include PCIe Base Specification, revision 3.0 or NVMe Specification, revision 1.1.

23. The at least one machine readable medium of claim 21, the index identifier that associates the client with the NVMe Namespace identifier is included in an index that indicates allocated resources provided to the client by the server for access to the storage device, the allocated resources to include a buffer maintained by the server and a first queue pair accessible to the client that includes a first command submission queue to the NVMe controller and a first command completion queue from the NVMe controller.

24. The at least one machine readable medium of claim 23, the allocated resources to also include a second queue pair accessible to the NVMe controller that includes a second command submission queue to the NVMe controller and a second command completion queue from the NVMe controller.

25. The at least one machine readable medium of claim 21, the Opcode indicated in the command includes one of a flush, a write, a read, a write uncorrectable or a compare.