Cache Driver Management of Hot Data

• US 20150277782A1
• Filed: 03/13/2015
• Published: 10/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hu, Xiaolei, Liao, Mengze, Ren, Yanlin, Wang, Yangming, Yan, Jinru, Yu, Jiang
• Application Number:
  US14/656,825
• Publication Number:
  US 20150277782A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0802 Addressing of a memory level in which the access to the desired data or data block requires associative addressing means, e.g. caches
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0866 for peripheral storage systems, e.g. disk cache
• 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 13/385 for adaptation of a particular data processing system to different peripheral devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/1016 Performance improvement
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/311 In host system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/60 Details of cache memory
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0611 in relation to response time
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0656 Data buffering arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0688 Non-volatile semiconductor memory arrays

Abstract

A cache driver, a host bus adapter and methods used by them are provided. The method used by the cache driver includes: receiving a first I/O request for accessing data, and sending a second I/O request to a host bus adapter (HBA). The cache driver sends the second I/O request in response to determining that the first I/O request accesses hot data on a HDD. In that case, the second I/O request is a request to the HBA to send a third I/O request to both the HDD and an SSD. The method used by the HBA includes: receiving a second I/O request from a cache driver. The second I/O request is a request to the HBA to send a third I/O request to both a HDD and an SSD. The HBA then sends the third I/O request.

Claims

1. A method used by a cache driver, comprising:

receiving a first I/O request to access data; and

sending a second I/O request to a host bus adapter (HBA) in response to the data accessed by the first I/O request being hot data and the first I/O request accesses a HDD, wherein the second I/O request is a request to the HBA to send a third I/O request to both the HDD and an SSD.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first I/O request is a read data request, and the third I/O request is a request to read data from the HDD and to write the read data from the HDD to the SSD.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

receiving the read data from the HDD by the HBA.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first I/O request is a write data request, and the third I/O request is a request to write data related to the write data request to both the HDD and the SSD.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein data related to the first I/O request is stored in a data buffer, and the data buffer is allocated for the cache driver by an OS in response to receiving the first I/O request.

6. A cache driver, comprising:

a first receiving module, configured to receive a first I/O request to access data; and

a sending module, configured to send a second I/O request to a host bus adapter (HBA) in response the data accessed by the first I/O request being hot data and the first I/O request accesses a HDD, wherein the second I/O request is a request to the HBA to send a third I/O request to both the HDD and an SSD.

7. The cache driver according to claim 6, wherein the first I/O request is a read data request, and the third I/O request is a request to read data from the HDD and to write the read data from the HDD to the SSD.

8. The cache driver according to claim 7, further comprising:

a second receiving module, configured to receive from the HBA the read data from the HDD.

9. The cache driver according to claim 6, wherein the first I/O request is a write data request, and the third I/O request is a request to write data related to the write data request to both the HDD and the SSD.

10. The cache driver according to claim 9, wherein the data related to the first I/O request is stored in a data buffer, and the data buffer is allocated for the cache driver by an operating system in response to receiving the first I/O request.