CLIENTLESS SOFTWARE DEFINED GRID

• US 20160173602A1
• Filed: 12/15/2014
• Published: 06/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Amit, Jonathan, Chen, Lior, Keller, Michael, Matosevich, Rivka M.
• Granted Patent: US 10,469,580 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1023 based on a hash applied to IP addresses or costs
• 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]

Abstract

Methods, computing systems and computer program products implement embodiments of the present invention that include configuring multiple servers coupled to a network as a software defined storage (SDS) grid. A first given server receives, via the network, an input/output (I/O) request from a host computer, and determines a location of data associated with the I/O request. In some embodiments, each of the servers maintains a local grid data map that store locations for all data managed by the SDS grid. Upon identifying, in its respective local grid data map, that a second given server is configured to process the I/O request, the first given server forwards the I/O request to the second given server for processing, and upon receiving a result of the I/O request from the second given server, the first given server conveys the result of the I/O request to the host computer.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

configuring multiple servers coupled to a network as a software defined storage (SDS) grid;

receiving, by a first given server from a host computer, an input/output (I/O) request; and

upon identifying, by the first given server, that a second given server is configured to process the I/O request, forwarding, by the first given server, the I/O request to the second given server.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the host computer communicates with the first given server using a standard storage access protocol.

3. The method according to claim 1, and comprising receiving, by the first given server from the second given server, a result of the I/O request, and forwarding the result to the host computer.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein forwarding the I/O request comprises forwarding a data request to the second given server, and wherein the result of the I/O request comprises a result of the data request.

5. The method according to claim 3, and comprising maintaining, by each of the multiple servers, a grid data map having a plurality of entries, each of the entries comprising a data identifier and a respective server identifier,

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein identifying the second given server comprises locating a given entry whose data identifier matches the data request, and wherein the respective server identifier in the given entry indicates the second given server.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein identifying the second given server comprises performing a calculation, based on the I/O request, and wherein a result of the calculation indicates the second given server.

8. A data facility, comprising:

a network;

one or more host computers coupled to the network; and

multiple servers coupled to the network, and configured as a software defined storage (SDS) grid, each of the servers comprising;

multiple storage devices, and

a processor configured;

to receive at a receiving server, from a given host computer, an input/output (I/O) request, and

upon identifying that a given server, different from the receiving server is configured to process the I/O request, to forward the I/O request to the given server.

9. The data facility according to claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to communicate with the host computer via a standard storage access protocol.

10. The data facility according to claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to receive, from the given server, a result of the I/O request, and to forward the result to the given host computer.

11. The data facility according to claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to forward the I/O request by forwarding a data request to the second given server, and wherein the result of the I/O request comprises a result of the data request.

12. The data facility according to claim 11, wherein each of the processors is configured to maintain, in each of the multiple servers, a grid data map having a plurality of entries, each of the entries comprising a data identifier and a respective server identifier,

13. The data facility according to claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to identify the second given server by locating a given entry whose data identifier matches the data request, and wherein the respective server identifier in the given entry indicates the second given server.

14. The data facility according to claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to identify the second given server by performing a calculation, based on the I/O request, and wherein a result of the calculation indicates the second given server.

15. A computer program product, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising;

computer readable program code configured to arrange multiple servers coupled to a network as a software defined storage (SDS) grid;

computer readable program code executing on a first given server and configured to receive, from a host computer, an input/output (I/O) request; and

computer readable program code executing on the first given server and configured, upon identifying that a second given server is arranged to process the I/O request, to forward the I/O request to the second server.

16. The computer program product according to claim 15, and comprising computer readable program code executing on the first given server and configured to receive, from the second given server, a result of the I/O request, and to forward the result to the host computer.

17. The computer program product according to claim 16, wherein the computer readable program code is configured to forward the I/O request by forwarding a data request to the second given server, and wherein the result of the I/O request comprises a result of the data request.

18. The computer program product according to claim 17, and comprising computer readable program code configured to maintain, by each of the multiple servers, a grid data map having a plurality of entries, each of the entries comprising a data identifier and a respective server identifier,

19. The computer program product according to claim 18, wherein the computer readable program code is configured identify the second given server by locating a given entry whose data identifier matches the data request, and wherein the respective server identifier in the given entry indicates the second given server.

20. The computer program product according to claim 15, wherein the computer readable program code is configured identify the second given server by performing a calculation, based on the I/O request, and wherein a result of the calculation indicates the second given server.