NETWORK INTERFACE DEVICES WITH REMOTE STORAGE CONTROL

• US 20160277425A1
• Filed: 03/18/2015
• Published: 09/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Gasparakis, Iosif, Dubal, Scott P., Connor, Patrick, Sood, Kapil, Tamir, Eliezer
• Granted Patent: US 9,661,007 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/60 Protecting data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/85 interconnection devices, e.g. bus-connected or in-line devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2213/3808 Network interface controller
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1416 Event detection, e.g. attack signature detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/32 including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system or for message authentication, e.g. authorization, entity authentication, data integrity or data verification, non-repudiation, key authentication or verification of credentials

Abstract

Network interface devices with remote storage control. In some embodiments, a network interface device may include receiver circuitry and remote storage device control circuitry. The remote storage device control circuitry may be coupled to the receiver circuitry and may share a physical support with the receiver circuitry. The remote storage device control circuitry may be configured to control writing of data from the receiver circuitry to a remote storage device that does not share a physical support with the remote storage device control circuitry.

Claims

1. A network interface device, comprising:

receiver circuitry; and

first storage device control circuitry, coupled to the receiver circuitry and sharing a physical support with the receiver circuitry, to control writing of data from the receiver circuitry to a first storage device, wherein the first storage device does not share a physical support with the first storage device control circuitry.

2. The network interface device of claim 1, further comprising:

security circuitry, coupled to the receiver circuitry and sharing a physical support with the receiver circuitry, to perform one or more security operations on data from the receiver circuitry to generate processed data;

wherein the remote storage device control circuitry is to cause storage of the processed data on the first storage device.

3. The network interface device of claim 2, wherein the one or more security operations include an examination of data portions of incoming network packets.

4. The network interface device of claim 2, wherein the one or more security operations include encryption.

5. The network interface device of claim 2, wherein the security circuitry includes a board management controller.

6. The network interface device of claim 1, further comprising:

a second storage device, sharing a physical support with the receiver circuitry; and

second storage device control circuitry, coupled to the receiver circuitry and sharing a physical support with the receiver circuitry, to control writing of data from the receiver circuitry to the second storage device.

7. The network interface device of claim 1, further comprising:

a processing device, coupled to the receiver circuitry and sharing a physical support with the receiver circuitry;

wherein;

the receiver circuitry is to receive a network management policy, and

the processing device is to direct storage, in the first storage device, of network traffic received by the receiver circuitry in accordance with the network management policy.

8. The network interface device of claim 7, wherein the processing device is to direct compression of the network traffic prior to storage in the first storage device.

9. The network interface device of claim 1, wherein the network interface device is included in a network interface card, system-on-chip, or chipset.

10. The network interface device of claim 1, wherein the first storage device includes a hard disk drive or a solid state drive.

11. The network interface device of claim 1, wherein the first storage device control circuitry is coupled to the first storage device via a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express bus.

12. The network interface device of claim 1, wherein the physical support is a circuit board.

13. One or more non-transitory computer readable media having instructions thereon that, in response to execution by one or more processing devices of a network interface device, cause the network interface device to:

receive data from a computing network;

perform one or more security operations on the data to generate processed data; and

cause the processed data to be written to a first storage device that does not share a physical support with the network interface device using a file system on the network interface device.

14. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media of claim 13, wherein the first storage device includes a disk drive.

15. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media of claim 13, wherein the file system is encrypted using an encryption key provided to the network interface device from a tenant computing device via a secure channel.

16. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media of claim 13, wherein the network interface device is coupled to a host computing device via a bus, and wherein the network interface device appears as a local storage device to the host computing device.

17. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media of claim 13, wherein the first storage device is coupled to a host computing device via a bus, and the file system is encrypted against the host computing device.

18. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media of claim 13, further having instructions thereon that, in response to execution by the one or more processing devices of the network interface device, cause the network interface device to:

receive second data from the computing network;

determine that the second data is to be stored in a second storage device that shares a physical support with the network interface device; and

cause the second data to be stored in the second storage device.

19. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media of claim 13, wherein the network interface device is a network switch.

20. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media of claim 13, wherein the first storage device includes a solid state drive.

21. A method of storing tenant data, comprising:

receiving data from a tenant computing device at a network interface device;

generating storage control signals for storage of the data on a first storage device, by first storage device control circuitry of the network interface device, based on a file system on the network interface device, wherein the first storage device does not share a physical support with the network interface device; and

providing the storage control signals for delivery to the first storage device over a bus.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the bus is a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express bus.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the file system is encrypted and is not understandable by a host computing device coupled to the network interface device.

24. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

performing a security operation on the received data prior to generating storage control signals, wherein the security operation includes a firewall operation, anti-virus detection, or malicious activity detection.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein the first storage device includes a solid state drive.

26. A network interface device, comprising:

means for receiving data from a computer network; and

means for controlling writing of data from the means for receiving data to a first storage device;

wherein the first storage device does not share a physical support with the means for controlling writing of data, and the means for receiving data shares a physical support with the means for controlling writing of data.

27. The network interface device of claim 26, further comprising:

means for performing one or more security operations on data from the means for receiving data to generate processed data;

wherein the means for controlling writing of data is to cause storage of the processed data on the first storage device, and the means for performing one or more security operations shares a physical support with the means for receiving data.

28. The network interface device of claim 26, further comprising:

a second storage device, sharing a physical support with the means for receiving data; and

means for controlling writing of data from the means for receiving data to the second storage device.