Peripheral controller comprising first messaging unit for communication with first OS driver and second messaging unit for communication with second OS driver for mass-storage peripheral
First Claim
1. A peripheral controller for coupling a mass storage peripheral to a computer system, the computer system running an operating system, the peripheral controller including a local bus, the peripheral controller comprising:
- a first messaging unit coupled to the local bus, the first messaging unit adapted to communicate messages to and from a first operating system driver;
a second messaging unit coupled to the local bus, the second messaging unit adapted to communicate messages to and from a second operating system driver; and
a peripheral interface coupled to the local bus and to the first and second messaging units, the peripheral interface controlling the peripheral responsive to messages sent to the first or second messaging units.
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Abstract
An embodiment of the present invention provides a peripheral controller for coupling a mass storage peripheral to a computer system. In a disclosed embodiment the peripheral controller is a disk array controller programmed for RAID. The peripheral controller includes a first messaging unit (FMU), a second messaging unit (SMU), and a peripheral interface which are connected by a local bus. The FMU responds to messages from a first operating system driver. The SMU responds to messages from a different second operating system driver. In one embodiment, the FMU responds to commands from the first operating system driver which is non-standard. In another embodiment, the SMU responds to commands from the second operating system driver which is compatible with the I2O standard. In the disclosed embodiment, the peripheral interface controls mass storage peripherals in response to messages sent to the FMU or the SMU.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A peripheral controller for coupling a mass storage peripheral to a computer system, the computer system running an operating system, the peripheral controller including a local bus, the peripheral controller comprising:
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a first messaging unit coupled to the local bus, the first messaging unit adapted to communicate messages to and from a first operating system driver; a second messaging unit coupled to the local bus, the second messaging unit adapted to communicate messages to and from a second operating system driver; and a peripheral interface coupled to the local bus and to the first and second messaging units, the peripheral interface controlling the peripheral responsive to messages sent to the first or second messaging units. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11)
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8. A peripheral controller for coupling a mass storage peripheral to a computer system, the computer system running an operating system, the peripheral controller including a local bus, the peripheral controller comprising:
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a first messaging unit coupled to the local bus, the first messaging unit adapted to communicate messages to and from a first operating system driver; a second messaging unit coupled to the local bus, the second messaging unit adapted to communicate messages to and from a second operating system driver; and a peripheral interface coupled to the local bus and to the first and second messaging units, the peripheral interface controlling the peripheral responsive to messages sent to the first or second messaging units, the second messaging unit responding to commands from the second operating system driver which is I2O compatible, wherein the second messaging unit operates only as a slave on the local bus.
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9. A peripheral controller for coupling a mass storage peripheral to a computer system, the computer system running an operating system, the peripheral controller including a local bus, the peripheral controller comprising:
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a first messaging unit coupled to the local bus, the first messaging unit adapted to communicate messages to and from a first operating system driver; a second messaging unit coupled to the local bus, the second messaging unit adapted to communicate messages to and from a second operating system driver; and a peripheral interface coupled to the local bus and to the first and second messaging units, the peripheral interface controlling the peripheral responsive to messages sent to the first or second messaging units, the second messaging unit responding to commands from the second operating system driver which is I2O compatible, wherein the second messaging unit operates only as a slave on the local bus, wherein the first messaging unit also acts as a control agent for the second messaging unit.
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12. A computer system comprising:
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a system bus; a processor coupled to the system bus; a peripheral controller for coupling a peripheral to the computer system, the computer system running an operating system, the peripheral controller including a local bus, the peripheral controller comprising; a first messaging unit coupled to the local bus, the first messaging unit adapted to communicate messages to and from a first operating system driver; a second messaging unit coupled to the local bus, the second messaging unit adapted to communicate messages to and from a second operating system driver; and a peripheral interface coupled to the local bus and to the first and second messaging units, the peripheral interface controlling the peripheral responsive to messages sent to the first or second messaging units. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22)
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19. A computer system comprising:
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a system bus; a processor coupled to the system bus; a peripheral controller for coupling a peripheral to the computer system, the computer system running an operating system, the peripheral controller including a local bus, the peripheral controller comprising; a first messaging unit coupled to the local bus, the first messaging unit adapted to communicate messages to and from a first operating system driver; a second messaging unit coupled to the local bus, the second messaging unit adapted to communicate messages to and from a second operating system driver; and a peripheral interface coupled to the local bus and to the first and second messaging units, the peripheral interface controlling the peripheral responsive to messages sent to the first or second messaging units, the second messaging unit responding to commands from the second operating system driver which is I2O compatible, wherein the second messaging unit operates only as a slave on the local bus.
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20. A computer system comprising:
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a system bus; a processor coupled to the system bus; a peripheral controller for coupling a peripheral to the computer system, the computer system running an operating system, the peripheral controller including a local bus, the peripheral controller comprising; a first messaging unit coupled to the local bus, the first messaging unit adapted to communicate messages to and from a first operating system driver; a second messaging unit coupled to the local bus, the second messaging unit adapted to communicate messages to and from a second operating system driver; and a peripheral interface coupled to the local bus and to the first and second messaging units, the peripheral interface controlling the peripheral responsive to messages sent to the first or second messaging units, the second messaging unit responding to commands from the second operating system driver which is I2O compatible, wherein the second messaging unit operates only as a slave on the local bus, wherein the first messaging unit also acts as a control agent for the second messaging unit.
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Specification