File mode RAID subsystem
First Claim
1. A method for accessing stored data maintained by a redundant array of independent disk (RAID) subsystem, comprising:
- generating, in an application program, a non-redundant file I/O request to a primary file system;
receiving, in a RAID subsystem, a non-redundant block I/O request from the primary file system;
translating, in the RAID subsystem, the non-redundant block I/O request into a redundant file I/O request for redundant file data maintained by the RAID subsystem; and
translating, in a secondary file system, the redundant file I/O request into a plurality of non-redundant block I/O requests for a block mode device storing the redundant file data.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system enables data redundancy across servers, networks, and controllers by using standard redundant files as underlying storage for RAID subsystem configurations. A redundant array of independent disk (RAID) subsystem includes a front-end interface configured to process non-redundant requests received from a primary file system communicating with an application program. A back-end interface of the RAID subsystem is configured to process redundant requests corresponding to the non-redundant requests. The redundant requests to be issued to a secondary file system communicates with a block mode device including multiple physical storage devices.
84 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for accessing stored data maintained by a redundant array of independent disk (RAID) subsystem, comprising:
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generating, in an application program, a non-redundant file I/O request to a primary file system;
receiving, in a RAID subsystem, a non-redundant block I/O request from the primary file system;
translating, in the RAID subsystem, the non-redundant block I/O request into a redundant file I/O request for redundant file data maintained by the RAID subsystem; and
translating, in a secondary file system, the redundant file I/O request into a plurality of non-redundant block I/O requests for a block mode device storing the redundant file data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
accessing non-redundant block I/O data in the block mode device in response to receiving the plurality of non-redundant block I/O request;
accessing redundant file I/O data in the secondary file system in response to the redundant file I/O request; and
accessing non-redundant block I/O data in the primary file system in response to the non-redundant block I/O requests.
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3. The method of claim 1 wherein the block mode device includes a plurality of disk drives, and further comprising:
storing a particular non-redundant block on at least at least two disk drives of the block mode device.
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4. The method of claim 1 wherein the primary file system includes a primary client side and a primary server side and the secondary file system includes a secondary client side and a secondary server side, and further comprising:
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communicating between the primary client side and the primary server side of the primary file system via a first network; and
communicating between the secondary client side and the secondary server side of the secondary file system via a second network.
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5. The method of claim 1 wherein the first network is a local area network, and the second network is a wide area network.
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6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
maintaining at least two redundant files via the secondary file system for each single file maintained by the primary file system.
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7. The method of claim 1 wherein the RAID subsystem maintains the redundant files using the secondary file system, each redundant file comprising a collection of related blocks including metadata and user data distributed over multiple physical devices of the block mode device such that each redundant file can be recovered after a failure of any one of the multiple physical devices.
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8. The method of claim 1 wherein the secondary file system includes a server secondary file system and a local secondary file system, and further comprising:
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executing the server secondary file system on a server computer; and
executing the local secondary file system on a client computer.
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9. The method of claim 3 wherein the plurality of disk drives are connected to multiple different computers.
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10. The method of claim 9 wherein the multiple different computers are connected by a wide area network.
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11. The method of claim 1 further comprising at least one client computer and at least one server computer, and further comprising:
executing the RAID subsystem on the at least one client computer.
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12. The method of claim 1 further comprising at least one client computer and at least one server computer, and further comprising:
executing the RAID subsystem on the at least one server computer.
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13. A redundant array of independent disk (RAID) subsystem, comprising:
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a front-end interface configured to process non-redundant I/O requests received from a primary file system communicating with an application program; and
a back-end interface configured to process redundant I/O requests corresponding to the non-redundant I/O requests, the redundant I/O requests to be issued to a secondary file system communicating with a block mode device. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 17, 18, 19)
a first network connecting a client side with a server side of the primary file system; and
a second network connecting a client side with a server side of the secondary file system.
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18. The RAID subsystem of claim 13 further comprising:
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at least one client computer and at least one server computer, and further comprising;
executing the RAID subsystem on the at least one client computer.
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19. The RAID subsystem of claim 13 further comprising:
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at least one client computer and at least one server computer, and further comprising;
executing the RAID subsystem on the at least one server computer.
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16. The RAID subsystem 15 wherein the plurality of disk drives are connected multiple different computers and the multiple different computers are connected via a wide area network.
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20. A redundant array of independent disk (RAID) subsystem, comprising:
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a front-end interface configured to process non-redundant block I/O requests received from an application program using non-redundant block mode access; and
a back-end interface configured to process redundant file I/O requests corresponding to the non-redundant requests, the redundant requests to be issues to a secondary file system using redundant file mode access, the secondary file system communicating with a block mode device storing redundant files.
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Specification