Application program interface-access to hardware services for storage management applications

• US 7,093,038 B2
• Filed: 05/02/2003
• Issued: 08/15/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xenogenic Development Limited Liability Company (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: iVivity, Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Jain, Arvind, Dalapati, Debasis, Ghosh, Sukha
• Primary Examiner(s): PEYTON, TAMMARA R
• Application Number:
  US10/428,638
• Publication Number:
  US 20030233494A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,201 Days
• Field of Search: 710/62, 710/74, 711/203, 718/1, 718/100
• US Class Current: 710/62
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/061 Improving I/O performance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0661 Format or protocol conversion arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

A method and device for using a set of APIs are provided. Some of the functions which used to be performed by software are now accelerated through hardware.

Claims

1. A storage virtualization engine coupled to a control path and a data path, the engine comprising:

a software sub-engine having the control path and data path; and

a virtualization repository;

a hardware sub-engine having an accelerated data path;

a VAAPI coupling the software sub-engine with the hardware sub-engine;

thereby some functions are performed by hardware through the VAAPI and data are accelerated through the accelerated data path.

2. The storage virtualization engine of claim 1, wherein the VAAPI and the hardware sub-engine are embedded in a storage management processor.

3. The storage virtualization engine of claim 1, further comprising a virtualization repository in a hardware portion of the storage virtualization engine.

4. A storage management system having a control path and a data path, the system comprising:

a software sub-engine having the control path and data path; and

a virtualization repository;

a hardware sub-engine having an accelerated data path;

an VAAPI coupling the software sub-engine with the hardware sub-engine;

a management application coupled to the software sub-engine, wherein command therefrom are processed by the control path, thereby some functions are performed by hardware through VAAPI and data are accelerated through the accelerated data path.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the VAAPI and hardware sub-engine are embedded in a storage management processor.

6. The system of claim 4, further comprising a virtualization repository in a hardware portion of the virtualization engine.