Hardware-based translating virtualization switch

• US 7,120,728 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2002
• Issued: 10/10/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chung, Daniel Y., Makishima, Dennis H., Krakirian, Shahe H., Elstad, Stephen D., Arumilli, Subbaro, Chung, Daniel Ji Yong Park, Roy, Subhojit, Isip, L. Vincent M., Maveli, Naveen S., Costantino, Cirillo Lino, Walter, Richard A.
• Primary Examiner(s): CHACE, CHRISTIAN
• Application Number:
  US10/209,694
• Publication Number:
  US 20040030857A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,532 Days
• Field of Search: 370/378, 370/379, 370/381, 370/382, 370/386, 370/399, 370/422, 709/244, 709/245, 709/249, 711/6, 711/206
• US Class Current: 711/6
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0626 Reducing size or complexity of storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0635 by changing the path, e.g. traffic rerouting, path reconfiguration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0664 at device level, e.g. emulation of a storage device or system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/40 using virtualisation of network functions or resources, e.g. SDN or NFV entities

Abstract

Placing virtualization agents in the switches which comprise the SAN fabric. Higher level virtualization management functions are provided in an external management server. Conventional HBAs can be utilized in the hosts and storage units. In a first embodiment, a series of HBAs are provided in the switch unit. The HBAs connect to bridge chips and memory controllers to place the frame information in dedicated memory. Routine translation of known destinations is done by the HBA, based on a virtualization table provided by a virtualization CPU. If a frame is not in the table, it is provided to the dedicated RAM. Analysis and manipulation of the frame headers is then done by the CPU, with a new entry being made in the HBA table and the modified frames then redirected by the HBA into the fabric. This can be done in either a standalone switch environment or in combination with other switching components located in a director level switch. In an alternative embodiment, specialized hardware scans incoming frames and detects the virtualized frames which need to be redirected. The redirection is then handled by translation of the frame header information by hardware table-based logic and the translated frames are then returned to the fabric. Handling of frames not in the table and setup of hardware tables is done by an onboard CPU.

Claims

1. A virtualization device for use with at least one host connected to a first fabric and at least one physical storage unit connected to either the first fabric or a second fabric, the device comprising:

receive port logic for receiving frames;

a lookup table containing physical storage unit addressing information related to virtualized storage units, said physical storage unit addressing information including fabric designation information;

frame information extraction logic coupled to said receive port logic to extract frame addressing information;

staging memory coupled to said receive port logic for temporarily holding a received frame;

lookup logic coupled to said lookup table and said frame information extraction logic and using said extracted frame addressing information to retrieve related physical storage unit addressing information;

substitution logic coupled to said lookup logic and said staging memory to retrieve said received frame and substitute said related physical storage unit addressing information into said received frame;

first transmit port logic for coupling to the first fabric to transmit said substituted frame into the first fabric;

second transmit port logic for coupling to the second fabric to transmit said substituted frame into the second fabric; and

routing logic coupled to said substitution logic, said lookup logic and said first and second transmit port logic to route said substituted frame to said first or second transmit port logic based on the fabric designation information in said related physical storage unit addressing information.

2. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a central processing unit (CPU);

CPU memory; and

a bus coupled to said CPU, said CPU memory and said lookup table.

3. The device of claim 2, further comprising:

forwarding logic coupled to said lookup logic, said staging memory and said CPU memory to fox-ward received frames to said CPU memory for processing by said CPU.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein received frames are forwarded to said CPU memory if related physical storage unit addressing information is not present in said lookup table.

5. The device of claim 3, further comprising:

direct transmission logic coupled to said CPU memory, said staging memory and said substitution logic to retrieve a frame from said CPU memory and provide it to said substitution logic.

6. The device of claim 2, further comprising:

direct transmission logic coupled to said CPU memory, said staging memory and said substitution logic to retrieve a frame from said CPU memory and provide it to said substitution logic, wherein said substitution logic substitutes related physical storage unit addressing information into the frame received from said direct transmission logic.

7. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

second receive port logic for receiving frames; and

second frame information extraction logic coupled to said second receive port to extract frame addressing information;

wherein said staging memory is further coupled to said second receive port logic; and

wherein said lookup logic is further coupled to said second frame information extraction logic.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein said lookup logic further determines if the data in said received frame is to be duplicated to different physical storage units and if said data is to be duplicated retrieves related physical storage unit addressing information for each different physical storage unit and provides all said physical storage unit addressing information to said substitution logic, and wherein if said data is to be duplicated said substitution logic retrieves said received frame and substitutes said related physical storage unit addressing information into said received frame for each different physical storage unit.

9. A network comprising;

a first fabric;

a second fabric;

;

at least one host connected to said first fabric;

at least one physical storage unit connected to either said first fabric or said second fabric;

a virtualization device connected to said first fabric and said second fabric and coupled to said at least one host and said at least one physical storage unit, said device including;

receive port logic for receiving frames;

a lookup table containing physical storage unit addressing information related to virtualized storage units, said physical storage unit addressing information including fabric designation information;

frame information extraction logic coupled to said receive port logic to extract frame addressing information;

staging memory coupled to said receive port logic for temporarily holding a received frame;

lookup logic coupled to said lookup table and said frame information extraction logic and using said extracted frame addressing information to retrieve related physical storage unit addressing information;

substitution logic coupled to said lookup logic and said staging memory to retrieve said received frame and substitute said related physical storage unit addressing information into said received frame; and

first transmit port logic connected to said first fabric to transmit said substituted frame into said first fabric;

second transmit port logic connected to said second fabric to transmit said substituted frame into said second fabric; and

routing logic coupled to said substitution logic, said lookup, logic and said first and second transmit port logic to route said substituted frame to said first or second transmit port logic based on the fabric designation information in said related physical storage unit addressing information.

10. The network of claim 9, said device further including:

a central processing unit (CPU);

CPU memory; and

a bus coupled to said CPU, said CPU memory and said lookup table.

11. The network of claim 10, said device further including:

forwarding logic coupled to said lookup logic, said staging memory and said CPU memory to forward received frames to said CPU memory for processing by said CPU.

12. The network of claim 11, wherein received frames are forwarded to said CPU memory if related physical storage unit addressing information is not present in said lookup table.

13. The network of claim 11, said device further including:

direct transmission logic coupled to said CPU memory, said staging memory and said substitution logic to retrieve a frame from said CPU memory and provide it to said substitution logic.

14. The network of claim 10, said device further including:

direct transmission logic coupled to said CPU memory, said staging memory and said substitution logic to retrieve a frame from said CPU memory and provide it to said substitution logic, wherein said substitution logic substitutes related physical storage unit addressing information into the frame received from said direct transmission logic.

15. The network of claim 11, said device further including:

second receive port logic for receiving frames; and

second frame information extraction logic coupled to said second receive port to extract frame addressing information;

wherein said staging memory is further coupled to said second receive port logic; and

wherein said lookup logic is further coupled to said second frame information extraction logic.

16. The network of claim 9, wherein said lookup, logic further determines if the data in said received frame is to be duplicated to different physical storage units and if said data is to be duplicated retrieves related physical storage unit addressing information for each different physical storage unit and provides all said physical storage unit addressing information to said substitution logic, and wherein if said data is to be duplicated said substitution logic retrieves said received frame and substitutes said related physical storage unit addressing information into said received frame for each different physical storage unit.

17. A method for operating a virtualization device for use with at least one host connected to a first fabric and at least one physical storage unit connected to either the first fabric or a second fabric, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving frames at a receive port;

providing a lookup table containing physical storage unit addressing information related to virtualized storage units, said physical storage unit addressing information including fabric designation information;

extracting frame addressing information from a received frame;

temporarily holding a received frame;

using said extracted frame addressing information to retrieve related physical storage unit addressing information from the lookup table;

retrieving said received flame and substituting said related physical storage unit addressing information into said received frame;

routing said substituted frame to either a first or a second transmit port based on the fabric designation information in said related physical storage unit addressing information, the first transmit port connected to the first fabric and the second transmit port connected to the second fabric; and

transmitting said substituted frame from the appropriate transmit port.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of:

forwarding received flames to a CPU memory for processing by a CPU.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein received frames are forwarded to said CPU memory if related physical storage unit addressing information is not present in said lookup table.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising the step of:

retrieving a frame from said CPU memory and providing it to said substituting step, and

substituting physical storage unit addressing information into said frame retrieved from said CPU memory prior to transmitting said frame from the port.

21. The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of:

retrieving a frame from a CPU memory and providing it to said substituting step.

22. The method of claim 17, further comprising the steps of:

receiving frames at a second receive port; and

transmitting said substituted frame from the second port.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein said retrieving said received frame and substituting related physical storage unit addressing information step further determines if the data in said received frame is to be duplicated to different physical storage units and if said data is to be duplicated retrieves related physical storage unit addressing information for each different physical storage unit and provides all said physical storage unit addressing information to said substitution logic, and wherein if said data is to be duplicated said substituting step retrieves said received frame and substitutes said related physical storage unit addressing information into said received frame for each different physical storage unit.

24. A virtualization device for use with at least one host and at least one physical storage unit, the device comprising:

receive port logic for receiving frames;

a lookup table containing physical storage unit addressing information related to virtualized storage units;

frame information extraction logic coupled to said receive port logic to extract frame addressing information;

staging memory coupled to said receive port logic for temporarily holding a received frame;

lookup logic coupled to said lookup table and said frame information extraction logic and using said extracted frame addressing information to retrieve related physical storage unit addressing information;

substitution logic coupled to said lookup logic and said staging memory to retrieve said received frame and substitute said related physical storage unit addressing information into said received frame;

transmit port logic coupled to said substitution logic to transmit said substituted frame;

a central processing unit (CPU);

CPU memory;

a bus coupled to said CPU, said CPU memory and said lookup table; and

direct transmission logic coupled to said CPU memory, said staging memory and said substitution logic to retrieve a frame from said CPU memory and provide it to said substitution logic,

wherein said substitution logic substitutes related physical storage unit addressing information into the frame received from said direct transmission logic.

25. The device of claim 24, further comprising:

forwarding logic coupled to said lookup logic, said staging memory and said CPU memory to forward received frames to said CPU memory for processing by said CPU.

26. A switched fabric for use with at least one host and at least one physical storage unit, the fabric comprising:

a switch for coupling to the at least one host and the at least one physical storage unit; and

a virtualization device coupled to said switch and for coupling to the at least one host and the at least one physical storage unit, said device including;

receive port logic for receiving frames;

a lookup table containing physical storage unit addressing information related to virtualized storage units;

frame information extraction logic coupled to said receive port logic to extract frame addressing information;

staging memory coupled to said receive port logic for temporarily holding a received frame;

lookup logic coupled to said lookup table and said frame information extraction logic and using said extracted frame addressing information to retrieve related physical storage unit addressing information;

substitution logic coupled to said lookup logic and said staging memory to retrieve said received frame and substitute said related physical storage unit addressing information into said received frame;

transmit port logic coupled to said substitution logic to transmit said substituted frame;

a central processing unit (CPU);

CPU memory;

a bus coupled to said CPU, said CPU memory and said lookup table; and

direct transmission logic coupled to said CPU memory, said staging memory and said substitution logic to retrieve a frame from said CPU memory and provide it to said substitution logic,

wherein said substitution logic substitutes related physical storage unit addressing information into the frame received from said direct transmission logic.

27. The fabric of claim 26, said device further including:

forwarding logic coupled to said lookup logic, said staging memory and said CPU memory to forward received frames to said CPU memory for processing by said CPU.

28. A network comprising:

at least one host;

at least one physical storage unit;

a switch coupled to said at least one host and said at least one physical storage unit; and

a virtualization device coupled to said switch, said at least one host and said at least one physical storage unit, said device including;

receive port logic for receiving frames;

a lookup table containing physical storage unit addressing information related to virtualized storage units;

frame information extraction logic coupled to said receive port logic to extract frame addressing information;

staging memory coupled to said receive port logic for temporarily holding a received frame;

lookup logic coupled to said lookup table and said frame information extraction logic and using said extracted frame addressing information to retrieve related physical storage unit addressing information;

substitution logic coupled to said lookup logic and said staging memory to retrieve said received frame and substitute said related physical storage unit addressing information into said received frame;

transmit port logic coupled to said substitution logic to transmit said substituted frame;

a central processing unit (CPU);

CPU memory; and

a bus coupled to said CPU, said CPU memory and said lookup table; and

direct transmission logic coupled to said CPU memory, said staging memory and said substitution logic to retrieve a frame from said CPU memory and provide it to said substitution logic,

wherein said substitution logic substitutes related physical storage unit addressing information into the frame received from said direct transmission logic.

29. The network of claim 28, said device further including:

forwarding logic coupled to said lookup logic, said staging memory and said CPU memory to forward received frames to said CPU memory for processing by said CPU.

30. A method for operating a virtualization device for use with at least one host and at least one physical storage unit, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving frames at a port;

providing a lookup table containing physical storage unit addressing information related to virtualized storage units;

extracting frame addressing information from a received frame;

temporarily holding a received frame;

using said extracted frame addressing information to retrieve related physical storage unit addressing information from the lookup table;

retrieving said received frame and substituting said related physical storage unit addressing information into said received frame;

transmitting said substituted frame from the port; and

retrieving a frame from CPU memory and providing it to said substituting step; and

substituting physical storage unit addressing information into the frame retrieved from the CPU memory prior to transmitting the frame from the port.