Remote data facility over an IP network

• US 7,430,589 B2
• Filed: 09/12/2005
• Issued: 09/30/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Meiri, David, Shetty, Ramprasad, Veprinsky, Alex
• Primary Examiner(s): Follansbee; John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran; Nghi V
• Application Number:
  US11/224,408
• Publication Number:
  US 20060031485A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,114 Days
• Field of Search: 709/219, 709/232, 709/250
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2058 using more than 2 mirrored copies
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2071 using a plurality of controllers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2074 Asynchronous techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2087 with a common controller
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A data storage system capable of performing remote data services (e.g., data mirroring) over an IP network using native connections to the IP network is described. The data storage system employs an architecture that manages the remote data services and the native connections to the IP network in a way that isolates the remote data services application software from the TCP/IP and lower level network processing.

Claims

1. A data storage system comprising:

a storage device; and

a controller coupled to the storage device and configured to transfer storage traffic between the data storage system and a remote data storage system to which the data storage system is coupled by an IP network in accordance with a remote data service application, the controller comprising two processors including a first processor and a second processor, the controller further including an interface between the remote data service application and a TCP/IP protocols software layer, the interface usable to form a connection to the IP network, wherein the storage traffic is transferred between the data storage system and the remote data storage system over the IP network using the connection to the IP network, wherein the interface is split across the two processors, with a first interface portion residing on the first processor and a second interface portion residing on the second processor.

2. The data storage system of claim 1, wherein the IP network is the Internet.

3. The data storage system of claim 1, wherein the IP network is a private network.

4. The data storage system of claim 1, wherein the interface comprises a socket interface to interface an operation of the remote data service application to the TCP/IP protocols software layer.

5. The data storage system of claim 4, wherein the connection comprises TCP/IP over Gigabit Ethernet.

6. The data storage system of claim 4, wherein the socket interface is usable to create a socket from which the connection to the IP network is formed.

7. The data storage system of claim 1, wherein the first interface portion and the remote data service application conform to a common interface.

8. A computer program product residing on a computer-readable medium for operating a controller of a data storage system in a remote data mirroring arrangement of data storage systems, the computer program product comprising instructions causing a computer to:

run a remote data service application for the transfer of storage traffic between the data storage system and a remote data storage system to which the data storage system is coupled by an IP network;

use an interface between the remote data service application and a TCP/IP protocols software layer to form a connection to the IP network, wherein the interface is split across two processors of the controller, with a first interface portion residing on a first processor and a second interface portion residing on a second processor; and

transfer the storage traffic between the data storage system and the remote data storage system over the IP network using the connection to the IP network.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the IP network is the Internet.

10. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the IP network is a private network.

11. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the interface comprises a socket interface to interface an operation of the remote data service application to the TCP/IP protocols software layer.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the socket interface is usable to create a socket from which the connection to the IP network is formed.

13. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the connection comprises TCP/IP over Gigabit Ethernet.

14. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the first interface portion and the remote data service application conform to a common interface.

15. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the first processor comprises a Remote Data Facility (RDF) emulation processor to execute first processor firmware comprising the remote data service application and the first interface portion, and wherein the second processor comprises a link processor to execute second processor firmware comprising the second interface portion, the TCP/IP protocols software layer and a network driver.

16. A controller for a data storage system adapted to be in a remote mirroring arrangement with a remote data storage system, the controller comprising:

two processors including a first processor and a second processor;

a remote data service application to run on the controller for the transfer of storage traffic between the data storage system and the remote data storage system; and

an interface between the remote data service application and a TCP/IP protocols software layer, the interface usable to form a connection to the IP network used to transfer storage traffic between the data storage system and the remote data storage system, wherein the interface is split across the two processors, with a first interface portion residing on the first processor and a second interface portion residing on the second processor.

17. The controller of claim 16, wherein the connection comprises TCP/IP over Gigabit Ethernet.

18. The controller of claim 16, wherein the first processor comprises a Remote Data Facility (RDF) emulation processor to execute first processor firmware comprising the remote data service application and the first interface portion, and wherein the second processor comprises a link processor to execute second processor firmware comprising the second interface portion, the TCP/IP protocols software layer and a network driver.