High-density storage systems using hierarchical interconnect
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for coupling a host to a drive in a data storage system, the data storage system comprising a plurality of drives, the apparatus comprising:
- a first tier controller, the first tier controller receiving a request from the host to couple to the drive; and
a plurality of second tier controllers, each second tier controller associated with a set of drives and configured to perform a data protection operation associated with the set of drives,wherein the first tier controller configured to determine a location of the drive and a second tier controller in the plurality of second tier controllers associated with the drive, the first tier controller configured to route the request to the determined second tier controller,wherein the determined second tier controller is configured receive the request and is configured to perform a data protection operation with the drive, the second tier controller coupling the drive to the host through the first tier controller, wherein the first tier controller and the second tier controller are included in a same storage controller enclosure and the first tier controller and the second tier controller perform operations together to form a hierarchal control system in the enclosure.
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Abstract
A system and method for coupling a host to a drive in a high-capacity data storage system are disclosed. The data storage system comprises a number of drives arranged in a hierarchical manner. A control system is provided for controlling input/output of data and managing control signals. The control system comprises a hierarchy of controllers and switches. The control system receives a request for a drive from a host and couples the host to the requested drive through the hierarchy of controllers.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1. An apparatus for coupling a host to a drive in a data storage system, the data storage system comprising a plurality of drives, the apparatus comprising:
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a first tier controller, the first tier controller receiving a request from the host to couple to the drive; and a plurality of second tier controllers, each second tier controller associated with a set of drives and configured to perform a data protection operation associated with the set of drives, wherein the first tier controller configured to determine a location of the drive and a second tier controller in the plurality of second tier controllers associated with the drive, the first tier controller configured to route the request to the determined second tier controller, wherein the determined second tier controller is configured receive the request and is configured to perform a data protection operation with the drive, the second tier controller coupling the drive to the host through the first tier controller, wherein the first tier controller and the second tier controller are included in a same storage controller enclosure and the first tier controller and the second tier controller perform operations together to form a hierarchal control system in the enclosure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for coupling a host device to a drive in a data storage system, the data storage system comprising one or more drives, a first tier controller and a plurality of second tier controllers, the method comprising:
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receiving, at the first tier controller, a request from the host to couple to a drive; determining a location of the drive and a second tier controller in the plurality of second tier controllers associated with the drive, each second tier controller associated with a set of drives and configured to perform a data protection operation associated with the set of drives, routing, at the first tier controller, the request to the determined second tier controller; receiving, at the identified second tier controller, the request; and performing a data protection operation with the drive, the second tier controller coupling the drive to the host through the first tier controller, wherein the first tier controller and the second tier controller are included in a same storage controller enclosure and the first tier controller and the second tier controller perform operations together to form a hierarchal control system in the enclosure. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. An apparatus configured to couple a host device to a drive in a data storage system, the data storage system comprising one or more drives, a first tier controller and a plurality of second tier controllers, the apparatus comprising:
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means for receiving, at the first tier controller, a request from the host to couple to a drive; means for determining a location of the drive and a second tier controller in the plurality of second tier controllers associated with the drive, each second tier controller associated with a set of drives and configured to perform a data protection operation associated with the set of drives, means for routing, at the first tier controller, the request to the determined second tier controller; means for receiving, at the identified second tier controller, the request; and means for performing a data protection operation with the drive, the second tier controller coupling the drive to the host through the first tier controller, wherein the first tier controller and the second tier controller are included in a same storage controller enclosure and the first tier controller and the second tier controller perform operations together to form a hierarchal control system in the enclosure.
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Specification