Packet classification in a storage system
First Claim
1. A method for use by a storage switch in a storage network, the method comprising:
- (a) receiving a plurality of packets by the storage switch, wherein the plurality of packets includes data packets and storage control packets for controlling storage management and routing of data packets between an initiator and a storage device;
(b) classifying at a classifier the packets as data packets or storage control packets, wherein the storage control packets comprise connection requests or storage management requests;
(c) communicating the storage control packets to a first device that controls the storage switch using said storage control packets and the data packets to a second device, andwherein said step of classifying is performed without buffering of the packets.
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Abstract
A storage switch in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is a highly scalable switch that allows the creation of a SAN that is easy to deploy and that can be centrally managed. Moreover, such a storage switch also allows the deployment of a global infrastructure, allowing the resources of the SAN, such as storage devices, to essentially be positioned anywhere on the globe. Further, such a storage switch allows a multi-protocol SAN, e.g., one that includes both iSCSI or Fibre Channel, and processes data packets at “wire speed.” To further enable wire-speed processing, a switch in accordance with the invention has “intelligence” distributed to each of its linecards, through which it classifies packets into data and control packets, it performs virtualization functions, and it performs protocol translation functions. A switch in accordance with the invention further performs serverless storage services such as mirroring, snapshot, and replication.
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Citations
40 Claims
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1. A method for use by a storage switch in a storage network, the method comprising:
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(a) receiving a plurality of packets by the storage switch, wherein the plurality of packets includes data packets and storage control packets for controlling storage management and routing of data packets between an initiator and a storage device; (b) classifying at a classifier the packets as data packets or storage control packets, wherein the storage control packets comprise connection requests or storage management requests; (c) communicating the storage control packets to a first device that controls the storage switch using said storage control packets and the data packets to a second device, and wherein said step of classifying is performed without buffering of the packets. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for use by a storage switch in a storage network, the method comprising:
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(a) receiving a plurality of packets by the storage switch; (b) classifying at a classifier the packets into data packets and storage control packets, wherein the storage control packets comprise connection requests or storage management requests for controlling storage management and routing of data packets between an initiator and a storage device; (c) communicating to a CPU only those packets classified as storage control packet; (d) controlling the storage switch by said CPU and said storage control packets; and wherein said step of classifying is performed without buffering of the packets. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method for use in a storage network, the method comprising:
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(a) receiving a plurality of packets by a linecard of a storage switch that routes data packets between an initiator and a storage device in the network; (b) identifying, by an identifier unit on the linecard, each packet as a data packet or a storage control packet, wherein the storage control packets comprise a connection request or a storage management request for controlling storage management and routing of data packets between the initiator and the storage device; (c) communicating storage control packets to a CPU on the linecard, the CPU controlling the storage switch for said storage management and routing; (d) communicating data packets to a second device for further processing; and wherein said identifying is performed without buffering. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A linecard for use in a storage switch in a storage network for routing data packets between an initiator and a storage device, the linecard comprising
a CPU; a classifier, the classifier coupled to the CPU, the classifier designed to classify packets without buffering as data packets and as storage control packets, wherein the storage control packets comprise connection requests or storage management requests for controlling storage management and routing of data packets between the initiator and the storage device, and to communicate the storage control packets for controlling the storage switch to the CPU and the data packets to a second device. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A switch for use in a storage network, the switch comprising:
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a linecard, comprising; a first device; classification means for classifying packets, without buffering, into data packets and into control packets, wherein the control packets comprise connection requests or storage management requests for controlling storage management and routing of data packets between an initiator and a storage device, and for communicating the control packets to the first device for controlling said switch and communicating the data packets to a second device. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40)
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Specification