Out of user space I/O directly between a host system and a physical adapter using file based linear block address translation

• US 7,577,761 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2005
• Issued: 08/18/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Recio, Renato J., Vega, Madeline, Boyd, William Todd, Mena, Agustin III, Hufferd, John Lewis
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsai; Henry W. H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Roche; John B
• Application Number:
  US11/216,832
• Publication Number:
  US 20070061493A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,448 Days
• Field of Search: 710/5
• US Class Current: 710/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/468 Specific access rights for resources, e.g. using capability register
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/545 where tasks reside in different layers, e.g. user- and kernel-space
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1063 Discovery through centralising entities

Abstract

Enabling user space middleware or applications to pass file name based storage requests directly to a physical I/O Adapter without run-time involvement from the local Operating System (OS)is provided. A mechanism is provided for using a file protection table (FPT) data structure, which may include a file name protection table (FNPT) and file extension protection table (FEPT), to control user space and out of user space Input/Output (I/O) operations. The FNPT has an entry for each file managed by the OS′ file system and points to a segment of the FEPT. Each entry in the FEPT may include a protection domain, along with other protection table context information, against which I/O requests may be checked to determine if an application instance that submitted the I/O requests may access the file identified in the I/O requests.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving a processing queue entry from a processing queue associated with an application instance, wherein the processing queue entry references a file;

verifying that the file associated with the processing queue entry is associated with the application instance using a file protection table data structure; and

processing the processing queue entry if the file referenced by the processing queue entry is associated with the application instance, wherein;

the processing queue entry is received in an input/output (I/O) adapter directly from the application instance without intervention by a system image of a host system,

the processing queue entry comprises a file name key (FN_Key) value that references an entry in a file name protection table,

the file name protection table has entries for each file managed by a file system of the operating system,

the processing queue entry comprises a file extension key (FE_Key) value that references an entry in a file extension protection table, the FE_Key comprising an offset within a segment of the file extension protection table,

the file extension protection table has entries for each set of linear block addresses allocated to files managed by the file system of the operating system,

the FN_Key value and the FE_Key value are generated when the application instance requests an allocation of a file in the file system of the operating system, and wherein processing the processing queue entry comprises;

performing a first lookup operation in the file name protection table based on the FN_Key to identify a first entry in the file name protection table referenced by the FN_Key, the first entry having a first pointer to a starting address of the segment of the file extension protection table corresponding to the first entry;

performing a second lookup operation in the segment of the file extension protection table, identified by the first pointer, based on the FE_Key, to identify a second entry in the file extension protection table referenced by the FE_Key, the second entry having a second pointer referencing a third entry in a storage block address table corresponding to the first entry and the second entry;

determining if an access operation specified in the processing queue entry is permitted on a portion of a storage device corresponding to the third entry based on one or more access control values in the second entry that identify a type of access permitted on a portion of a storage device associated with the second pointer; and

performing the access operation on the portion of the storage device corresponding to the third entry in response to the determination that the access operation is permitted.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is implemented in the I/O adapter coupled to the host system running the application instance.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the file protection table data structure comprises an I/O adapter resident cached portion of the file name protection table and an I/O adapter resident cached portion of the file extension protection table.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the file protection data structure comprises the file name protection table and file extension protection table, and wherein the file name protection table and file extension protection table are resident on the host system.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining if one or more portions of a storage device referenced by the identified second entry are allocated for access by the application instance comprises:

comparing a first protection domain referenced in the second entry with a second protection domain contained in a processing queue context associated with the processing queue entry; and

determining that the one or more portions of the storage device referenced by the identified second entry are allocated for access by the application instance if the first protection domain matches the second protection domain.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a permitted type of access of a portion of a storage device associated with the file targeted by the processing queue entry based on the FN_Key and FE_Key provided in the processing queue entry; and

performing validation checks on the processing queue entry based on the permitted type of access of the portion of the storage device associated with the file targeted by the processing queue entry, wherein the processing queue entry is processed only if the validation checks on the processing queue entry are completed successfully.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein identifying a permitted type of access of the portion of the storage device associated with the file targeted by the processing queue entry comprises:

identifying validation information in the second entry for use in performing the identification of the permitted type of access and for performing the validation checks.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second entry stores the one or more access control values that identify the type of access permitted on the portion of the storage device associated with the second entry and wherein the type of access is at least one of a read, a write, or a read and write.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the one or more access control values comprise a valid identification access control value and a permitted operation access control value, wherein if the valid identification access control value has a first value, the second entry is valid, and wherein if the permitted operation access control value has the first value, read and write operations are permitted on an associated portion of the storage device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein performing validation checks on the processing queue entry comprises:

determining if a value of the valid identification access control value of the second entry indicates that the second entry is valid, wherein if the valid identification access control value of the second entry indicates that the second entry is valid, and an access type being requested by the processing queue entry is a read operation, then the validation checks on the processing queue entry are completed successfully and wherein if the valid identification access control value of the second entry indicates that the second entry is valid, the permitted operation access control value indicates that write operations are permitted, and the access type being requested by the processing queue entry is a write operation, then the validation checks on the processing queue entry are completed successfully.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein performing validation checks on the processing queue entry comprises:

determining if the portion of the storage device associated with the file targeted by the processing queue entry is within a range of portions of the storage device associated with the second entry; and

denying access to the portion of the storage device associated with the file targeted by the processing queue entry if the portion of the storage device associated with the file targeted by the processing queue entry is outside the range of portions of the storage device associated with the second entry.

12. A computer program product comprising a computer recordable medium having a computer readable program recorded thereon, wherein the computer readable program, when executed on a computing device, causes the computing device to:

receive a processing queue entry from a processing queue associated with an application instance, wherein the processing queue entry references a file;

verify that the file associated with the processing queue entry is associated with the application instance using a file protection table data structure; and

process the processing queue entry if the file referenced by the processing queue entry is associated with the application instance, wherein;

the processing queue entry is received in an input/output (I/O) adapter directly from the application instance without intervention by a system image of a host system,

the processing queue entry comprises a file name key (FN_Key) value that references an entry in a file name protection table,

the file name protection table has entries for each file managed by a file system of the operating system,

the processing queue entry comprises a file extension key (FE_Key) value that references an entry in a file extension protection table, the FE_Key comprising an offset within a segment of the file extension protection table,

the file extension protection table has entries for each set of linear block addresses allocated to files managed by the file system of the operating system,

the FN_Key value and the FE_Key value are generated when the application instance requests an allocation of a file in the file system of the operating system, and wherein processing the processing queue entry comprises;

performing a first lookup operation in the file name protection table based on the FN_Key to identify a first entry in the file name protection table referenced by the FN_Key, the first entry having a first pointer to a starting address of the segment of the file extension protection table corresponding to the first entry;

performing a second lookup operation in the segment of the file extension protection table, identified by the first pointer, based on the FE_Key, to identify a second entry in the file extension protection table referenced by the FE_Key, the second entry having a second pointer referencing a third entry in a storage block address table corresponding to the first entry and the second entry;

determining if an access operation specified in the processing queue entry is permitted on a portion of a storage device corresponding to the third entry based on one or more access control values in the second entry that identify a type of access permitted on a portion of a storage device associated with the second pointer; and

performing the access operation on the portion of the storage device corresponding to the third entry in response to the determination that the access operation is permitted.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the computer program product is implemented in the I/O adapter coupled to the host system running the application instance.

14. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the file protection table data structure comprises an I/O adapter resident cached portion of the file name protection table and an I/O adapter resident cached portion of the file extension protection table.

15. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the file protection data structure comprises the file name protection table and file extension protection table, and wherein the file name protection table and file extension protection table are resident on the host system.

16. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the computer readable program to determine if one or more portions of a storage device referenced by the identified second entry are allocated for access by the application instance further causes the computing device to:

compare a first protection domain referenced in the second entry with a second protection domain contained in a processing queue context associated with the processing queue entry; and

determine that the one or more portions of the storage device referenced by the identified second entry are allocated for access by the application instance if the first protection domain matches the second protection domain.

17. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the computer readable program further causes the computing device to:

identify a permitted type of access of a portion of a storage device associated with the file targeted by the processing queue entry based on the FN_Key and FE_Key provided in the processing queue entry; and

perform validation checks on the processing queue entry based on the permitted type of access of the portion of the storage device associated with the file targeted by the processing queue entry, wherein the processing queue entry is processed only if the validation checks on the processing queue entry are completed successfully.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the computer readable program to identify a permitted type of access of the portion of the storage device associated with the file targeted by the processing queue entry further causes the computing device to:

identifying validation information in the second entry for use in performing the identification of the permitted type of access and for performing the validation checks.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the second entry stores the one or more access control values that identify a type of access permitted on the portion of the storage device associated with the second entry second and wherein the type of access is at least one of a read, a write, or a read and write.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the one or more access control values comprise a valid identification access control value and a permitted operation access control value.

21. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein if the valid identification access control value has a first value, the second entry is valid, and wherein if the permitted operation access control value has the first value, read and write operations are permitted on an associated portion of the storage device.

22. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the computer readable program to perform validation checks on the processing queue entry further causes the computing device to:

determine if a value of the valid identification access control value of the second entry indicates that the second entry is valid, wherein if the valid identification access control value of the second entry indicates that the second entry is valid, and an access type being requested by the processing queue entry is a read operation, then the validation checks on the processing queue entry are completed successfully and wherein if the valid identification access control value of the second entry indicates that the second entry is valid, the permitted operation access control value indicates that write operations are permitted, and the access type being requested by the processing queue entry is a write operation, then the validation checks on the processing queue entry are completed successfully.

23. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the computer readable program to perform validation checks on the processing queue entry further causes the computing device to:

determine if the portion of the storage device associated with the file targeted by the processing queue entry is within a range of portions of the storage device associated with the second entry; and

deny access to the portion of the storage device associated with the file targeted by the processing queue entry if the portion of the storage device associated with the file targeted by the processing queue entry is outside the range of portions of the storage device associated with the second entry.

24. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory comprises instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

receive a processing queue entry from a processing queue associated with an application instance, wherein the processing queue entry references a file;

verify that the file associated with the processing queue entry is associated with the application instance using a file protection table data structure; and

process the processing queue entry if the file referenced by the processing queue entry is associated with the application instance, wherein;

the processing queue entry is received in an input/output (I/O) adapter directly from the application instance without intervention by a system image of a host system,

the processing queue entry comprises a file name key (FN_Key) value that references an entry in a file name protection table,

the file name protection table has entries for each file managed by a file system of the operating system,

the processing queue entry comprises a file extension key (FE_Key) value that references an entry in a file extension protection table the FE_Key comprising an offset within a segment of the file extension protection table,

the file extension protection table has entries for each set of linear block addresses allocated to files managed by the file system of the operating system,

the FN_Key value and the FE_Key value are generated when the application instance requests an allocation of a file in the file system of the operating system, and wherein processing the processing queue entry comprises;

performing a first lookup operation in the file name protection table based on the FN_Key to identify a first entry in the file name protection table referenced by the FN_Key, the first entry having a first pointer to a starting address of the segment of the file extension protection table corresponding to the first entry;

performing a second lookup operation in the segment of the file extension protection table, identified by the first pointer, based on the FE_Key, to identify a second entry in the file extension protection table referenced by the FE_Key, the second entry having a second pointer referencing a third entry in a storage block address table corresponding to the first entry and the second entry;

determining if an access operation specified in the processing queue entry is permitted on a portion of a storage device corresponding to the third entry based on one or more access control values in the second entry that identify a type of access permitted on a portion of a storage device associated with the second pointer; and

performing the access operation on the portion of the storage device corresponding to the third entry in response to the determination that the access operation is permitted.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the instructions are implemented in the I/O adapter coupled to the host system running the application instance.

26. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the file protection table data structure comprises an I/O adapter resident cached portion of the file name protection table and an I/O adapter resident cached portion of the file extension protection table.

27. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the file protection data structure comprises the file name protection table and file extension protection table, and wherein the file name protection table and file extension protection table are resident on the host system.

28. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the instructions to determine if one or more portions of a storage device referenced by the identified second entry are allocated for access by the application instance further cause the processor to:

compare a first protection domain referenced in the second entry with a second protection domain contained in a processing queue context associated with the processing queue entry; and

determine that the one or more portions of the storage device referenced by the identified second entry are allocated for access by the application instance if the first protection domain matches the second protection domain.

29. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:

identify a permitted type of access of a portion of a storage device associated with the file targeted by the processing queue entry based on the FN_Key and FE_Key provided in the processing queue entry; and

perform validation checks on the processing queue entry based on the permitted type of access of the portion of the storage device associated with the file targeted by the processing queue entry, wherein the processing queue entry is processed only if the validation checks on the processing queue entry are completed successfully.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the computer readable program to identify a permitted type of access of the portion of the storage device associated with the file targeted by the processing queue entry further causes the computing device to:

identifying validation information in the second entry for use in performing the identification of the permitted type of access and for performing the validation checks.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the second entry stores the one or more access control values that identify a type of access permitted on the portion of the storage device associated with the second entry second and wherein the type of access is at least one of a read, a write, or a read and write.

32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the one or more access control values comprise a valid identification access control value and a permitted operation access control value.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein if the valid identification access control value has a first value, the second entry is valid, and wherein if the permitted operation access control value has the first value, read and write operations are permitted on an associated portion of the storage device.

34. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the instructions to perform validation checks on the processing queue entry further cause the processor to:

determine if a value of the valid identification access control value of the second entry indicates that the second entry is valid, wherein if the valid identification access control value of the second entry indicates that the second entry is valid, and an access type being requested by the processing queue entry is a read operation, then the validation checks on the processing queue entry are completed successfully and wherein if the valid identification access control value of the second entry indicates that the second entry is valid, the permitted operation access control value indicates that write operations are permitted, and the access type being requested by the processing queue entry is a write operation, then the validation checks on the processing queue entry are completed successfully.

35. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the instructions to perform validation checks on the processing queue entry further cause the processor to:

determine if the portion of the storage device associated with the file targeted by the processing queue entry is within a range of portions of the storage device associated with the second entry; and

deny access to the portion of the storage device associated with the file targeted by the processing queue entry if the portion of the storage device associated with the file targeted by the processing queue entry is outside the range of portions of the storage device associated with the second entry.