Apparatus, system, and method for providing a RAID storage system in a processor blade enclosure

• US 7,584,325 B2
• Filed: 07/26/2006
• Issued: 09/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Islam, Shah Mohammed Rezaul, McNeill, Andrew Boyce Jr., Kubo, Robert Akira, Vojnovich, Theodore Brian, Holland, William Gavin, Lucas, Gregg Steven, Jones, Carl Evan, Schneebeli, Kenneth Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): LANE, JOHN A
• Application Number:
  US11/460,150
• Publication Number:
  US 20080126696A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,133 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 711/114
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0626 Reducing size or complexity of storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0658 Controller construction arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0689 Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD

Abstract

An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for providing a redundant array of inexpensive disks (“RAID”) storage subsystem within a processor blade enclosure. A first RAID controller blade is included and configured to fit in a processor blade enclosure. At least one processor in communication with the first RAID controller blade is included. A disk enclosure blade is provided that includes a plurality of hard disk drives. The disk enclosure blade is configured to fit in the processor blade enclosure and the hard disk drives are in communication with the first RAID controller blade.

Claims

1. An apparatus to provide a redundant array of independent disks (“

RAID”

) storage subsystem within a processor blade enclosure, the apparatus comprising;

a first RAID controller blade configured to fit in the processor blade enclosure;

at least first and second processor blades in communication with the first RAID controller blade and configured to fit in the processor blade enclosure; and

at least one disk enclosure blade comprising a plurality of hard disk drives, wherein the disk enclosure blade is configured to fit in the processor blade enclosure and the hard disk drives of the at least one disk enclosure blade are in communication with the first RAID controller blade via a serial attached SCSI (“

SAS”

) expander;

wherein the first RAID controller blade is configured to share access to the at least one disk enclosure blade between the at first and second processor blades.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the SAS expander is configured to facilitate automatic switching between communication between the first RAID controller blade and the at least one disk enclosure blade and communication between the first RAID controller blade and at least one other disk enclosure blade.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the SAS expander is located in a second processor blade enclosure.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the SAS expander communicates with the first RAID controller blade and the hard disk drives through a communication fabric in the processor blade enclosure and the second processor blade enclosure.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least first and second processor blades are capable of concurrently communicating with the first RAID controller through a communication fabric in the processor blade enclosure.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a second RAID controller blade configured to fit in the processor blade enclosure and in communication with the at least first and second processor blades and with the hard disk drives in the disk enclosure blade.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the second RAID controller blade is redundant to the first RAID controller blade.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first RAID controller blade and the at least one disk enclosure blade are connected in a daisy chain configuration.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one disk enclosure blade comprises up to eight trays containing hard disk drives.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein each tray comprises up to three hard disk drives.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the hard disk drives comprise small form factors hard disk drives.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor blade enclosure comprises additional slots for processor blades.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the RAID controller blade and hard disk drives are configurable for different RAID levels.

14. An apparatus to provide communication between a client and a redundant array of independent disks (“

RAID”

) storage subsystem within a processor blade enclosure, the apparatus comprising;

a data command module configured to communicate a data storage command from a client to at least first and second processor blades located in the processor blade enclosure;

a data storage module configured to transmit data related to the data storage command to a first RAID controller blade, the first RAID controller blade configured to fit in the processor blade enclosure and to communicate with the at least first and second processor blades through a communication fabric in the processor blade enclosure; and

a RAID module configured to store the data on a plurality of hard disk drives in a RAID configuration, the plurality of hard disk drives being in communication with the first RAID controller blade via a serial attached SCSI (“

SAS”

) expander and located in at least one disk enclosure blade configured to fit in the processor blade enclosure;

wherein the RAID module is configured to share access to the at least one disk enclosure blade between the at first and second processor blades.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the first RAID controller blade comprises a processor blade.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the SAS expander facilitates automatic switching between communication between the first RAID controller blade and the at least one disk enclosure blade and communication between the first RAID controller blade and another disk enclosure blade in the processor blade enclosure.

17. A system to provide a redundant array of inexpensive disks (“

RAID”

) storage subsystem within a processor blade enclosure, the system comprising;

at least first and second processor blades in the processor blade enclosure;

a client in communication with the at least one of the processor blades through a computer network;

a first RAID controller blade configured to fit in the processor blade enclosure, the first RAID controller blade in communication with the at least first and second processor blades through a communication fabric in the processor blade enclosure; and

at least two disk enclosure blades each comprising a plurality of hard disk drives, wherein the disk enclosure blades are configured to fit in the processor blade enclosure and the hard disk drives are in communication with the first RAID controller blade via an expander.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the expander facilitates automatic switching between communication between the first RAID controller blade and a first of the at least two disk enclosure blades and communication between the first RAID controller blade and a second of the at least two disk enclosure blades.

19. The system of claim 17, further comprising a second RAID controller blade configured to fit in the processor blade enclosure and in communication with the at least first and second processor blades and with the hard disk drives of the at least two disk enclosure blades.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the first RAID controller blade and the at least two disk enclosure blades are connected in a daisy chain configuration.

21. The system of claim 17, wherein the RAID controller blade and hard disk drives are configurable for different RAID levels.

22. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having computer usable program code programmed to provide communication between a client and a redundant away of independent disks (“

RAID”

) storage subsystem within a processor blade enclosure, the operations of the computer program product comprising;

communicating a data storage command from a client to at least first and second processor blades located in the processor blade enclosure through a computer network;

transmitting data related to the data storage command to a first RAID controller blade configured to fit in the processor blade enclosure and to communicate with the at least first and second processor blades through a communication fabric in the processor blade enclosure;

storing the data as directed by the first RAID controller blade via a switch on a plurality of hard disk drives in a RAID configuration, wherein the plurality of hard disk drives is located in at least one disk enclosure blade configured to fit in the processor blade enclosure;

sharing access to the at least one disk enclosure blade between the first and second processor blades via the first RAID controller blade.

23. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein the switch comprises a serial attached SCSI (“

SAS”

) expander, and wherein the hard disk drives communicate with the first RAID controller blade through the SAS expander.

24. The computer program product of claim 22, further comprising a second RAID controller blade configured to fit in the processor blade enclosure and in communication with the at least first and second processor blades and with the hard disk drives.

25. The computer program product of claim 22, further comprising configuring the hard disk drives for a particular RAID level.

26. A method for providing communication between a client and a redundant array of independent disks (“

RAID”

) storage subsystem within a processor blade enclosure, the method comprising;

communicating a data storage command from a client to at least first and second processor blades located in the processor blade enclosure through a computer network;

transmitting data related to the data storage command to a first RAID controller blade configured to fit in the processor blade enclosure and to communicate with the at least first and second processor blades through a communication fabric in the processor blade enclosure; and

storing the data as directed by the first RAID controller blade via an expander on a plurality of hard disk drives in a RAID configuration, wherein the plurality of hard disk drives is located in at least first and second disk enclosure blades configured to fit in the processor blade enclosure.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising a second RAID controller blade configured to fit in the processor blade enclosure and in communication with the at least first and second processor blades and with the hard disk drives.

28. A method for configuring a redundant away of inexpensive disks (“

RAID”

) storage subsystem within a processor blade enclosure, the method comprising;

establishing communication between a first RAID controller blade configured to fit in the processor blade enclosure and at least first and second processor blades through a communication fabric in the processor blade enclosure;

configuring a plurality of hard disk drives in at least two disk enclosure blades for a RAID level, wherein the disk enclosure blades are configured to fit in the processor blade enclosure;

configuring the first RAID controller blade to simultaneously control the hard disk drives in the at least two disk enclosure blades via an expander; and

sharing access to the at least two disk enclosure blades between the first and second processor blades via the first RAID controller blade.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising establishing communication between the at least first and second processor blades and a client through a computer network.

30. The method of claim 28, further comprising configuring a second RAID controller blade configured to fit in the processor blade enclosure as a redundant RAID controller blade.