Systems and methods for smart storage interconnection in a heterogeneous storage environment

• US 9,268,493 B2
• Filed: 11/28/2012
• Issued: 02/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Kamalavannan, Hariharan
• Primary Examiner(s): Golabbakhsh, Ebrahim
• Application Number:
  US13/688,186
• Publication Number:
  US 20140149662A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,182 Days
• Field of Search: 709/249, 711/100, 711/101, 711/111, 711/112, 711/114, 711/116, 711/117
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0607 by facilitating the process of upgrading existing storage systems, e.g. for improving compatibility between host and storage device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0632 by initialisation or re-initialisation of storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0689 Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/356 for storage area networks

Abstract

An information handling system is provided. The information handling system includes a plurality of storage subsystems a back-end switch connected to each storage subsystem to communicate information about each of the plurality; and a redundant array of independent disks (RAID) volume. Each storage subsystem includes a RAID engine, a storage drive; and a plurality of input ports and output ports. The RAID volume includes the storage drive on a first storage subsystem of the plurality and the storage drive on a second storage subsystem of the plurality. Methods for providing such a system are also disclosed.

Claims

1. An information handling system, comprising:

a first storage subsystem that is configured to operate according to a first protocol and that includes a first redundant array of independent disks (RAID) engine, a first storage drive coupled to the first RAID engine, a first front-end interface, and a first configurable back-end interface that the first storage subsystem configures in an initiator mode to send communications and a target mode to receive communications;

a second storage subsystem that is configured to operate according to a second protocol that is different than the first protocol and that includes a second redundant array of independent disks (RAID) engine, a second storage drive coupled to the second RAID engine, a second front-end interface, and a second configurable back-end interface that the second storage subsystem configures in an initiator mode to send communications and a target mode to receive communications;

a back-end switch that is coupled to the first configurable back-end interface and the second configurable back-end interface, wherein the back-end switch is configured to convert communications between the first protocol and the second protocol; and

a first RAID volume including the first storage drive and the second storage drive.

2. The information handling system of claim 1, further comprising:

a storage area network (SAN) coupled to the first front-end interface and the second front-end interface.

3. The information handling system of claim 2, further comprising:

a host coupled to the SAN.

4. The information handling system of claim 2, further comprising:

a first host that is coupled to the SAN and configured to communicate according to the first protocol, and a second host that is coupled to the SAN and configured to communication according to the second protocols.

5. The information handling system of claim 1, wherein each of the first RAID engine and the second RAID engine is provided by a computer processor executing instruction to perform a set of functions associated with that RAID engine.

6. The information handling system of claim 4, wherein the first protocol and the second protocol are selected from a Fibre Channel protocol, an Internet Small Computer System Interface protocol, a Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface protocol, and a Fibre Channel over Ethernet protocol.

7. The information handling system of claim 1, wherein the first storage subsystem is a master storage subsystem and the second storage subsystem is a slave storage subsystem.

8. The information handling system of claim 7, wherein the slave storage subsystem includes a third storage drive, and wherein the master storage subsystem is configured to determine that the third storage drive is unused and, in response, use the third storage drive in a second RAID volume.

9. The information handling system of claim 1, wherein the first storage subsystem is configured to:

receive a write request to the first RAID volume;

configure the first configurable back-end port to an initiator mode; and

send a first protocol write request to the back-end switch through the first configurable back-end port operating in the initiator mode; and

wherein the back-end switch is configured to convert the first protocol write request to a second protocol write request and send the second protocol write request to the second storage subsystem.

10. The information handling system of claim 9, wherein the second storage subsystem is configured to:

configure the second configurable back-end port to a target mode;

receive the second protocol write request and, in response, write data to the second storage drive;

configure the second configurable back-end port to an initiator mode; and

send a second protocol write acknowledgement to the back-end switch through the second configurable back-end port operated in the initiator mode.

11. A method for providing a RAID volume, comprising:

receiving, by a first storage subsystem operating according to a first protocol, a write request to a first redundant array of independent disks (RAID) volume that includes a first storage drive that is located in the first storage subsystem and a second storage drive that is located in a second storage subsystem that operates according to a second protocol that is different than the first protocol;

reconfiguring, by the first storage subsystem, a first configurable back-end port to from a target mode to an initiator mode;

sending by the first storage subsystem through the first configurable back-end port operating in the initiator mode, a first protocol write request to a back-end switch; and

converting, by the back-end switch, the first protocol write request to a second protocol write request and sending the second protocol write request to the second storage subsystem.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first protocol and the second protocol are selected from a Fibre Channel protocol, an Internet Small Computer System Interface protocol, a Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface protocol, and a Fibre Channel over Ethernet protocol.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

sending, by a host that is coupled to the first storage subsystem through a storage area network (SAN), the write request that is directed to the first RAID volume.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprises:

performing, by the SAN, a protocol conversion on the write request and forwarding the write request to the first storage subsystem.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining, by the first storage subsystem, that that the second storage subsystem includes an unused storage drive and, in response, using the unused storage drive in a second RAID volume.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving, by the back-end switch, a second protocol write acknowledgment from the second storage subsystem,

converting, by the back-end switch, the second protocol write acknowledgement to a first protocol write acknowledgement and sending the first protocol write acknowledgement to the first storage subsystem;

reconfiguring, by the first storage subsystem, the first configurable back-end port from the initiator mode to the target mode and receiving the first protocol write acknowledgement through the first configurable back-end port operating in the target mode; and

forwarding, by the first storage subsystem, the first protocol write acknowledgement to a host.

17. A method for providing a RAID volume, the method comprising:

receiving, by a back-end switch from a first storage subsystem operating according to a first protocol, a first protocol write request to a first redundant array of independent disks (RAID) volume that includes a first storage drive that is located on the first storage subsystem and a second storage drive that is located on a second storage subsystem that operates according to a second protocol that is different than the first protocol;

converting, by the back-end switch, the first protocol write request to a second protocol write request and sending the second protocol write request to the second storage subsystem;

reconfiguring, by the second storage subsystem, a second configurable back-end port from an initiator mode to a target mode; and

receiving, by the second storage subsystem through the second configurable back-end port operating in the target mode, the second protocol write request and, in response, writing data to the second storage drive according to the second protocol write request.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

creating, by the second storage subsystem, a second protocol write acknowledgement;

reconfiguring, by the second storage subsystem, a second configurable back-end port from the target mode to an initiator mode;

sending, by the second storage subsystem through the second configurable back-end port operating in the initiator mode, the second protocol write acknowledgement to the back-end switch; and

converting, by the back-end switch, the second protocol write acknowledgement to a first protocol write acknowledgement and sending the first protocol write acknowledgement to the first storage subsystem.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the first protocol and the second protocol are selected from a Fibre Channel protocol, an Internet Small Computer System Interface protocol, a Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface protocol, and a Fibre Channel over Ethernet protocol.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

sending, by the second storage subsystem to the first storage subsystem through the back-end switch, information about an unused storage drive in the second storage subsystem;

creating, by the first storage subsystem, a second RAID volume using the unused storage drive.