Access to storage resources using a virtual storage appliance

• US 9,405,566 B2
• Filed: 05/24/2013
• Issued: 08/02/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Chawla, Gaurav, Molloy, Michael Karl, Hormuth, Robert Wayne
• Primary Examiner(s): Dang, Khanh
• Application Number:
  US13/902,482
• Publication Number:
  US 20140351809A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,166 Days
• Field of Search: 710/305, 710/306, 710/308, 710/311, 710/313, 710/316, 710/22, 709/213, 709/216, 711/6
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/28 using burst mode transfer, e.g. direct memory access DMA, cycle steal G06F13/32 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/36 for access to common bus or bus system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4282 on a serial bus, e.g. I2C bus, SPI bus on daisy chain buses G06F13/4247
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45579 I/O management, e.g. providing access to device drivers or storage
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/00 Security arrangements for protecting computers, components thereof, programs or data against unauthorised activity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0611 in relation to response time
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0665 at area level, e.g. provisioning of virtual or logical volumes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0685 Hybrid storage combining heterogeneous device types, e.g. hierarchical storage, hybrid arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45533 Hypervisors; Virtual machine monitors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects

Abstract

Methods and systems for improved access to storage resources include installing a virtual storage appliance as a virtual machine on a hypervisor. The virtual storage appliance installs itself as a virtual PCI-E device and communicates with guest operating systems of the hypervisor using direct memory access via a PCI-E non-transparent bridge. The storage virtual appliance provides access to local and external storage resources with very high performance to applications running under the guest operating system, thereby overcoming performance barriers associated with native hypervisor driver models.

Claims

1. A method executed by at least one processor comprising:

loading a storage virtual appliance as a first virtual machine on a hypervisor;

installing the storage virtual appliance as a PCI-E device having access to a first port of a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCI-E) non-transparent bridge (NTB) that supports direct memory access (DMA);

responsive to detecting, by the hypervisor, that the storage virtual appliance is installed as a PCI-E device, loading a storage virtual appliance block device driver for the storage virtual appliance, wherein the storage virtual appliance block device driver has access to a second port of the PCI-E non-transparent bridge; and

using the storage virtual appliance, enabling a guest operating system executing as a second virtual machine on the hypervisor to access storage resources, wherein the storage virtual appliance communicates with the guest operating system via direct memory access over the PCI-E non-transparent bridge (NTB).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the storage virtual appliance is loaded as a virtual PCI-E device in a system address space of the hypervisor.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the hypervisor executes on a multiprocessor system, and wherein the PCI-E non-transparent bridge spans across at least two processors in the multiprocessor system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein loading the storage virtual appliance on the hypervisor further comprises:

discovering, at the storage virtual appliance block device driver, the storage resources enabled for access by the storage virtual appliance; and

reporting the storage resources to the guest operating system.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a plurality of guest operating systems executing as respective virtual machines under the hypervisor are provided access to the storage resources via direct memory access over the PCI-E non-transparent bridge using the storage virtual appliance.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the storage resources comprise at least one of:

a cache network shared among a plurality of multiprocessor servers, including the multiprocessor server;

a storage area network;

a flash memory solid state device;

a storage resource accessed using remote direct memory access; and

an array of storage devices.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein access by the guest operating system to the storage resources comprises access to the storage resources by an application executing on the guest operating system, and wherein the application accesses the storage resources via a virtual file system that includes the storage virtual appliance block device driver supporting access to the storage virtual appliance via direct memory access over the PCI-E non-transparent bridge.

8. An article of manufacture comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, that, when executed by a processor subsystem, cause the processor subsystem to:

load a storage virtual appliance as a first virtual machine on a hypervisor;

install the storage virtual appliance as a PCI-E device having access to a first port of a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCI-E) non-transparent bridge (NTB) that supports direct memory access (DMA);

responsive to detection, by the hypervisor, that the storage virtual appliance is installed as a PCI-E device, load a storage virtual appliance block device driver for the storage virtual appliance, wherein the storage virtual appliance block device driver has access to a second port of the PCI-E non-transparent bridge; and

using the storage virtual appliance, enable a guest operating system executing as a second virtual machine on the hypervisor to access storage resources, wherein the storage virtual appliance communicates with the guest operating system via direct memory access over the PCI-E non-transparent bridge (NTB).

9. The article of manufacture of claim 8, wherein the storage virtual appliance is loaded as a virtual PCI-E device in a system address space of the hypervisor.

10. The article of manufacture of claim 8, wherein the processor subsystem comprises a plurality of processors that execute the hypervisor, and wherein the PCI-E non-transparent bridge spans across at least two processors in the plurality of processors.

11. The article of manufacture of claim 8, wherein the instructions that cause the processor subsystem to load the storage virtual appliance on the hypervisor further comprise instructions to cause the processor subsystem to:

discover, within the storage virtual appliance block device driver, the storage resources enabled for access by the storage virtual appliance; and

report the storage resources to the guest operating system.

12. The article of manufacture of claim 8, wherein a plurality of guest operating systems executing as respective virtual machines under the hypervisor are provided access to the storage resources via direct memory access over the PCI-E non-transparent bridge using the storage virtual appliance.

13. The article of manufacture of claim 8, wherein the storage resources comprise at least one of:

a cache network shared among a plurality of multiprocessor servers, including the multiprocessor server;

a storage area network;

a flash memory solid state device;

a storage resource accessed using remote direct memory access; and

an array of storage devices.

14. The article of manufacture of claim 8, wherein access by the guest operating system to the storage resources comprises access to the storage resources by an application executing on the guest operating system, and wherein the application accesses the storage resources via a virtual file system that includes the storage virtual appliance block device driver supporting access to the storage virtual appliance via direct memory access over the PCI-E non-transparent bridge.

15. An information handling system comprising:

a processor subsystem having access to a memory subsystem, wherein the memory subsystem stores instructions executable by the processor subsystem, that, when executed by the processor subsystem, cause the processor subsystem to;

load a storage virtual appliance as a first virtual machine on a hypervisor;

install the storage virtual appliance as a PCI-E device having access to a first port of a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCI-E) non-transparent bridge (NTB) that supports direct memory access (DMA);

responsive to detection, by the hypervisor, that the storage virtual appliance is installed as a PCI-E device, load a storage virtual appliance block device driver for the storage virtual appliance, wherein the storage virtual appliance block device driver has access to a second port of the PCI-E non-transparent bridge; and

using the storage virtual appliance, enable a guest operating system executing as a second virtual machine on the hypervisor to access storage resources, wherein the storage virtual appliance communicates with the guest operating system via direct memory access over the PCI-E non-transparent bridge (NTB).

16. The information handling system of claim 15, wherein the storage virtual appliance is loaded as a virtual PCI-E device in a system address space of the hypervisor.

17. The information handling system of claim 15, wherein the processor subsystem comprises a plurality of processors that execute the hypervisor, and wherein the PCI-E non-transparent bridge spans across at least two processors in the plurality of processors.

18. The information handling system of claim 15, wherein the instructions that cause the processor subsystem to load the storage virtual appliance on the hypervisor further comprise instructions to cause the processor subsystem to:

discover, within the storage virtual appliance block device driver, the storage resources enabled for access by the storage virtual appliance; and

report the storage resources to the guest operating system.

19. The information handling system of claim 15, wherein a plurality of guest operating systems executing as respective virtual machines under the hypervisor are provided access to the storage resources via direct memory access over the PCI-E non-transparent bridge using the storage virtual appliance.

20. The information handling system of claim 15, wherein the storage resources comprise at least one of:

a cache network shared among a plurality of multiprocessor servers, including the multiprocessor server;

a storage area network;

a flash memory solid state device;

a storage resource accessed using remote direct memory access; and

an array of storage devices.

21. The information handling system of claim 15, wherein access by the guest operating system to the storage resources comprises access to the storage resources by an application executing on the guest operating system, and wherein the application accesses the storage resources via a virtual file system that includes the storage virtual appliance block device driver supporting access to the storage virtual appliance via direct memory access over the PCI-E non-transparent bridge.