Methods and devices for booting a network attached storage with two logical units

• US 9,479,588 B1
• Filed: 02/26/2015
• Issued: 10/25/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (JP Morgan Chase & Co)
• Original Assignee: Western Digital Technologies Incorporated (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: Lin, James S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nam, Hyun
• Application Number:
  US14/632,085
• Time in Patent Office: 607 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/102 where the programme performs an interfacing function, e.g. device driver G06F13/105 takes precedence; scheduling within device drivers G06F9/52; contention policies within device drivers G06F9/4881
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4022 using switching circuits, e.g. switching matrix, connection or expansion network G06F13/4009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• 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 3/0634 by changing the state or mode of one or more devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0658 Controller construction arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0661 Format or protocol conversion arrangements
• 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 3/0671 In-line storage system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0674 Disk device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0689 Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

A data storage device may comprise data storage comprising a first logical unit configured to store user data and a second logical unit configured to store an operating system. A first interface may be configured to couple to a host and a second interface may be configured to couple to a network. In a first mode, the data storage device may be configured to expose the first logical unit to the host and render the second logical unit inaccessible and, in a second mode, the data storage device may be configured to allow access to both the first and the second logical units. The first mode may comprise a direct attached storage (DAS) mode and the second mode may comprise a network attached storage (NAS) mode.

Claims

1. A data storage device, comprising:

data storage;

a first interface configured to couple to a host;

a second interface configured to couple to a network;

a first controller coupled to the second interface and configured to operate the data storage device as a network attached storage (NAS) device;

a second controller coupled to the data storage and selectably coupled to one of the first interface and the first controller and configured to operate the data storage device as a direct attached storage (DAS) device; and

a switch configured to selectively couple the second controller to the first interface or to the first controller, wherein the first controller is configured to access the data storage only through the second controller.

2. The data storage device of claim 1, wherein the data storage comprises:

a first logical unit configured to store user data; and

a second logical unit configured to store an operating system.

3. The data storage device of claim 2, wherein the first logical unit spans a first predetermined range of logical block addresses (LBAs), and wherein the second logical unit spans a second predetermined range of LBAs that does not overlap with the first predetermined range of LBAs.

4. The data storage device of claim 2 wherein, when operated as a NAS device, the data storage device is further configured to boot the operating system stored in the second logical unit.

5. The data storage device of claim 2, wherein when configured to operate as a NAS device, the data storage device exposes the first logical unit to the host over the first interface and renders the second logical unit inaccessible and, when configured to operate as a DAS device, the data storage device allows access to both the first and the second logical units over the first and second interfaces, respectively.

6. The data storage device of claim 1, wherein the first controller is configured to operate the data storage device as a NAS device when a connection to the second interface is detected.

7. The data storage device of claim 1, wherein the second controller is configured to operate the data storage device as a DAS device when a connection to the second interface is not detected.

8. The data storage device of claim 1, wherein the second controller is configured to operate the data storage device as a DAS device when a connection to the first interface is detected.

9. The data storage device of claim 1, wherein the first controller is configured to be active only when the data storage device operates as a NAS device.

10. The data storage device of claim 1, wherein the second controller is further coupled to the second interface.

11. The data storage device of claim 1, wherein the switch is configured to be controlled to couple the first interface to the first controller when the data storage device operates as a DAS device and to couple the second controller to the first controller when the data storage device operates as a NAS device.

12. A method of configuring a data storage device comprising data storage, a first and a second interface, and a first and a second controller, the method comprising:

configuring the first interface to couple to a host;

configuring the second interface to couple to a network;

coupling the first interface to the second controller;

coupling the second interface to the first controller;

configuring the first controller to access the data storage only through the second controller and to operate the data storage device as a network attached storage (NAS) device;

configuring the second controller to operate the data storage device as a direct attached storage (DAS) device; and

selectably coupling the second controller to one of the first interface and the first controller.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein selectably coupling is performed by at least one of the first and the second controller controlling a switch.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising configuring the data storage with a first logical unit configured to store user data and a second logical unit configured to store an operating system.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising booting the operating system stored in the second logical unit when a connection to the host is not detected on the first interface.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

configuring the data storage device to operate as a DAS device when a connection to the host is detected on the first interface; and

configuring the data storage device to operate as a NAS device when the connection to the host is not detected on the first interface.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising configuring the data storage device to operate as a DAS device when a connection to the host is detected on the first interface.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

configuring the data storage to comprise a first logical unit configured to span a first predetermined range of logical block addresses (LBAs); and

configuring the data storage to comprise a second logical unit configured to span a second predetermined range of LBAs that does not overlap with the first predetermined range of LBAs.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising configuring the first controller to process data access commands only when the data storage device operates as a NAS device.

20. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

coupling the first interface to the second controller when the data storage device operates as a DAS device; and

coupling the first controller to the second controller when the data storage device operates as a NAS device.