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

• US 9,990,136 B2
• Filed: 10/21/2016
• Issued: 06/05/2018
• 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:
  US15/331,406
• Publication Number:
  US 20170038976A1
• Time in Patent Office: 592 Days
• Field of Search: None
• 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, comprising a first logical unit and a second logical unit;

a host interface configured to couple to a host;

a network interface configured to couple to a network; and

circuitry configured to selectably;

operate the data storage device in a first mode such that;

the first logical unit is rendered accessible to the host via the host interface and not the network interface; and

the second logical unit is rendered inaccessible to the host; and

operate the data storage device in a second mode such that;

both the first logical unit and the second logical unit are rendered accessible to the network via the network interface and not the host interface.

2. The data storage device of claim 1, wherein the first mode comprises a direct attached storage (DAS) mode.

3. The data storage device of claim 1, wherein the second mode comprises a network attached storage (NAS) mode.

4. The data storage device of claim 1, wherein the circuitry comprises a multiplexer configured to selectively couple the data storage to the host interface and to the network interface.

5. The data storage device of claim 1, further comprising:

a bridge controller configured to couple to the data storage; and

a network attached storage (NAS) system controller configured to couple to the bridge controller and to the network interface,

wherein the circuitry further comprises a multiplexer controlled by the bridge controller and by the NAS system controller to selectively couple the data storage to the host interface and to the network interface.

6. The data storage device of claim 5, wherein the bridge controller and the NAS system controller are included in a single assembly.

7. The data storage device of claim 5, wherein the NAS system controller is configured to access the data storage through the bridge controller.

8. The data storage device of claim 1, wherein the second logical unit is configured to store a storage device operating system corresponding to the second mode, and wherein the data storage device is configured to boot the storage device operating system stored in the second logical unit when the data storage device is operated in the second mode.

9. The data storage device of claim 1, 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.

10. The data storage device of claim 1, wherein when the data storage device is operated in the first mode, the second logical unit is not exposed to the host.

11. The data storage device of claim 1, wherein the first and second logical units are configured as overlapping virtual logical units.

12. The data storage device of claim 1, wherein the first logical unit and the second logical unit are configured to be partitioned independently of one another.

13. The data storage device of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to selectably operate the data storage device in the first mode when a connection to the host interface is detected.

14. The data storage device of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to selectably operate the data storage device in the second mode when a connection to the host interface is not detected.

15. A method, comprising:

configuring a data storage device to comprise;

data storage, comprising a first logical unit and a second logical unit;

a host interface configured to couple to a host; and

a network interface configured to couple to a network; and

detecting a connection on one of the host interface and the network interface such that;

when a connection on the host interface is detected, operating the data storage device in a first mode in which the first logical unit is rendered accessible to the host via the host interface and in which the second logical unit is rendered inaccessible to the host; and

when a connection on the network interface is detected, operating the data storage device in a second mode in which both the first logical unit and the second logical unit are rendered accessible to the network via the network interface.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising configuring the data storage device to comprise circuitry that is configured to selectively couple the data storage to the host interface when a connection to the host interface is detected and to couple the data storage to the network interface when a connection to the network interface is detected.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising configuring the data storage device to comprise:

a bridge controller configured to couple to the data storage;

a network attached storage (NAS) system controller configured to couple to the bridge controller and to the network interface; and

a multiplexer controlled by the bridge controller and the NAS system controller to selectively couple the data storage to the host interface when a connection on the host interface is detected and to the network interface when a connection on the network interface is detected.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein configuring the data storage device further comprises including the bridge controller and the NAS system controller in a single assembly.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein configuring the data storage device further comprises configuring the data storage device such that the NAS system controller accesses the data storage through the bridge controller.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein:

configuring the data storage device further comprises configuring the second logical unit to store an operating system; and

operating the data storage device in the second mode further comprises booting the data storage device from the operating system stored in the second logical unit.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein configuring the data storage device further comprises:

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

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

22. The method of claim 15, further comprising hiding the second logical unit from the host when the data storage device is operated in the first mode.

23. The method of claim 15, wherein configuring the data storage device further comprises configuring the first and second logical units as overlapping virtual logical units.

24. The method of claim 15, wherein configuring the data storage device further comprises partitioning the first and second logical units independently of one another.