Virtual ports for data transferring of a data storage system

• US 6,421,711 B1
• Filed: 06/29/1998
• Issued: 07/16/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Blumenau, Steven M., Raz, Yoav
• Primary Examiner(s): Rinehart, Mark H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): VU, THONG H
• Application Number:
  US09/106,299
• Time in Patent Office: 1,478 Days
• Field of Search: 709/245, 709/231, 709/208, 709/213, 709/217, 709/103, 709/220, 709/223, 709/107, 709/200-203, 709/229, 709/219, 395/825, 395/892, 395/441, 370/60, 370/216, 370/469, 370/321, 370/422, 370/352, 370/389, 370/401, 370/206, 370/207, 711/122, 711/112, 711/153, 711/208, 711/152.5, 714/758, 714/15, 345/340, 710/74, 710/36, 710/311, 710/108, 710/310, 710/53, 710/11
• US Class Current: 709/213
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0617 in relation to availability
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0635 by changing the path, e.g. traffic rerouting, path reconfiguration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0662 Virtualisation aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/35 involving non-standard use of addresses for implementing network functionalities, e.g. coding subscription information within the address or functional addressing, i.e. assigning an address to a function
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A storage controller has at least one physical data port for a data network including host processors. The storage controller is programmed to provide a plurality of virtual ports for access to storage, and a virtual switch for routing storage access requests from the physical port to the virtual ports. The virtual ports and the virtual switch are defined by software. The virtual ports appear to the hosts as physical ports in the data network. For example, in a Fiber-Channel network, the virtual ports have World Wide Names (WWNs) and are assigned temporary addresses (S_Ds), and the virtual switch provides a name server identifying the WWNs and S_IDs of the virtual ports. For convenient partitioning of storage among host processors, one or more virtual ports are assigned to each host, and a set of storage volumes are made accessible from each virtual port. A host can access storage at a virtual port only if the virtual port has been assigned to the host. Preferably, storage can be accessed through each virtual port by no more than one assigned host, although a shared volume may be accessible from more than one virtual port. The storage controller may provide a service for reporting to a host the virtual ports through which the host can access storage, and the storage volumes that are accessible to the host through each of the virtual ports.

Claims

1. A data storage subsystem comprising, in combination:

data storage; and

a storage controller coupled to the data storage for controlling access to the data storage, the storage controller having at least one physical data port for connecting the storage controller into a data network for data transmission between the data storage and host processors in the data network, wherein the storage controller is programmed to provide a plurality of virtual ports that are not physical ports in the data network but that appear to the host processors to be physical ports in the data network that provide access to the data storage and that are connected to the physical data port by a switch in the storage controller for routing storage access requests from the physical data port to the virtual ports;

wherein the storage controller is programmed with a permanent network name for each of the virtual ports, is programmed with a temporary network address for each of the virtual ports, and is programmed to route from the physical data port to a specified virtual port a storage access request containing a temporary address that specifies the specified virtual port;

wherein the storage controller is programmed to provide access at each virtual port to only a respective assigned subset of the data storage;

wherein the storage controller is programmed to permit assignment of more than one virtual port to each host processor such that said each host processor may access storage from every virtual port assigned to said each host processor; and

wherein the storage controller is programmed so that none of the virtual ports is assigned to more than one host processor so that not more than one host processor may access the data storage from any one of the virtual ports.

2. The data storage subsystem as claimed in claim 1, wherein the storage controller is programmed to establish a respective mapping at said each virtual port between logical unit numbers addressable by one respective host processor to which said each virtual port is assigned, and corresponding storage volumes of the data storage which said one respective host processor may access from said each virtual port.

3. The data storage subsystem as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least a first virtual port and a second virtual port are assigned to at least one host processor such that said at least one host processor can access from the first virtual port only private storage that is not shared with any other host processor, and said at least one host processor can access from the second virtual port storage that is shared with another host processor.

4. The data storage subsystem as claimed in claim 1, wherein the storage controller is programmed to provide a name server for responding to a name server request from the network by identifying the virtual ports and providing network addresses of the virtual ports, and the storage controller is further programmed to provide a facility for reporting to a host processor the virtual ports from which the host processor may access the data storage, and the subset of the data storage that the host processor may access from each of the virtual ports from which the host processor may access the data storage.

5. The data storage subsystem as claimed in claim 1, wherein the storage controller is programmed so that the virtual ports and the switch are substantially compliant with Fibre-Channel network standards applicable to Fibre-Channel physical ports and Fibre-Channel fabric.

6. A machine-readable program storage device that is executable by a storage controller for controlling access to data storage, said storage controller having at least one physical data port for connecting the storage controller into a data network for data transmission between the data storage and host processors in the data network,

wherein the program is executable by the storage controller to provide a plurality of virtual ports that are not physical ports in the data network but that appear to the host processors to be physical ports in the data network that provide access to the data storage and that are connected to the physical data port by a switch in the storage controller for routing storage access requests from the physical data port to the virtual ports;

wherein the program is executable by the storage controller so that the storage controller will have a permanent network name for each of the virtual ports and a temporary network address for each of the virtual ports, and the program is executable by the storage controller to route from the physical data port to a specified virtual port a storage access request containing a temporary address that specifies the specified virtual port;

wherein the program is executable by the storage controller to provide access at each virtual port to only a respective assigned subset of the data storage;

wherein the program is executable by the storage controller to permit assignment of more than one virtual port to each host processor such that said each host processor may access storage from every virtual port assigned to said each host processor; and

wherein the program is executable by the storage controller so that none of the virtual ports is assigned to more than one host processor so that not more than one host processor may access the data storage from any one of the virtual ports.

7. The machine-readable program storage device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the program is executable by the storage controller to establish a respective mapping at said each virtual port between logical unit numbers addressable by one respective host processor to which said each virtual port is assigned, and corresponding storage volumes of the data storage which said one respective host processor may access from said each virtual port.

8. The machine-readable program storage device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the program is executable by the storage controller to assign at least a first virtual port and a second virtual port to at least one host processor such that said at least one host processor can access from the first virtual port only private storage that is not shared with any other host processor, and said at least one host processor can access from the second virtual port storage that is shared with another host processor.

9. The machine-readable program storage device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the program is executable by the storage controller to provide a name server for responding to a name server request from the network by identifying the virtual ports and providing network addresses of the virtual ports, and the program is executable by the storage controller to provide a facility for reporting to a host processor the virtual ports from which the host processor may access the data storage, and the subset of the data storage that the host processor may access from each of the virtual ports from which the host processor may access the data storage.

10. The machine-readable program storage device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the program is executable by the storage controller so that the virtual ports and the switch are substantially compliant with Fibre-Channel network standards applicable to Fibre-Channel physical ports and Fibre-Channel fabric.

11. A method of operating a storage controller for controlling access to data storage, the storage controller having at least one physical data port for connecting the storage controller into a data network for data transmission between the data storage and host processors in the data network, said method comprising:

the storage controller receiving storage access requests from the host processors at the physical data port, and inspecting network addresses in the storage access requests to find network addresses of virtual ports in the storage controller to which the storage access requests are directed, and controlling access to the data storage in accordance with the network addresses of the virtual ports to which the storage access requests are directed, wherein the virtual ports are not physical data ports in the data network, but the storage controller is operated to cause the virtual ports to appear to the host processors to be physical ports in the data network that provide access to the data storage and that are connected to the physical data port by a switch in the storage controller for routing storage access requests from the physical data port to the virtual ports;

wherein the storage controller maintains a permanent network name for each of the virtual ports and a temporary network address for each of the virtual ports;

wherein the storage controller provides access at each virtual port to only a respective assigned subset of the data storage;

wherein the storage controller permits assignment of more than one virtual port to each host processor such that said each host processor may access storage from every virtual port assigned to said each host processor; and

wherein none of the virtual ports is assigned to more than one host processor so that not more than one host processor may access the data storage from any one of the virtual ports.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the storage controller maintains a respective mapping at said each virtual port between logical unit numbers addressable by one respective host processor to which said each virtual port is assigned, and corresponding storage volumes of the data storage which said one respective host processor may access from said each virtual port.

13. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the storage controller assigns at least a first virtual port and a second virtual port to at least one host processor such that said at least one host processor can access from the first virtual port only private storage that is not shared with any other host processor, and said at least one host processor can access from the second virtual port storage that is shared with another host processor.

14. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the storage controller responds to a name server request from the network by identifying the virtual ports and providing network addresses of the virtual ports, and the storage controller reports to a host processor the virtual ports from which the host processor may access storage, and the subset of the data storage that the host processor may access from each of the virtual ports from which the host processor may access the data storage.

15. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the storage controller transmits data to and receives data from the network so that the virtual ports and the switch are substantially compliant with Fibre-Channel network standards applicable to Fibre-Channel physical ports and Fibre-Channel fabric.