KR20110030006A - Network direct attached storage device with swithing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A network direct connection storing device including a switching device in order to simplify the complex of cabling is provided to reduce the consumption of an unnecessary external Ethernet switch port. CONSTITUTION: An ethernet bridging unit(1) offers a switching function between an external Ethernet and an NDAS storage unit(2). The NDAS storage unit performs a direct connection storing device on network. The Ethernet bridging unit comprises ethernet bridge devices. The ethernet bridging unit includes an internal Ethernet interface, an Ethernet bridging logic and an external Ethernet interface.

Description

NET DIRECT ATTACHED STORAGE DEVICE WITH SWITHING DEVICE}

The present invention relates to a network direct storage device including a switching device, and more particularly, to provide a device that can be connected by a single link only between an internal network direct storage device (NDAS) system and an external Ethernet network.

Network storage systems based on recent Network Direct Attached Storage (NDAS) technologies are becoming more popular because of their higher performance in accessing storage over Ethernet. have. Host computers, such as servers, access and share NDAS storage systems over Ethernet as if the storage were attached locally via a direct link. This topology is also known as a storage area network (SAN). In a SAN, host computers, such as servers, are attached to their storage systems over a private network over a public Ethernet network, rather than through a direct link such as SCSI. The SAN topology offers advantages such as increased scalability, redundant datapaths, more efficient storage utilization, and the like.

The most common configuration of NDAS storage systems is that a single hard drive is attached to an external Ethernet network through an NDAS bridge unit. This allows hosts in the same network to access and share hard drives via Ethernet.

Today's professional and enterprise class storage systems typically span multiple mass storage devices such as hard disk drives, optical disk drives or even tape drives to achieve increased capacity, performance and availability requirements. Connect with There are multiple approaches for professional and enterprise NDAS storage systems that connect multiple mass storage devices to a SAN simultaneously. One such approach is to combine multiple independent NDAS storage units with only one mass storage device attached to the system in a single system. There are also other approaches, which provide the best performance recently because each internal NDAS storage unit communicates with an external Ethernet network over its own Ethernet link. On the one hand, this approach faces the problem that the entire storage system must be connected to an external Ethernet network with multiple split links, one for each internal NDAS storage unit. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that additional network devices that are important for the functioning of the entire system, such as the enclosed closed management device and the internal host computer, need to be included in the system, which also provides their own interface. It requires an Ethernet link that is separate from the external Ethernet network. This requires even more separate and totally independent links to be located between the NDAS storage system and the external Ethernet network. This is an inconvenient source of errors due to the consumption of a significant amount of unnecessary external Ethernet switch ports, increased cabling complexity and maintenance, and the need to rely on proper installation of external Ethernet switching.

The present invention allows a NDAS storage system with one or more internal NDAS storage units and an additional internal device with an Ethernet interbase to have a common external Ethernet interface that can be connected to an external Ethernet network, wherein all internal Ethernet devices are external Ethernet. Its purpose is to provide a method that requires only a single link between an NDAS storage system and an external Ethernet network to connect to the network.

A network direct storage device comprising a switching device according to the invention comprises an Ethernet bridging unit for providing a switching function between an external Ethernet and a storage unit and one or two storage units for functioning as direct connected storage devices on the network. The Ethernet bridging unit may include one or more Ethernet bridge devices, wherein the Ethernet bridge device includes an internal Ethernet interface, an Ethernet bridging logic, and an external Ethernet interface, and the storage unit is a physical storage medium. And an NDAS storage controller unit, wherein the NDAS storage controller unit includes an ATA host interface, an NDAS target logic, and an Ethernet interface.

The storage device may be any one of a hard disk drive, an optical disk drive, a semiconductor disk, a tape drive, or a RAID array.

The apparatus may further include an internal host computer for a system management function.

A network direct storage device comprising a switching device according to the invention can reduce the consumption of a significant amount of unnecessary external Ethernet switch ports, simplify the cabling complexity, and thereby reduce the frequency and cost of maintenance. It only requires an external Ethernet network and a single link, so it is independent of the external Ethernet switch.

The core of a network direct storage device comprising a switching device according to the invention is an internal Ethernet bridge unit which conforms to the IEEE802.1d standard and has internal and external Ethernet interfaces. One or more internal NDAS storage units and other internal devices having an Ethernet interface are attached to the Ethernet bridge unit and provided with a common external Ethernet interface for interconnecting with an external Ethernet network. To that end, a network direct storage device comprising a switching device according to the invention comprises (A) an internal Ethernet bridge unit, (B) one or more NDAS storage units, and optionally (C) another having an Ethernet interface. It consists of a device. A detailed description with reference to FIG. 1 is as follows.

Ethernet Bridging  unit( Eternet bridging unit )(One)

The Ethernet bridging unit consists of one or more interconnected Ethernet bridge devices. These devices are known by the terms "Ethernet switch" or "Layer 2 switch" which function by the IEEE 802.1d standard. A single Ethernet bridge device 10 is typically comprised of (a) one or multiple internal Ethernet interfaces 11, (b) Ethernet bridge logic 12, and (c) one or multiple external Ethernet interfaces 13. It is composed. From a technical point of view, there is no difference between the internal and external Ethernet interfaces, but there are differences in function and definition.

(a) Internal Ethernet interfaces 11 allow internal Ethernet devices such as NDAS storage unit 2 to be connected to Ethernet bridge device 10. The internal Ethernet interface also allows their respective interconnections of multiple Ethernet bridge devices 10 to functionally form a single Ethernet bridge unit 1. By their functional nature, internal Ethernet devices are typically not exposed outside of the NDAS storage system. A single Ethernet interface is typically arranged with physical Ethernet connectors such as RJ45, Fiber, or backplane connectors, pins of each of the chipsets containing Ethernet bridging logic, physical layer (PHY) devices, magnetics, etc. It consists of the interconnections between the components or everything in the required circuit and between the cables or circuit board tracks.

(b) Ethernet bridging logic 12 performs its function in accordance with the IEEE802.1d standard. And typically, it consists of an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), but it can consist of a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a system on chip (SoC), or software emulation that runs on a general-purpose computer platform.

(c) External Ethernet interfaces 13 provide a connection of an NDAS storage system directly to an external Ethernet network or host having an Ethernet interface. As a result, they become the only Ethernet interface for systems that are exposed outside of NDAS storage systems. A single Ethernet interface is typically arranged with physical Ethernet connectors such as RJ45, Fiber, or backplane connectors, pins of each of the chipsets containing Ethernet bridging logic, physical layer (PHY) devices, magnetics, etc. It consists of the interconnections between the components or everything in the required circuit and between the cables or circuit board tracks.

NDAS storage  unit( NDAS storage unit )(2)

The NDAS storage unit is the main storage unit of the NDAS storage system defined in the present invention. It is constituted by the mass storage device 21 and the NDAS storage control unit 22.

The mass storage device 21 may be a hard disk drive (HDD), an optical disk drive (ODD), a solid state disk (SSD), a tape drive, a RAID array, or Any device that has at least one PATA or SATA device interface that allows connection with an NDAS storage control unit. The mass storage device is connected to the NDAS storage controller bridge unit via a suitable interconnection between its own SATA or PATA interface and the SATA or PATA interface of the NDAS storage controller unit.

The NDAS storage controller unit 22, on the one hand, functions as a SATA or PATA host for mass storage devices to be attached to it, and on the other hand, functions as an NDAS target device, which is a computer host in the network. For its function, the NDAS storage controller unit consists of (a) ATA host interface 221, (b) NDAS target logic 222, and (c) Ethernet interface 223.

(a) ATA host interface 221 is a PATA or SATA connector mounted on a printed circuit board, each pin or ball of the chipset included in the NDAS target logic, any ATA conversion logic-for example logic to convert PATA to SATA And each of the interconnections, such as a printed circuit board line.

(b) The NDAS target logic 222 converts the ATA command stream into Ethernet packets and back again in accordance with the NDAS specification to facilitate transmission to the Ethernet network. Logic is typically configured as an ASIC and may also be configured as target software running on an FPGA or general purpose computer. To perform such a function, the NDAS target logic has an Ethernet interface that manifests itself by pin pins or balls of the chip set containing (i) the ATA host interface and (ii) the NDAS target logic. These pins connect (a) and (b) through a printed circuit board line.

(c) Ethernet interface 223 is typically a physical Ethernet connector, such as an RJ45, Fiber or black plane connector, each pin or ball of a chipset including NDAS target host logic, and physical layer (PHY). Includes all necessary components and circuits, such as devices, magnets, and interconnections between the lines of the printed circuit board.

Other devices with an ethernet interface

Other devices with Ethernet interfaces are some devices with Ethernet interfaces. These Ethernet interfaces allow them to be connected to the internal interface of the Ethernet bridge unit. Their most common form is RS232-to-Ethernet converters, internal computing platforms, or other Ethernet bridges that conform to the IEEE802.1d standard.

The components are configured as follows.

One or multiple NDAS storage units 2 connect their Ethernet interface to the internal Ethernet interface 11 of the Ethernet bridge unit 1 via appropriate internal connectors such as RJ45, Fiber, or backplane connector. Attach to. The internal Ethernet interface of each Ethernet bridge unit 1 is bridged with each external Ethernet of the Ethernet bridge unit 1 according to the IEEE802.1d standard. Thereby, the NDAS storage units 2 each attached to the internal Ethernet interface can be accessed via the respective external Ethernet interface. As a result, only between the NDAS storage system and the external Ethernet network can be used to connect all internal NDAS storage units (2) and other attachments while reducing the number of ports, cabling, and maintenance required by the external Ethernet switch. Only a single link is required. If a single link does not provide enough bandwidth, multiple external Ethernet interfaces in an NDAS storage system can be logically concentrated on a single link through a process called link aggregation in accordance with the IEEE802.3ad standard.

Host computers can be physically connected directly through the external Ethernet interface of the NDAS storage system or indirectly through interconnection with Ethernet bridges that operate according to the IEEE 802.1d standard. Interconnection requires proper cabling, the most common of which are Category 5e Ethernet cables and fiber optics.

Details of the actual access to storage included in NDAS storage are the subject of the NDAS design, not the subject of the present invention. Therefore, the following is an overview of the configuration.

In order to actually access the storage included in the NDAS storage system, the NDAS initiator software needs to be installed on the operating system of the particular host computer that wishes to access the NDAS storage. Therefore, the NDAS initiator software must be installed on each host computer that wishes to access the storage of the NDAS storage system. Host computers with NDAS initiator software installed can locate and recognize a particular NDAS storage through a process called registration, which involves the entry of a unique identification, called a NDAS ID. This process is combined with a particular NDAS storage unit. As such, if the NDAS storage system represented in the present invention includes multiple NDAS storage units, the register processor will be repeated for each NDAS storage unit. The NDAS storage unit will then be integrated into the system as local storage by a process called 'activating' and 'mounting'.

A typical embodiment is as shown in FIG.

It will be an NDAS storage system containing sixteen NDAS storage units, each consisting of a single SATA hard disk drive attached to an NDAS storage controller unit. The system also includes an internal host computer for management functions. The NDAS storage unit and the internal host computer have their Ethernet interface and are attached via the backplane to the internal Ethernet interface of the Ethernet bridge unit. The internal bridge unit has sixteen internal 1 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, eight external 1 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, and two 10 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces. Hosts attach directly to eight external 1 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces. An uplinking layer 2 switch is attached to 10 Gigabit Ethernet. Each host can access each NDAS storage unit through a single Ethernet link. Some Ethernet links can be logically concentrated into a single Ethernet link by the use of link aggregation. By installing VLANs, NDAS storage units can be separated from each other locally. The cabling complexity is greatly reduced and the overall system will look much more complete.

1 is a block diagram of a network direct storage device including a switching device according to the present invention.

2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a network direct storage device including a switching device according to the present invention;

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

1: Ethernet bridging unit

10: Ethernet bridge device

11: internal ethernet interface

12: Ethernet bridging logic

13: External ethernet interface

2: NDAS storage unit

21: Storage device

22: NDAS Storage Controller Unit

221: ATA host interface

222: NDAS target logic

223: Ethernet interface

Claims (3)

An Ethernet bridging unit to provide switching between the external Ethernet and the storage unit and one or more storage units to function as direct attached storage on the network, The Ethernet bridging unit consists of one or more Ethernet bridge devices, the Ethernet bridge device comprising an internal Ethernet interface, an Ethernet bridging logic and an external Ethernet interface, The storage unit includes a storage device that is a physical storage medium and an NDAS storage controller unit. The NDAS storage controller unit includes an ATA host interface, an NDAS target logic, and an Ethernet interface. Connected storage. The method of claim 1, And said storage device is any one of a hard disk drive, an optical disk drive, a semiconductor disk, a tape drive, or a RAID array. The method of claim 1, A network direct attached storage device further comprising an internal host computer for system management functions.

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