TWM547698U - Software-defined storage apparatus and system - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosure is related to a software-defined storage apparatus and a system. The apparatus includes at least one packet-switched unit and multiple storage units. Each storage unit includes a server unit and a storage device. The server unit connects to the packet-switched unit via at least one network connection port, connects to the storage device via a data transmission port. Further, a plurality of software-defined storage apparatus establishes a storage system. The multiple packet-switched units are respectively connected with an external switch. The server units in the different storage units are communicated with each other via a network communication protocol that allows the apparatus or the system to store data in a specific storing mode. The scenario allows the system to achieve network connection redundancy. A data access redundancy can be achieved when the server units in every storage unit connect to the multiple packet-switched units.

Description

Software definition storage device and system

The present invention relates to a storage device, and more particularly to a software-defined storage device and system including a plurality of storage units formed by a server and a storage.

The information storage solution is from a disk or a hard disk that is simply located inside or outside the computer device chassis, and extends to a network hard disk that can be accessed via a network, such as a network attached storage (NAS). Storage plan. In addition to the general need to store files, the remote data storage solution formed by the network takes security into account.

For example, if only one hard disk is used to store files, it is not easy to restore files when the hard disk is damaged. Therefore, the prior art proposes a backup scheme using two or more hard disks, such as a fault-tolerant disk array (Redundant). Array of Independent Disks technology can make storage devices such as network attached storage fault-tolerant.

The present disclosure discloses a software definition storage device and system, the system provides a high availability network storage solution, wherein the software definition storage device mainly comprises at least one packet switching unit for connecting to an external network. And a plurality of storage units, and each storage unit includes a set of servo units and The storage unit is connected to the packet switching unit by a network connection, and then connected to the storage by a data transmission, such as a hard disk or a solid state hard disk, and each network connection of each of the servo units corresponds to There is an identification address.

In an embodiment, a plurality of storage units of the plurality of storage units communicate with each other by a network communication protocol, and one of the plurality of storage modes can be mutually cooperated to store data, and the storage unit has multiple servo units. After the network connection, each packet switching unit is separately connected to implement data access backup in the software definition storage device.

In another embodiment, the packet switching unit may be a network switch provided in the software definition storage device for connecting to the external switch. If the software definition storage device includes multiple packet switching units, network connection backup can be implemented in the software definition storage device.

According to the software definition storage system embodiment disclosed in the disclosure, the system includes a plurality of software definition storage devices, each software definition storage device includes a plurality of packet switching units and a plurality of storage units, and the plurality of software definition storage devices are connected to one or more External switches are connected to form a software-defined storage system. Wherein, different servo units of the plurality of storage units communicate with each other by a network communication protocol, and one of the storage modes stores one data; each of the plurality of packet switching units of the software definition storage device is respectively connected to one or more external parts. The switch is used to implement network connection backup in the software definition storage device.

According to still another embodiment, the software definition storage device is provided with a plurality of storage units, each storage unit includes a servo unit and a storage unit, and the servo unit may be a micro server, wherein the processing unit, the memory unit, and the storage unit are disposed. The main hardware circuit components such as the control unit, the input and output unit, and the network unit. The microserver can store the data transmitted by the client device in the specific storage mode in the destination storage device, except for executing the general storage program. The server can operate a variety of services.

In order to further understand the techniques, methods and effects of this creation in order to achieve the intended purpose, please refer to the following detailed description and drawings of this creation. The purpose, characteristics, and characteristics of the creations are to be understood and understood in detail. However, the drawings are provided for reference and description only, and are not intended to limit the creation.

10‧‧‧ Packet Exchange Unit

11‧‧‧First SERVOPACK

12‧‧‧Second SERVOPACK

13‧‧‧First storage

14‧‧‧Second storage

101‧‧‧First storage unit

102‧‧‧Second storage unit

111,121‧‧‧Processing unit

112, 122‧‧‧ memory unit

113,123‧‧‧Storage Control Unit

114,124‧‧‧Input and output unit

115,125‧‧‧Network Unit

20‧‧‧Software definition storage device

21‧‧‧First packet exchange unit

22‧‧‧Second packet exchange unit

201‧‧‧First SERVOPACK

202‧‧‧Second SERVOPACK

203‧‧‧third servo unit

204‧‧‧fourth servo unit

211‧‧‧ first storage

212‧‧‧Second storage

213‧‧‧ third storage

214‧‧‧fourth storage

301,302,303,304‧‧‧Software definition storage device

30‧‧‧Network

305‧‧‧Client device

41‧‧‧First external switch

42‧‧‧Second external switch

43‧‧‧First software definition storage device

431‧‧‧First packet exchange unit

432‧‧‧Second packet exchange unit

4311‧‧‧First SERVOPACK

4312‧‧‧Second servo unit

4313‧‧‧First storage

4314‧‧‧Second storage

4321‧‧‧3rd servo unit

4322‧‧‧4th servo unit

4323‧‧‧ third storage

4324‧‧‧fourth storage

44‧‧‧Second software definition storage device

441‧‧‧First packet exchange unit

442‧‧‧Second packet exchange unit

4411‧‧‧First SERVOPACK

4412‧‧‧Second servo unit

4413‧‧‧First storage

4414‧‧‧Second storage

4421‧‧‧third servo unit

4422‧‧‧fourth servo unit

4423‧‧‧ third storage

4424‧‧‧fourth storage

Step S501~S513‧‧‧Storage method flow

Step S601~S611‧‧‧Storage method flow

1A and FIG. 1B are schematic diagrams showing a basic implementation of the creation software definition storage device; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the creation software definition storage device; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a network system formed by using the creation software definition storage device. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a storage method for storing a software definition storage device; FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an embodiment of a storage method for an application software definition storage device;

The present disclosure describes a software-defined storage device and system that provides a network storage solution that is not only highly available but also more scalable. The software definition storage device is the smallest unit of the system, and can be operated separately, or a plurality of software definition storage devices can be combined to form a software definition storage system.

For an embodiment, reference may be made to the schematic diagram of a basic implementation of the software-defined storage device shown in FIG. 1A. According to the software-defined storage device embodiment, the device (such as in a chassis) includes at least one packet switching unit 10 and a plurality of storage units. a storage unit 101, a second storage unit 102), the packet exchange unit 10 is used to connect to an external network, and each storage unit (101, 102) includes a set of servo units (11, 12) and storage (13, 14) . This example shows that the first storage unit 101 includes a first servo unit 11 and a first storage unit 13. The first server 11 is connected to the packet exchange unit 10 at one end and the first storage unit 13 is connected to the other end, thus forming a software definition storage device. One of the storage units; the second storage unit 102 in the software definition storage device is The second servo unit 12 and the second storage unit 14 are included.

The first or second servo unit (11, 12) is connected to the packet switching unit 10 by at least one network connection. In still another embodiment, the software definition storage device may include two or more packet switching units 10, first. Or the second servo unit (11, 12) can simultaneously connect the two or more packet switching units 10, and can perform the line load balancing normally, if the connection fails (including the connection failure, or the line disconnection, etc.) ) can achieve the purpose of connection backup. That is, when one of the connections fails, the other connection can continue to operate, and the original connection will be terminated or put into a dormant state, and the operation of the device will not be affected by the failure of the connection. Each of the servo units (11, 12) sets each network connection to have an identification address, that is, an address identifying the storage unit (101, 102), and can be implemented as an IP address, so that each network connection埠 Corresponds to the identification address. The network connection, for example, uses a connection port of the RJ-45 specification, but does not exclude other specifications for transmitting packet data.

The storage device (13, 14) is a hard disk drive, or a solid state drive (SSD, Solid State Drive), and the first servo unit 11 and the second servo unit 12 respectively connect the first storage device 13 with a data transmission port. The second storage 14, the connection between the two uses a serial advanced technology attachment (SATA, Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) specification, and does not exclude the data interface specifications of other storage, such as SCSI, IDE, PCI-E, and the like.

In the architecture of the software definition storage device, one servo unit in one storage unit is responsible for the operation of one storage device, and a plurality of communication units (11, 12) in the plurality of storage units (101, 102) are connected by a network communication. The protocols communicate with each other. For example, the packet exchange unit 10 of this example performs signal exchange and communication, and the data can be stored in a certain storage mode. The network communication protocol mainly regulates communication messages between the packet switching units, including communication decentralized storage, backup mechanism, load balancing, etc., and establishing index information generated after each data storage, so that data access can be obtained from These index information tells the distribution of each paragraph of the data.

For example, when the distributed storage mode is executed, the first servo unit 11 and the second servo The service unit 12 receives the instruction, and performs a decentralized storage algorithm operation on the specific data, and implements the distributed storage by the first storage 13 and the second storage 14, respectively.

FIG. 1B further schematically illustrates the architecture of the servo unit (11, 12) in each storage unit (101, 102) in the software definition storage device as a micro-server, each software defining multiple micro-servers in the storage device. The server forms a small storage cluster, and multiple software-defined storage devices can form a scalable large-scale storage cluster through the network connection. The microserver enables the computed data to be stored in each memory in a particular mode based on the data transmitted from each client device and the storage mode employed.

An in-line operating system is operated in the micro-server, and the related hardware is as shown in FIG. 1B. The first servo unit 11 in the first storage unit 101 includes a processing unit 111, a memory unit 112, and a storage control unit 113. The main hardware circuit components such as the input/output unit 114 and the network unit 115 are connected to the first servo unit 11 such as the first storage unit 13. The processing unit 111 for implementing the calculation data storage by a processor is in a micro server, such as an ARM (Advanced RISC Machine) architecture processor; the memory unit 112 can be a system memory in the micro server; The control unit 113 is connected to the first storage unit 13 corresponding to the first servo unit 11 for controlling the operation of the first storage unit 13, such as a SATA controller; and the input and output unit 114 can process the data into and out of the micro server. The I/O circuit, and the network unit 115 can be a circuit (PHY) for performing a specific network protocol and processing network packets, and can have one or more network ports, and can connect at least one packet switching unit 10.

Similarly, the second servo unit 12 mainly includes main hardware circuit components such as the processing unit 121, the memory unit 122, the memory control unit 123, the input and output unit 124, and the network unit 125, and details are not described herein.

The architecture of the software-defined storage device of FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, wherein the micro-server can store the data transmitted by the client device in a specific storage mode in a destination storage device, in addition to executing a general storage program, the micro-servo Operation The program can handle the file format of various file systems, support various file systems that can be run by the storage, and run various services such as web server, file server, database, virtual host, etc. .

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the present software definition storage device.

This example is shown as a software-defined storage device 20, which can be implemented in the same chassis, in which two packet switching units are provided, and the packet switching unit can be a packet switching circuit, and can also be used as a network switch in the device. To connect at least one external switch. The figure shows a first packet switching unit 21 and a second packet switching unit 22. The two packet switching units can be connected to each other via an external switch (not shown) such that the software defines a plurality of storage units in the storage device 20. The plurality of servo units can communicate in a network communication protocol, so that the software definition storage device 20 implements a certain storage algorithm. The example shows that there are four groups of storage units, respectively being the first server unit 201 and the first storage unit 211. The second servo unit 202 and the second storage unit 212, the third servo unit 203 and the third storage unit 213, and the fourth servo unit 204 and the fourth storage unit 214. Each servo unit controls the access operation of the connected storage device, wherein the storage algorithm is executed, and a single data storage, distributed storage, etc. can be performed according to requirements, and the software definition storage device 20 can be used to perform data backup (multiple storage). A data), or a storage solution such as data access backup with fault tolerance (such as the use of a same bit hard disk).

Each of the first servo unit 201, the second servo unit 202, the third servo unit 203, and the fourth servo unit 204 includes at least a plurality of (two in this case) network ports to connect the first packet switching unit 21, respectively. With the second packet switching unit 22, in general, multi-line traffic load balancing (Load Balancing) can be performed, which can solve the problem of network connection congestion; and the network connection backup, that is, the fault-tolerant shift on the network line can be provided. Failover capability, when any network connection fails (such as one of the packet switching units fails), another network connection can be replaced, and wait for the failed connection to resume operation, without affecting the software during the period. The operation of the storage device 20 is defined.

When there are multiple software-defined storage devices connected via the network or in a specific way, A software-defined storage system of a storage device can be implemented. For a schematic diagram of an embodiment, reference may be made to the network architecture of the software-defined storage system shown in FIG.

The software-defined storage devices (301, 302, 303, 304) of the various combinations are connected via a network 30. Each device or system should be connected to the network 30 through one or more external switches, and details are not described herein. The software definition storage device 301 and the software definition storage device 302 are similar to the basic implementation of the software definition storage device shown in FIG. 1A or FIG. 1B; the software definition storage device 303 is provided as shown in FIG. The implementation of the packet switching unit; the software definition storage device 304 is a cluster software definition storage device implemented by a plurality of software definition storage devices, and can be defined as a software definition storage system. The figure shows that the software definition storage device at each end is only a schematic diagram, and the connection is not actually implemented.

According to an embodiment, a software-defined storage device or a storage system that can be connected via a network 30 in a software-defined storage system forms a large-scale network storage solution, and the storage unit in the software-defined storage device at each end is as described in the above embodiment. Having a servo unit and a storage unit, the servo units in each storage unit in each end of the software definition storage device can communicate with each other via a network 30 via a network communication protocol, thereby generating more varied data storage solutions and providing more Secure and highly available data access backup service.

At the user end, as shown in the client device 305, wherein a storage calculation program is executed, the storage calculation program records a configuration file of a software definition storage system, and the configuration file records the configuration of the entire system, that is, the software definition. Each software-defined storage device covered by the storage system as a whole or a system composed of a plurality of storage devices at each end, in particular, the servo unit of the storage unit in each software-defined storage device is connected to the network 30. The server (or the servo program running in a specific device), the configuration file further records that the network connection has a network-recognizable network address. Therefore, when the user executes the storage calculation program at the client device 305, the required storage solution can be selected. When the storage calculation program is executed, the storage mode is set according to the storage scheme, and one or more calculations are performed according to the storage mode. Storage purpose And the data can be split into a plurality of segments, and the split data is transmitted to the software definition storage device (301, 302, 303, 304), and can be transmitted to the calculated storage unit by each of the servo units.

It is worth mentioning that the software definition storage system is extensible. When there is a software definition storage device in one end or a storage unit in the storage system, such as adding or removing a group of storage units, the client device 305 The profile should be updated.

For example, when the storage scheme is set to be a single data storage in the client device 305, the storage calculation program determines a storage address according to the current configuration file calculation, or adds a backup address, and the storage calculation program is configured according to the setting. The file transmits relevant data to the storage destination, wherein the identification address of each servo unit location is identified as an IP address, and then received by a certain servo unit in the system, and the associated information of the data is analyzed, such as the package information accompanying the data. A storage algorithm is executed based on the parsed storage mode. When the storage mode is distributed storage, after the storage calculation program executed by the client device 305, the information of the plurality of storage destinations, such as the identification address, may be obtained, and then the servo unit of a certain destination is calculated and stored. According to the distributed calculation, the data is divided into multiple parts according to the setting, and the data is transmitted to the destination storage units by the network communication protocol communication between the plurality of servo units.

Figure 4 then shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment in which a software-defined storage device is connected through an external switch to form a storage system.

The figure shows two software definition storage devices, which are a first software definition storage device 43 and a second software definition storage device 44, respectively. The packet switching unit in each software definition storage device includes at least two network connections. Externally connected to two external switches, such as the first external switch 41 and the second external switch 42, as shown, so that the network connection backup mechanism that has been implemented inside each software definition storage device is used. The software-defined storage system provides a safer and more complete connection redundancy measure, making the system highly available.

In this example, the first software definition storage device 43 internally includes the first packet exchange. The unit 431 and the second packet switching unit 432 can provide internal network connection backup, and the first packet switching unit 431 and the second packet switching unit 432 are respectively connected to the first external exchange of the connected external network. The controller 41 and the second external switch 42 can still connect the external network to another switch when one of the switches fails.

The first software definition storage device 43 is provided with four sets of individually operated storage units, which are not interfered with each other and are not affected by one of the storage units. The first servo unit 4311 is connected to the first storage unit 4313 via a specific data connection, the second servo unit 4312 is connected to the second storage unit 4314, the third servo unit 4321 is connected to the third storage unit 4323, and the fourth servo unit 4322 is connected to the fourth storage unit 4321. Storage 4324.

The second software definition storage device 44 is also provided with a first packet switching unit 441 and a second packet switching unit 442, and four groups of storage units, including a first server unit 4411 and a connected first storage unit 4413 and a second server unit 4412. And a connected second storage unit 4414, a third servo unit 4421 and a connected third storage unit 4423, and a fourth servo unit 4422 and the coupled fourth storage unit 4424. The first servo unit 4411, the second servo unit 4412, the third servo unit 4421 and the fourth servo unit 4422 provide a data storage backup service, and also because each of the servo units is connected to the first packet exchange unit 441 and the second. The packet switching unit 442 is further provided with a network connection backup function.

The first software definition storage device 43 and the second software definition storage device 44 are connected to each other to form a storage system, wherein the servo unit (4311, 4312, 4321, 4322, 4411, 4412, 4421, 4422) Communicate with each other via the network at any time, and cooperate to provide customers with various storage solutions, and achieve data access backup.

The first software definition storage device 43 or the second software definition storage device 44 shown in the above example is provided with four sets of storage units, so that a single data storage, backup, and distributed storage scheme can be operated in a software controlled manner. Fault tolerance mechanism is also available. However, after the connection via the external switch (41, 42), The storage device (43, 44) is defined by a plurality of softwares, and a data storage scheme of more elements is provided via a software method of storing algorithms. The number of packet switching units, servo units and storages in the storage device of the present embodiment is merely a schematic operation of the system for describing the creation, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present creation.

5 is a flow chart showing an embodiment of a storage method of an application software definition storage device (or system), which describes a flow running on a client device, mainly performing a storage calculation program in each client device as described in step S501. The storage calculation program will perform the storage calculation based on the user settings and the settings of the overall software definition storage system. Then, in step S503, the user selects the data to be stored, and may perform a preliminary operation in the device. In step S505, a hash is performed on the data, and the data is converted into a specific hash string, which is calculated by the hash algorithm. The hash value (Hash Value) has an irreversible nature, so it can effectively protect data and associated information. And in step S507, the storage mode is set by the user, and in step S509, the storage calculation program calculates one or more storage destinations according to the storage mode, and particularly stores the storage mode and purpose in the data (mixed calculation) packet. Identify the address. Then, in step S511, the data packet is transmitted to the destination-related software definition storage device via the network, and the server can be operated by a certain node by the network communication protocol of each terminal, as in step S513, by a certain destination servo unit. Execute the stored procedure.

The software definition storage device (or system) provides a storage solution in addition to the general data storage, and provides a distributed storage solution through a storage algorithm running in a plurality of servo units, and can also cooperate with a storage calculation program executed in the client device. Set the storage mode and determine the destination location for storage. The configuration file of the client's storage calculation program records the settings of the relevant software definition storage system, so that the network topology under the software definition storage system can be known, including the external switch and the packet exchange unit and storage in all software definition storage devices. The identification address of the unit, etc. Moreover, the storage calculation program in the client device can also provide the user to retrieve the data, that is, when the data is stored, a data index is formed on the system side, so the retrieval of the data can be based on Data index restore data.

The storage program on the system side can refer to the flowchart of the storage method embodiment shown in FIG. 6.

In step S601, after the client completes the data transmission, a server formed by the server on the system side, such as a software unit in the software definition storage device, receives the packet formed by the data and the associated information, and then, in step S603, the program operating in the server unit. First parsing the data packet, including the data and related information, in step S605, the storage mode and the storage destination can be parsed, and in step S607, the serving unit performs the storage algorithm according to the storage mode, including the network between the SERVOPACKs. The road protocol works in conjunction with other servo units to perform a specific storage plan.

Then, in step S609, according to the one or more storage destinations obtained by the analysis, the data is stored in one or more storage units in a whole or in a distributed storage calculation, and is formed in each of the storage units. The data index, wherein the storage setting of the data is recorded, in step S611, the related setting includes the data location recorded by the data index, and also includes the storage location of the data after the distributed operation in each data, so that the data is accessed after the data is accessed. The SERVOPACK can correctly obtain relevant data. The function of data indexing is to assist in searching for data and restoring the data after decentralization.

Therefore, the disclosure is described as a software-defined storage device and system, which can implement network connection backup and data access backup in a software-defined storage device, and also implements in a system formed by multiple software-defined storage devices. Data access backup. The overall implementation architecture is: a client device (executing a storage calculus), a network switch, and a software-defined storage device (composed of multiple sets of storage units), and a plurality of software-defined storage devices are connected through a network switch. The software unit in each software definition storage device will be able to connect to the network switch independently. Therefore, the system of the software-defined storage device proposed by the present invention, or the system formed by connecting a plurality of software-defined storage devices via the network, can provide a multi-dimensional storage solution in addition to high availability and expandability.

The above descriptions are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and all changes and modifications made in accordance with the scope of the patent application of this creation should be covered by this creation.

10‧‧‧ Packet Exchange Unit

101‧‧‧First storage unit

102‧‧‧Second storage unit

11‧‧‧First SERVOPACK

12‧‧‧Second SERVOPACK

13‧‧‧First storage

14‧‧‧Second storage

Claims (8)

A software definition storage device includes: at least one packet switching unit for connecting to an external network; and a plurality of storage units, each storage unit including a servo unit and a storage unit, the server unit being connected by at least one network埠Connecting to the at least one packet switching unit, the SERVOPING unit is connected to the storage by a data transmission; wherein each network connection 各 of each of the SERVOPING units corresponds to an identification address; wherein the plurality of storage units have multiple servo units The two communicate with each other in a network communication protocol to store a data in a storage mode. The software definition storage device of claim 1, wherein the packet switching unit is a network switch provided in the software definition storage device for connecting at least one external switch. The software definition storage device of claim 2, wherein the at least one packet switching unit is individually connected to one or more external switches to implement network connection backup in the software definition storage device. The software definition storage device of claim 1, wherein the at least one packet switching unit is a plurality of packet switching units, and the server unit of each storage unit has a plurality of network ports, and each of the packet switching units is connected to each other. Data access backup is implemented in the software definition storage device. A software definition storage device includes: at least one packet switching unit for connecting to an external network; and a plurality of storage units, each storage unit including a servo unit and a storage unit, the server unit being connected by at least one network埠Connecting the at least one packet switching unit, the server unit is connected to the storage by a data transmission; wherein each network connection of each servo unit corresponds to an identification address; wherein each servo unit comprises a processing unit and a memory unit a storage control unit, an input and output unit, and a network unit, wherein the storage control unit is configured to connect the storage unit corresponding to the servo unit, and the network The element is connected to the at least one packet switching unit; wherein the plurality of server units of the plurality of storage units communicate with each other by a network communication protocol to store a data in a storage mode. The software definition storage device of claim 5, wherein the packet switching unit is a network switch disposed in the software definition storage device for connecting at least one external switch. The software definition storage device of claim 6, wherein the at least one packet switching unit is individually connected to one or more external switches to implement network connection backup in the software definition storage device. A software definition storage system includes: a plurality of software definition storage devices connected by one or more external switches, each software definition storage device comprising: a plurality of packet switching units for connecting an external device a plurality of storage units, each storage unit includes a servo unit and a storage unit, wherein the plurality of network connection ports are respectively connected to the plurality of packet switching units for data access backup, the servo unit Connecting the storage device with a data transmission port; wherein each network connection port of each of the plurality of storage units corresponds to an identification address; wherein the plurality of server units of the plurality of storage units are mutually connected by a network communication protocol The communication stores a data in a storage mode; and the plurality of packet switching units of each software definition storage device are respectively connected to one or more external switches to implement network connection backup in the software definition storage device.