Granted Patent B1

US 8,387,073 · App. 11/742,282 · Granted Feb 26, 2013

Abstract

Claims (25)

1. A method for transferring information from a computing device, comprising:

sending a SCSI read command and a scatter/gather (“S/G”) list from an application executed by a processor for the computing device to a iSCSI software layer executed by the processor for the computing device;

generating an iSCSI protocol data unit (“PDU”) header for a iSCSI PDU for the SCSI read command;

sending the iSCSI PDU to a data mover layer executed by the processor for the computing device; and

sending the iSCSI PDU to an iSCSI offload module in a network adapter operationally coupled to the computing device;

wherein the iSCSI offload module appends a PDU header digest to the iSCSI PDU header, and transmits the iSCSI PDU to a destination;

wherein the iSCSI offload module replicates the iSCSI PDU header for transmitting additional iSCSI PDUs to the destination; and

wherein the iSCSI offload module interfaces with the data mover layer through an iSCSI application programming interface (API) layer, receives a network data and a status from the network adapter, and validates the PDU header digest; copies the network data to the S/G list and passes the network data and SCSI PDU headers to the iSCSI (API) layer via the iSCSI application-programming interface (API); the iSCSI (API) layer parsing the SCSI PDU headers; and sending the network data and the status to a storage layer.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

sending a PDU and a S/G list to an RDMA offload module in the network adapter;

appending a marker PDU Aligned (MPA) framing field for cyclic redundancy code (CRC); and

transmitting the PDU from the RDMA offload module to the destination.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the RDMA offload module interfaces with the data mover layer via an application programming interface.

4. A system for processing network data comprising:

a processor for a computing device executing an application layer for sending a SCSI read command; and executing an iSCSI software layer for generating an iSCSI protocol data unit (“PDU”) header for an iSCSI PDU for the SCSI read command; and

a network adapter with an iSCSI offloading module that receives the iSCSI PDU and appends a PDU header digest to the iSCSI PDU header before transmitting the iSCSI PDU to a destination;

wherein the iSCSI offload module replicates the iSCSI PDU header for transmitting additional iSCSI PDUs to the destination; and

wherein the iSCSI offload module interfaces with a data mover layer that is executed by the processor for the computing device via an iSCSI API layer also executed by the processor for the computing device,

wherein the iSCSI offload module receives a network data and a status from the network adapter, validates the PDU header digest, copies the network data to the S/G list, and passes the network data and SCSI PDU headers to the iSCSI API layer via the iSCSI application-programming interface (API);

wherein the iSCSI API layer parses the SCSI PDU headers; and sends the network data and the status to a storage layer.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the data mover layer receives the iSCSI PDU from the iSCSI software layer and sends the iSCSI PDU to the iSCSI offload module.

6. The system of claim 4 , further comprising:

an RDMA offload module for the network adapter that receives a marker PDU Aligned (MPA) frame and appends a marker PDU Aligned (MPA) framing field for cyclic redundancy code (CRC).

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the RDMA offload module interfaces with a data mover layer via an application programming interface to receive the MPA frame from the computing device.

8. The system of claim 6 , wherein the RDMA offload module receives a marker protocol data unit aligned (MPA) frame from a networked device and verifies a cyclic redundancy code (CRC) for the MPA frame before sending the MPA frame to the iSCSI API layer via an application programming interface and a data mover layer.

Assignments (7)