Dual-mode network storage systems and methods
View Patent ↗A dual-mode network storage controller integrated on a chip is connected to a first set of hosts over a block-level storage area network (SAN), and to a second set of hosts over a metadata Ethernet/IP network. The dual-mode storage controller is also connected to one or more storage devices, such as a Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID). The storage controller comprises dedicated-hardware metadata translation logic for translating metadata (e.g. file-level) storage commands into block-level storage commands. The storage controller can also include block translation logic for translating logical block-level storage commands into physical block-level storage commands. The storage controller further comprises multiplexing logic for sequentially transmitting to the storage device(s) block level storage commands derived from the commands received from the first set of hosts and the second set of hosts. The storage controller allows the first set of hosts and the second set of hosts to share a single storage device.
1. A dual-mode network storage control apparatus comprising:
file-level translation logic integrated on a chip, for translating a file-level storage command received over a network-attached storage (NAS) interface into a first block storage command; and
multiplexing logic integrated on the chip, having a first input connected to the file-level translation logic for receiving a first block storage request derived from the first block storage command, a second input for receiving a second block storage command received over a storage area network (SAN) interface, and an output for sequentially transmitting the first block storage request and the second block storage command.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first block storage command is a logical block storage command comprising an identification of a logical unit number and a logical block number within the logical unit number.
3. A dual-mode network storage method comprising:
receiving a file-level storage command from a first network client over a network-attached storage (NAS) interface to file-level translation logic integrated on a chip;
employing the file-level translation logic to translate the file-level storage command into a corresponding first block storage command;
receiving a second block storage command from a second network client over a storage area network (SAN) interface; and
employing multiplexing logic integrated on the chip to multiplex a first block storage request derived from the first block storage command and a second block storage request derived from the second block storage command.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the first block storage command is a logical block storage command comprising an identification of a logical unit number and a logical block number within the logical unit number.
5. A dual-mode network storage control apparatus comprising:
a storage area network (SAN) interface connected to a storage area network;
a network-attached storage (NAS) interface connected to a file-level data network;
a storage-side interface connected to a storage device; and
logic connected to the storage-side interface for forwarding to the storage-side interface block-level storage commands received over the SAN interface, and for translating file-level storage commands received over the NAS interface into translated block-level storage commands and transmitting the translated block-level storage commands to the storage-side interface.
6. A dual-mode network storage method comprising:
receiving block-level storage commands at a storage area network (SAN) interface of a dual-mode storage control integrated circuit;
receiving file-level storage commands at a network-attached storage (NAS) interface of the integrated circuit;
forwarding the block-level storage commands received from the SAN interface to a storage-side interface of the integrated circuit, the storage-side interface being connected to a storage device; and
translating the file-level storage commands into translated block-level storage commands and transmitting the translated block-level storage commands to the storage-side interface.