Configuration of a solid-state drive dock having local and network interfaces
An external M.2 solid-state drive dock with local and network interfaces is disclosed. The dock includes an enclosure with apertures through which M.2 solid-state drives can be received. A circuit board is mounted within the enclosure that includes M.2 socket connectors for receiving the M.2 solid-state drives. The circuit board also includes a storage controller coupled to the M.2. socket connectors. A local interface controller is coupled to the storage controller for providing a local interface, such as a USB-C interface, to the M.2 solid-state drives to host computers. A network controller is also coupled to the storage controller for providing network interfaces, such as wired and/or wireless network interfaces, for accessing the M.2. solid-state drives. The storage controller can receive storage requests from the local interface controller and the network interface controller and provide the storage requests to the M.2 solid-state drives.
1. A method, comprising:
receiving, by a controller device, a request message from a computing device connected to a solid-state drive dock, wherein the controller device is assembled in the solid-state drive dock and comprises one of a local interface controller device or a network controller device;
determining that the request message defines a management request to configure an element of operation of the solid-state drive dock; and
configuring the solid-state drive dock according to the management request.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the configuring comprises selecting an M.2 solid-state drive to be available by means of a local area network coupled to the solid-state drive dock.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the local interface controller device is configured to provide a local connection to the computing device, and wherein the local interface controller device comprises a Universal Serial Bus (USB) controller.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network controller device is configured to connect to a wireless network for communication with the computing device, and wherein the network controller comprises one or more components for communicating over the wireless network.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising,
receiving, by the controller device, a second request message from the computing device;
determining that the second request message defines a storage request to read from or write to an M.2 solid-state drive functionally coupled to the solid-state drive dock by means of an M.2 socket connector; and
providing the storage request to the M.2 solid-state drive.
6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the network controller device further comprises an embedded web server for providing a web site for managing the operation of the solid-state drive dock.
7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the providing the storage request comprises,
sending, by the controller device, the storage request to a storage controller device assembled in the solid-state drive dock, wherein the storage controller device is coupled to the local interface controller device and the network controller device;
sending, by the storage controller device, the storage request to the M.2 solid-state drive.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the solid-state drive dock comprises,
an enclosure having a plurality of apertures therein;
a circuit board mounted within the enclosure, the circuit board comprising,
a plurality of M.2 socket connectors configured to receive a like plurality of M.2 solid-state drives through the plurality of apertures, wherein the storage controller device is coupled to the plurality of M.2 socket connectors;
a local interface connector coupled to the local interface controller device for providing a connection to one or more second computing devices; and
a power connector for receiving power from a power supply external to the enclosure, the power connector electrically connected to the plurality of M.2 socket connectors, the storage controller device, the local interface controller device, and the network controller device.