STORAGE SYSTEM
A system, comprising: a plurality of clusters, each cluster comprising two or more nodes and data storage; data storage comprising two or more storage arrays; each storage array comprising two or more storage devices; each storage device being configured to store data; each node being configured to receive requests to interact with data stored on a storage device; wherein the system is configured to provide at least two communication paths between any pair of components, the components comprising the nodes, storage arrays, and the storage devices.
1 . A system, comprising:
a plurality of clusters, each cluster comprising two or more nodes and data storage;
data storage comprising two or more storage arrays;
each storage array comprising two or more storage devices;
each storage device being configured to store data;
each node being configured to receive requests to interact with data stored on a storage device;
wherein the system is configured to provide at least two communication paths between any pair of components, the components comprising the nodes, storage arrays, and the storage devices.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein a first cluster and a second cluster are physically distant.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each node is configured for access to all data stored at a corresponding cluster.
4 . The system of claim 3 , wherein each node comprises metadata to enable access to data stored at a corresponding cluster.
5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein metadata is synchronized between nodes in a cluster.
6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein each cluster comprises a node manager configured to synchronize metadata between nodes.
7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each cluster comprises a load balancing node configured to distribute requests among the nodes of the cluster.
8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each node is configured to act as a storage controller by interfacing with data storage.
9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the node is configured to run a driver to interface directly with each of the two or more storage arrays in the corresponding cluster.
10 . The system of claim 1 wherein the one or more storage devices are selected from the group consisting of:
a hard disk drive;
a solid state drive; and
a flash drive.
11 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more storage devices are the same size of storage.
12 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the storage array comprises a virtual storage array, and the one or more storage devices are accessible over a network.
13 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more storage devices comprises at least two types of storage devices.
14 . The system of claim 1 , wherein a first storage array comprises storage devices of a first type, and a second storage array comprises storage devices of a second type.
15 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the storage devices are tiered.
16 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each node in a cluster is configured to interact with each storage array.
17 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the system is an on-premises system configured to be collocated with one or more applications of a user.
18 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the system is a cloud system configured to be virtualized.
19 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the system is a multi-site system configured to be distributed over a plurality of physical locations interconnected with a network.
20 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the system is a multi-cloud system configured to operate over a plurality of cloud services.