US6151659A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Distributed raid storage system
Assignee: EMC Corp
•
Filing: 1997-12-22
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Granted: 2000-11-21
•
Expires: 2017-12-22
Abstract
Abstract A data storage system has at least three data storage disks and a plurality of processing nodes in communication with the data storage disks. Each of the processing nodes shares access to the data storage disks, and each of the processing nodes includes a distributed lock manager that allows or denies access to selected stripes of data storage sectors on any of the data storage disks. Each of the processing nodes includes an interface to a private communication link to a single one of a plurality of host operating systems.
Inventors
- 👤 Robert C. Solomon
- 👤 Jeffrey A. Blakeslee
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 09:07
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F3/00; G06F3/06; G06F3/0601; G06F3/0628; G06F3/0629; G06F3/0637; G06F11/00; G06F11/07; G06F11/08; G06F11/10; G06F11/1076; G06F3/0602; G06F3/062; G06F3/0622; G06F3/0668; G06F3/0671; G06F3/0683; G06F3/0689; G06F2211/00; G06F2211/10; G06F2211/1002; G06F2211/1028; G06F2211/1054
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 27
Claim 1
Independent Claim
206 words
A data storage system comprising: at least three data storage disks, each of said disks having a plurality of data storage sectors wherein said at least three data storage disks store data according to a protocol that forms stripes, each stripe including a plurality of data storage sectors, each of the data storage sectors in the stripe being on a different one of said data storage disks wherein one of the data storage sectors in the stripe stores parity data so that in the event that one of said different data storage disks fails, the data of said failed disk can be reconstructed from the data in the sectors of the stripe in the other of the data storage disks; a plurality of processing nodes in communication with said at least three data storage disks, each processing node sharing access to said at least three data storage disks, and each of said processing nodes including a distributed lock manager to allow or deny access to selected stripes of data storage sectors on any of said at least three data storage disks; and each of said processing nodes including an interface to a private communication link to a single one of a plurality of host operating systems.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
206 words
A data storage system comprising: at least three data storage disks, each of said disks having a plurality of data storage sectors wherein said at least three data storage disks store data according to a protocol that forms stripes, each stripe including a plurality of data storage sectors, each of the data storage sectors in the stripe being on a different one of said data storage disks wherein one of the data storage sectors in the stripe stores parity data so that in the event that one of said different data storage disks fails, the data of said failed disk can be reconstructed from the data in the sectors of the stripe in the other of the data storage disks; a plurality of processing nodes in communication with said at least three data storage disks, each processing node sharing access to said at least three data storage disks, and each of said processing nodes including a distributed lock manager to allow or deny access to selected stripes of data storage sectors on any of said at least three data storage disks; and each of said processing nodes including an interface to a private communication link to a single one of a plurality of host operating systems.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
19 words
The data storage system of claim 1 wherein said plurality of processing nodes are in communication with each other.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
48 words
The data storage system of claim 1 wherein each distributed lock manager includes means for acquiring a lock associated with a stripe and the means for acquiring a lock includes means for awaiting release of a lock on said stripe imposed by an other of said processing nodes.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
19 words
The data storage system of claim 1 wherein at least one of said processing nodes comprises a host-bus adapter.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
27 words
The data storage system of claim 1 further comprising a host computer housing one of said host operating systems and at least one of said processing nodes.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
28 words
The data storage system of claim 1 further comprising a dual loop Fibre Channel connecting said plurality of processing nodes and said at least three data storage disks.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
19 words
The data storage system of claim 1 wherein said at least three data storage disks comprise programmable XOR drives.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
38 words
The data storage system of claim 1 wherein each distributed lock manager includes means for asserting a NULL request for maintaining a reference to the stripe of data storage sectors without blocking other lock requests to such sectors.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
45 words
The data storage system of claim 1 wherein each distributed lock manager includes means for asserting an unprotected read lock type of lock request for allowing nonexclusive read or write access to the stripe of data storage sectors so as to block exclusive lock requests.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
48 words
The data storage system of claim 1 wherein each distributed lock manager includes means for asserting an unprotected write lock type of lock request for allowing nonexclusive read or write access to the stripe of data storage sectors while blocking protected and exclusive lock requests for such sectors.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
47 words
The data storage system of claim 1 wherein each distributed lock manager includes means for asserting a protected read lock type of lock request for allowing nonexclusive read access to the stripe of data storage sectors while blocking write access and exclusive lock requests to such sectors.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
43 words
The data storage system of claim 1 wherein each distributed lock manager includes means for asserting a protected write lock type of lock request for allowing concurrent unprotected read accesses to the stripe of data storage sectors while blocking all other lock requests.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
43 words
The data storage system of claim 1 wherein each distributed lock manager includes means for asserting an exclusive lock type of lock request for obtaining exclusive access to the stripe of data storage sectors while blocking all other lock requests for such sectors.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
67 words
The data storage system of claim 1 wherein each processing node further includes means for determining whether an operation on a designated sector of a designated disk has been prevented by a lock issued by any of said processing nodes with respect to the designated sector in the designated disk; and means for awaiting release of such a lock before performing the operation on the designated sector.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
19 words
The data storage system of claim 1 wherein said pluarlity of processing nodes comprises at least three processing nodes.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
185 words
A method of providing each of a plurality of host operating systems access to each of a plurality of data storage disks having data stored therein according to a protocol so that in the event that one of said disks fails, the data in said failed disk can be reconstructed from the data in other ones of said disks, said method comprising: providing a plurality of processing nodes each having a distributed lock manager and each in communication with each of the plurality of data storage disks; providing a private communication link between each of said processing nodes and one of said host operating systems; communicating over one of the private communication links between one of said host operating systems and one of the processing nodes; acquiring a shared lock encompassing a stripe extending across at least three of said data storage disks; writing new data into a selected sector in the stripe on one of said at least three data storage disks; updating a parity sector in the stripe on another of said at least three data storage disks; and releasing the shared lock.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
185 words
A method of providing each of a plurality of host operating systems access to each of a plurality of data storage disks having data stored therein according to a protocol so that in the event that one of said disks fails, the data in said failed disk can be reconstructed from the data in other ones of said disks, said method comprising: providing a plurality of processing nodes each having a distributed lock manager and each in communication with each of the plurality of data storage disks; providing a private communication link between each of said processing nodes and one of said host operating systems; communicating over one of the private communication links between one of said host operating systems and one of the processing nodes; acquiring a shared lock encompassing a stripe extending across at least three of said data storage disks; writing new data into a selected sector in the stripe on one of said at least three data storage disks; updating a parity sector in the stripe on another of said at least three data storage disks; and releasing the shared lock.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the shared lock extends over the entirety of each of said at least three data storage disks.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
191 words
A data storage system comprising: at least three data storage disks, each of said disks having a plurality of data storage sectors wherein said at least three data storage disks store data according to a protocol that forms stripes, each stripe including a plurality of data storage sectors, each of the data storage sectors in the stripe being on a different one of said data storage disks wherein one of the data storage sectors in the stripe stores parity data so that in the event that one of said different data storage disks fails, the data of said failed disk can be reconstructed from the data in the sectors of the stripe in the other of the data storage disks; a plurality of processing nodes in communication with said at least three data storage disks, each of said processing nodes having a multi-leveled distributed lock manager to allow or deny access to selected stripes on the data storage sectors of any of said data storage disks; and each of said processing nodes including an interface to a private communication link to a single one of a plurality of host operating systems.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
191 words
A data storage system comprising: at least three data storage disks, each of said disks having a plurality of data storage sectors wherein said at least three data storage disks store data according to a protocol that forms stripes, each stripe including a plurality of data storage sectors, each of the data storage sectors in the stripe being on a different one of said data storage disks wherein one of the data storage sectors in the stripe stores parity data so that in the event that one of said different data storage disks fails, the data of said failed disk can be reconstructed from the data in the sectors of the stripe in the other of the data storage disks; a plurality of processing nodes in communication with said at least three data storage disks, each of said processing nodes having a multi-leveled distributed lock manager to allow or deny access to selected stripes on the data storage sectors of any of said data storage disks; and each of said processing nodes including an interface to a private communication link to a single one of a plurality of host operating systems.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
38 words
The data storage system of claim 18, wherein the multi-level lock manager includes means for asserting a NULL request for maintaining a reference to the stripe of data storage sectors without blocking other lock requests to such sectors.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
45 words
The data storage system of claim 18, wherein the multi-level lock manger includes means for asserting an unprotected read lock type of lock request for allowing nonexclusive read or write access to the stripe of data storage sectors so as to block exclusive lock requests.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
48 words
The data storage system of claim 18, wherein the multi-level lock manager includes means for asserting an unprotected write lock type of lock request for allowing nonexclusive read or write access to the stripe of data storage sectors while blocking protected and exclusive lock requests for such sectors.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
47 words
The data storage system of claim 18, wherein the multi-level lock manager includes means for asserting a protected read lock type of lock request for allowing nonexclusive read access to the stripe of data storage sectors while blocking write access and exclusive lock requests to such sectors.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
43 words
The data storage system of claim 18, wherein the multi-level lock manager includes means for asserting a protected write lock type of lock request for allowing concurrent unprotected read accesses to the stripe of data storage sectors while blocking all other lock requests.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
43 words
The data storage system of claim 18, wherein the multi-level lock manager includes means for asserting an exclusive lock type of lock request for obtaining exclusive access to the stripe of data storage sectors while blocking all other lock requests for such sectors.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2003-11-21 | 2004-05-22 | 2004-11-21 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2007-11-21 | 2008-05-22 | 2008-11-21 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2011-11-21 | 2012-05-22 | 2012-11-21 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |