Methods for simplified integration of host based storage array control functions using read and write operations on a storage array control port
US5867736A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 29, 1996 |
| Grant date | Feb 2, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 29, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F11/006
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Methods operable in a SCSI RAID subsystem to enable improved portability in host based RAID management programs. RAID management programs which provide an administrative user interface for managing the operation and configuration of a RAID subsystem have traditionally communicated with the RAID system using control function calls (ioctl) through the operating system's device driver. Ioctl function calls are notoriously non-standardized among different operating systems and even among different versions of certain operating systems. The methods of the present invention are operable within a RAID subsystem to enable use of standardized read and write system function calls to the device driver for communication with a control port within the RAID subsystem. A special LUN is reserved for such read and write administrative calls. The special control port LUN processes the read and write calls to perform the desired RAID management functions on behalf of the management program on an attached host computer. Tag field values are used as logical block numbers in the read and write commands directed to the control port LUN to identify which of several management programs issued the command. …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.