System and method for a redundant communication channel via storage area network back-end
US6883065B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 28, 2002 |
| Grant date | Apr 19, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 22, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F11/0757
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A fiber channel storage area network (SAN) provides virtualized storage space for a number of servers to a number of virtual disks implemented on various virtual redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID) devices striped across a plurality of physical disk drives. The SAN includes plural controllers and communication paths to allow for fail-safe and fail-over operation. The plural controllers can be loosely-coupled to provide n-way redundancy and have more than one independent channel for communicating with one another. In particular, respective portions from each of the back-end physical disk drives within the SAN are used as one of these alternative communication channels to pass messages between controllers. Such an alternative communications channel provides even further redundancy and robustness in the system.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.