Stream-oriented interconnect for networked computer storage
US7944936B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 23, 2006 |
| Grant date | May 17, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 22, 2028 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S370/912
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An apparatus and method for connecting a plurality of computing devices, e.g. web servers, database servers, etc., to a plurality of storage devices, such as disks, disk arrays, tapes, etc., by using a stream-oriented (circuit oriented) switch that has high throughput, but that requires non-negligible time for reconfiguration is disclosed. An example of such stream-oriented switch is an optical switch. The system decodes the requests from the computing devices and uses this information to create circuits, e.g. optical paths in embodiments where the stream-oriented switch is an optical switch, through the stream-oriented switch. The system uses these circuits to route traffic between the computing devices and the storage devices. Buffering of data and control in the device memory is used to improve overall throughput and reduce the time spent on reconfigurations.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.