Search Patents
  • Patent number: 5996024
    Abstract: A network SCSI apparatus and method that comprises a network SCSI device driver which presents a SCSI device interface to a host computer for transmitting SCSI commands in packets over a network to one or more network SCSI applications servers on other computers at separate physical locations connected to local SCSI devices. In a preferred embodiment, the network SCSI device driver enables programs executing on the host computer to treat the local SCSI devices at the remote locations as though they were at the same location as the host computer, thereby overcoming limitations on the number of target devices available at the host site, as well as physical distance limitations imposed by SCSI device standards.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 30, 1999
    Assignee: EMC Corporation
    Inventor: Steven Blumenau
  • Patent number: 5922062
    Abstract: A universal disk controller for microprocessor systems is capable of use as a PCI interface with either SCSI drives or IDE drives. To effect selection of the appropriate one of the IDE or SCSI drives for use with the interface, a configuration logic circuit is coupled with a PCI bus master interface to select an IDE state machine or an SCSI state machine, both of which are coupled with a combined IDE/SCSI interface having common pins for connection to the appropriate IDE or SCSI drive for operation with the controller. Consequently, separate chips for providing interfaces between a PCI bus and either an IDE or an SCSI drive are not required. The system permits switching between IDE and SCSI drives according to the application with which it is being used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 13, 1999
    Assignee: VLSI Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: David Ross Evoy
  • Patent number: 9940293
    Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed that advertise and expose a SCSI disk device type to a client computer or virtual machine, the disk device type acting as a transport for SCSI commands to/from a storage appliance over a Fiber Channel network. Each SCSI command is transported in one or more Fiber Channel frames. A virtual machine can write data to the storage appliance using through a disk opened with the disk device type. Data written through the disk can be deduplicated and/or compressed before storage on the storage appliance. The SCSI disk device type can support SCSI pass-through mode, virtual RDM, or physical RDM.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2018
    Assignee: EMC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Keyur Desai, Shobhan Chinnam, Jerrold Heyman
  • Patent number: 8443139
    Abstract: A virtualization technique, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, includes emulating the small computing system interface (SCSI) protocol to access a virtual SCSI storage device backed by a file stored on network attached storage (NAS).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2013
    Assignee: VMware, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Nelson, Hao Xu, Daniel J. Scales, Matthew B. Amdur
  • Patent number: 8145836
    Abstract: A virtualization technique, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, includes emulating the small computing system interface (SCSI) protocol to access a virtual SCSI storage device backed by a file stored on network attached storage (NAS).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2012
    Assignee: VMware, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Nelson, Hao Xu, Daniel J. Scales, Matthew B. Amdur
  • Patent number: 8914575
    Abstract: A virtualization technique, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, includes emulating the small computing system interface (SCSI) protocol to access a virtual SCSI storage device backed by a file stored on network attached storage (NAS).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2014
    Assignee: VMware, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Nelson, Hao Xu, Daniel J. Scales, Matthew B. Amdur
  • Patent number: 7865663
    Abstract: A virtualization technique, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, includes emulating the small computing system interface (SCSI) protocol to access a virtual SCSI storage device backed by a file stored on network attached storage (NAS).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2011
    Assignee: VMware, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Nelson, Hao Xu, Daniel J. Scales, Matthew B. Amdur
  • Patent number: 6173360
    Abstract: A converter system that allows a host system using a first interface to use a second storage using a second interface. The invention provides a method to allow an ECKD MVS DASD storage using an ESCON interface to be used by an open system using a SCSI-type interface without changes to the ESCON storage or the open storage interfaces. The method also permits the SCSI-type interfaced open system to be physically located greater than 25 meters from the ESCON storage system. The method involves mapping the SCSI-type interface data and commands into parameters used and understood by the ESCON storage. The invention may also be implemented to provide a digital data storage medium containing the method of the invention and a digital apparatus capable of executing the invention.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2001
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Brent Cameron Beardsley, Kenneth Fairclough Day, III, Michael Howard Hartung, William Frank Micka
  • Patent number: 7711539
    Abstract: A system and method for emulating SCSI reservations using network file access protocols is provided. The system and method enable applications or operating systems on a networked computer designed to utilize SCSI reservations on only locally attached storage to also access networked data storage. The emulation occurs transparently to higher levels of operating systems or applications so that the applications or operating systems which are designed to only access locally attached storage may be enabled to access networked storage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2010
    Assignee: NetApp, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey S. Kimmel, Robert Hawley
  • Patent number: 6393517
    Abstract: A method of recording data, including audio data and control data, to a SCSI drive having both a write mode and a write-verify mode, comprises the steps of initializing the drive to a write mode, receiving recording data and organizing the recording data into SCSI request blocks (SRBs), and checking each SRB to see if it contains a write block. If the SRB includes either no write block or is audio data, then the SRB is recorded by the drive. However, if the SRB includes a write block and no audio data, then the SRB is converted from a write block to a write-verify block and recorded by the drive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2002
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Richard J. Oliver, Jeff Claar, Roger Duvall
  • Patent number: 9465638
    Abstract: Examples disclosed herein provide systems, methods, and software for minimizing Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) limitations on virtual machines are disclosed herein. In one example, a method of operating a volume combining system to combine volumes for a virtual machine includes identifying two or more volumes to be attached to the virtual machine. The method further provides combining the two or more volumes into a single volume, and attaching the single volume to the virtual machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2016
    Assignee: VMware, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew Conover, Rajesh H. Parekh, Jairam Choudhary, Fei Huang, Gregory Tauglich
  • Patent number: 6965956
    Abstract: A disk array controller detects whether each drive it is connected to is an ATA drive or a SCSI drive, and communicates with that disk drive using the corresponding protocol. Preferably, the disk array controller supports both the Serial ATA interface specification and the Serial Attached SCSI interface specification, allowing either or both types of disk drives to be included within a RAID or other disk array configuration. The disk array controller may be incorporated into a storage server having hot swap drive carriers that accommodate both types of disk drives.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2005
    Assignee: 3ware, Inc.
    Inventors: John Peter Herz, Christophe Therene, Ronald J. Schoenbaum
  • Patent number: 7177912
    Abstract: A computer network system includes a client-server architecture, where the client transmits SCSI commands over a network using TCP/IP to a server to request input and output operations for a physical storage device that is communicatively coupled to a storage device. The client perceives the storage device to be a local disk drive, even though the storage device is located on the target side of a network. The system includes a client-side disk-based cache.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2007
    Assignee: Datacore Software Corporation
    Inventors: Edward N. Ignatoff, Ziya A. Aral, Roni Putra, Nicholas C. Connolly
  • Patent number: 6292876
    Abstract: An improved method for operating a storage system based on a SCSI communication protocol. In general, the storage system has a data storage medium for storing information and a controller for receiving and generating messages on a communication bus executing a SCSI communication protocol. The controller responds to first and second classes of messages, each message including data specifying the source device that sent the message and a destination device to receive information generated by the message. The first class of messages includes read/write requests directed to a mode page in the storage system, and the second class of messages includes read/write requests specifying an address in the storage system at which data is to be read or written. In a storage system according to the present invention, a virtual mode page is provided for each possible device on the communication bus. The virtual page includes a region of the storage medium reserved for that device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2001
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Co
    Inventor: Richard A. Golding
  • Patent number: 7467283
    Abstract: A system and method for translating addressing protocols between two types of storage drives in a storage environment is provided. A storage environment may include a JBOD of Serial ATA drives coupled to a host server through an external SCSI connection. The addressing protocol of the host server will typically involve addressing each Serial ATA drive by a unique SCSI target ID. This addressing protocol of the host server is translated to an addressing protocol in which each Serial ATA drive is addressed through unique LUN identifier and a single SCSI target ID, which is the addressing scheme of some SCSI-based peripheral controllers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2008
    Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
    Inventors: John S. Loffink, Jason Lau, Arthur J. Gregorcyk, Jr.
  • Publication number: 20010044863
    Abstract: A host computer is connected with a magnetic disk storage device by a SCSI bus. In the magnetic disk storage device, a plurality of partitions are set in a disk drive unit and have device identifiers (ID's) respectively allocated thereto as SCSI ID's=1, 2 and 3, which are supported by a disk controller. When the host computer has acquired the control of the SCSI bus through an arbitration and has selected, for example, the partition with the device identifier SCSI ID=1, the disk controller permits the host computer to access the partition in response to the selection. Since the partitions are different in attributes, properties etc., they seem to be magnetic disk storage devices that at separate from one another when viewed from the host computer. Thus, the single magnetic disk storage device can be managed as a plurality of storage devices of different nature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 5, 2001
    Publication date: November 22, 2001
    Inventors: Takashi Oeda, Kiyoshi Honda, Naoto Matsunami, Minoru Yoshida
  • Publication number: 20040230698
    Abstract: A host computer is connected with a magnetic disk storage device by a SCSI bus. In the magnetic disk storage device, a plurality of partitions are set in a disk drive unit and have device identifiers (IDs) respectively allocated thereto as SCSI IDs=1, 2 and 3, which are supported by a disk controller. When the host computer has acquired the control, the SCSI bus through an arbitration and has selected, for example, the partition with the device identifier SCSI ID=1, the disk controller permits the host computer to access the partition in response to the selection. Since the partitions are different in attributes, properties etc., they seem to be magnetic disk storage device that are separate from one another when viewed from the host computer. Thus, the single magnetic disk storage device can be managed as a plurality of storage devices of different nature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 16, 2004
    Publication date: November 18, 2004
    Inventors: Takashi Oeda, Kiyoshi Honda, Naoto Matsunami, Minoru Yoshida
  • Publication number: 20130232300
    Abstract: A proxy device monitors memory access operations between clients and a storage media. The proxy device stores at least some of the data from the storage media in a faster tiering media and provides the data from the faster tiering media to the clients for certain associated memory access operations. The proxy is also configured to monitor Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) communications between the clients and the storage media and invalidate at least some data in the tiering media when particular SCSI messages in the SCSI communications indicate the tiering media contains data that is out of sync with the data in the storage media.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 8, 2013
    Publication date: September 5, 2013
    Applicant: Volin Memory Inc
    Inventor: Erik de la Iglesia
  • Patent number: 6845403
    Abstract: The present invention is generally directed to a system and method for virtualizing storage in a networked system. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, in a system having an initiator and at least one storage device, an inventive method determines, based upon a SCSI command received by a manager from the initiator, which of the data storage devices are implicated by the SCSI command. The method then forms an iSCSI command that is sent from the manager to each of the implicated storage devices, and receives at the manager an iSCSI response from each of implicated storage devices, after each of the storage devices has completed its implicated data transactions with the initiator. Finally, the method forms a SCSI response that is sent by the manager to the initiator. A corresponding system is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2005
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventor: Mallikarjun B Chadalapaka
  • Publication number: 20010029569
    Abstract: In a computer system including a disk subsystem having channel interface compatible to a count-key-data format and a SCSI interface compatible to a fixed length data format, the disk subsystem is connected to a CPU controlled by an open system operating system through the SCSI interface, and connected to an other CPU controlled by a main frame operating system through the channel interface. The CPU is provided with a CKD record access library and a VSAM access library which accesses in a FBA format the VSAM record stored by the other CPU in a CKD format in the disk subsystem and allows the access by an application program of the CPU as a VSAM record based on VSAM control information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 5, 2001
    Publication date: October 11, 2001
    Inventors: Motohiro Kanda, Akira Yamamoto, Toshio Nakano, Minoru Yoshida