Policy aware framework for application input output management

A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions to be executed in a computer system, wherein the instructions when executed in the computer system perform a method for enforcing application-specific quality of service (QoS) requirements over a storage network, the method comprising:

• receiving, at an initiator network adapter, an input-output (I/O) command to be transmitted to a storage device associated with a target network adapter, the I/O command being received from a virtual machine executing an application, wherein the I/O command corresponds to an I/O request generated by the application and is tagged with a QoS classification corresponding to QoS requirements of the application;
• determining, at the initiator adapter, a QoS value corresponding to the QoS classification of the I/O command, wherein:
• the QoS classification indicates a bandwidth requirement;
• the target network adapter is associated with a plurality of storage devices including the storage device;
• the I/O command is received from the virtual machine through a storage stack configured to process I/O commands received by the application;
• the storage stack is configured with a plurality of queues, corresponding to the plurality of devices, the plurality of queues having a corresponding plurality of queue depths;
• causing, at the initiator network adapter, the plurality of queue depths to be adjusted based on the bandwidth requirement;
• and
• transmitting, at the initiator network adapter, a data frame including the I/O command and the QoS value to a target network adapter through a switch fabric in a network, the switch fabric having a plurality of switches each configured to forward the data frame based on the QoS value.

A computer system comprising:

• an initiator network adapter;
• a non-transitory memory comprising executable instructions;
• and
• a processor in data communication with the memory and configured to execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to perform a method comprising:
• receiving, at the initiator network adapter, an input-output (I/O) command to be transmitted to a storage device associated with a target network adapter, the I/O command being received from a virtual machine executing an application, wherein the I/O command corresponds to an I/O request generated by the application and is tagged with a QoS classification corresponding to QoS requirements of the application;
• determining, at the initiator adapter, a QoS value corresponding to the QoS classification of the I/O command, wherein:
• the QoS classification indicates a bandwidth requirement;
• the target network adapter is associated with a plurality of storage devices including the storage device;
• the I/O command is received from the virtual machine through a storage stack configured to process I/O commands received by the application;
• the storage stack is configured with a plurality of queues, corresponding to the plurality of devices, the plurality of queues having a corresponding plurality of queue depths;
• causing, at the initiator network adapter, the plurality of queue depths to be adjusted based on the bandwidth requirement;
• and
• transmitting, at the initiator network adapter, a data frame including the I/O command and the QoS value to a target network adapter through a switch fabric in a network, the switch fabric having a plurality of switches each configured to forward the data frame based on the QoS value.