US 10,871,991 B2Granted

Multi-core processor in storage system executing dedicated polling thread for increased core availability

AssigneeEMC IP Holding Company LLC

InventorsAmitai Alkalay, Lior Kamran, Eldad Zinger

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Abstract

At least one processor of a storage system comprises a plurality of cores and is configured to execute a first thread on a first core of the plurality of cores. The first thread polls at least one interface for an indication of data and, responsive to a detection of an indication of data, processes the data. Responsive to the first thread having no remaining data to be processed, the first thread suspends execution on the first core. The at least one processor is further configured to execute a second thread of a second type on a second core of the plurality of cores. The second thread polls the at least one interface for an indication of data to be processed by the first thread. Responsive to a detection of an indication of data, the second thread causes the first thread to resume execution on the first core.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An apparatus comprising:

a storage system comprising a node and a plurality of storage devices, the node comprising at least one processor coupled to memory and at least one interface, the at least one processor of the node comprising a plurality of cores, the at least one processor configured:
to execute a first thread of a first type on a first core of the plurality of cores to implement at least a portion of an application of the storage system, the first thread comprising an operating system thread, the first thread being configured:
to poll the at least one interface of the node or an indication of data to be processed by the first thread;
responsive to a detection of an indication of data on the at least one interface by the polling of the first thread, to process the data based on the indication;
and
responsive to the first thread having no remaining data to be processed, to suspend execution on the first core;
and
to execute a second thread of a second type on a second core of the plurality of cores to implement at least a portion of the application of the storage system, the second thread comprising an operating system thread, the second thread being configured to at least partially replace a polling functionality of the first thread by polling the at least one interface of the node for an indication of data to be processed by the first thread and, responsive to a detection of an indication of data on the at least one interface by the polling of the second thread, causing the first thread to resume execution on the first core.

5 more elements

A method comprising:

executing a first thread of a first type on a first core of a plurality of cores of at least one processing device of a node of a storage system to implement at least a portion of an application of the storage system, the first thread comprising an operating system thread, the at least one processing device comprising a processor coupled to memory, the node comprising at least one interface, the first thread being configured:
to poll the at least one interface of the node for an indication of data to be processed by the first thread;
responsive to a detection of an indication of data on the at least one interface by the polling of the first thread, to process the data based on the indication;
and
responsive to the first thread having no remaining data to be processed, to suspend execution on the first core;
and
executing a second thread of a second type on a second core of the plurality of cores to implement at least a portion of the application of the storage system, the second thread comprising an operating system thread, the second thread being configured to at least partially replace a polling functionality of the first thread by polling the at least one interface of the node for an indication of data to be processed by the first thread and, responsive to a detection of an indication of data on the at least one interface by the polling of the second thread, causing the first thread to resume execution on the first core.

4 more elements

A computer program product comprising a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium having stored therein program code of one or more software programs, wherein the program code when executed by at least one processing device of a node of a storage system, the at least one processing device comprising at least one processor coupled to memory, the at least one processor comprising a plurality of cores, the node comprising at least one interface, causes the at least one processing device:

to execute a first thread of a first type on a first core of the plurality of cores to implement at least a portion of an application of the storage system, the first thread comprising an operating system thread, the first thread being configured:
to poll the at least one interface of the node for an indication of data to be processed by the first thread;
responsive to a detection of an indication of data on the at least one interface by the polling of the first thread, to process the data based on the indication;
and
responsive to the first thread having no remaining data to be processed, to suspend execution on the first core;
and
to execute a second thread of a second type on a second core of the plurality of cores to implement at least a portion of the application of the storage system, the second thread comprising an operating system thread, the second thread being configured to at least partially replace a polling functionality of the first thread by polling the at least one interface of the node for an indication of data to be processed by the first thread and, responsive to a detection of an indication of data on the at least one interface by the polling of the second thread, causing the first thread to resume execution on the first core.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/251,779Filed 18 Jan 2019
Published: US 2020/0233704 A123 Jul 2020
Granted: 22 Dec 2020
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

G06F 9/485
By program, e.g. task dispatcher, supervisor, operating system: task life-cycle, e.g. stopping, restarting, resuming execution
G06F 9/4881
By program, e.g. task dispatcher, supervisor, operating system: scheduling strategies for dispatcher, e.g. round robin, multi-level priority queues
G06F 3/061
Specifically adapted to achieve a particular effect: improving I/O performance
G06F 3/0656
Vertical data movement, i.e. input-output transfer; data movement between one or more hosts and one or more storage devices: data buffering…

Family

US 2020/0233704 A1Pre-grant publication · published 23 Jul 2020
US 10,871,991 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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