Intelligent storage engine for disk drive operations with reduced local bus traffic
AssigneeNetCell Corp.
InventorsAndy Mills, Kent Fischer
Life of this patent
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Abstract
For attached disk drive operations such a file copy and move, as well as more elaborate processes such as searching, virus-scanning and volume merge, a novel intelligent storage engine concept is disclosed. In one embodiment, a storage engine (40), utilizing local processor intelligence, and accessed through a suitable driver (60) and API (App. B), carries out disk access operations without burdening the host CPU (22) and without imposing data traffic on the local CPU bus (34), except for returning results data in an appropriate case.
Claims20
An intelligent storage engine apparatus for reducing host bus traffic in connection with attached storage operations comprising:
- a host interface for receiving a predetermined instruction or function call from a host application;
- a drive interface to coupling the engine to at least one attached disk drive for data transfers;
- and
- a processor on board the storage engine for effecting data transfers with the attached storage device(s) responsive to the received instruction;
- the storage engine arranged for effecting said data transfers with the attached storage device(s) without placing user data on the host bus or host serial link.
A method of executing disk drive operations with reduced local bus traffic, the method comprising:
- defining at least one host application function that requires access to at least one disk drive and having a corresponding function call;
- implementing the said function call in a storage engine apparatus;
- interfacing the storage engine apparatus to a host local bus and to at least one attached disk drive;
- monitoring the local bus so as to detect the said function call when asserted;
- and
- responsive to the detected function call, executing the corresponding function in the storage engine apparatus without placing user data on the local bus;
- and after completion returning a result of the executed function over the local bus.
A method of executing disk drive operations with reduced local bus traffic, the method comprising.
- defining at least one application function that requires access to at least one disk drive;
- implementing the said function in a storage engine apparatus having a local processor and local memory;
- interfacing the storage engine apparatus to a host local bus and to at least one attached disk drive;
- receiving a function call from an application program via a predetermined API;
- responsive to the received function call, executing the corresponding function in the storage engine apparatus without placing user data on the local bus, said execution including accessing said at least one attached disk drive;
- and after completion returning a result of the executed function to the application program.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.