Access to storage resources using a virtual storage appliance
AssigneeDell Products L.P.
InventorsGaurav Chawla, Michael Karl Molloy, Robert Wayne Hormuth
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods and systems for improved access to storage resources include installing a virtual storage appliance as a virtual machine on a hypervisor. The virtual storage appliance installs itself as a virtual PCI-E device and communicates with guest operating systems of the hypervisor using direct memory access via a PCI-E non-transparent bridge. The storage virtual appliance provides access to local and external storage resources with very high performance to applications running under the guest operating system, thereby overcoming performance barriers associated with native hypervisor driver models.
Claims21
A method executed by at least one processor comprising:
- loading a storage virtual appliance as a virtual machine on a hypervisor, wherein the storage virtual appliance is accessed by the hypervisor using a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCI-E) device driver that supports direct memory access (DMA);
- and
- enabling, using the storage virtual appliance, a guest operating system executing on the hypervisor access to storage resources, wherein the storage virtual appliance communicates with the guest operating system via direct memory access over a PCI-E non-transparent bridge (NTB).
An article of manufacture comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, that, when executed by a processor subsystem, cause the processor subsystem to:
- load a storage virtual appliance as a virtual machine on a hypervisor, wherein the storage virtual appliance is accessed by the hypervisor using a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCI-E) device driver that supports direct memory access (DMA);
- and
- enable, using the storage virtual appliance, a guest operating system executing on the hypervisor access to storage resources, wherein the storage virtual appliance communicates with the guest operating system via direct memory access over a PCI-E non-transparent bridge (NTB).
A information handling system comprising:
- a processor subsystem having access to a memory subsystem, wherein the memory subsystem stores instructions executable by the processor subsystem, that, when executed by the processor subsystem, cause the processor subsystem to:
- load a storage virtual appliance as a virtual machine on a hypervisor, wherein the storage virtual appliance is accessed by the hypervisor using a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCI-E) device driver that supports direct memory access (DMA);
- and
- enable, using the storage virtual appliance, a guest operating system executing on the hypervisor access to storage resources, wherein the storage virtual appliance communicates with the guest operating system via direct memory access over a PCI-E non-transparent bridge (NTB).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.