Communication paths for storage devices having differing capacities
AssigneePure Storage, Inc.
InventorsPar Botes, John Hayes, Zhangxi Tan
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Abstract
A storage system is provided. The storage system includes a plurality of storage nodes, each of the plurality of storage nodes having a plurality of storage units with storage memory. The system includes a first network coupling the plurality of storage nodes and a second network coupled to at least a subset of the plurality of storage units of each of the plurality of storage nodes such that one of the plurality of storage units of a first one of the plurality of storage nodes can initiate or relay a command to one of the plurality of storage units of a second one of the plurality of storage nodes via the second network without the command passing through the first network.
Claims20
A storage system, comprising:
- a plurality of storage nodes, each of the plurality of storage nodes having non-volatile memory with differing capacities;
- a first communication path coupling the plurality of storage nodes;
- and
- a second communication path coupled to the non-volatile memory of each of the plurality of storage nodes such that the non-volatile memory of a first one of the plurality of storage nodes configured to initiate a command to the non-volatile memory of a second one of the plurality of storage nodes via the second communication path.
A method, comprising:
- transmitting a command from a processor of a storage node to a controller of a first storage unit of the storage node, wherein the storage node is coupled to further storage nodes of the storage system by a first communication path, and wherein at least one of the plurality of storage nodes comprise non-volatile memory with differing capacities;
- and
- communicating regarding the command from the processor of the first storage unit to a processor of a second storage unit of one of the further storage nodes via a second communication path coupling the first storage unit and the second storage unit without the communicating regarding the command passing through the first communication path.
A storage system, comprising:
- a plurality of storage nodes, each of the plurality of storage nodes coupled to each other of the plurality of storage nodes by a first communication path;
- a plurality of storage drives, each having storage memory, wherein each of the plurality of storage nodes includes one or more of the plurality of storage drives, wherein at least one storage drive includes non-volatile memory having differing capacity;
- and
- at least a subset of the plurality of storage drives coupled by a second communication path wherein one of the plurality of storage drives included in a first one of the plurality of storage nodes can initiate a command via the second communication path to one of the plurality of storage drives included in a second one of the plurality of storage nodes, without the command passing through the first communication path.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.