Managing communications between chassis

A storage system, comprising:

• a first chassis including a computing node configured to form messages complying with a first communications protocol;
• a second chassis including a controller operating in accordance with a second communications protocol that is a different protocol from the first communications protocol, the first chassis and the second chassis connected over a communications link configured to carry the messages complying with the first communications protocol, the first chassis and the second chassis including control circuitry that includes a set of processors coupled to memory, the control circuitry constructed and arranged to:
• form a first message by the computing node in a first chassis, the first message providing an instruction directed to the controller in a second chassis to manage one or more hardware functions of the second chassis, the first message complying with the first communications protocol;
• transmit both the first message and a set of I/O requests from the first chassis to the second chassis over the communications link, the set of I/O requests directed to one or more storage devices in the second chassis and complying with the first communications protocol;
• and
• convert, in the second chassis, the first message into a second message complying with the second communications protocol, the second message including the instruction directed to the controller.

A computer program product including a set of non-transitory, computer-readable media having instructions which, when executed by control circuitry of a computerized apparatus, cause the computerized apparatus to perform a method of managing a message between chassis, the method comprising:

• forming a first message by a computing node in a first chassis, the first message providing an instruction directed to a controller in a second chassis to manage one or more hardware functions of the second chassis, the first message complying with a first communications protocol, the controller operating in accordance with a second communications protocol that is a different protocol from the first communications protocol;
• transmitting both the first message and a set of I/O requests from the first chassis to the second chassis over a communications link configured to carry messages complying with the first communications protocol, the set of I/O requests directed to one or more storage devices in the second chassis and complying with the first communications protocol;
• and
• converting, in the second chassis, the first message into a second message complying with the second communications protocol, the second message including the instruction directed to the controller.