US 7,733,874 B2Granted

Communicating packets between devices involving the use of different communication protocols

AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation

InventorsWayne Charles Carlson, Erika Marianna Dawson, Gavin Stuart Johnson, Trang Thuy Le, Matthew Hank Sabins, Peter Grimm Sutton, Harry Morris Yudenfriend

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Abstract

Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for receiving an initial request from a first device to a second device. A response to the initial request is received from the second device to the first device. Each response and request received from the first device to the second device is processed by accessing the response or request from a packet encoded using a first communication protocol; generating a packet including the accessed response or request into a packet encoded using a second communication protocol; and transmitting the generated packet to the second device. Each response and request received from the second device to the first device is processed by accessing the response or request from a packet encoded using the second communication protocol; generating a packet including the accessed response or request into a packet encoded using the first communication protocol; and transmitting the generated packet to the second device.

Claims40

Dependent claims

An article of manufacture including code for processing communications among a storage drive, an Input/Output (I/O) device, and a host and for causing operations to be performed, the operations, comprising:

receiving an initial request from the storage drive to the I/O device;
receiving a response to the initial request from the I/O device to the storage drive;
processing each response and request received from the storage drive to the I/O device by performing:
accessing the response or request from a packet encoded using a first communication protocol comprising a host driven command response protocol;
generating a packet including the accessed response or request into a packet encoded using a second communication protocol comprising a network protocol;
determining whether the host is used to communicate the packet from the storage drive to the I/O device;
and
transmitting the generated packet to the I/O device in response to determining that the host is not used to communicate the packet from the storage drive to the I/O device;
and
processing each response and request received from the I/O device to the storage drive by performing:
accessing the response or request from a packet encoded using the second communication protocol;
generating a packet including the accessed response or request into a packet encoded using the first communication protocol;
determining whether the host is used to communicate the packet from the I/O device to the storage drive;
and
transmitting the generated packet to the storage drive in response to determining that the host is not used to communicate the packet from the I/O device to the storage drive, wherein the host is used to communicate the packet as part of in-band communication and the host is not used to communicate the packet for out-of-band communication.

12 more elements

An article of manufacture including code for processing an initial request from a storage drive to an Input/Output (I/O) device in communication with an intermediate device and for causing operations to be performed, the operations, comprising:

receiving a response to the initial request from the I/O device to the storage drive;
processing each response and request from the storage drive to the I/O device received from the intermediate device, wherein each response or request from the storage drive to the I/O device received from the intermediate device is included in a packet encoded using a first and second communication protocols, wherein the first communication protocol comprises a host driven response protocol and the second communication protocol comprises a network protocol, wherein the processing comprises:
removing first communication protocol information from the packet leaving the packet encoded with the second communication protocol;
and
transmitting the packet encoded with the second communication protocol to the I/O device, wherein communications received from the intermediate device comprise in-band processing involving the intermediate device and the storage drive, and wherein the transmitting of the packet is not part of out-of-band communication;
and
processing each response and request received from the I/O device to the storage drive by performing:
encoding a packet including the response or request, which is encoded using the second communication protocol, with a third communication protocol;
transmitting the encoded packet to the intermediate device to send to the storage drive.

6 more elements

A system in communication with a storage drive and an Input/Output (I/O) device, comprising:

a processor;
and
code executed by the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:
receiving an initial request from the storage drive to the I/O device;
receiving a response to the initial request from the I/O device to the storage drive;
processing each response and request received from the storage drive to the I/O device by performing:
accessing the response or request from a packet encoded using a first communication protocol comprising a host driven command response protocol;
generating a packet including the accessed response or request into a packet encoded using a second communication protocol comprising a network protocol;
determining whether a host is used to communicate the packet from the storage drive to the I/O device;
and
transmitting the generated packet to the I/O device in response to determining that the host is not used to communicate the packet from the storage drive to the I/O device;
and
processing each response and request received from the I/O device to the storage drive by performing:
accessing the response or request from a packet encoded using the second communication protocol;
generating a packet including the accessed response or request into a packet encoded using the first communication protocol;
determining whether a host is used to communicate the packet from the I/O device to the storage drive;
and
transmitting the generated packet to the storage drive in response to determining that the host is not used to communicate the packet from the I/O device to the storage drive, wherein the host is used to communicate the packet as part of in-band communication and the host is not used to communicate the packet for out-of-band communication.

15 more elements

A system for processing an initial request from a storage drive to an Input/Output (I/O) device and in communication with an intermediate device, comprising:

a processor;
and
code executed by the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:
receiving a response to the initial request from the I/O device to the storage drive;
processing each response and request from the storage drive to the I/O device received from the intermediate device, wherein each response or request from the storage drive to the I/O device received from the intermediate device is included in a packet encoded using a first and second communication protocols, wherein the first communication protocol comprises a host driven response protocol and the second communication protocol comprises a network protocol, wherein the processing comprises:
removing first communication protocol information from the packet leaving the packet encoded with the second communication protocol;
and
transmitting the packet encoded with the second communication protocol to the I/O device, wherein communications received from the intermediate device comprise in-band processing involving the intermediate device and the storage drive, and wherein the transmitting of the packet is not part of out-of-band communication;
and
processing each response and request received from the I/O device to the storage drive by performing:
encoding a packet including the response or request, which is encoded using the second communication protocol, with a third communication protocol;
and
transmitting the encoded packet to the intermediate device to send to the storage drive.

10 more elements

A method, comprising:

receiving an initial request from a storage drive to an Input/Output (I/O) device;
receiving a response to the initial request from the I/O device to the storage drive;
processing each response and request received from the storage drive to the I/O device by performing:
accessing the response or request from a packet encoded using a first communication protocol comprising a host driven command response protocol;
generating a packet including the accessed response or request into a packet encoded using a second communication protocol comprising a network protocol;
determining whether a host is used to communicate the packet from the storage drive to the I/O device;
and
transmitting the generated packet to the I/O device in response to determining that the host is not used to communicate the packet from the storage drive to the I/O device;
and
processing each response and request received from the I/O device to the storage drive by performing:
accessing the response or request from a packet encoded using the second communication protocol;
generating a packet including the accessed response or request into a packet encoded using the first communication protocol;
determining whether the host is used to communicate the packet from the I/O device to the storage drive;
and
transmitting the generated packet to the storage drive in response to determining that the host is not used to communicate the packet from the I/O device to the storage drive, wherein the host is used to communicate the packet as part of in-band communication and the host is not used to communicate the packet for out of band communication.

12 more elements

A method for processing an initial request from a storage drive to an Input/Output (I/O) device, comprising:

receiving a response to the initial request from the I/O device to the storage drive;
processing each response and request from the storage drive to the I/O device received from an intermediate device, wherein each response or request from the storage drive to the I/O device received from the intermediate device is included in a packet encoded using a first and second communication protocols, wherein the first communication protocol comprises a host driven response protocol and the second communication protocol comprises a network protocol, wherein the processing comprises:
removing first communication protocol information from the packet leaving the packet encoded with the second communication protocol;
and
transmitting the packet encoded with the second communication protocol to the I/O device, wherein communications received from the intermediate device comprise in-band processing involving the intermediate device and the storage drive, and wherein the transmitting of the packet is not part of out-of-band communication;
and
processing each response and request received from the I/O device to the storage drive by performing:
encoding a packet including the response or request, which is encoded using the second communication protocol with a third communication protocol;
and
transmitting the encoded packet to the intermediate device to send to the storage drive.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 11/553,968Filed 27 Oct 2006
Published: US 2008/0148041 A119 Jun 2008
Granted: 8 Jun 2010
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification7 codes

H04L 63/061
For supporting key management in a packet data network: for key exchange, e.g. in peer-to-peer networks
G06F 21/6218
Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules: to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file…
G06F 21/79
To assure secure storage of data: in semiconductor storage media, e.g. directly-addressable memories
G06F 21/80
To assure secure storage of data: in storage media based on magnetic or optical technology, e.g. disks with sectors