# US 9,971,519 B2 · System and method for efficient access for remote storage devices > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,971,519 B2 - Document ID: US9971519B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/726,919 - Filed: 2015-06-01 - Published: 2016-02-04 - Granted: 2018-05-15 - Earliest claimed: 2014-07-30 - Assignees: Excelero Storage Ltd. - Applicants: Excelero Storage Ltd. - Inventors: Yaniv Romem; Omri Mann; Ofer Oshri - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9971519B2 ## CPC - G06F 3/0611: {in relation to response time} - G06F 3/0604: {Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. storage management} - G06F 3/0637: {Permissions} - G06F 3/064: {Management of blocks} - G06F 3/0647: {Migration mechanisms} - G06F 3/065: {Replication mechanisms} - G06F 3/0652: {Erasing, e.g. deleting, data cleaning, moving of data to a wastebasket} - G06F 3/0659: {Command handling arrangements, e.g. command buffers, queues, command scheduling} - G06F 3/067: {Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]} - G06F 3/0688: {Non-volatile semiconductor memory arrays} - G06F 3/0689: {Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD} - G06F 12/1081: for peripheral access to main memory, e.g. direct memory access [DMA] - G06F 15/167: using a common memory, e.g. mailbox - G06F 15/17331: {Distributed shared memory [DSM], e.g. remote direct memory access [RDMA]} - H04L 12/06: Answer-back mechanisms or circuits - H04L 12/6418: {Hybrid transport} - H04L 67/1097: for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS] - G06F 2212/65: Details of virtual memory and virtual address translation - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) ## Abstract A network interface controller (NIC) for use in a server controlling a plurality of storage devices provides remote access to a plurality of clients each accessing one or more storage devices of the plurality of storage devices. The NIC is configured to receive from at least a client device an input/output (I/O) request for a storage device of the plurality of storage devices and store the I/O request in a secondary memory thereof. The I/O request is sent to the storage device and a response respective of the I/O request intended for the primary processing unit of the server is received by the NIC. The client device is sent an indication that the I/O request is completed. In some exemplary embodiments, the NIC determines if the client device has appropriate I/O permissions to access a specific data block. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A network interface controller (NIC) for use in a server controlling a plurality of storage devices, the NIC comprising: a network interface configured to communicatively connect the NIC to a network comprising a client device and the server; a communication interface configured to communicatively connect the NIC to a primary processing unit of the server; a secondary processing unit; a first memory containing instructions for execution by the secondary processing unit; and a second memory; wherein the instructions, when executed by the secondary processing unit, configure the NIC to: receive, from the client device, an input/output (I/O) request for a storage device from among the plurality of storage devices; store the I/O request in the second memory; send the I/O request to the storage device; receive, from the storage device, a response for the I/O request intended for the primary processing unit; and send the client device an indication that the I/O request is completed; wherein the I/O request contains an address of a data block for the storage device, and the first memory further contains instructions that when executed by the secondary processing unit configure the NIC to: access a table of permissions to determine if the client device has permission to access the data block of the storage device, the table containing a list of data blocks of the storage device, and for each client device accessing the storage device, per instruction type permissions per each data block. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The NIC of claim 1, wherein the second memory comprises a queue configured to store a plurality of received I/O requests. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The NIC of claim 1, wherein the first memory further contains instructions that when executed by the secondary processing unit configure the NIC to: send again an I/O request stored in the second memory, in response to determining that the I/O request was not executed by the storage device. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The NIC of claim 1, wherein the first memory further contains instructions that when executed by the secondary processing unit configure the NIC to: erase the I/O request from the secondary memory in response to determining that the received response indicates a successful completion of the I/O request. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The NIC of claim 1, wherein the secondary processing unit, the first memory and the second memory are implemented from one of: a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and a system on a chip (SoC). ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The NIC of claim 1, wherein the first memory and the second memory are implemented as a single logic circuit. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The NIC of claim 1, wherein the received response for the I/O request includes an interrupt request. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The NIC of claim 1, wherein the indication sent to the client device includes an interrupt request. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The NIC of claim 1, wherein the NIC is further configured to send the indication to the client device before receiving an interrupt message for the I/O request from the storage device. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The NIC of claim 1, wherein the I/O request comprises a block of data and an address for the storage device. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The NIC of claim 1, wherein the network interface and the communication interface are implemented as a single interface. ### Claim 12 (depends on 2) The NIC of claim 2, wherein the NIC provides support for remote direct memory access (RDMA) protocol, and the I/O request is stored in an I/O queue of the second memory using RDMA protocol. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The NIC of claim 1, wherein the NIC provides support for remote direct memory access (RDMA) protocol and the response for the I/O request is stored directly in a memory of the client device. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The NIC of claim 1, wherein the first memory further contains instructions that when executed by the secondary processing unit configure the NIC to: send the client device an indication that the received I/O request was not completed, in response to determining that the client device does not have permission to access the data block of the storage device. ### Claim 15 A computerized method for providing a client device remote access to a server controlling a plurality of storage devices, by a network interface controller (NIC) comprising a secondary processing unit, a first memory and a second memory, the method comprising: receiving from the client device an input/output (I/O) request for a storage device from among the plurality of storage devices, wherein the I/O request contains an address of a data block for the storage device; storing the I/O request in the secondary memory of the NIC; sending the I/O request from the NIC to the storage device; receiving, from the storage device, a response for the I/O request intended for a primary processing unit of the server; sending, from the NIC to the client device, an indication that the I/O request is completed; and accessing a table of permissions to determine if the client device has permission to access the data block of the storage device, the table containing a list of data blocks of the storage device, and for each client device accessing the storage device, per instruction type permissions per each data block. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The computerized method of claim 15, storing a plurality of received I/O requests, using a queue of the secondary memory. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The computerized method of claim 15, further comprising: in response to determining that the I/O request was not executed by the storage device, sending an I/O request stored in the second memory again. ### Claim 18 (depends on 15) The computerized method of claim 15, further comprising: in response to determining that the received response indicates a successful completion of the I/O request, erasing the I/O request from the secondary memory. ### Claim 19 (depends on 15) The computerized method of claim 15, wherein the secondary processing unit, the first memory and the second memory are implemented from one of: a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and a system on a chip (SoC). ### Claim 20 (depends on 15) The computerized method of claim 15, wherein the first memory and the second memory are implemented as a single logic circuit. ### Claim 21 (depends on 15) The computerized method of claim 15, wherein the received response for the I/O request includes an interrupt request. ### Claim 22 (depends on 15) The computerized method of claim 15, wherein the indication sent to the client device includes an interrupt request. ### Claim 23 (depends on 15) The computerized method of claim 15, further comprising sending the indication to the client device before receiving the response for the I/O request from the storage device. ### Claim 24 (depends on 15) The computerized method of claim 15, wherein the I/O request comprises a block of data and an address for the storage device. ### Claim 25 (depends on 16) The computerized method of claim 16 wherein the NIC provides support for remote direct memory access (RDMA) protocol, and the I/O requests are stored in a queue of the second memory using RDMA protocol. ### Claim 26 (depends on 15) The computerized method of claim 15, wherein the NIC provides support for remote direct memory access (RDMA) protocol and the I/O response is stored directly in a memory of the client device. ### Claim 27 (depends on 15) The computerized method of claim 15, further comprising: in response to determining that the client device does not have permission to access the data block of the storage device, sending an indication that the received I/O request was not completed to the client device. ### Claim 28 (depends on 15) The computerized method of claim 15, wherein the instruction type is any of: read, write, and discard. ### Claim 29 A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions for causing one or more processing units to execute a method for providing a client device remote access to a server controlling a plurality of storage devices, by a network interface controller (NIC) comprising a secondary processing unit, a first memory and a second memory, the method comprising: receiving from the client device an input/output (I/O) request for a storage device from among the plurality of storage devices, wherein the I/O request contains an address of a data block for the storage device; storing the I/O request in the secondary memory of the NIC; sending the I/O request from the NIC to the storage device; receiving, from the storage device, a response for the I/O request intended for a primary processing unit of the server; and sending, from the NIC to the client device, an indication that the I/O request is completed; and accessing a table of permissions to determine if the client device has permission to access the data block of the storage device, the table containing a list of data blocks of the storage device, and for each client device accessing the storage device, per instruction type permissions per each data block.