In-band management using an intelligent adapter and methods thereof

摘要

Machine implemented method and system for in-band management is provided. The method includes generating a management command from a first adapter having a storage protocol controller; and using a transport driver at the first adapter for sending the management command to a second adapter via the port that is also used for sending any input/output requests to read and write information to and from a storage device, where the management command is in a same format as a write command block for writing information at the storage device.

主权项

1. A machine implemented method, comprising:
generating a management command by a first adapter coupled to a first computing device via a peripheral bus, where the management command is for obtaining status information or setting a parameter, the first adapter having a storage protocol controller with a port for providing the first adapter with connectivity to a storage area network (SAN) for accessing a storage device to read and write data from and to the storage device; and also having a solid state storage device made available to the first computing device as a local caching device as well as another storage device; using a transport driver executed by the first adapter for sending the management command to a second adapter using a network connection via the port that is also used for sending any input/output (I/O) requests to read and write information to and from the storage device via the SAN; wherein the management command is in a same format as an I/O write command block for writing information at the storage device via the SAN and the management command is for obtaining status information from the second adapter or setting a parameter at the second adapter; receiving the management command at a port of the second adapter coupled to a second computing device that provides the second adapter with SAN connectivity; and processing the management command by the second adapter and providing a response to the management command to the first adapter via the port and a transport driver executed by the second adapter using the network connection; wherein the port of the second adapter is also used to send I/O read and write requests via the network connection using the same transport driver of the second adapter.