METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR OPTIMIZING THE PERFORMANCE OF A STORAGE SYSTEM

摘要

Methods and apparatuses for optimizing the performance of a storage system comprise a FLASH storage system, a hard drive storage system, and a storage controller. The storage controller is adapted to receive READ and WRITE requests from an external host, and is coupled to the FLASH storage system and the hard drive storage system. The storage controller receives a WRITE request from an external host containing data and an address, forwards the received WRITE request to the FLASH storage system and associates the address provided in the WRITE request with a selected alternative address, and provides an alternative WRITE request, including the selected alternative address and the data received in the WRITE request, to the hard drive storage system, wherein the alternative address is selected to promote sequential WRITE operations within the hard drive storage system.

主权项

1. A storage system having backup storage, comprising:
a non-volatile memory configured as a primary storage for the storage system and providing a non-volatile storage space for the storage system; a backup hard drive providing a backup storage space for the non-volatile memory; and a first host bus adapter (HBA) coupled to the non-volatile memory and a second HBA coupled to the backup hard drive, each HBA being configured to receive a WRITE request from a server containing data and an address where the data is to be stored, the first HBA configured to write the data contained in the WRITE request to a physical location within the non-volatile memory and the second HBA configured to write the data contained in the WRITE request to a physical location within the backup hard drive; wherein the first HBA is further configured to receive a READ request from the server containing an address from which data is to be read, access a physical location within the non-volatile memory corresponding to the address contained in the READ request, and provide data stored at the physical location to the external host in the absence of a READ error message from the non-volatile memory, and wherein the second HBA is further configured to receive a READ request from the server containing an address from which data is to be read, access a physical location within the backup hard drive corresponding to the address received in the READ request and provide data stored at that address to the host in the presence of a READ error message from the non-volatile memory.