Virtual private storage array service for cloud servers

摘要

A method for providing virtual private storage array (VPSA) service for cloud users over a computer network includes receiving parameters for the VPSA over the network and creating the VPSA from resources of server computers. Creating the VPSA includes allocating and exposing drives that meets or exceeds specified drive characteristics, drive quantity, and array redundancy criteria to virtual controllers (VCs) in the VPSA, and dedicating parts of processor/memory complexes that each meets or exceeds a specified virtual controller hardware model to the VCs. The VCs run on virtual machines on the dedicated parts of processor/memory complexes on independent server computers. The VCs discover the exposed drives, create a virtual pool from the exposed virtual drives, implement data protection on the virtual pool, create volumes from the virtual pool, expose the volumes over the network to a customer computer, and handle access requests to the volumes from the customer computer.

主权项

1. A method to provide virtual private storage array service over a computer network for cloud servers in a public or a private cloud, comprising:
receiving parameters for a virtual private storage array over the computer network from a customer, the parameters for the virtual private storage array including a virtual controller hardware model for each virtual controller in the virtual private storage array, drive characteristics for the virtual private storage array, and a drive quantity for the virtual private storage array; creating the virtual private storage array for the customer from processor/memory complexes and physical drives available from server computers, comprising:
creating virtual drives from a set of physical drives that meets or exceeds the drive characteristics and the drive quantity, each virtual drive being one entire selected physical drive; andallocating the virtual drives to the virtual private storage array; creating one or more volumes from the virtual drives; exposing the one or more volumes over the computer network to one or more cloud servers; and handling access requests to the exposed one or more volumes over the computer network from the one or more cloud servers, comprising using one or more private encryption keys of the customer, which are not shared with the virtual private storage service or other customers of the virtual private storage service, to encrypt and decrypt volume data on the one or more volumes.