Unified system area network and switch

摘要

A network switch, based on the PCI Express protocol, is disclosed. The switch includes a processor, local memory and a plurality of non-transparent bridges. By configuring the non-transparent bridges appropriately, the network switch can facilitate a number of different communication mechanisms, including TCP/IP communication between servers, server clusters, and virtualized I/O device utilization. For example, the network switch may configure the non-transparent bridges so as to have access to the physical memory of every server attached to it. It can then move data from the memory of any server to the memory of any other server. In another embodiment, the network switch is connected to an I/O device, and multiple servers are given access to that I/O device via virtualized connections.

主权项

1. A method of clustering two servers, each server having a local memory and processor, comprising:
connecting each of said two servers to a switch using PCI Express, said switch comprising a processor, a local memory and a plurality of non-transparent bridges, a first of said non-transparent bridges used to connect to a first server and a second of said non-transparent bridges used to connect to a second server; configuring said first non-transparent bridge so that a first portion of said local memory of said first server is mapped into a logical address space of said processor in said switch; thereby allowing said switch to access said first portion of said local memory of said first server; configuring said second non-transparent bridge so that a second portion of said local memory of said second server is mapped into said logical address space of said processor in said switch; thereby allowing to allow said switch to access said second portion of local memory of said second server; using said first server to write data destined for said second server to said first portion; using said network switch to copy data from said first portion using said first non-transparent bridge to said second portion using said second non-transparent bridge; and using said second server to read data from said second portion.