Methods and apparatus for coordinating shared multiple raid controller access to common storage devices

摘要

Methods and associated apparatus for performing concurrent I/O operations on a common shared subset of disk drives (LUNs) by a plurality of RAID controllers. The methods of the present invention are operable in all of a plurality of RAID controllers to coordinate concurrent access to a shared set of disk drives. The plurality of RAID controllers operable enhance the performance of a RAID subsystem by better utilizing available processing power among the plurality of RAID controllers. Each of a plurality of RAID controllers may actively process different I/O requests on a common shared subset of disk drives. One of the plurality of controllers is designated as primary with respect to a particular shared subset of disk drives. The plurality of RAID controllers then exchange messages over a communication medium to coordinate concurrent access to the shared subset of disk drives through the primary controller.