Sayantan Bhattacharya

US Patent:

20130283264, Oct 24, 2013

Filed:

Apr 20, 2012

Appl. No.:

13/452593

Inventors:

Sayantan Bhattacharya - Colorado Springs CO, US
Lawrence J. Rawe - Colorado Springs CO, US
Edoardo Daelli - Castle Rock CO, US

Assignee:

LSI CORPORATION - Milpitas CA

International Classification:

G06F 9/455
G06F 13/14

US Classification:

718 1

Abstract:

Disclosed is a method and SAS controller that abstract access from virtual machines operating on a host system to SAS physical devices connected to the SAS controller without a routing table for port-to-port messaging on the SAS controller. An embodiment may create a virtual expander for each physical port of the SAS controller and further create virtual ports within the virtual expanders to provide abstracted access to SAS physical devices for the virtual machines. The SAS physical devices may be replicated/cloned within the virtual ports. Each replicated/cloned SAS physical device may be assigned a unique SAS address for the SAS controller. If a physical expander that supports zoning is connected to a SAS controller port, an embodiment may further selectively replicate/clone the SAS physical devices for a virtual port based on whether or not a SAS physical device is included in a zoning group associated with the virtual port.

US Patent:

20120054396, Mar 1, 2012

Filed:

Aug 31, 2010

Appl. No.:

12/873110

Inventors:

Sayantan Bhattacharya - Colorado Springs CO, US
Lawrence J. Rawe - Colorado Springs CO, US
Edoardo Daelli - Castle Rock CO, US

International Classification:

G06F 13/00
G06F 9/44
G06F 9/455

US Classification:

710300, 718 1, 719326

Abstract:

Disclosed is a method and a SAS controller device that abstract access from one or more virtual machines operating on a host system to SAS physical devices connected to the SAS controller without a routing table for port-to-port messaging on the SAS controller. An embodiment may create a virtual expander for each physical port of the SAS controller and further create virtual ports within the virtual expanders to provide abstracted access to SAS physical devices for the virtual machines. The SAS physical devices may be replicated/cloned within the virtual ports. Each replicated/cloned SAS physical device may be assigned a unique SAS address for the SAS controller (i.e., unique for the SAS controller such that other replicates/clones on other virtual ports have a different SAS address). If a physical expander that supports zoning is connected to a SAS controller port, an embodiment may further selectively replicate/clone the SAS physical devices for a virtual port based on whether or not a SAS physical device is included in a zoning group associated with the virtual port. An embodiment may further abstract access to SAS physical devices through a virtual function that permits access to one virtual port per virtual expander in order to permit access for the virtual machine associated with the virtual function to more than one physical port of the SAS controller.