High speed information processing and mass storage system and method, particularly for information and application servers

Abstract

A high speed, microcomputer based, Fibre Channel compatible and fault tolerant information processing and mass storage system especially suited for information servers and application servers. A unique and extremely versatile system architecture, including a dual loop arbitrated, Fibre Channel capable, multiple-fault tolerant, hot swappable mass storage disk array, permits combinations of servers and mass storage arrays which can be tailored for a wide variety of applications and which can be configured with emphasis on the system characteristics such as redundancy, speed, processing capability, storage capability, and the like, as desired. A unique backplane and/or midplane arrangement for connecting the system components allows for easy and, in most cases, on-line field upgrading and/or service and at the same time provides for the very effective cooling of components, particularly those such as disk drives which tend to produce a lot of heat.

1 . A method for transferring data in a network server system, the network server system being connected to a network for providing subscribers on a network with access to data from the network server system, comprising: 
 providing at least one mass storage device;    providing a mass storage device controller, said mass storage device controller being connected to said at least one mass storage device for controlling input and output of said at least one mass storage device;    providing a communications interface, said communications interface providing a connection to the network for receiving input signals from the network and for outputting signals from the network server system to the network, said mass storage device controller being connected to said communications interface for receiving input signals from the network and for outputting signals from said at least one mass storage device to the network;    establishing direct communication between said mass storage device controller and said communications interface; and    maintaining the direct communication between said mass storage device controller and said communications interface to provide the subscribers on the network with access to data from the network server system.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said mass storage device controller operates with a Fibre Channel protocol.  
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said mass storage device controller comprises an arbitrated loop dual channel Fibre Channel controller.  
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said mass storage device controller is connected to an optical input/output connector which is connected to said at least one mass storage device, the optical input/output connector outputting electrical signals as output light signals and inputting light signals to said mass storage device controller as input electrical signals.  
   
   
       5 . A network server system for transferring data, the network server system being connected to a network for providing subscribers on the network with access to data from the network server system, comprising: 
 at least one mass storage device;    a mass storage device controller, said mass storage device controller being connected to said at least one mass storage device for controlling input and output of said at least one mass storage device;    a communications interface, said communications interface providing a connection to the network for receiving input signals from the network and for outputting signals from the network server system to the network, said mass storage device controller being connected to said communications interface for receiving input signals from the network and for outputting signals from said at least one mass storage device to the network;    means for establishing direct communication between said mass storage device controller and said communications interface; and    means for maintaining the direct communication between said mass storage device controller and said communications interface to provide the subscribers on the network with access to data from the network server system.    
   
   
       6 . The network server system of  claim 5 , wherein said mass storage device controller operates with a Fibre Channel protocol.  
   
   
       7 . The network server system of  claim 5 , wherein said mass storage device controller comprises an arbitrated loop dual channel Fibre Channel controller.  
   
   
       8 . The network server system of  claim 5 , wherein said mass storage device controller is connected to an optical input/output connector which is connected to said at least one mass storage device, the optical input/output connector outputting electrical signals as output light signals and inputting light signals to said mass storage device controller as input electrical signals.  
   
   
       9 . A network server system, comprising: 
 a central processing unit;    a mass storage device;    a first controller, said first controller being connected to said mass storage device for controlling input and output of said mass storage device;    a communications interface, said communications interface providing a connection to the network for receiving input signals from the network and for outputting signals from the network server system to the network; and    a second controller communicatively coupled to the central processing unit and the first controller, the second controller communicatively coupled to said communications interface to communicate with a network, the central processing unit being operative to establish direct communication between the first and second controllers, and said first and second controllers being operative to maintain the direct communication independent of the central processing unit.    
   
   
       10 . The network server system of  claim 9 , wherein the first controller communicates with the mass storage device over a high speed optical network.  
   
   
       11 . A network server system connected to a network for providing subscribers on the network with access to data from the network server system, comprising: 
 a central processing unit;    a network communications interface;    a mass storage device; and    a storage device controller communicatively coupled to the network communications interface and to the mass storage device to control communications between network communications interface and the mass storage device, said central processing unit being operative to establish direct communications between the mass storage device and the network communications interface via the storage device controller to provide the subscribers on the network with access to data from the network server system.