U.S. patent application number 15/395692 was filed with the patent office on 2018-01-25 for technologies for storage block virtualization for non-volatile memory over fabrics.
The applicant listed for this patent is Intel Corporation. Invention is credited to Steven C. Miller.
Application Number | 20180024775 15/395692 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 60804962 |
Filed Date | 2018-01-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180024775 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Miller; Steven C. |
January 25, 2018 |
TECHNOLOGIES FOR STORAGE BLOCK VIRTUALIZATION FOR NON-VOLATILE
MEMORY OVER FABRICS
Abstract
Technologies for storage block virtualization include multiple
computing devices in communication over an optical fabric. A
computing device receives a non-volatile memory (NVM) I/O command
from an application via an optical fabric interface. The NVM I/O
command is indicative of one or more virtual data storage blocks.
The computing device maps the virtual data storage blocks to one or
more physical data storage blocks, each of which is included in a
solid-state data storage device of the computing device. The
computing device performs the I/O command with the physical data
storage blocks and then sends a response to the application.
Mapping the virtual data storage blocks may include performing one
or more data services. The computing device may be embodied as a
storage sled of a data center, and the application may be executed
by a compute sled of the data center. Other embodiments are
described and claimed.
Inventors: |
Miller; Steven C.;
(Livermore, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Intel Corporation |
Santa Clara |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
60804962 |
Appl. No.: |
15/395692 |
Filed: |
December 30, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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62365969 |
Jul 22, 2016 |
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62376859 |
Aug 18, 2016 |
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62427268 |
Nov 29, 2016 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
711/154 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 13/42 20130101;
H04L 29/12009 20130101; H04L 45/52 20130101; G06F 3/0611 20130101;
G06F 3/0689 20130101; H04L 47/24 20130101; H04Q 11/0003 20130101;
H05K 1/181 20130101; G02B 6/4292 20130101; G06F 3/0616 20130101;
H04L 41/046 20130101; H04L 43/08 20130101; H04L 49/25 20130101;
H04L 67/1034 20130101; G06F 12/109 20130101; G11C 5/02 20130101;
H04B 10/25891 20200501; H04Q 2011/0086 20130101; H04L 47/765
20130101; H04L 49/555 20130101; H04L 69/329 20130101; H04Q
2213/13527 20130101; H05K 7/20745 20130101; H05K 2201/066 20130101;
G02B 6/3893 20130101; G06F 9/3887 20130101; G06F 13/1694 20130101;
G06F 13/409 20130101; G06F 2209/483 20130101; G06F 2212/401
20130101; H05K 2201/10189 20130101; G06F 9/4881 20130101; G06F
9/544 20130101; G06Q 10/087 20130101; G08C 17/02 20130101; G08C
2200/00 20130101; Y10S 901/01 20130101; G06F 9/5016 20130101; H04L
9/3247 20130101; H04L 69/04 20130101; H05K 7/20736 20130101; H05K
7/20836 20130101; G02B 6/4452 20130101; G07C 5/008 20130101; H05K
7/1461 20130101; G06F 3/0613 20130101; H05K 7/1442 20130101; G06F
3/0665 20130101; G06F 9/5072 20130101; G06F 13/1668 20130101; G06Q
10/06 20130101; H04L 47/82 20130101; H05K 7/1498 20130101; G02B
6/3882 20130101; G06F 9/4401 20130101; G06F 9/5077 20130101; G06F
15/161 20130101; H04L 49/45 20130101; H04L 67/1012 20130101; H04L
67/306 20130101; G06F 3/065 20130101; G06F 9/5044 20130101; G06Q
10/06314 20130101; H04L 43/0894 20130101; H04L 49/15 20130101; H05K
7/1491 20130101; H05K 7/20727 20130101; B25J 15/0014 20130101; G06F
16/9014 20190101; H04L 43/0876 20130101; H04L 67/1097 20130101;
H04Q 11/0005 20130101; H04Q 2011/0037 20130101; H05K 7/1418
20130101; H05K 2201/10121 20130101; G06F 3/0638 20130101; G06F
12/10 20130101; G06F 13/161 20130101; G06F 2212/402 20130101; H04L
41/0813 20130101; H04L 41/5019 20130101; H04L 67/1008 20130101;
G06F 12/0893 20130101; H04L 43/0817 20130101; H04L 49/35 20130101;
H04Q 1/09 20130101; H05K 7/1422 20130101; Y02D 10/00 20180101; G06F
3/067 20130101; G11C 11/56 20130101; H04L 9/3263 20130101; H04L
41/0896 20130101; H04L 67/1004 20130101; G06F 2212/202 20130101;
G11C 7/1072 20130101; H04L 41/12 20130101; H04L 45/02 20130101;
H05K 7/20709 20130101; G06F 1/20 20130101; G06F 3/0659 20130101;
G06F 11/141 20130101; H05K 7/2039 20130101; G06F 9/505 20130101;
G06F 13/4068 20130101; G06F 2212/1041 20130101; H04L 41/024
20130101; H04L 41/145 20130101; H04L 47/823 20130101; H04Q
2011/0073 20130101; B65G 1/0492 20130101; G05D 23/1921 20130101;
G05D 23/2039 20130101; G06F 8/65 20130101; H03M 7/30 20130101; H04L
41/147 20130101; H04Q 11/00 20130101; G06F 1/183 20130101; G06F
3/0658 20130101; G06F 2209/5019 20130101; G06F 2212/152 20130101;
H04L 9/0643 20130101; H04L 67/1029 20130101; H04Q 2011/0041
20130101; H05K 7/1485 20130101; G06F 3/0619 20130101; G06F 3/0625
20130101; G06F 13/4022 20130101; G06F 2212/1044 20130101; H04B
10/25 20130101; H04Q 2011/0079 20130101; H04W 4/80 20180201; H03M
7/40 20130101; H04Q 2213/13523 20130101; Y04S 10/50 20130101; G02B
6/3897 20130101; H04Q 11/0062 20130101; H05K 5/0204 20130101; H05K
7/1421 20130101; G06F 3/0647 20130101; G06F 9/5027 20130101; H04L
67/16 20130101; G06F 3/0655 20130101; G06F 2209/5022 20130101; H05K
7/1487 20130101; G06F 3/064 20130101; G06F 3/0673 20130101; G06F
3/0683 20130101; G06F 2212/1008 20130101; H04L 43/065 20130101;
H04L 43/16 20130101; H04L 47/805 20130101; H04L 67/12 20130101;
H05K 7/1492 20130101; G06F 12/1408 20130101; G06F 13/4282 20130101;
H03M 7/3084 20130101; H04Q 11/0071 20130101; G06F 11/3414 20130101;
G06F 13/385 20130101; G06F 15/8061 20130101; H03M 7/4031 20130101;
H03M 7/6005 20130101; H03M 7/6023 20130101; H04L 41/082 20130101;
H04L 49/357 20130101; G06F 3/0664 20130101; G06F 12/0862 20130101;
H03M 7/3086 20130101; H04L 47/38 20130101; H04Q 1/04 20130101; H05K
1/0203 20130101; H05K 7/1447 20130101; Y02P 90/30 20151101; G06F
3/0688 20130101; H05K 7/1489 20130101; G06F 3/061 20130101; G06F
3/0631 20130101; G06F 3/0679 20130101; G06F 9/30036 20130101; G06Q
50/04 20130101; G11C 5/06 20130101; H03M 7/4056 20130101; H03M
7/4081 20130101; H04L 9/14 20130101; H04L 47/782 20130101; H04L
67/02 20130101; H04L 67/10 20130101; H04L 67/1014 20130101; H04Q
2011/0052 20130101; H04W 4/023 20130101; G06Q 10/20 20130101; G11C
14/0009 20130101; H04L 12/2809 20130101; H04L 49/00 20130101; H04L
67/34 20130101; H05K 13/0486 20130101; H05K 2201/10159 20130101;
G06F 3/0653 20130101; G06F 2212/1024 20130101; G06F 2212/7207
20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06F 3/06 20060101
G06F003/06; G06F 12/109 20060101 G06F012/109 |
Claims
1. A computing device for virtualized block data access, the
computing device comprising: a non-volatile memory over fabric
layer to receive a non-volatile memory input/output (I/O) command
from an application via an optical fabric interface, wherein the
non-volatile memory I/O command is indicative of one or more
virtual data storage blocks; a block virtualization layer to map
the one or more virtual data storage blocks to one or more physical
data storage blocks, wherein each of the physical data storage
blocks is included in a solid-state data storage device of the
computing device; and a physical block layer to perform the
non-volatile memory I/O command with the one or more physical data
storage blocks; wherein the non-volatile memory over fabric layer
is further to send a response associated with the non-volatile
memory I/O command to the application via the optical fabric
interface in response to performance of the non-volatile memory I/O
command.
2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein to map the one or more
virtual data storage blocks to the one or more physical data
storage blocks comprises to process the one or more physical data
storage blocks.
3. The computing device of claim 2, wherein to process the one or
more physical data storage blocks comprises to slice or to stripe
the one or more physical data storage blocks across a plurality of
solid-state data storage devices of the computing device.
4. The computing device of claim 2, wherein to process the one or
more physical data storage blocks comprises to de-duplicate the one
or more physical data storage blocks.
5. The computing device of claim 1, wherein to map the one or more
virtual data storage blocks to the one or more physical data
storage blocks comprises to process application data included in
the one or more virtual data storage blocks.
6. The computing device of claim 5, wherein to process the
application data included in the one or more virtual data storage
blocks comprises to encrypt the application data.
7. The computing device of claim 5, wherein to process the
application data included in the one or more virtual data storage
blocks comprises to compress the application data.
8. The computing device of claim 1, wherein to map the one or more
virtual data storage blocks to the one or more physical data
storage blocks comprises to perform a data service on the
application data included in the one or more virtual data storage
blocks or the one or more physical data storage blocks.
9. The computing device of claim 1, wherein: the non-volatile
memory I/O command comprises a read command; to perform the
non-volatile memory I/O command comprises to read a data value from
the one or more physical data storage blocks; and to send the
response to the application comprises to send the data value to the
application via the optical fabric interface.
10. The computing device of claim 1, wherein: the non-volatile
memory I/O command comprises a write command, wherein the write
command is indicative of a data value; and to perform the
non-volatile memory I/O command comprises to write the data value
to the one or more physical data storage blocks.
11. The computing device of claim 1, wherein: the computing device
comprises a storage sled of a data center, wherein the storage sled
comprises a processor and a plurality of solid-state storage
devices; and the application comprises a workload executed by a
compute sled of the data center.
12. A method for virtualized block data access, the method
comprising: receiving, by a computing device, a non-volatile memory
input/output (I/O) command from an application via an optical
fabric interface, wherein the non-volatile memory I/O command is
indicative of one or more virtual data storage blocks; mapping, by
the computing device, the one or more virtual data storage blocks
to one or more physical data storage blocks, wherein each of the
physical data storage blocks is included in a solid-state data
storage device of the computing device; performing, by the
computing device, the non-volatile memory I/O command with the one
or more physical data storage blocks; and sending, by the computing
device, a response associated with the non-volatile memory I/O
command to the application via the optical fabric interface in
response to performing the non-volatile memory I/O command.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein mapping the one or more virtual
data storage blocks to the one or more physical data storage blocks
comprises processing the one or more physical data storage
blocks.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein mapping the one or more virtual
data storage blocks to the one or more physical data storage blocks
comprises processing application data included in the one or more
virtual data storage blocks.
15. The method of claim 12, wherein mapping the one or more virtual
data storage blocks to the one or more physical data storage blocks
comprises performing a data service on the application data
included in the one or more virtual data storage blocks or the one
or more physical data storage blocks.
16. The method of claim 12, wherein: receiving the non-volatile
memory I/O command comprises receiving a read command; performing
the non-volatile memory I/O command comprises reading a data value
from the one or more physical data storage blocks; and sending the
response to the application comprises sending the data value to the
application via the optical fabric interface.
17. The method of claim 12, wherein: receiving the non-volatile
memory I/O command comprises receiving a write command, wherein the
write command is indicative of a data value; and performing the
non-volatile memory I/O command comprises writing the data value to
the one or more physical data storage blocks.
18. The method of claim 12, wherein: the computing device comprises
a storage sled of a data center, wherein the storage sled comprises
a processor and a plurality of solid-state storage devices; and the
application comprises a workload executed by a compute sled of the
data center.
19. One or more computer-readable storage media comprising a
plurality of instructions that in response to being executed cause
a computing device to: receive a non-volatile memory input/output
(I/O) command from an application via an optical fabric interface,
wherein the non-volatile memory I/O command is indicative of one or
more virtual data storage blocks; map the one or more virtual data
storage blocks to one or more physical data storage blocks, wherein
each of the physical data storage blocks is included in a
solid-state data storage device of the computing device; perform
the non-volatile memory I/O command with the one or more physical
data storage blocks; and send a response associated with the
non-volatile memory I/O command to the application via the optical
fabric interface in response to performing the non-volatile memory
I/O command.
20. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 19,
wherein to map the one or more virtual data storage blocks to the
one or more physical data storage blocks comprises to process the
one or more physical data storage blocks.
21. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 19,
wherein to map the one or more virtual data storage blocks to the
one or more physical data storage blocks comprises to process
application data included in the one or more virtual data storage
blocks.
22. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 19,
wherein to map the one or more virtual data storage blocks to the
one or more physical data storage blocks comprises to perform a
data service on the application data included in the one or more
virtual data storage blocks or the one or more physical data
storage blocks.
23. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 19,
wherein: to receive the non-volatile memory I/O command comprises
to receive a read command; to perform the non-volatile memory I/O
command comprises to read a data value from the one or more
physical data storage blocks; and to send the response to the
application comprises to send the data value to the application via
the optical fabric interface.
24. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 19,
wherein: to receive the non-volatile memory I/O command comprises
to receive a write command, wherein the write command is indicative
of a data value; and to perform the non-volatile memory I/O command
comprises to write the data value to the one or more physical data
storage blocks.
25. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 19,
wherein: the computing device comprises a storage sled of a data
center, wherein the storage sled comprises a processor and a
plurality of solid-state storage devices; and the application
comprises a workload executed by a compute sled of the data center.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims the benefit of U.S.
Provisional Patent Application No. 62/365,969, filed Jul. 22, 2016,
U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/376,859, filed Aug. 18,
2016, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/427,268, filed
Nov. 29, 2016.
BACKGROUND
[0002] In a typical cloud-based computing environment (e.g., a data
center), multiple compute nodes may execute workloads (e.g.,
processes, applications, services, etc.) on behalf of customers.
During execution of workloads, the compute nodes may generate or
access active or stable data that is to be stored in non-volatile
storage such as solid-state drives (SSDs). The compute nodes may
access remote storage using an interface to a non-volatile memory
subsystem over a network fabric.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0003] The concepts described herein are illustrated by way of
example and not by way of limitation in the accompanying figures.
For simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in
the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. Where considered
appropriate, reference labels have been repeated among the figures
to indicate corresponding or analogous elements.
[0004] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a conceptual overview of a data
center in which one or more techniques described herein may be
implemented according to various embodiments;
[0005] FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example embodiment of a logical
configuration of a rack of the data center of FIG. 1;
[0006] FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example embodiment of another data
center in which one or more techniques described herein may be
implemented according to various embodiments;
[0007] FIG. 4 is a diagram of another example embodiment of a data
center in which one or more techniques described herein may be
implemented according to various embodiments;
[0008] FIG. 5 is a diagram of a connectivity scheme representative
of link-layer connectivity that may be established among various
sleds of the data centers of FIGS. 1, 3, and 4;
[0009] FIG. 6 is a diagram of a rack architecture that may be
representative of an architecture of any particular one of the
racks depicted in FIGS. 1-4 according to some embodiments;
[0010] FIG. 7 is a diagram of an example embodiment of a sled that
may be used with the rack architecture of FIG. 6;
[0011] FIG. 8 is a diagram of an example embodiment of a rack
architecture to provide support for sleds featuring expansion
capabilities;
[0012] FIG. 9 is a diagram of an example embodiment of a rack
implemented according to the rack architecture of FIG. 8;
[0013] FIG. 10 is a diagram of an example embodiment of a sled
designed for use in conjunction with the rack of FIG. 9;
[0014] FIG. 11 is a diagram of an example embodiment of a data
center in which one or more techniques described herein may be
implemented according to various embodiments;
[0015] FIG. 12 is a simplified block diagram of at least one
embodiment of a system for storage block virtualization;
[0016] FIG. 13 is a top perspective view of an example embodiment
of a storage sled of FIG. 12;
[0017] FIG. 14 is a bottom perspective view of an example
embodiment of a storage sled of FIG. 12;
[0018] FIG. 15 is a simplified block diagram of at least one
embodiment of an environment that may be established by a storage
sled of FIG. 12; and
[0019] FIG. 16 is a simplified flow diagram of at least one
embodiment of a method for storage block virtualization that may be
executed by a storage sled of FIGS. 12-15.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] While the concepts of the present disclosure are susceptible
to various modifications and alternative forms, specific
embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the
drawings and will be described herein in detail. It should be
understood, however, that there is no intent to limit the concepts
of the present disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on
the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications,
equivalents, and alternatives consistent with the present
disclosure and the appended claims.
[0021] References in the specification to "one embodiment," "an
embodiment," "an illustrative embodiment," etc., indicate that the
embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure,
or characteristic, but every embodiment may or may not necessarily
include that particular feature, structure, or characteristic.
Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same
embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or
characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is
submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art
to effect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection
with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.
Additionally, it should be appreciated that items included in a
list in the form of "at least one A, B, and C" can mean (A); (B);
(C); (A and B); (A and C); (B and C); or (A, B, and C). Similarly,
items listed in the form of "at least one of A, B, or C" can mean
(A); (B); (C); (A and B); (A and C); (B and C); or (A, B, and
C).
[0022] The disclosed embodiments may be implemented, in some cases,
in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. The
disclosed embodiments may also be implemented as instructions
carried by or stored on a transitory or non-transitory
machine-readable (e.g., computer-readable) storage medium, which
may be read and executed by one or more processors. A
machine-readable storage medium may be embodied as any storage
device, mechanism, or other physical structure for storing or
transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a
volatile or non-volatile memory, a media disc, or other media
device).
[0023] In the drawings, some structural or method features may be
shown in specific arrangements and/or orderings. However, it should
be appreciated that such specific arrangements and/or orderings may
not be required. Rather, in some embodiments, such features may be
arranged in a different manner and/or order than shown in the
illustrative figures. Additionally, the inclusion of a structural
or method feature in a particular figure is not meant to imply that
such feature is required in all embodiments and, in some
embodiments, may not be included or may be combined with other
features.
[0024] FIG. 1 illustrates a conceptual overview of a data center
100 that may generally be representative of a data center or other
type of computing network in/for which one or more techniques
described herein may be implemented according to various
embodiments. As shown in FIG. 1, data center 100 may generally
contain a plurality of racks, each of which may house computing
equipment comprising a respective set of physical resources. In the
particular non-limiting example depicted in FIG. 1, data center 100
contains four racks 102A to 102D, which house computing equipment
comprising respective sets of physical resources 105A to 105D.
According to this example, a collective set of physical resources
106 of data center 100 includes the various sets of physical
resources 105A to 105D that are distributed among racks 102A to
102D. Physical resources 106 may include resources of multiple
types, such as--for example--processors, co-processors,
accelerators, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), memory, and
storage. The embodiments are not limited to these examples.
[0025] The illustrative data center 100 differs from typical data
centers in many ways. For example, in the illustrative embodiment,
the circuit boards ("sleds") on which components such as CPUs,
memory, and other components are placed are designed for increased
thermal performance In particular, in the illustrative embodiment,
the sleds are shallower than typical boards. In other words, the
sleds are shorter from the front to the back, where cooling fans
are located. This decreases the length of the path that air must to
travel across the components on the board. Further, the components
on the sled are spaced further apart than in typical circuit
boards, and the components are arranged to reduce or eliminate
shadowing (i.e., one component in the air flow path of another
component). In the illustrative embodiment, processing components
such as the processors are located on a top side of a sled while
near memory, such as dual inline memory modules (DIMMs), are
located on a bottom side of the sled. As a result of the enhanced
airflow provided by this design, the components may operate at
higher frequencies and power levels than in typical systems,
thereby increasing performance. Furthermore, the sleds are
configured to blindly mate with power and data communication cables
in each rack 102A, 102B, 102C, 102D, enhancing their ability to be
quickly removed, upgraded, reinstalled, and/or replaced. Similarly,
individual components located on the sleds, such as processors,
accelerators, memory, and data storage drives, are configured to be
easily upgraded due to their increased spacing from each other. In
the illustrative embodiment, the components additionally include
hardware attestation features to prove their authenticity.
[0026] Furthermore, in the illustrative embodiment, the data center
100 utilizes a single network architecture ("fabric") that supports
multiple other network architectures including Ethernet and
Omni-Path. The sleds, in the illustrative embodiment, are coupled
to switches via optical fibers, which provide higher bandwidth and
lower latency than typical twisted pair cabling (e.g., Category 5,
Category 5e, Category 6, etc.). Due to the high bandwidth, low
latency interconnections and network architecture, the data center
100 may, in use, pool resources, such as memory, accelerators
(e.g., graphics accelerators, FPGAs, application-specific
integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.), and data storage drives that
are physically disaggregated, and provide them to compute resources
(e.g., processors) on an as needed basis, enabling the compute
resources to access the pooled resources as if they were local. The
illustrative data center 100 additionally receives usage
information for the various resources, predicts resource usage for
different types of workloads based on past resource usage, and
dynamically reallocates the resources based on this
information.
[0027] The racks 102A, 102B, 102C, 102D of the data center 100 may
include physical design features that facilitate the automation of
a variety of types of maintenance tasks. For example, data center
100 may be implemented using racks that are designed to be
robotically-accessed, and to accept and house
robotically-manipulatable resource sleds. Furthermore, in the
illustrative embodiment, the racks 102A, 102B, 102C, 102D include
integrated power sources that receive a greater voltage than is
typical for power sources. The increased voltage enables the power
sources to provide additional power to the components on each sled,
enabling the components to operate at higher than typical
frequencies.
[0028] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary logical configuration of a
rack 202 of the data center 100. As shown in FIG. 2, rack 202 may
generally house a plurality of sleds, each of which may comprise a
respective set of physical resources. In the particular
non-limiting example depicted in FIG. 2, rack 202 houses sleds
204-1 to 204-4 comprising respective sets of physical resources
205-1 to 205-4, each of which constitutes a portion of the
collective set of physical resources 206 comprised in rack 202.
With respect to FIG. 1, if rack 202 is representative of--for
example--rack 102A, then physical resources 206 may correspond to
the physical resources 105A comprised in rack 102A. In the context
of this example, physical resources 105A may thus be made up of the
respective sets of physical resources, including physical storage
resources 205-1, physical accelerator resources 205-2, physical
memory resources 205-3, and physical compute resources 205-5
comprised in the sleds 204-1 to 204-4 of rack 202. The embodiments
are not limited to this example. Each sled may contain a pool of
each of the various types of physical resources (e.g., compute,
memory, accelerator, storage). By having robotically accessible and
robotically manipulatable sleds comprising disaggregated resources,
each type of resource can be upgraded independently of each other
and at their own optimized refresh rate.
[0029] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a data center 300 that may
generally be representative of one in/for which one or more
techniques described herein may be implemented according to various
embodiments. In the particular non-limiting example depicted in
FIG. 3, data center 300 comprises racks 302-1 to 302-32. In various
embodiments, the racks of data center 300 may be arranged in such
fashion as to define and/or accommodate various access pathways.
For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the racks of data center 300 may
be arranged in such fashion as to define and/or accommodate access
pathways 311A, 311B, 311C, and 311D. In some embodiments, the
presence of such access pathways may generally enable automated
maintenance equipment, such as robotic maintenance equipment, to
physically access the computing equipment housed in the various
racks of data center 300 and perform automated maintenance tasks
(e.g., replace a failed sled, upgrade a sled). In various
embodiments, the dimensions of access pathways 311A, 311B, 311C,
and 311D, the dimensions of racks 302-1 to 302-32, and/or one or
more other aspects of the physical layout of data center 300 may be
selected to facilitate such automated operations. The embodiments
are not limited in this context.
[0030] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a data center 400 that may
generally be representative of one in/for which one or more
techniques described herein may be implemented according to various
embodiments. As shown in FIG. 4, data center 400 may feature an
optical fabric 412. Optical fabric 412 may generally comprise a
combination of optical signaling media (such as optical cabling)
and optical switching infrastructure via which any particular sled
in data center 400 can send signals to (and receive signals from)
each of the other sleds in data center 400. The signaling
connectivity that optical fabric 412 provides to any given sled may
include connectivity both to other sleds in a same rack and sleds
in other racks. In the particular non-limiting example depicted in
FIG. 4, data center 400 includes four racks 402A to 402D. Racks
402A to 402D house respective pairs of sleds 404A-1 and 404A-2,
404B-1 and 404B-2, 404C-1 and 404C-2, and 404D-1 and 404D-2. Thus,
in this example, data center 400 comprises a total of eight sleds.
Via optical fabric 412, each such sled may possess signaling
connectivity with each of the seven other sleds in data center 400.
For example, via optical fabric 412, sled 404A-1 in rack 402A may
possess signaling connectivity with sled 404A-2 in rack 402A, as
well as the six other sleds 404B-1, 404B-2, 404C-1, 404C-2, 404D-1,
and 404D-2 that are distributed among the other racks 402B, 402C,
and 402D of data center 400. The embodiments are not limited to
this example.
[0031] FIG. 5 illustrates an overview of a connectivity scheme 500
that may generally be representative of link-layer connectivity
that may be established in some embodiments among the various sleds
of a data center, such as any of example data centers 100, 300, and
400 of FIGS. 1, 3, and 4. Connectivity scheme 500 may be
implemented using an optical fabric that features a dual-mode
optical switching infrastructure 514. Dual-mode optical switching
infrastructure 514 may generally comprise a switching
infrastructure that is capable of receiving communications
according to multiple link-layer protocols via a same unified set
of optical signaling media, and properly switching such
communications. In various embodiments, dual-mode optical switching
infrastructure 514 may be implemented using one or more dual-mode
optical switches 515. In various embodiments, dual-mode optical
switches 515 may generally comprise high-radix switches. In some
embodiments, dual-mode optical switches 515 may comprise multi-ply
switches, such as four-ply switches. In various embodiments,
dual-mode optical switches 515 may feature integrated silicon
photonics that enable them to switch communications with
significantly reduced latency in comparison to conventional
switching devices. In some embodiments, dual-mode optical switches
515 may constitute leaf switches 530 in a leaf-spine architecture
additionally including one or more dual-mode optical spine switches
520.
[0032] In various embodiments, dual-mode optical switches may be
capable of receiving both Ethernet protocol communications carrying
Internet Protocol (IP packets) and communications according to a
second, high-performance computing (HPC) link-layer protocol (e.g.,
Intel's Omni-Path Architecture's, Infiniband) via optical signaling
media of an optical fabric. As reflected in FIG. 5, with respect to
any particular pair of sleds 504A and 504B possessing optical
signaling connectivity to the optical fabric, connectivity scheme
500 may thus provide support for link-layer connectivity via both
Ethernet links and HPC links. Thus, both Ethernet and HPC
communications can be supported by a single high-bandwidth,
low-latency switch fabric. The embodiments are not limited to this
example.
[0033] FIG. 6 illustrates a general overview of a rack architecture
600 that may be representative of an architecture of any particular
one of the racks depicted in FIGS. 1 to 4 according to some
embodiments. As reflected in FIG. 6, rack architecture 600 may
generally feature a plurality of sled spaces into which sleds may
be inserted, each of which may be robotically-accessible via a rack
access region 601. In the particular non-limiting example depicted
in FIG. 6, rack architecture 600 features five sled spaces 603-1 to
603-5. Sled spaces 603-1 to 603-5 feature respective multi-purpose
connector modules (MPCMs) 616-1 to 616-5.
[0034] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a sled 704 that may be
representative of a sled of such a type. As shown in FIG. 7, sled
704 may comprise a set of physical resources 705, as well as an
MPCM 716 designed to couple with a counterpart MPCM when sled 704
is inserted into a sled space such as any of sled spaces 603-1 to
603-5 of FIG. 6. Sled 704 may also feature an expansion connector
717. Expansion connector 717 may generally comprise a socket, slot,
or other type of connection element that is capable of accepting
one or more types of expansion modules, such as an expansion sled
718. By coupling with a counterpart connector on expansion sled
718, expansion connector 717 may provide physical resources 705
with access to supplemental computing resources 705B residing on
expansion sled 718. The embodiments are not limited in this
context.
[0035] FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a rack architecture 800
that may be representative of a rack architecture that may be
implemented in order to provide support for sleds featuring
expansion capabilities, such as sled 704 of FIG. 7. In the
particular non-limiting example depicted in FIG. 8, rack
architecture 800 includes seven sled spaces 803-1 to 803-7, which
feature respective MPCMs 816-1 to 816-7. Sled spaces 803-1 to 803-7
include respective primary regions 803-1A to 803-7A and respective
expansion regions 803-1B to 803-7B. With respect to each such sled
space, when the corresponding MPCM is coupled with a counterpart
MPCM of an inserted sled, the primary region may generally
constitute a region of the sled space that physically accommodates
the inserted sled. The expansion region may generally constitute a
region of the sled space that can physically accommodate an
expansion module, such as expansion sled 718 of FIG. 7, in the
event that the inserted sled is configured with such a module.
[0036] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a rack 902 that may be
representative of a rack implemented according to rack architecture
800 of FIG. 8 according to some embodiments. In the particular
non-limiting example depicted in FIG. 9, rack 902 features seven
sled spaces 903-1 to 903-7, which include respective primary
regions 903-1A to 903-7A and respective expansion regions 903-1B to
903-7B. In various embodiments, temperature control in rack 902 may
be implemented using an air cooling system. For example, as
reflected in FIG. 9, rack 902 may feature a plurality of fans 919
that are generally arranged to provide air cooling within the
various sled spaces 903-1 to 903-7. In some embodiments, the height
of the sled space is greater than the conventional "1U" server
height. In such embodiments, fans 919 may generally comprise
relatively slow, large diameter cooling fans as compared to fans
used in conventional rack configurations. Running larger diameter
cooling fans at lower speeds may increase fan lifetime relative to
smaller diameter cooling fans running at higher speeds while still
providing the same amount of cooling. The sleds are physically
shallower than conventional rack dimensions. Further, components
are arranged on each sled to reduce thermal shadowing (i.e., not
arranged serially in the direction of air flow). As a result, the
wider, shallower sleds allow for an increase in device performance
because the devices can be operated at a higher thermal envelope
(e.g., 250 W) due to improved cooling (i.e., no thermal shadowing,
more space between devices, more room for larger heat sinks,
etc.).
[0037] MPCMs 916-1 to 916-7 may be configured to provide inserted
sleds with access to power sourced by respective power modules
920-1 to 920-7, each of which may draw power from an external power
source 921. In various embodiments, external power source 921 may
deliver alternating current (AC) power to rack 902, and power
modules 920-1 to 920-7 may be configured to convert such AC power
to direct current (DC) power to be sourced to inserted sleds. In
some embodiments, for example, power modules 920-1 to 920-7 may be
configured to convert 277-volt AC power into 12-volt DC power for
provision to inserted sleds via respective MPCMs 916-1 to 916-7.
The embodiments are not limited to this example.
[0038] MPCMs 916-1 to 916-7 may also be arranged to provide
inserted sleds with optical signaling connectivity to a dual-mode
optical switching infrastructure 914, which may be the same as--or
similar to--dual-mode optical switching infrastructure 514 of FIG.
5. In various embodiments, optical connectors contained in MPCMs
916-1 to 916-7 may be designed to couple with counterpart optical
connectors contained in MPCMs of inserted sleds to provide such
sleds with optical signaling connectivity to dual-mode optical
switching infrastructure 914 via respective lengths of optical
cabling 922-1 to 922-7. In some embodiments, each such length of
optical cabling may extend from its corresponding MPCM to an
optical interconnect loom 923 that is external to the sled spaces
of rack 902. In various embodiments, optical interconnect loom 923
may be arranged to pass through a support post or other type of
load-bearing element of rack 902. The embodiments are not limited
in this context. Because inserted sleds connect to an optical
switching infrastructure via MPCMs, the resources typically spent
in manually configuring the rack cabling to accommodate a newly
inserted sled can be saved.
[0039] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a sled 1004 that may be
representative of a sled designed for use in conjunction with rack
902 of FIG. 9 according to some embodiments. Sled 1004 may feature
an MPCM 1016 that comprises an optical connector 1016A and a power
connector 1016B, and that is designed to couple with a counterpart
MPCM of a sled space in conjunction with insertion of MPCM 1016
into that sled space. Coupling MPCM 1016 with such a counterpart
MPCM may cause power connector 1016 to couple with a power
connector comprised in the counterpart MPCM. This may generally
enable physical resources 1005 of sled 1004 to source power from an
external source, via power connector 1016 and power transmission
media 1024 that conductively couples power connector 1016 to
physical resources 1005.
[0040] Sled 1004 may also include dual-mode optical network
interface circuitry 1026. Dual-mode optical network interface
circuitry 1026 may generally comprise circuitry that is capable of
communicating over optical signaling media according to each of
multiple link-layer protocols supported by dual-mode optical
switching infrastructure 914 of FIG. 9. In some embodiments,
dual-mode optical network interface circuitry 1026 may be capable
both of Ethernet protocol communications and of communications
according to a second, high-performance protocol. In various
embodiments, dual-mode optical network interface circuitry 1026 may
include one or more optical transceiver modules 1027, each of which
may be capable of transmitting and receiving optical signals over
each of one or more optical channels. The embodiments are not
limited in this context.
[0041] Coupling MPCM 1016 with a counterpart MPCM of a sled space
in a given rack may cause optical connector 1016A to couple with an
optical connector comprised in the counterpart MPCM. This may
generally establish optical connectivity between optical cabling of
the sled and dual-mode optical network interface circuitry 1026,
via each of a set of optical channels 1025. Dual-mode optical
network interface circuitry 1026 may communicate with the physical
resources 1005 of sled 1004 via electrical signaling media 1028. In
addition to the dimensions of the sleds and arrangement of
components on the sleds to provide improved cooling and enable
operation at a relatively higher thermal envelope (e.g., 250 W), as
described above with reference to FIG. 9, in some embodiments, a
sled may include one or more additional features to facilitate air
cooling, such as a heat pipe and/or heat sinks arranged to
dissipate heat generated by physical resources 1005. It is worthy
of note that although the example sled 1004 depicted in FIG. 10
does not feature an expansion connector, any given sled that
features the design elements of sled 1004 may also feature an
expansion connector according to some embodiments. The embodiments
are not limited in this context.
[0042] FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a data center 1100 that
may generally be representative of one in/for which one or more
techniques described herein may be implemented according to various
embodiments. As reflected in FIG. 11, a physical infrastructure
management framework 1150A may be implemented to facilitate
management of a physical infrastructure 1100A of data center 1100.
In various embodiments, one function of physical infrastructure
management framework 1150A may be to manage automated maintenance
functions within data center 1100, such as the use of robotic
maintenance equipment to service computing equipment within
physical infrastructure 1100A. In some embodiments, physical
infrastructure 1100A may feature an advanced telemetry system that
performs telemetry reporting that is sufficiently robust to support
remote automated management of physical infrastructure 1100A. In
various embodiments, telemetry information provided by such an
advanced telemetry system may support features such as failure
prediction/prevention capabilities and capacity planning
capabilities. In some embodiments, physical infrastructure
management framework 1150A may also be configured to manage
authentication of physical infrastructure components using hardware
attestation techniques. For example, robots may verify the
authenticity of components before installation by analyzing
information collected from a radio frequency identification (RFID)
tag associated with each component to be installed. The embodiments
are not limited in this context.
[0043] As shown in FIG. 11, the physical infrastructure 1100A of
data center 1100 may comprise an optical fabric 1112, which may
include a dual-mode optical switching infrastructure 1114. Optical
fabric 1112 and dual-mode optical switching infrastructure 1114 may
be the same as--or similar to--optical fabric 412 of FIG. 4 and
dual-mode optical switching infrastructure 514 of FIG. 5,
respectively, and may provide high-bandwidth, low-latency,
multi-protocol connectivity among sleds of data center 1100. As
discussed above, with reference to FIG. 1, in various embodiments,
the availability of such connectivity may make it feasible to
disaggregate and dynamically pool resources such as accelerators,
memory, and storage. In some embodiments, for example, one or more
pooled accelerator sleds 1130 may be included among the physical
infrastructure 1100A of data center 1100, each of which may
comprise a pool of accelerator resources--such as co-processors
and/or FPGAs, for example--that is globally accessible to other
sleds via optical fabric 1112 and dual-mode optical switching
infrastructure 1114.
[0044] In another example, in various embodiments, one or more
pooled storage sleds 1132 may be included among the physical
infrastructure 1100A of data center 1100, each of which may
comprise a pool of storage resources that is available globally
accessible to other sleds via optical fabric 1112 and dual-mode
optical switching infrastructure 1114. In some embodiments, such
pooled storage sleds 1132 may comprise pools of solid-state storage
devices such as solid-state drives (SSDs). In various embodiments,
one or more high-performance processing sleds 1134 may be included
among the physical infrastructure 1100A of data center 1100. In
some embodiments, high-performance processing sleds 1134 may
comprise pools of high-performance processors, as well as cooling
features that enhance air cooling to yield a higher thermal
envelope of up to 250 W or more. In various embodiments, any given
high-performance processing sled 1134 may feature an expansion
connector 1117 that can accept a far memory expansion sled, such
that the far memory that is locally available to that
high-performance processing sled 1134 is disaggregated from the
processors and near memory comprised on that sled. In some
embodiments, such a high-performance processing sled 1134 may be
configured with far memory using an expansion sled that comprises
low-latency SSD storage. The optical infrastructure allows for
compute resources on one sled to utilize remote accelerator/FPGA,
memory, and/or SSD resources that are disaggregated on a sled
located on the same rack or any other rack in the data center. The
remote resources can be located one switch jump away or two-switch
jumps away in the spine-leaf network architecture described above
with reference to FIG. 5. The embodiments are not limited in this
context.
[0045] In various embodiments, one or more layers of abstraction
may be applied to the physical resources of physical infrastructure
1100A in order to define a virtual infrastructure, such as a
software-defined infrastructure 1100B. In some embodiments, virtual
computing resources 1136 of software-defined infrastructure 1100B
may be allocated to support the provision of cloud services 1140.
In various embodiments, particular sets of virtual computing
resources 1136 may be grouped for provision to cloud services 1140
in the form of SDI services 1138. Examples of cloud services 1140
may include--without limitation--software as a service (SaaS)
services 1142, platform as a service (PaaS) services 1144, and
infrastructure as a service (IaaS) services 1146.
[0046] In some embodiments, management of software-defined
infrastructure 1100B may be conducted using a virtual
infrastructure management framework 1150B. In various embodiments,
virtual infrastructure management framework 1150B may be designed
to implement workload fingerprinting techniques and/or
machine-learning techniques in conjunction with managing allocation
of virtual computing resources 1136 and/or SDI services 1138 to
cloud services 1140. In some embodiments, virtual infrastructure
management framework 1150B may use/consult telemetry data in
conjunction with performing such resource allocation. In various
embodiments, an application/service management framework 1150C may
be implemented in order to provide quality of service (QoS)
management capabilities for cloud services 1140. The embodiments
are not limited in this context.
[0047] Referring now to FIG. 12, in an illustrative embodiment, a
system 1200 for storage block virtualization includes a storage
sled 204-1 in communication with multiple other sleds 204 (e.g.,
one or more compute sleds 204-4 and memory sleds 204-3 as shown)
over an optical fabric 1202. The system 1200 may be implemented in
accordance with the data centers 100, 300, 400, 1100 described
above with reference to FIGS. 1, 3, 4, and 11. In use, as described
further below, the storage sled 204-1 receives non-volatile memory
(NVM) over fabric input/output (I/O) commands from other entities
of the system 1200, such as compute sleds 204-4. Each NVM over
fabric I/O command identifies a range of virtual storage blocks for
the I/O operation (e.g., for reading or writing). The storage sled
204-1 maps the range of virtual storage blocks to one or more
physical storage blocks included in solid-state storage of the
storage sled 204-1, and performs the I/O command with the physical
storage blocks. The storage sled 204-1 may also perform one or more
data services (e.g., slicing/striping, de-duplication, encryption,
and/or compression) while mapping the virtual storage blocks. Thus,
the system 1200 may service NVM over fabric I/O and at the same
time provide data services that are transparent to applications.
The data services may improve application performance and/or
efficiency by improving throughput, reducing overall data storage,
or otherwise improving performance. Additionally, by performing
virtualization and data services using processor resources of the
storage sled 204-1, the system 1200 may reduce usage of processor
resources of the compute sleds 204-4, the memory sleds 204-3,
and/or other compute nodes. Reducing compute node processor usage
may make more compute capacity available to customers of the data
center, improve power efficiency, or otherwise improve data center
operations.
[0048] As shown in FIG. 12, the storage sled 204-1 illustratively
includes a processor 1220, an input/output subsystem 1222, a memory
1224, a communication subsystem 1226, and multiple solid state
drives (SSDs) 1228. Of course, the storage sled 204-1 may include
other or additional components, such as those commonly found in
rack-mounted server (e.g., various input/output devices), in other
embodiments. Additionally, in some embodiments, one or more of the
illustrative components may be incorporated in, or otherwise form a
portion of, another component. For example, the memory 1224, or
portions thereof, may be incorporated in the processor 1220 in some
embodiments.
[0049] The processor 1220 may be embodied as any type of processor
capable of performing the functions described herein. The processor
1220 may be embodied as a single or multi-core processor(s),
digital signal processor, microcontroller, or other processor or
processing/controlling circuit. Similarly, the memory 1224 may be
embodied as any type of volatile or non-volatile memory or data
storage capable of performing the functions described herein. In
operation, the memory 1224 may store various data and software used
during operation of the storage sled 204-1 such as operating
systems, applications, programs, libraries, and drivers. The memory
1224 is communicatively coupled to the processor 1220 via the I/O
subsystem 1222, which may be embodied as circuitry and/or
components to facilitate input/output operations with the processor
1220, the memory 1224, and other components of the storage sled
204-1. For example, the I/O subsystem 1222 may be embodied as, or
otherwise include, memory controller hubs, I/O control hubs,
platform controller hubs, integrated control circuitry, firmware
devices, communication links (i.e., point-to-point links, bus
links, wires, cables, light guides, printed circuit board traces,
etc.) and/or other components and subsystems to facilitate the
input/output operations. In some embodiments, the I/O subsystem
1222 may form a portion of a system-on-a-chip (SoC) and be
incorporated, along with the processor 1220, the memory 1224, and
other components of the storage sled 204-1, on a single integrated
circuit chip.
[0050] The communication subsystem 1226 may be configured to use
any one or more communication technology (e.g., wired or wireless
communications) and associated protocols (e.g., Ethernet,
Bluetooth.RTM., Wi-Fi.RTM., WiMAX, etc.) to effect such
communication. In particular, the communication subsystem 1226 may
include one or more optical transceiver modules, silicon photonics
devices, or other components used to communicate with other devices
over the optical fabric 1202.
[0051] Each of the SSDs 1228 may be embodied as any type of
solid-state, non-volatile storage device or devices configured for
short-term or long-term storage of data such as, for example,
memory devices and circuits, memory cards, solid-state drives, or
other data storage devices. As shown, the illustrative storage sled
204-1 includes eight SSDs 1228-1 to 1228-8. In other embodiments,
each storage sled 204-1 may include a different number of SSDs
1228, and in some embodiments the SSDs 1228 may be hot-pluggable,
replaceable, or otherwise configurable.
[0052] As shown, each storage sled 204-1 may also include one or
more peripheral devices 1230. The peripheral devices 1230 may
include any number of additional I/O devices, interface devices,
sensors, and/or other peripheral devices. For example, in some
embodiments, the peripheral devices 1230 may include a display,
touch screen, graphics circuitry, keyboard, mouse, speaker system,
microphone, network interface, and/or other input/output devices,
interface devices, and/or peripheral devices.
[0053] Referring now to FIG. 13, a top perspective view of an
illustrative storage sled 204-1 is shown. As illustrated, the
storage sled 204-1 includes a top side 1302. The storage sled 204-1
includes two processors 1220 and a communications subsystem 1226
positioned on the top side 1302. The storage sled 204-1 further
includes a storage cage 1304 positioned at one end of the storage
sled 204-1 that includes the physical storage resources 205-1. The
illustrative storage sled 204-1 includes sixteen SSDs 1228 mounted
to slots in the storage cage 1304. As shown, the storage cage 1304
extends above and below the top side 1302 of the storage sled
204-1.
[0054] Referring now to FIG. 14, a bottom perspective view of the
illustrative storage sled 204-1 is shown. As illustrated, the
storage sled 204-1 also includes a bottom side 1402. The storage
sled 204-1 includes memory 1224 positioned within slots on the
bottom side 1402. In some examples, the memory 1224 may include
multiple DIMMs. For these examples, each DIMM may include volatile
and/or non-volatile types of memory. Volatile types of memory may
include, but are not limited to, RAM, DRAM, double data rate
synchronous dynamic RAM (DDR SDRAM), static random-access memory
(SRAM), thyristor RAM (T-RAM) or zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM).
Non-volatile types of memory may include, but are not limited to,
non-volatile types of memory that may be byte or block addressable.
Block addressable or byte addressable non-volatile types of memory
may include, but are not limited to, 3-dimensional (3-D)
cross-point memory, memory that uses chalcogenide phase change
material (e.g., chalcogenide glass), multi-threshold level NAND
flash memory, NOR flash memory, single or multi-level phase change
memory (PCM), resistive memory, nanowire memory, ferroelectric
transistor random access memory (FeTRAM), magnetoresistive random
access memory (MRAM) memory that incorporates memristor technology,
or spin transfer torque MRAM (STT-MRAM), or a combination of any of
the above, or other non-volatile types of memory. FIG. 14 also
illustrates the storage cage 1304 positioned at the end of the
storage sled 204-1 that includes the SSDs 1228. As shown, the
storage cage 1304 extends above and below the bottom side 1402 of
the storage sled 204-1
[0055] Referring now to FIG. 15, in an illustrative embodiment, the
storage sled 204-1 establishes an environment 1500 during
operation. The illustrative environment 1500 includes a
non-volatile memory (NVM) over fabric layer 1502, a block
virtualization layer 1504, and a physical block layer 1516. The
various components of the environment 1500 may be embodied as
hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. As such, in
some embodiments, one or more of the components of the environment
1500 may be embodied as circuitry or collection of electrical
devices (e.g., NVM over fabric circuitry 1502, block virtualization
circuitry 1504, and/or physical block circuitry 1516). It should be
appreciated that, in such embodiments, one or more of the NVM over
fabric circuitry 1502, the block virtualization circuitry 1504,
and/or the physical block circuitry 1516 may form a portion of the
processor 1220, the I/O subsystem 1222, the SSDs 1228, and/or other
components of the storage sled 204-1. Additionally, in some
embodiments, one or more of the illustrative components may form a
portion of another component and/or one or more of the illustrative
components may be independent of one another.
[0056] The NVM over fabric layer 1502 is configured to receive an
NVM I/O command from an application via an optical fabric 1202
interface. The NVM I/O command is indicative of one or more virtual
data storage blocks. The NVM I/O command may be embodied as, for
example, a read command or a write command. The NVM over fabric
layer 1502 is further configured to send a response associated with
the NVM I/O command to the application via the optical fabric 1202
interface in response performing the NVM I/O command as described
further below.
[0057] The block virtualization layer 1504 is configured to map the
one or more virtual data storage blocks to one or more physical
data storage blocks. Each of the physical data storage blocks is
included in an SSD 1228 of the storage sled 204-1. In some
embodiments, the block virtualization layer 1504 further includes a
data services layer 1506 configured to perform one or more data
services on the application data included in the virtual data
storage blocks and/or the physical data storage blocks. In some
embodiments, the data services layer 1506 may be configured to
process the one or more physical data storage blocks and/or
application data included in the one or more virtual data storage
blocks, for example by slicing or striping the physical data
storage blocks across multiple SSDs 1228, by de-duplicating the
physical data storage blocks, by encrypting the application data,
and/or by compressing the application data. In some embodiments,
those functions may be performed by one or more sub-components,
such as a slicing/striping service 1508, an encryption service
1510, a de-duplication service 1512, and/or a data compression
service 1514.
[0058] The physical block layer 1516 is configured to perform the
non-volatile memory I/O command with the one or more physical data
storage blocks. For example, the physical block layer 1516 may be
configured to read a data value from the one or more physical data
storage blocks or to write a data value specified by the NVM I/O
command to the one or more physical data storage blocks.
[0059] Referring now to FIG. 16, in use, the storage sled 204-1 may
execute a method 1600 for storage block virtualization. It should
be appreciated that, in some embodiments, the method 1600 may be
embodied as various instructions stored on a computer-readable
media, which may be executed by the processor 1220, the I/O
subsystem 1222, and/or other components of the storage sled 204-1
to cause the storage sled 204-1 to perform the method 1600. The
computer-readable media may be embodied as any type of media
capable of being read by the storage sled 204-1 including, but not
limited to, the memory 1224, an SSD 1228, firmware devices, and/or
other media. Additionally or alternatively, it should be
appreciated that, in some embodiments, the operations of the method
1600 may be performed by one or more components of the environment
1500 of the storage sled 204-1 as shown in FIG. 15.
[0060] The method 1600 begins in block 1602, in which the storage
sled 204-1 receives a NVM over fabric I/O command from an
application via the optical fabric 1202. The application may be
embodied as any application, thread, virtual machine, or other
workload executed by the system 1200. In particular, the
application may be embodied as a workload executed by a compute
sled 204-4, an accelerator sled 204-2, and/or other sled 204 of the
system 1200. In some embodiments, the application may include
cloud-based client applications (e.g., web applications, database
applications, etc.), middleware, libraries, and/or system services
(e.g., active data services, ephemeral data services, filesystems,
or other storage interfaces). The NVM over fabric I/O command
specifies an I/O command (e.g., read, write, etc.) to be performed
on an associated range of virtual storage blocks. Each virtual
storage block may be embodied as any fixed-sized storage unit used
by the application. For example, each virtual storage block may be
embodied as a logical block that is identified by a logical block
address (LBA). The NVM over fabric I/O command may also include
data associated with the I/O command (e.g., data to be written). In
some embodiments, the I/O command may reference the data associated
with the I/O command, for example by including one or more
pointers, scatter-gather lists, or other identifying data. The NVM
over fabric I/O command may be embodied as, for example, an NVM
Express (NVMe) over Fabric capsule.
[0061] In block 1604, the storage sled 204-1 maps the virtual
storage block(s) to one or more physical storage block(s). Each of
the physical storage blocks may be embodied as any fixed-sized
storage unit of an SSD 1228 of the storage sled 204-1. In
particular, each physical storage block may be a logical block that
is identified by a logical block address (LBA) of an SSD 1228. The
storage sled 204-1 may use any appropriate algorithm to allocate or
otherwise manage the physical storage blocks. For example, in some
embodiments, the virtual storage blocks may be mapped one-to-one to
physical storage blocks. Additionally or alternatively, in some
embodiments the virtual storage blocks may be mapped to a different
number of physical storage blocks. For example, as described
further below, in some embodiments the virtual storage blocks may
be mapped to a smaller number of physical storage blocks, which may
reduce the total amount of storage space required for the
application data in the SSDs 1228.
[0062] In block 1606, the storage sled 204-1 may perform one or
more data services on the physical storage block(s). The data
services may include any processing, post-processing, or other
operations performed on the physical storage blocks or the data
included in the physical storage blocks. In some embodiments, in
block 1608 the storage sled 204-1 may slice or stripe the physical
storage blocks over multiple SSDs 1228. For example, the storage
sled 204-1 may distribute the physical storage blocks for
sequential virtual storage blocks onto different physical SSDs 1228
and/or mirror physical storage blocks among multiple physical SSDs
1228. Slicing or striping the physical storage blocks may improve
performance by allowing multiple SSDs 1228 to be used for servicing
each NVM over fabric I/O command, which in turn may allow the
storage sled 204-1 to fully utilize bandwidth available over the
optical fabric 1202. As another example, slicing or striping the
physical storage blocks may provide data redundancy and improve
fault-tolerance. In some embodiments, in block 1610 the storage
sled 204-1 may de-duplicate multiple physical storage blocks. For
example, the storage sled 204-1 may identify virtual storage blocks
(which may originate from different applications) that contain
identical data and map those virtual storage blocks to the same
physical storage block. De-duplicating physical storage blocks may
reduce the total amount of storage space required in the SSDs
1228.
[0063] In block 1612, the storage sled 204-1 may perform one or
more data services on the application data included in the virtual
storage blocks. The data services may be performed on the
application data as a whole, or in some embodiments may be
performed on a block-by-block basis. In some embodiments, in block
1614 the storage sled 204-1 may encrypt the application data. The
storage sled 204-1 may encrypt the data included in an entire range
of virtual storage blocks, or in some embodiments may encrypt each
block separately. Additionally, although described as encrypting
the virtual storage blocks, it should be understood that in some
embodiments the storage sled 204-1 may encrypt the physical storage
blocks (for example, after compression or de-duplication). In some
embodiments, in block 1616 the storage sled 204-1 may compress the
application data. Compressing the application data from the virtual
data blocks used by the application may allow the compressed data
to be stored in a smaller number of physical data blocks.
[0064] In block 1618, the storage sled 204-1 performs the NVM I/O
command on the physical storage blocks. In particular, the storage
sled 204-1 may issue one or more I/O commands to the SSDs 1228 to
perform the NVM I/O command In some embodiments, in block 1620 the
storage sled 204-1 may write data to the physical storage blocks of
the SSDs 1228. In some embodiments, the storage sled 204-1 may
perform one or more direct memory access operations, remote direct
memory access operations, fabric data transfers, or other
operations to read the data of the virtual storage blocks from the
application (e.g., from the memory of a compute sled 204-4 and/or
memory sled 204-3). In some embodiments, in block 1622 the storage
sled 204-1 may read data from the physical storage blocks of the
SSDs 1228.
[0065] In block 1624, the storage sled 204-1 sends a response to
the NVM I/O command to the application. The response may be
embodied as, for example, an NVMe over Fabrics response capsule.
The response may indicate the status of the NVM I/O command,
including whether the NVM I/O command completed successfully. For
NVM over fabric read requests, the response may also include or
reference the data of the virtual storage blocks. For example, the
storage sled 204-1 may perform one or more direct memory access
operations, remote direct memory access operations, fabric data
transfers, or other operations to send the data of the virtual
storage blocks to the application. After sending the response, the
method 1600 loops back to block 1602 to continue processing NVM
over fabric I/O commands.
EXAMPLES
[0066] Illustrative examples of the technologies disclosed herein
are provided below. An embodiment of the technologies may include
any one or more, and any combination of, the examples described
below.
[0067] Example 1 includes a computing device for virtualized block
data access, the computing device comprising: a non-volatile memory
over fabric layer to receive a non-volatile memory input/output
(I/O) command from an application via an optical fabric interface,
wherein the non-volatile memory I/O command is indicative of one or
more virtual data storage blocks; a block virtualization layer to
map the one or more virtual data storage blocks to one or more
physical data storage blocks, wherein each of the physical data
storage blocks is included in a solid-state data storage device of
the computing device; and a physical block layer to perform the
non-volatile memory I/O command with the one or more physical data
storage blocks; wherein the non-volatile memory over fabric layer
is further to send a response associated with the non-volatile
memory I/O command to the application via the optical fabric
interface in response to performance of the non-volatile memory I/O
command.
[0068] Example 2 includes the subject matter of Example 1, and
wherein to map the one or more virtual data storage blocks to the
one or more physical data storage blocks comprises to process the
one or more physical data storage blocks.
[0069] Example 3 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1
and 2, and wherein to process the one or more physical data storage
blocks comprises to slice or to stripe the one or more physical
data storage blocks across a plurality of solid-state data storage
devices of the computing device.
[0070] Example 4 includes the subject matter of any of Examples
1-3, and wherein to process the one or more physical data storage
blocks comprises to de-duplicate the one or more physical data
storage blocks.
[0071] Example 5 includes the subject matter of any of Examples
1-4, and wherein to map the one or more virtual data storage blocks
to the one or more physical data storage blocks comprises to
process application data included in the one or more virtual data
storage blocks.
[0072] Example 6 includes the subject matter of any of Examples
1-5, and wherein to process the application data included in the
one or more virtual data storage blocks comprises to encrypt the
application data.
[0073] Example 7 includes the subject matter of any of Examples
1-6, and wherein to process the application data included in the
one or more virtual data storage blocks comprises to compress the
application data.
[0074] Example 8 includes the subject matter of any of Examples
1-7, and wherein to map the one or more virtual data storage blocks
to the one or more physical data storage blocks comprises to
perform a data service on the application data included in the one
or more virtual data storage blocks or the one or more physical
data storage blocks.
[0075] Example 9 includes the subject matter of any of Examples
1-8, and wherein: the non-volatile memory I/O command comprises a
read command; to perform the non-volatile memory I/O command
comprises to read a data value from the one or more physical data
storage blocks; and to send the response to the application
comprises to send the data value to the application via the optical
fabric interface.
[0076] Example 10 includes the subject matter of any of Examples
1-9, and wherein: the non-volatile memory I/O command comprises a
write command, wherein the write command is indicative of a data
value; and to perform the non-volatile memory I/O command comprises
to write the data value to the one or more physical data storage
blocks.
[0077] Example 11 includes the subject matter of any of Examples
1-10, and wherein: the computing device comprises a storage sled of
a data center, wherein the storage sled comprises a processor and a
plurality of solid-state storage devices; and the application
comprises a workload executed by a compute sled of the data
center.
[0078] Example 12 includes a method for virtualized block data
access, the method comprising: receiving, by a computing device, a
non-volatile memory input/output (I/O) command from an application
via an optical fabric interface, wherein the non-volatile memory
I/O command is indicative of one or more virtual data storage
blocks; mapping, by the computing device, the one or more virtual
data storage blocks to one or more physical data storage blocks,
wherein each of the physical data storage blocks is included in a
solid-state data storage device of the computing device;
performing, by the computing device, the non-volatile memory I/O
command with the one or more physical data storage blocks; and
sending, by the computing device, a response associated with the
non-volatile memory I/O command to the application via the optical
fabric interface in response to performing the non-volatile memory
I/O command.
[0079] Example 13 includes the subject matter of Example 12, and
wherein mapping the one or more virtual data storage blocks to the
one or more physical data storage blocks comprises processing the
one or more physical data storage blocks.
[0080] Example 14 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 12
and 13, and wherein processing the one or more physical data
storage blocks comprises slicing or striping the one or more
physical data storage blocks across a plurality of solid-state data
storage devices of the computing device.
[0081] Example 15 includes the subject matter of any of Examples
12-14, and wherein processing the one or more physical data storage
blocks comprises de-duplicating the one or more physical data
storage blocks.
[0082] Example 16 includes the subject matter of any of Examples
12-15, and wherein mapping the one or more virtual data storage
blocks to the one or more physical data storage blocks comprises
processing application data included in the one or more virtual
data storage blocks.
[0083] Example 17 includes the subject matter of any of Examples
12-16, and wherein processing the application data included in the
one or more virtual data storage blocks comprises encrypting the
application data.
[0084] Example 18 includes the subject matter of any of Examples
12-17, and wherein processing the application data included in the
one or more virtual data storage blocks comprises compressing the
application data.
[0085] Example 19 includes the subject matter of any of Examples
12-18, and wherein mapping the one or more virtual data storage
blocks to the one or more physical data storage blocks comprises
performing a data service on the application data included in the
one or more virtual data storage blocks or the one or more physical
data storage blocks.
[0086] Example 20 includes the subject matter of any of Examples
12-19, and wherein: receiving the non-volatile memory I/O command
comprises receiving a read command; performing the non-volatile
memory I/O command comprises reading a data value from the one or
more physical data storage blocks; and sending the response to the
application comprises sending the data value to the application via
the optical fabric interface.
[0087] Example 21 includes the subject matter of any of Examples
12-20, and wherein: receiving the non-volatile memory I/O command
comprises receiving a write command, wherein the write command is
indicative of a data value; and performing the non-volatile memory
I/O command comprises writing the data value to the one or more
physical data storage blocks.
[0088] Example 22 includes the subject matter of any of Examples
12-21, and wherein: the computing device comprises a storage sled
of a data center, wherein the storage sled comprises a processor
and a plurality of solid-state storage devices; and the application
comprises a workload executed by a compute sled of the data
center.
[0089] Example 23 includes a computing device comprising: a
processor; and a memory having stored therein a plurality of
instructions that when executed by the processor cause the
computing device to perform the method of any of Examples
12-22.
[0090] Example 24 includes one or more machine readable storage
media comprising a plurality of instructions stored thereon that in
response to being executed result in a computing device performing
the method of any of Examples 12-22.
[0091] Example 25 includes a computing device comprising means for
performing the method of any of Examples 12-22.
[0092] Example 26 includes a computing device for virtualized block
data access, the computing device comprising: means for receiving a
non-volatile memory input/output (I/O) command from an application
via an optical fabric interface, wherein the non-volatile memory
I/O command is indicative of one or more virtual data storage
blocks; means for mapping the one or more virtual data storage
blocks to one or more physical data storage blocks, wherein each of
the physical data storage blocks is included in a solid-state data
storage device of the computing device; means for performing the
non-volatile memory I/O command with the one or more physical data
storage blocks; and means for sending a response associated with
the non-volatile memory I/O command to the application via the
optical fabric interface in response to performing the non-volatile
memory I/O command.
[0093] Example 27 includes the subject matter of Example 26, and
wherein the means for mapping the one or more virtual data storage
blocks to the one or more physical data storage blocks comprises
means for processing the one or more physical data storage
blocks.
[0094] Example 28 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 26
and 27, and wherein the means for processing the one or more
physical data storage blocks comprises means for slicing or
striping the one or more physical data storage blocks across a
plurality of solid-state data storage devices of the computing
device.
[0095] Example 29 includes the subject matter of any of Examples
26-28, and wherein the means for processing the one or more
physical data storage blocks comprises means for de-duplicating the
one or more physical data storage blocks.
[0096] Example 30 includes the subject matter of any of Examples
26-29, and wherein the means for mapping the one or more virtual
data storage blocks to the one or more physical data storage blocks
comprises means for processing application data included in the one
or more virtual data storage blocks.
[0097] Example 31 includes the subject matter of any of Examples
26-30, and wherein the means for processing the application data
included in the one or more virtual data storage blocks comprises
means for encrypting the application data.
[0098] Example 32 includes the subject matter of any of Examples
26-31, and wherein the means for processing the application data
included in the one or more virtual data storage blocks comprises
means for compressing the application data.
[0099] Example 33 includes the subject matter of any of Examples
26-32, and wherein the means for mapping the one or more virtual
data storage blocks to the one or more physical data storage blocks
comprises means for performing a data service on the application
data included in the one or more virtual data storage blocks or the
one or more physical data storage blocks.
[0100] Example 34 includes the subject matter of any of Examples
26-33, and wherein: the means for receiving the non-volatile memory
I/O command comprises means for receiving a read command; the means
for performing the non-volatile memory I/O command comprises means
for reading a data value from the one or more physical data storage
blocks; and the means for sending the response to the application
comprises means for sending the data value to the application via
the optical fabric interface.
[0101] Example 35 includes the subject matter of any of Examples
26-34, and wherein: the means for receiving the non-volatile memory
I/O command comprises means for receiving a write command, wherein
the write command is indicative of a data value; and the means for
performing the non-volatile memory I/O command comprises means for
writing the data value to the one or more physical data storage
blocks.
[0102] Example 36 includes the subject matter of any of Examples
26-35, and wherein: the computing device comprises a storage sled
of a data center, wherein the storage sled comprises a processor
and a plurality of solid-state storage devices; and the application
comprises a workload executed by a compute sled of the data
center.
* * * * *