Patent ID: 9672151
Date: 2017-06-06
CPC Classifications: G06F

Claim:
1. An apparatus comprising: a shared storage environment comprising a storage array having at least one storage volume shared between first and second host devices; a server associated with the storage array and external to the first and second host devices; at least first and second clients implemented on the respective first and second host devices; a first block cache located between the first client and the storage array, wherein the first block cache is implemented externally to the storage array; and at least one of an iSCSI driver and a Fibre Channel driver coupled between the first block cache and the storage array; wherein the first client communicates with the storage array over at least first and second distinct paths, the first path connecting the first client to the storage array via the server and the second path connecting the first client to the storage array via the first block cache; and wherein the server is configured to coordinate operations of the first and second clients relating to the storage volume shared between the first and second host devices in a manner that ensures coherency of data blocks stored in the first block cache.