Patent ID: 9634944
Date: 2017-04-25
CPC Classifications: H04L

Claim:
1. A method comprising: receiving a stream of Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) traffic type data packets; automatically prioritizing a first data packet of the stream of iSCSI traffic type data packets by setting metadata of the first data packet to have a first priority level based on a first internal classifier of the first data packet, the first internal classifier indicating the first data packet is application data; automatically prioritizing a second data packet of the stream of iSCSI traffic type data packets by setting metadata of the second data packet to have a second priority level based on a second internal classifier of the second data packet, the first priority indicating a higher priority relative to the second priority, and the first and second internal classifiers indicating at least one of: (a) storage tiers of data in the respective first data packet and second data packet, (b) whether data of the first data packet or second data packet is replication data or a read request for a snapshot, and (c) a static priority assigned to a host; and directing the first data packet and second data packet into a network bandwidth pipe having a plurality of data channels, a subset of the plurality of data channels being available for other traffic types than the iSCSI traffic type; sub-classifying the first data packet into a first iSCSI traffic type data channel of the network bandwidth pipe assigned to the first priority level and sending the first data packet to its destination; and sub-classifying the second data packet into a second iSCSI traffic type data channel of the network bandwidth pipe assigned to the second priority level, the second data channel configured to have less bandwidth than the first data channel and sending the second data packet to its destination.