Patent ID: 7389312
Filing Date: 2008-06-17
Classification: G06F,H04L,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A method of mirroring data stored on a first server having a first mass storage device to a second server having a second mass storage device to establish a virtual storage area network that includes the first and second mass storage devices, the method comprising: receiving a write request at a first server from a network device, the first server connected to a first mass storage device; determining that the first server has write access to both the first mass storage device and to a second mass storage device by performing a policing protocol in response to the write request; using an I/O driver of the first server, executing the write request at the first server to write data to the first mass storage device; using a mirror engine of the first server, transmitting a copy of the write request from the first server to a second mirror engine of the second server; and executing the copy of the write request at the second server by the second mirror engine of the second server to write the data to the second mass storage device without processing the write request using an I/O driver of the second server, such that the data is mirrored at the second mass storage device, and such that the data is stored in a virtual shared storage node from the standpoint of the first server and the second server.