Patent ID: 6889301

Claim:
A data storage system for transferring data between a host computer/server and a bank of disk drives through a system interface, such system interface comprising: a global memory; a plurality of front-end directors coupled between the global memory and the host computer/server; a plurality of back-end directors coupled between the global memory and the bank of disk drives; wherein each one of the such front-end directors and each one of the back-end directors has a data pipe, each one of such front-end directors passing front-end data between the global memory and the host computer through the data pipe therein and each one of the back-end directors passing back-end data between the global memory and the bank of disk drives through the data pipe therein; wherein each one of the front-end and back-end directors, comprises: a data pipe controller, responsive to data fed to the data pipe, for performing a selected one of a plurality of functions on the data passing through the data pipe to obtain data from the global memory or to read such data into the global memory, such selected one of the functions being determined by descriptors associated with the data fed to the data pipe therein; a plurality of different, independently operable state machines, each one being adapted to produce control signals for a corresponding one of the functions; and a switching section coupled to the global memory for passing data therethrough between the global memory and the data pipe in accordance with the control signals produced by the state machines.