Patent ID: 6941396

Claim:
A system for providing network-based access to storage resources, the system comprising: a first storage controller that controls and provides network-based access to a first set of storage devices, and a second storage controller that controls and provides network-based access to a second set of storage devices, said first and second storage controllers configured to operate as a redundant pair; and a bidirectional reflective memory channel that interconnects the first and second storage controllers; wherein each of the storage controllers includes a respective random access buffer that stores input/output (I/O) data received from a computer network; wherein the first storage controller reflects native buffer write operations to the second storage controller, and vice versa, over the bidirectional reflective memory channel, and each storage controller executes the reflected write operations asynchronously relative to the other storage controller, whereby each storage controller maintains a mirrored copy of native buffer contents of the other storage controller; wherein each storage controller is configured to assume control over the other storage controller's set of storage devices in the event of a failure of the other storage controller; and wherein the first storage controller is responsive to incoming packets from the computer network by, with an automated circuit of the first storage controller, extracting I/O data from at least some of the incoming packets, and writing the extracted I/O data to the random access buffer of the first storage controller to cause the extracted I/O data to be reflected across the reflective memory channel to the second storage controller, whereby I/O data is extracted from packets and reflected across the reflective memory channel without CPU intervention.