Patent ID: 8566496

Claim:
A method for facilitating a data read in a storage system including a Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface (SAS) Expander, the method comprising: collecting data access information, the data access information including information associated with a connection between an initiator and a target and information collected via a store-and-forward process of the SAS Expander; determining whether the connection between the initiator and the target exceeds a utilization threshold based on the data access information which includes the information associated with the connection between the initiator and the target and the information collected via the store-and-forward process of the SAS Expander; receiving a data request from the initiator for at least one data block of the target; identifying at least one potential data block of the target for inclusion within a subsequent data request from the initiator based on the data request upon determining the connection between the initiator and the target exceeds the utilization threshold; issuing, by the SAS Expander, one or more data requests to the target for the at least one data block and the at least one potential data block; receiving the at least one data block; receiving the at least one potential data block from the target when the target is not busy processing other tasks upon receiving the at least one data block; and storing, within the SAS Expander, the at least one potential data block from the target upon receiving the at least one potential data block from the target.