iStor Announces 2 Patents

IRVINE, Calif. -- iStor Networks, Inc., www.istor.com a leader in high performance iSCSI solutions, today announced that it has recently been awarded a second patent (U.S. Patent 7,353,306) for a technology that enables iStor to implement high availability solutions while preserving the inherent high performance characteristics of its integraStor™ products.

All integraStor designs are based on iStor’s iSCSI RAID Storage Processor (iRSP), which incorporates a patented mechanism to handle data mirroring called a Redundant Memory Channel, or RMC. This important technology guarantees that data is faithfully written from internal controller cache to the disk drive even in the event of a controller failure. To increase write data performance, today’s RAID controllers acknowledge data as written to disk as soon as all data is received in the cache but not necessarily written to disk, referred to as “write-back” caching. If the storage controller performing the write fails, then the RMC guarantees that the other controller can complete the write with data integrity.

The problem with today’s controllers is that performing this write data synchronization between dual controllers requires significant system resources which degrades write performance, as well as overall system performance due to the load on processors, buses, etc. RMC allows data to be mirrored between redundant iRSP-based controllers without CPU management or intervention, and without utilizing the primary data movement paths within the controller. Within integraStor storage systems, data mirroring is accomplished over a dedicated full-duplex 10G data channel emanating from each ASIC, allowing controllers to mirror data without impacting the controllers’ ability to support full 10Gbps I/O rates.

The dedicated nature of RMC dramatically minimizes the overhead of managing data mirroring on processing resources, allowing internal storage processors to focus on performing their primary task of data flow and storage processing functions. Data is automatically mirrored to the peer controller without disruption to the buses and resources used for normal data movement. This is one of the key reasons that dual-redundant integraStor solutions can achieve full 10Gbps performance in each redundant controller – unparalleled in the industry. iStor has already demonstrated the performance advantages, achieving 1,700MB/s with two 8x 1GbE controllers October, 2007.

“iStor’s technology leadership and the ability of the integraStor family to leverage iStor’s unique intellectual property have been critical to the success of the iS512, and positions iS512 to address a more sophisticated set of applications.” said Kevin Daly, CEO of iStor Networks. “The integraStor family of products can now extend from Small and Medium Business (SMB) environments to distributed data centers, remote office/branch office and other highly resilient enterprise-class environments.”iStor Networks Inc.