Importance

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Abstract

Methods and associated apparatus for coordinating file lock requests from a cluster of attached host computer systems within I/O controllers (e.g., intelligent I/O adapters) attached to a storage subsystem. The I/O controllers, operable in accordance with the methods of the present invention, includes semaphore tables used to provide temporary exclusive access to an identified portion of an identified file. The host systems request the temporary exclusive access of a file through the I/O controllers rather than over slower network communication media and protocols as is known in the art. The I/O controllers then manages a plurality of competing lock requests to provide mutual exclusivity of the file access. The file lock management is therefore managed over the higher bandwidth storage interface channels of the host systems and without the generalized network protocols burdening the lock management process and the host system CPUs. The I/O controllers in which the methods of the present invention are operable, as referred to herein, includes the controller within a storage device such as a RAID subsystem and decentralized control storage devices such as a RAID subsystem or a storage subsystem with control decentralized to a plurality of intelligent host adapters associated with the cluster of host systems.

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First Claim