High-performance data transfers using network-attached peripherals at the National Storage Laboratory

One of the main goals of the National Storage Laboratory (NSL) is to advance the state-of-the-art of network-attached, high-performance storage architectures and to relate this experience back to the IEEE Storage System Standards Working Group (SSSWP). The work to date has concentrated on high-speed data transfers directly between storage devices and client processors (supercomputers, high-performance workstations, and frame buffers) using IPI-3 over HIPPI (High-Performance Parallel Interface). Data have successfully been transferred between an IBM 9570 HIPPI Disk Array and client processors using IPI-3 third-party copy protocols. The authors present work at the NSL in three areas: using IPI-3 over HIPPI and IPI-3 third-party copy to transfer data between client processors and storage devices or other processors; (2) using IPI-3 third-party copy to transfer data directly between two storage devices; and (3) relating the work at the NSL to the work of the IEEE SSSWP, Mover Subcommittee