Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080201392 | Storage system having plural flash memory drives and method for controlling data storage - Provided is a storage system having a storage device including memory drives formed of the non-volatile memory, a group is constituted by the memory drives whose number is larger than the number of memory drives necessary to provide the memory capacity, the divided storage areas are managed in each of segments that includes at least one of the divided storage areas, the data storage area or the temporary storage area is allocated to the divided storage areas, upon receiving a data write request, the data storage area in which the write data is written and the segment are specified, the updated data is written in the temporary storage area included in the specified segment, the temporary storage area in which the data is written is set as a new data storage area, and data stored in the data storage area is erased and set as a new temporary storage area. | 08-21-2008 |
20080229003 | STORAGE SYSTEM AND METHOD OF PREVENTING DETERIORATION OF WRITE PERFORMANCE IN STORAGE SYSTEM - Provided is a storage system capable of inhibiting the deterioration of its write performance. This storage system includes a flash memory, a cache memory, and a controller for controlling the reading, writing and deletion of data of the flash memory and the reading and writing of data of the cache memory, and detecting the generation of a defective block in the flash memory. When the controller detects the generation of a defective block in the flash memory, it migrates prescribed data stored in the flash memory to the cache memory and, even upon receiving from the host computer a command for updating the migrated data, disables the writing of data in the flash memory based on the command. | 09-18-2008 |
20090006890 | Storage system and control method of storage system - Provided is a storage system superior in fault tolerance. This storage system is composed of a controller having a plurality of processors and other units. When an error occurs in any one of the components in the controller, the storage system cuts off an I/O path of the controller, specifies the failed component in the cutoff status, and invalidates such failed component. Further, after invalidating the failed component, the storage system determines whether it is operable only with the normal components, cancels (releases) the cutoff of the I/O path when it determines that it is operable, and resumes operation by rebooting itself. | 01-01-2009 |
20090083610 | Storage sub-system and method for controlling the same - The present invention provides means for effectively reducing the amount of data by means of de-duplication in a disk array apparatus having a data guarantee code. | 03-26-2009 |
20090089483 | Storage device and deduplication method - This storage device performs deduplication of eliminating duplicated data by storing a logical address of one or more corresponding logical unit memory areas in a prescribed management information storage area of a physical unit memory area defined in the storage area provided by the flash memory chip, and executes a reclamation process of managing a use degree as the total number of the logical addresses used stored in the management information storage area and a duplication degree as the number of valid logical addresses corresponding to the physical unit memory area for each of the physical unit memory areas, and returning the physical unit memory area to an unused status when the difference of the use degree and the duplication degree exceeds a default value in the physical unit memory area. | 04-02-2009 |
20090135698 | Disk Controller and Storage System - Proposed is a disk controller capable of notifying that a hard disk drive needs to be replaced even when the power of such hard disk drive is turned off. When a controller is to control the supply of electrical power to a disk in the respective disk units, the controller turns off a green LED and turns on a red LED when a disk in a disk group becomes a replacement target disk, turns off the power of the replacement target disk by opening a power switch corresponding to the respective replacement target disks, turns on the disk power source by closing the power switch when the replacement target disk is replaced with a new disk, and recognizes information concerning the new disk. | 05-28-2009 |
20090168784 | STORAGE SUBSYSTEM - Deadlock is avoided in a grid storage system having superior scalability. Provided is a storage subsystem connected to a host computer for receiving a write or read access from the host computer. This storage subsystem includes a plurality of modules respectively having a storage resource, a switch for connecting the plurality of modules, a controller for controlling the transfer of a packet based on the write or read access from the host computer to a target module among the plurality of modules via the switch, and a memory storing a transfer rule of the packet. The controller controls the transfer of the packet based on the transfer rule. | 07-02-2009 |
20090222623 | STORAGE SYSTEM AND MANAGEMENT METHOD OF ITS STORAGE MEDIUM - High availability is provided in a storage system that offers expandability more inexpensively. Provided is a storage system including multiple expanders to be connected to multiple storage mediums, multiple cascades connected respectively to a prescribed number of expanders among the multiple expanders, and multiple control units for respectively controlling the multiple cascades. One end of the multiple cascades is connected with an inter-cascade link, and the inter-cascade link has a logically connected state and a logically disconnected state. | 09-03-2009 |
20090259791 | ADJUSTMENT NUMBER OF EXPANDERS IN STORAGE SYSTEM - A storage system for storing data includes: a plurality of storage devices; a controller device; a plurality of expanders; and a path adjusting unit. The path adjusting unit includes: a target specifying unit, a destination selecting unit; and a data migrating unit. The target specifying unit specifies target data to be targeted for adjustment in the plurality of storage devices. The destination selecting unit selects a storage device in which to store the specified target data to reduce the number of expanders on a data transfer pathway for the specified target data. The data migrating unit migrates the specified target data to the selected storage device. | 10-15-2009 |
20090274027 | STORAGE DEVICE AND ITS DRIVE STARTUP METHOD - The time required for starting up drives in a storage device mounted with both hard disk drives and solid state drives is shortened. A storage controller of the storage device identifies the type (HDD/SSD) of the mounted drives before starting up the drives. The storage controller thereafter performs staggered spinup to the HDDs in several batches. After the startup of HDDs is complete, the storage controller collectively starts up the SSDs. The storage controller determines the drive startup processing based on a pre-set drive startup policy such as reduction of the peak current reduction or shortening of the startup time, and the drive type identification result. | 11-05-2009 |
20090316541 | STORAGE APPARATUS AND ESTIMATING METHOD OF POWER CONSUMPTION FOR STORAGE APPARATUS - Power consumption is calculated in accordance with an operation state of disk devices without using a power meter in a storage system. The power consumption in accordance with the operation state is calculated as follows. That is, information on the power consumption for every type of hard disks is stored in advance when types of I/O process (random/sequential of read and write) operate at idle time up to a limit state in every type of hard disks. A control unit of the storage system aggregates time waiting a response from the hard disks in every type of I/O process. The power consumption of the disks is calculated on the basis of the information on the power consumption stored in advance and a sum of the waiting time of the response from the hard disks. | 12-24-2009 |
20100011238 | INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM AND DATA RECOVERY METHOD - When data of HDD of computer is backed up to a a data center and a failure occurs in the HDD, the computer notifies failure information to the data center, and the data center stores the backed up data in a storage medium substituting HDD for subsequent delivery. Further, the computer executes processing, using a VNC server, from failure occurrence until recovery. | 01-14-2010 |
20100091621 | Storage System and Communications Method - In a storage system including a host computer, and a disk control device connected to the host computer for communications therewith, and performs control over a disk device that stores therein data requested for writing from the host computer, for data transmission from a host interface section or a disk interface section to a memory section, when the data asked by a transmission source for storage is stored in a transmission destination, the transmission destination is put in a first mode for communications of forwarding a response back to the transmission source. With such a configuration, favorably provided is the storage system that offers a guarantee of reliability with the improved processing capabilities thereof. | 04-15-2010 |
20100100757 | POWER ESTIMATING METHOD AND COMPUTER SYSTEM - In order to calculate the power of logically-partitioned areas without using a power meter in a storage system logically partitioning a storage area, there is provided a power estimating method in a computer system including a management computer and a storage system connected to the management computer and a host computer. The storage system prepares logical storage-volumes in a real area of plural disk drives. The power estimating method includes the steps of: allowing a third processor to calculate operation rates of the disk drives for access to the logical storage-volumes from operating times of the disk drives for access to the logical storage-volumes; and allowing the third processor to calculate power consumption increments of the disk drives for access to the logical storage-volumes by access types from incremental power consumption information and the calculated operation rates of the disk drives. | 04-22-2010 |
20100106903 | STORAGE APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF - This storage apparatus that provides to a host computer a logical device for storing data sent from the host computer includes a nonvolatile memory for storing the data, a disk-shaped memory device for storing the data, and a controller for controlling the nonvolatile memory and the disk-shaped memory device. The controller redundantly configures the logical device with the nonvolatile memory and the disk-shaped memory device. | 04-29-2010 |
20100223496 | Highly Reliable Storage System and Internal Network Thereof - The disk controller has a plurality of channel control units, a plurality of cache memories, a plurality of disk control units, and a plurality of internal switch units. Each channel control unit or disk control unit sends to one of the cache memory units a request packet requesting execution of processing. The cache memory unit sends a response packet in response to the received request packet. Each internal switch unit monitors the request packet sent from the channel control unit or disk control unit, and judges whether or not the response packet to the request packet has passed through the internal switch unit within a first given time period since the passage of the request packet. In the case where the response packet has not passed through the internal switch unit within the first given time period, the internal switch unit sends a failure notification. | 09-02-2010 |
20100306463 | STORAGE SYSTEM AND ITS CONTROLLING METHOD - This invention, in the interface coupled to the server, the disk interface coupled to the second memory to store final data, the cache to store data temporarily, and in the storage system with the MP which controls them, specifies the area by referring to the stored data, and makes the virtual memory area resident in the cache by using the storage system where the specified area is made resident in the cache. | 12-02-2010 |
20110004785 | STORAGE SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD OF STORAGE SYSTEM - A fault-tolerant storage system is provided. The storage system is composed of a controller having a plurality of processors and other units. When an error occurs in any one of the components in the controller, the storage system cuts off an I/O path of the controller, specifies the failed component in the cutoff status, and invalidates the failed component. After invalidating the failed component, the storage system determines whether it is operable only with the normal components, cancels (releases) the cutoff of the I/O path when it determines that it is operable, and resumes operation by rebooting. | 01-06-2011 |
20110013625 | STORAGE SUBSYSTEM - Deadlock is avoided in a grid storage system having superior scalability. Provided is a storage subsystem connected to a host computer for receiving a write or read access from the host computer. This storage subsystem includes a plurality of modules respectively having a storage resource, a switch for connecting the plurality of modules, a controller for controlling the transfer of a packet based on the write or read access from the host computer to a target module among the plurality of modules via the switch, and a memory storing a transfer rule of the packet. The controller controls the transfer of the packet based on the transfer rule. | 01-20-2011 |
20110035541 | STORAGE DEVICE AND DEDUPLICATION METHOD - This storage device performs deduplication of eliminating duplicated data by storing a logical address of one or more corresponding logical unit memory areas in a prescribed management information storage area of a physical unit memory area defined in the storage area provided by the flash memory chip, and executes a reclamation process of managing a use degree as the total number of the logical addresses used stored in the management information storage area and a duplication degree as the number of valid logical addresses corresponding to the physical unit memory area for each of the physical unit memory areas, and returning the physical unit memory area to an unused status when the difference of the use degree and the duplication degree exceeds a default value in the physical unit memory area. | 02-10-2011 |
20110145488 | FLASH MEMORY MODULE, STORAGE APPARATUS USING FLASH MEMORY MODULE AS RECORDING MEDIUM AND ADDRESS TRANSLATION TABLE VERIFICATION METHOD FOR FLASH MEMORY MODULE - A purpose of the invention is to immediately return the operation in a flash memory module from low power consumption mode to regular mode. A flash memory controller having memory that stores an address translation table for translating between a logical page address and a physical page address in the flash memory chip controls regular mode and low power consumption mode of operating at lower power consumption than in regular mode by halting operation, or decreasing power supply voltage or lowering operating frequency. A flash memory module having the flash memory controller verifies data in the address translation table while low power consumption mode is set. | 06-16-2011 |
20110197096 | Highly Reliable Storage System and Internal Network Thereof - The disk controller has a plurality of channel control units, a plurality of cache memories, a plurality of disk control units, and a plurality of internal switch units. Each channel control unit or disk control unit sends to one of the cache memory units a request packet requesting execution of processing. The cache memory unit sends a response packet in response to the received request packet. Each internal switch unit monitors the request packet sent from the channel control unit or disk control unit, and judges whether or not the response packet to the request packet has passed through the internal switch unit within a first given time period since the passage of the request packet. In the case where the response packet has not passed through the internal switch unit within the first given time period, the internal switch unit sends a failure notification. | 08-11-2011 |
20110289277 | INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM, INFORMATION PROCESSING METHODS AND PROGRAMS - The present invention obtains with high precision, in a storage system, the effect of additional installation or removal of cache memory, that is, the change of the cache hit rate and the performance of the storage system at that time. For achieving this, when executing normal cache control in the operational environment of the storage system, the cache hit rate when the cache memory capacity has changed is also obtained. Furthermore, with reference to the obtained cache hit rate, the peak performance of the storage system is obtained. Furthermore, with reference to the target performance, the cache memory and the number of disks and other resources that are additionally required are obtained. | 11-24-2011 |
20120017054 | STORAGE SUB-SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME - The present invention provides means for effectively reducing the amount of data by means of de-duplication in a disk array apparatus having a data guarantee code. A control means for the disk array apparatus that adds a data guarantee code to each logical data block and checks the data guarantee code when reading data has a de-duplication performing function and control means for: generating LA substitution information for a function checking the data guarantee code or read data location address substitution information when performing the de-duplication and storing data; performing the de-duplication using the above-mentioned information when reading data; and thereby avoiding false diagnosis of the data guarantee code check. | 01-19-2012 |
20120066440 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MIRRORING DATA BETWEEN NONVOLATILE MEMORY AND A HARD DISK DRIVE - This storage apparatus that provides to a host computer a logical device for storing data sent from the host computer includes a nonvolatile memory for storing the data, a disk-shaped memory device for storing the data, and a controller for controlling the nonvolatile memory and the disk-shaped memory device. The controller redundantly configures the logical device with the nonvolatile memory and the disk-shaped memory device. | 03-15-2012 |
20120198139 | STORAGE DEVICE AND DEDUPLICATION METHOD - This storage device performs deduplication of eliminating duplicated data by storing a logical address of one or more corresponding logical unit memory areas in a prescribed management information storage area of a physical unit memory area defined in the storage area provided by the flash memory chip, and executes a reclamation process of managing a use degree as the total number of the logical addresses used stored in the management information storage area and a duplication degree as the number of valid logical addresses corresponding to the physical unit memory area for each of the physical unit memory areas, and returning the physical unit memory area to an unused status when the difference of the use degree and the duplication degree exceeds a default value in the physical unit memory area. | 08-02-2012 |
20130019123 | STORAGE SYSTEM AND COMMUNICATIONS METHOD - Storage system arrangement wherein: when a transmission destination determines that a source-side serial number included in a received packet is the same as a current destination-side serial number in the transmission destination, the transmission destination processes a content of the received packet in accordance with a command included in the received packet; and when the transmission destination determines that the source-side serial number is not the same as the current destination-side serial number, the transmission destination does not process a content of the received packet. | 01-17-2013 |