Patent · US Expired

Data processing system using fligh availability disk arrays for handling power failure conditions during operation of the system

US5452444A · kind A · utility

36Cited by
6References
6Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateFeb 17, 1995
Grant dateSep 19, 1995
Priority date
Expiry dateFeb 17, 2015

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F11/1076
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method for handling data in a plurality of data storage disks having user data sectors and corresponding parity sectors, the method being used when the disks are being operated in a non-degraded or a degraded mode wherein a non-volatile RAM is used in an array control processor which controls the operation of such disks. When new data is to be written into the array, the non-volatile RAM stores information identifying the array, the starting sector into which data is to be written and the number of sectors to be used for writing the new data so that parity and data entries in corresponding sectors can be matched when a power failure occurs. Further, when opening a new array, the data and parity entries in corresponding sectors can be matched and verified, the operation for such matching being performed in between other operations that are being performed by the control processors (i.e., in the "background" thereof).

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.