System and method for handling I/O requests over an interface bus to a storage disk array
US5644789A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 19, 1995 |
| Grant date | Jul 1, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 19, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F13/126
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A multi-tasking, multi-initiator computing system includes an interfacing bus, at least one storage disk array connected to the interfacing bus, and multiple initiators connected to the interfacing bus to request I/O processes to be performed by the storage disk array. A disk array controller is provided in the storage disk array to assign the I/O requests received from the initiators to one of two types of job control data structures: (1) regular job control data structures that hold the information to process and complete the I/O request, and (2) minimized job control data structures that are temporarily used when no regular job control data structures are available. The disk array controller assigns the I/O request to the minimized job control data structures only in the event that no free regular job control data structures are available to hold the information from the I/O request. Each minimized job control data structure holds a subset of the information from the I/O request that is sufficient to reinitiate the I/O request for completion when a regular job control data structure once again becomes available. A method for operating a computing system and a memory data structu…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.