Method and apparatus for improving performance in a reduntant array of independent disks
US5657468A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 17, 1995 |
| Grant date | Aug 12, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 17, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F11/2087
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A RAID disk array that is adaptable to host I/O traffic, wherein the RAID configuration is hidden from the host computer. The system dynamically determines the RAID configuration used to store host data to maximize response time performance and minimize the loss of disk space used for data protection. To maximize response time and avoid a write penalty, small write operations are mapped into RAID 1 configurations, and medium and large write operations are mapped into RAID 3 configurations. These segments are migrated into RAID 5 configurations as a background operation, to minimize the disk space lost. The system hides configuration changes necessary for the addition and/or deletion of disks to the disk array. While these changes are in progress, the disk array remains on-line and all host data is available for access and modification.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.