Method and apparatus for reducing power consumption by a disk drive through disk block relocation
US5787296A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 27, 1996 |
| Grant date | Jul 28, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 27, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02D10/00
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An apparatus is programmed with a plurality of programming instructions for generating, if possible, an alternative disk block allocation for a current disk block allocation that will yield reduced overall power consumption for a sequence of disk accesses. In some embodiments, the programming instructions include the logic for tracing the sequence of disk accesses to determine the current disk block allocation, the logic for generating the alternative disk block allocation, if possible, using the trace results, and the logic for effectuating the alternate disk block allocation, if generated. In one particular embodiment, the logic for generating the alternative disk block allocation employs a random search approach, while in another embodiment, the logic for generating the alternative disk block allocation employs a heuristic approach.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.