Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for storage unit replacement in non-redundant array

US6598174B1 · kind B1 · utility

246Cited by
7References
40Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateApr 26, 2000
Grant dateJul 22, 2003
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 26, 2020

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F11/2094
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method and apparatus used in a storage network facilitates the protection of data in, and replacement of, storage devices about to fail before the failure happens. In a network that includes a set of storage devices organized as a non-redundant (for example RAID 0) array, a storage device about to fail in the non-redundant array can be replaced by another storage device, typically from a pool of spares. The method includes detecting a condition of a first particular storage device in the non-redundant array. Conditions which are detected according to various embodiments indicate that the first particular storage device is suffering events indicating that it is likely to fail, or otherwise suffering from reduced performance. The conditions are detected for example, by the receipt of a signal from the storage device itself, or by the monitoring of statistics concerning the performance of the storage device. The method further provides for selecting a particular spare storage device, which can be used in place of the first particular storage device. In response to detecting the condition, data stored in the first particular storage device is migrated to the second particular storage…

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