Mechanism for eliminating need for flash memory in software RAID
US6823450B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 11, 2001 |
| Grant date | Nov 23, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 26, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F9/4411
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and mechanism for booting an operating system in a Redundant Arrays of Independent Disks (RAID) is disclosed. The method includes: searching for a copy of a RAID driver on at least one boot partition of a disk in the disk array, wherein copies of the RAID driver are stored in boot partitions of at least two of the disks in the disk array; and loading the RAID driver, if the RAID driver is found. In the preferred embodiment, the boot partitions of the disks are searched until a working copy of the RAID driver is found. The RAID driver is loaded and the RAID implemented. The operating system may then be booted. In this manner, the need for a Flash memory device for storing the RAID driver is eliminated. The method and mechanism can be implemented in existing systems not designed to support software RAID.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.