Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for fast initialization of redundant arrays of storage devices

US6993676B2 · kind B2 · utility

9Cited by
8References
45Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJun 12, 2002
Grant dateJan 31, 2006
Priority date
Expiry dateJan 14, 2024

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F2211/1052
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method and apparatus for fast initialization of storage devices. An apparatus is described including a redundant array of storage devices that comprises a logical volume of storage. The logical volume further comprises a plurality of stripes. A bit mapped vector provides state initialization information for each of the plurality of stripes in lieu of initializing each of the stripes. A storage controller initializes each of the plurality of stripes by using accesses to the redundant array while concurrently allowing access to the plurality of stripes. Initialization of a stripe can be done by processing a write access. Associated written data to the stripe and updating its corresponding redundancy effectively initializes that stripe. The bit mapped vector is updated to reflect the initialization of that stripe. In addition, while the redundant array is idle, further initialization of un-initialized stripes occurs while concurrently allowing access to the redundant array.

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