Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP

Andrew Michael Sparkes

Alastair Michael Slater

Mark Robert Watkins

Michael J Spitzer

Rajkumar Kannan

Joseph E Fernandes

A write-once-read-many, WORM, storage system is arranged to store datasets each with associated attributes including a WORM attribute indicating the dataset's WORM status, and to protect from change or deletion WORM datasets, and at least certain of their attributes including those relevant to WORM status. Retention management capabilities are provided for such a storage system, including the ability to set a given dataset for retention for a particular retention period by storing a corresponding retention date in an attribute of the dataset, and setting the WORM attribute to indicate that the dataset is a WORM dataset. Also provided is the ability to determine expiry of the retention period for the given dataset, and then to remove the stored retention date and change the WORM attribute of the dataset to indicate that it is no longer a WORM dataset.

Retention management in a worm storage system

Example embodiments relate to automatic WORM-retention state transitions. In example embodiments, a storage computing device may detect a request to access, via a file system, a file that is associated with a first retention state. The first retention state may indicate either a first type of WORM-retention protection for the file or no WORM-retention protection for the file. The storage computing device may determine, in response to the request, that the file should be designated with a second retention state. The second retention state may indicate a second type of WORM-retention protection for the file. The determination may be based on a retention policy file that is tightly integrated with the file system and metadata of the file. The storage computing device may transition the file (e.g., by communicating with the file system) to be associated with the second retention state instead of the first retention state.

Automatic WORM-retention state transitions

A demand on a server farm or local area network for a farm or network resource is satisfied. The farm or network has a demand director server, a first resource server having a first resource, and a second resource server having a second, different, resource. The director server is aware of what resources are held on the first and second resource servers. In response to a request for one of the first and second resources, one of the first and second resource servers is selected to serve out the requested resource and direct the request to the selected one of the first and second resource servers. The demand server selects an appropriate one of the resource servers to receive the request using its knowledge of where the requested resource is located.

Method of satisfying a demand on a network for a network resource

A fast access storage device, e.g., a disc, stores initial portions of many movies. A tape library stores many tapes, for the remainder of each movie. A controller controls drives for the disc and tape so the remainder of a particular movie is read from the tape after the initial portion of a particular movie is read from the disc so a viewer is unable to perceive that the movie is recorded on the disc and tape and can start watching the movie sooner than if the movie were recorded only on a tape.

Media playing

A management data distribution apparatus has, a control unit, a buffer memory element, at least one input port, and a telecommunications output. The at least one input port is arranged to receive management data from devices located within a network and to pass the management data to the control unit. The control unit is arranged to control output of the management data via the telecommunications output to a remote monitoring site over a telecommunications network. The control unit is also arranged to store management data arriving at the at least one input port when the said telecommunications output is in use in the buffer memory element, temporarily.

Remote monitoring of computer devices

The availability of requested network resources in a network of servers, each having associated network-servable resources of a specific kind is maintained. Resource data and resource-serving application software serve out the resource data and dynamically distribute capacity to serve out servable resources between the resource servers dependent on demand for the resources. The capability of the network as a whole to serve out a particular resource dependent upon the level of demand for the particular resource is thereby varied. The capacity to serve out servable resources is distributed between the resources without necessarily moving the resource data itself between the servers by distributing: resource-serving application software and/or installation software adapted to install resource-serving application software.

Systems and methods of maintaining availability of requested network resources

A method of serving out video over a network of video servers includes evaluating a capacity of the network as a whole to serve out specific video items by establishing, for each video server in the network, an established ability of each server to serve out the specific items that are potentially servable from each video server. The method further includes using the established abilities of each video server to evaluate an overall capability of the network as whole to serve out each of the specific video items. The method also includes varying the overall capability to serve out at least a selected one of the specific video items in accordance with the overall capability of the network.

Video system varying overall capacity of network of video servers for serving specific video

In one embodiment, the present invention is directed to a system for managing a moveable media library. The system may comprise at least one robotic mechanics and a controller. The controller may comprise a processor for executing instructions and non-volatile memory for storing at least: code for controlling the at least one robotic mechanics; and code for responding to commands received from host systems to retrieve a moveable medium of a plurality of moveable media, the code for responding is operable to receive the commands addressed with multiple device identifiers according to a device access protocol, and the code for responding is operable to associate each device identifier of the multiple device identifiers with at least one respective library partition.

System and method for managing a moveable media library with library partitions

A tape drive assembly for performing a backup operation has a tape receiving station to receive a data storage unit including a tape to store data in a data backup operation. A write head writes data to the tape in a data backup operation. A non-volatile memory unit records data in a data backup operation and communicates data to the write head. An input connected to a data host machine passes data to the memory unit such that, in use in a data backup operation, the data are communicated from the data host machine to the input and recorded in the memory unit prior to the data being passed from the memory unit to the write head for writing to the tape.

Data backup including tape and non-volatile memory units and method of operating same

A number of virtual areas with virtual addresses of storage locations within the virtual areas are allocated to a data storage array, having a total physical storage capacity. Physical addresses are allocated by an array controller for the disc storage array to the virtual addresses only as data are to be written to the respective virtual addresses.

Growing community of inventors

Bishopston, United Kingdom

Andrew Michael Sparkes