Network Appliance, Inc.

Netapp, Inc.

Brad A Reger

Steven J Valin

Pradeep Kumar Kalra

David J Baik

David J Willheim

George T Feltovich

Allen Kilbourne

Steve Valin

Susan M Coatney

Harold Miyamura

Curtis Anderson

Wayne A Booth

Thomas Holland

R Guy Lauterbach

Keith Son

Chaitanya Nulkar

Johnny Kang-Wing Chan

Richard I Ely

One or more techniques and/or systems are provided for collecting forensics associated with a failure of a storage controller. For example, a storage node, of a cluster environment, may comprise a service processor and a storage controller. The storage controller may manage a storage device accessible, through the storage controller, to one or more client devices. The service processor may manage the storage controller (e.g., collect operational statistics of the storage controller, perform software and/or firmware updates for the storage controller, etc.). The service processor may obtain forensics associated with a failure of the storage controller, and may provide the forensics to a cluster health monitor notwithstanding the storage controller being in an inoperable state (e.g., the service processor may send the forensics through a network interface controller of the storage node, over a non-client storage management network, to the cluster health monitor).

Forensics collection for failed storage controllers

Various techniques and hardware are described for retrieving information in a processing system. In one embodiment, a method is provided for retrieving information in a processing system that includes a central processing unit and a service processor. Here, the service processor retrieves central processing unit information from the central processing unit and resets the processing system after the retrieval of the central processing unit information.

Use of service processor to retrieve hardware information

The present invention is a method and a system for dynamic mapping of a fiber channel loop ID in an ALPA loop. Based on reserved address information for the fiber channel system and a number of select ID bits for a slot ID, a dynamic drive mapping table is created. A unique address may be assigned to each drive and each controller in the ALPA loop. The created drive mapping table may be stored on logic decoding circuitry of an adaptor card coupled to each disk drive in the ALPA loop. When fiber channel loop ID signals are sent from a backplane, the fiber channel loop ID signals are translated into seven bits within an ALPA address range based on the dynamic drive mapping table. The converted signals may be sent to the disk drive coupled the adaptor card at boot up time.

Dynamic address mapping of a fibre channel loop ID

A system of keying implementation for swapping paired devices is provided. The system includes a controller module having a first keying member, a power supply unit having a second keying member, and a chassis having a plurality of receiving slots for receiving the controller module and the power supply unit. When the controller module and the power supply unit are a matched pair and when the controller module and the power supply unit are fully inserted, next to each other, into the plurality of receiving slots, the first keying member and the second keying member do not interfere with each other so that the power supply unit may supply power to the controller module.

Keying implementation for swapping paired devices

An existing disk drive storage enclosure is converted into a standalone network storage system by removing one or more input/output (I/O) modules from the enclosure and installing in place thereof one or more server modules ('heads'), each implemented on a single circuit board. Each head contains the electronics, firmware and software along with built-in I/O connections to allow the disks in the enclosure to be used as a Network-Attached file Server (NAS) or a Storage Area Network (SAN) storage device. An end user can also remove the built-in head and replace it with a standard I/O module to convert the enclosure back into a standard disk drive storage enclosure. Two internal heads can communicate over a passive backplane in the enclosure to provide full cluster failover (CFO) capability.

Method for converting a standalone network storage system into a disk drive storage enclosure

A storage system includes a plurality of mass storage devices and a first storage server head to access the mass storage devices in response to client requests, wherein the first storage server head has ownership of the plurality of mass storage devices. Ownership of at least one of the mass storage devices is reassigned to a second storage server head independently of how the second storage server head is connected to the plurality of mass storage devices.

Reconfiguration of storage system including multiple mass storage devices

A circuit external to a memory controller in a processing system places a dynamic random access memory into a self-refresh state in response to a predetermined condition associated with a power-down or reset event.

Apparatus and method for placing memory into self-refresh state

A hard disk drive system includes a plurality of hard disk drive carriers and a hard disk drive chassis. Each of the plurality of hard disk drive carriers has a body and an ejector rotatably connected to the body. The ejector includes a first alignment member on a first side of the ejector and a second alignment member on a second side of the ejector. The second side of the ejector is opposite the first side of the ejector. The hard disk drive chassis includes a plurality of receiving slots for receiving the plurality of hard disk drive carriers. Two of the plurality of hard disk drive carriers may be fully inserted, next to each other, into the plurality of receiving slots.

Hard disk drive system and keying method

Volatile memory is placed into a data-preserving safe state in a computer system in response to any one of a reduction in power applied to the volatile memory, a bus reset signal on a data communication bus of the computer system, and an absence of a bus clock signal on the bus. The volatile memory is powered from an auxiliary uninterruptible power supply in response to the reduction in power. The volatile memory is also placed into the data-preserving safe state in response to a cessation in executing software instructions by a CPU of the computer system. Placing the volatile memory into the safe state in response to and under these conditions enhances the opportunity to preserve data in response to error and malfunction conditions.

Method and apparatus to establish safe state in a volatile computer memory under multiple hardware and software malfunction conditions

Method for converting disk drive storage enclosure into a standalone network storage system

A general-purpose personal computer is converted into a dedicated mass storage appliance, and a mass storage operating system for performing mass data storage functions is booted from a solid-state, nonvolatile memory card in response to BIOS boot probe signals. The memory card emulates a disk drive for booting purposes, so the BIOS need not be modified to incorporate chain booting. A relatively low latency intermediate memory reads and writes data from a primary expansion bus of the personal computer, and the intermediate memory is separately backed up with power to sustain the data upon a reduction in power, a reset signal, or the absence of a bus clock signal. The conversion may be accomplished by inserting a conversion card into a bus slot of a primary expansion bus of the personal computer.

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Dublin, CA, United States of America

Brad A Reger