Hewlett-packard Company

Bryan M Diamond

Theresa A Burkes

Marvin D Nelson

Douglas L Voigt

Michael B Jacobson

Wade A Dolphin

James D Price

A test system for testing a multitasking computing device, such as a RAID storage device is described. The multitasking computing device is responsive to an inject fault command by entering a pre-determined mode of operation wherein the device maintains its present state and all command processing is terminated. As a result, the device becomes non-responsive to further commands. The test system includes a plurality of test programs. Each of the test programs being operable, when executed, to (a) test an associated function of the device and (b) transmit the inject fault command to the device if the test fails. In addition, each program is further operable, when executed, to (c) discontinue testing the device if the device becomes non-responsive. The test system further includes a processor and a multitasking operating system for executing the test programs concurrently.

System for testing a multi-tasking computing device

A RAID data storage system includes a heterogenous disk array coupled to a controller. The disk array provides a storage space that includes a first set of stipes each having at least &ldquo;N&rdquo; blocks and a second set of stripes each having less than &ldquo;N&rdquo; blocks. The controller can operate to map the storage space into redundant units by creating at least one redundant unit for storing data according to a mirror redundancy scheme. The redundant unit includes a block from the first set of stripes and a block from the second set of stripes.

Method and apparatus for mapping data in a heterogeneous disk array storage system

A disk array data storage system has a plurality of storage disks and a disk array controller for coordinating transfer of user data to and from the storage disks. A memory manager is provided to manage memory allocation and data storage on the disk array. The memory manager maintains a sufficient quantity of hot spare storage space that can be made available for reconstructing the user data and restoring redundancy in the event one of the storage disks fails. Until a disk fails, however, the memory manager uses the hot spare space to store user and redundant data while guaranteeing that the storage space can be used for rebuilding following a storage disk failure. In this manner, all storage disks in the array are used to store user data, and additionally to maintain storage space that can be easily made available for purposes of hot spare in the event of disk failure.

Disk array having hot spare resources and methods for using hot spare

A hierarchic disk array data storage system has multiple storage disks that define a physical storage space and a RAID management system that maps the physical storage space into two virtual storage spaces. The RAID-level virtual storage space presents the physical storage space as mirror and parity RAID areas where the mirror RAID areas contain mirror allocation blocks to store data according to RAID Level 1 and the parity RAID areas contain parity allocation blocks to store data according to RAID Level 5. The application-level virtual storage space presents the physical storage space as multiple virtual blocks. The RAID management system migrates data between the mirror and parity RAID areas to optimize performance and reliability. To ensure that sufficient space is retained for this migration, the RAID management system limits the number of virtual blocks that are allocated in the mirror RAID areas. The maximum number of virtual blocks in mirror RAID areas is dynamically computed based upon a function of the physical capacity of the storage disks, the number of storage disks, and the allocated capacity at the time of each storage request from the user.

Methods and system for reserving storage space for data migration in a

A hierarchic disk array data storage system has a disk array with multiple storage disks and a disk array controller which coordinates data transfer to and from the disks. The storage disks define a physical storage space. A RAID management system maps a RAID-level virtual storage space onto the physical storage space. The RAID-level virtual storage space presents the physical storage space as multiple RAID areas. The RAID areas include mirror RAID areas which contain mirror allocation blocks to store data according to mirror redundancy and parity RAID areas which contain parity allocation blocks to store data according to parity redundancy. The RAID management system dynamically migrates data between the mirror and parity RAID areas in a manner which optimizes performance and data reliability. As new storage requests are made, the RAID management system evaluates the existing storage conditions and computes a total virtual capacity that is available to the user given a disk array configuration. A total virtual capacity can be calculated without including the capacity of any given storage disk in the disk array data storage system. The total virtual capacity calculation is used to support hot spare space reservation, disk removal, rebuild of a failed disk, and to prevent over-commitment of storage to user data.

Methods for avoiding over-commitment of virtual capacity in a redundant

A method is described for enlarging the storage capacity of a hierarchical disk array data storage system which stores data according to different levels of redundancy, or RAID levels. The method includes first mapping the physical storage space into a first virtual storage space having a plurality of RAID areas that extend across multiple storage disks in the disk array and comprise multiple stripes of segments from each storage disk. The first virtual storage space is mapped into a second virtual storage space having multiple virtual blocks. To enlarge storage capacity, one or more storage disks are added to the hierarchic disk array. To assimilate the new storage capacity, data in a selected existing RAID area is moved to another area on the disk array of equal or greater storage capacity. The mapping of the second virtual storage space to the first is updated to reflect the data movement. The physical storage space corresponding to the selected RAID area is then remapped into an expanded RAID area which spans across all storage disks, including the new disks. The process is repeated until all RAID areas in the hierarchic disk array have been expanded to include regions on the new storage disks. The capacity available to the second virtual storage space is modified to reflect the enlarged storage capacity. According to this method, data remains available to the user at all times during the enlargement process.

Methods for adding storage disks to a hierarchic disk array while

A hierarchic disk array data storage system has multiple storage disks that define a physical storage space and a RAID management system that maps the physical storage space into two virtual storage spaces. A RAID-level virtual storage space presents the physical storage space as mirror and parity RAID areas where the mirror RAID areas store data according to RAID Level 1 and the parity RAID areas store data according to RAID Level 5. An application-level virtual storage space presents the physical storage space as multiple virtual blocks. The RAID management system migrates data between the mirror and parity RAID areas to optimize performance and reliability. To facilitate migration, the RAID management system guarantees a minimum of unused storage space that can be used to empty a RAID area for the purpose of converting the RAID level or other storage attribute of the RAID area. The minimum unused storage space is preferably equivalent in size to at least one largest parity RAID area. However, the unused storage space is not in any one physical location, but can be allowed to distribute itself over various RAID areas in a non-contiguous manner across the storage disks.

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Boise, ID, United States of America

Bryan M Diamond