Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.P.

Hewlett-packard Company

Beacon Light Products, Inc.

David Kiyoshi Umberger

Guillermo Navarro

Rodger Daniels

Mohamed Belhadj

Jonathan Condel

Milos Manic

Brian Patterson

Brian S Bearden

Richard E Nelson

A technique includes determining a workload on mass storage system that is associated will user requests during a time in which mass storage system is replicating data from a source data unit of the mass storage system to a replica storage unit of the mass storage system. The technique includes determining a progress rate associated with the replication and managing processing of the user requests and the data replication for the mass storage system, including initiating corrective action in response to determining that the workload is near a predetermined maximum workload threshold and the progress rate is near a predetermined minimum threshold.

Managing processing of user requests and data replication for a mass storage system

In a storage system, snapshots of data are created according to a snapshot algorithm in response to writes. The snapshot algorithm is selected from among a plurality of different snapshot algorithms according to one or more criteria.

Creating snapshots of data using a selected one of different snapshot algorithms

Embodiments include methods, apparatus, and systems for controlling of sparing in a storage system. In one embodiment, a method compares a first amount of time to complete sparing of data from a failed disk in a storage system with a second amount of time to complete a user request to the storage system in order to determine when to create a copy of the data from the failed disk.

Control of sparing in storage systems

A method of managing disk array includes providing a disk array and a RAID controller, receiving commands using the controller, accessing data within the array responsive to the commands, determining the amount of free space within the disk array, measuring a rate of data access; and selectively creating free space within the disk array responsive to the determining and the measuring. A computer disk system includes an array of computer disks, a RAID controller respectively coupled to the array and configured to access data within the array and to determine the amount of free space within the array, and a user interface coupled to the controller, wherein the controller is further configured to measure a rate at which the array is accessed and to selectively create free space within the array responsive to the determining and the measuring.

Method of managing a data storage array, and a computer system including a raid controller

Improved host I/O performance and availability of a storage array during rebuild is obtained by prioritizing I/O requests. In one embodiment, rebuild I/O requests are given priority over host I/O requests when the storage array is close to permanently losing data (for example, failure of one more particular disk in the storage array would result in data loss). Rebuild I/O requests continue to have priority over host I/O requests until the storage array is no longer close to permanently losing data, at which point host I/O requests are given priority over rebuild I/O requests.

Host I/O performance and availability of a storage array during rebuild by prioritizing I/O requests

Exemplary systems, methods, and devices employ receiving an operational parameter characteristic of a storage device, and adapting a read cache pre-fetch depth based in part on the operational parameter. An exemplary device includes a read cache memory and a read cache pre-fetch adaptation module operable to generate an operational parameter and vary read cache pre-fetch depth in response to the operational parameter.

Method of adaptive read cache pre-fetching to increase host read throughput

The present invention relates to a system and method for allocating and forecasting computational effort from a plurality of service components among a plurality of workloads. Preferably, processing power or other computational service is allocated among the workloads or tasks so as to optimize overall system efficiency and avoid processing bottlenecks. The inventive mechanism may be advantageously applied to the migration or movement of data between different levels of a hierarchical RAID storage system, between various storage systems, and/or between a storage system and a host device of a data processing system.

System and method for adaptive performance optimization of data processing systems

A system and methods implemented within a multi-level RAID (redundant array of independent disks) storage array operate to initially write data to a lower performing RAID level within the array. In addition, data is migrated between lower and higher performing RAID levels via data migration processes that function as background processes. Benefits of the disclosed system and methods include a non-disruptive environment for servicing host I/O (input/output) requests. Array response times are significantly reduced by not allowing initial data writes to interfere with higher performing RAID levels and by migrating data between lower and higher performing RAID levels in the background when the array is less busy servicing host I/O requests.

Managing data in a multi-level raid storage array

A system and method for managing a RAID data storage array is provided having a plurality of data storage disks and a RAID controller respectively coupled to each of the data storage disks, and a user interface coupled to the RAID controller, wherein the RAID controller is configured to store pointers corresponding to data within the storage disks, wherein the RAID controller is further configured to anticipate a data modification operation from the user interface and to selectively copy a block of data from one RAID level to a different RAID level storage location within the storage array responsive to a protective status and the anticipating. Also provided is a RAID controller configured to selectively copy data to a different RAID level within a storage array responsive to the anticipation of a data modification operation and a protective status.

Managing a data storage array, a data storage system, and a raid controller

Host I/O performance and availability of a storage array during rebuild by prioritizing I/O request

A method of managing data in a hierarchical data storage system employing data redundancy schemes includes prioritizing a data rebuild based on a most vulnerable data redundancy scheme in the storage system. A data storage system embodying this rebuild prioritization method is also described. Prioritizing the data rebuild includes enabling a rebuild of the most vulnerable data redundancy scheme prior to enabling a rebuild of any other data redundancy scheme in the system. The most vulnerable data redundancy scheme is determined by comparing a probability of losing data that can be prevented by a rebuild for each data redundancy scheme with respect to the potential for one or more next storage device failures in the data storage system. The probability of losing data for each data redundancy scheme is determined by considering characteristics associated with the storage system and disk drives in the storage system, including number of storage devices, mean time between failure, mean time or calculated time to rebuild, and failure dependencies.

Raid rebuild using most vulnerable data redundancy scheme first

A semiconductor thyristor has multiple different semiconductor layers with regions arranged in predetermined configurations to cause a plasma of carriers to flow in an expanding volume over a finite time to reach a full conduction condition, after the thyristor is switched into a conductive condition. A smooth current or connectivity transition occurs between a nonconductive state and a conductive state, thereby eliminating the typical, more instantaneous and discontinuous on-switching conductivity transitions. The finite and increased time to reach the full conduction inherently reduces the di/dt effect created by switching the thyristor. The reduced di/dt substantially reduces the radiated and conductive interference signals generated by switching the thyristor. The growth in the size of the plasma is controlled using configurations of the semiconductor structure and doping profiles within the semiconductor layers.

Growing community of inventors

Boise, ID, United States of America

David Kiyoshi Umberger