Quantum Corporation

Maxtor Corporation

Iouri Bagachev

Serge Shats

Maurice L Schlumberger

Claude Camp

Luong-Duc Bui

Software executing in a hard disk drive's host computer system increases the perceived efficiency and performance of the hard disk drive. The host computer system implements a &ldquo;virtual disk&rdquo; that models physical parameters associated with the actual hard disk drive, such as seek time and physical location of the read/write heads. These parameters are used to implement host based disk drive optimization techniques such as command reordering and read-on-arrival commands.

Host-based virtual disk drive for improving the performance of a hard disk drive's input/output

A method of data transfer in a cache system comprising a cache buffer including a plurality of data blocks for storing data, and a cache manager for retrieving data from a disk drive and storing the data into the cache buffer. The disk drive includes a data disk having a plurality of concentric data tracks thereon, a spindle motor for rotating the data disk, and a transducer supported by a carrier for positioning the transducer over individual data tracks to write data thereto or read data therefrom. In one embodiment, a method of data transfer in response to a request for retrieving a set of data blocks from the selected track, comprises the steps of: (a) defining a data segment on the selected track, wherein the data segment comprises, in sequence, a pre-fetch data area, a fetch data area comprising said set of data blocks, and a post-fetch data area; (b) determining a landing position of the transducer over the selected track relative to the data segment; and (c) controlling transfer of data from the data segment to the cache buffer based on said landing position relative to the data segment in maximize the data read from the data segment without increasing rotational latency.

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Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Iouri Bagachev