Datadirect Networks, Inc.

J Gordon Manning

Michael Piszczek

Cedric T Fernandes

Thomas Pontos

A latency reduction method for read operations of an array of N solid-state storage devices having n solid-state storage devices for data storage and p solid-state storage devices for storing parity data is provided. Utilizing the parity generation engine fault tolerance for a loss of valid data from at least two of the N solid-state storage devices, the integrity of the data is determined when N&#x2212;1 of the solid-state storage devices have completed executing a read command. If the data is determined to be valid, the missing data of the Nsolid-state storage device is reconstructed and the data transmitted to the requesting processor. By that arrangement the time necessary for the Nsolid-state storage device to complete execution of the read command is saved, thereby improving the performance of the solid-state memory system.

Method for reducing latency in a solid-state memory system while maintaining data integrity

In order to detect problematic drives in random arrays of independent disks, the system measures the latency of executing command sets which are broadcast to all disks in the data storage system and the results are compared to identify which disks take substantially longer to complete the requests. Disks that take longer to complete requests are likely to be problematic and are candidates for further examination and replacement. The disks in each tier group are compared to determine if any disk in that group exhibits problems. Also, counters for each tier group are compared to determine if the problem is with the disk or with the channel of the tier group. The latency of each disk in the tier group is saved in a table to provide a histogram of the latency of the disks in the tier group. Histograms of the disks in a single tier group are compared to determine if a specific disk is problematic. Histograms of each tier group are compared to determine if a specific disk is problematic or all the disks on the same channel exhibit problems.

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Ellicott City, MD, United States of America

J Gordon Manning