Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p.

Western Digital Technologies, Inc.

Hgst Netherlands, B.v.

Jesse L Yandell

James Michael Reiser

Stephen J Sicola

Randall L Hess

Randy Roberson

Berck Nash

Kris B Stokes

Susan Gaye Elkington

Richard Franklin Lary

Anuja Korgaonkar

Roger Oakey

Randal S Marks

Ryan J Johnson

Bert Martens

Karen E Workman

Theodore E Bruning, Iii

Julia A Hodges

Gerald L Golden

Clark Edward Lubbers

Randy L Roberson

Robert George Bean

James Edwin Pherson

Keith D Woestehoff

Brian L Hoffman

To provide enhanced operation of data storage devices and systems, various systems, apparatuses, methods, and software are provided herein. In a first example, a data storage device accumulates write data into a cache storage region prior to committing into an archive storage region and maintains a data structure that tracks the write data in the cache storage region. Responsive to receiving first write data into the cache storage region, the data storage device establishes first tracking elements in the data structure for the first write data in the cache storage region. Responsive to receiving second write data directed to storage locations overlapping the first write data, the data storage device accepts the second write data into the cache storage region and establishes second tracking elements in the data structure for the second write data in the cache storage region without modifying the first tracking elements.

Non-blocking caching for data storage drives

A data storage array is presented that includes a plurality of storage drives each comprising storage media with a first storage region and a shingled magnetic recording (SMR) storage region. The data storage array includes a control system communicatively coupled to the storage drives and configured to receive a write operation over a host interface for storage of write data by the data storage array. Responsive to the write operation, the control system is configured to cache the write data in first storage regions of two or more of the storage drives prior to transfer of the write data into at least an SMR storage region of a storage drive associated with the write operation.

Enhanced redundant caching for shingled magnetic recording devices in data storage drive assemblies

To provide enhanced operation of data storage devices and systems, various systems, apparatuses, methods, and software are provided herein. In a first example, a data storage device is presented with storage media comprising a cache storage region and a shingled magnetic recording (SMR) storage region that is divided into burst zones. A storage control system receives write operations and accumulates write data in the cache storage region until a commit threshold condition. Responsively, the storage control system transfers the write data into a burst zone of the SMR storage region, and verifies the write data written into the burst zone once the burst transfer is complete. Responsive to data verify errors in the write data written into the burst zone, the storage control system writes data associated with the data verify errors into an exception location associated with the burst zone.

Efficient burst data verify in shingled data storage drives

A very large virtual volume (e.g., in excess of 500 GB) is formed by distributing the disks in eleven, six-disk RAID-5 sets across the six busses of a primary local back-end controller. A spare disk is provided on each of the six busses. Each RAID-5 set is protected from the failure of a single disk by the spare disks on the busses, which can use the parity data stored in a RAID-5 set to rebuild the data stored on a failing disk and thereby restore redundancy to the RAID-5 set. Each RAID-5 set is also protected from the failure of a bus by the parity inherent in RAID-5. The RAID-5 sets are striped by a front-end controller connected to the primary local back-end controller, and the striped RAID-5 sets are presented to a host computer as a very large virtual volume. If the individual disks are 9.1 GB in size, the size of the very large virtual volume can reach 500.5 GB. If desired, additional groups of eleven, six-disk RAID-5 sets can be formed on additional back-end controllers for purposes of redundancy, cloning (which generates a copy of the data that can be used for off-line backup without interrupting read/write activities on the virtual volume), and disaster tolerance through remote storage. These additional groups of RAID-5 sets along with the RAID-5 sets from the primary local back-end controller, can be formed into mirror sets by the front-end controller, which then stripes the mirror sets and presents the striped mirror sets to the host computer as the very large virtual volume.

Apparatus and method for providing very large virtual storage volumes using redundant arrays of disks

A method of managing storage comprises connecting a number of virtual disks to a disk controller loop of a disk controller, and mounting a portion of the number of virtual disks to the disk controller wherein a storage map is loaded into a fixed-size memory of the disk controller for each virtual disk mounted. The method further comprises receiving a request for data contained on an unmounted virtual disk with the unmounted virtual disk having a storage map of certain size. A sufficient number of mounted virtual disks are dismounted to allow the fixed-size memory to accommodate the certain size of the unmounted virtual disk storage map. The unmounted virtual disk may be mounted.

Migrating data in a storage system

A very large virtual storage volume formed by distributing disks in multiple, multi-disk RAID (redundant array of independent disks) sets across busses of a back-end controller. The multiple RAID sets are striped by a front-end controller connected to the back-end controller and presented to a host computer as a very large virtual storage volume.

Systems, methods and software for implementing a virtualized storage system. Physical storage is carved into units called physical segments. Logical storage is implemented in atomic logical units called RStores comprising a range of virtual address space that when allocated, is bound to a particular group of PSEGs. RStores preferably implement a selected level of data protection. A pool of physical storage devices is carved into redundant storage sets. A plurality of RStores make up a logical disk that is presented to a user. Storage access requests expressed in terms of logical disk addresses are mapped to PSEGs containing data represented by the logical addresses through a split-directory representation of the logical unit.

System and method for atomizing storage

A system for generating a virtual point-in-time copy of a selected subset (e.g., a selected volume or logical unit) of a storage system. The present system operates by using a bitmap in storage system controller cache memory to indicate blocks of memory in the selected volume that have been overwritten since the snapshot was initiated. When a write to the selected volume is requested, the cache bitmap is checked to determine whether the original data (in the area to be overwritten) has already been copied from the selected volume to a temporary volume. If the original data was previously copied, then the write proceeds to the selected volume. If, however, the original data would be overwritten by the presently requested write operation, then an area containing the original data is copied from the selected volume to a temporary volume. Reads from the temporary volume first check the bitmap to determine if the requested data has already been copied from the selected volume to the temporary volume. If so, the data is read from the temporary volume, otherwise, the data is read from the selected volume.

System for generating a point-in-time copy of data in a data storage system

Growing community of inventors

Colorado Springs, CO, United States of America

Jesse L Yandell