Oracle International Corporation

Storage Technology Corporation

Oracle America, Inc.

Jon Mark Holdman

Michael James Dolbear

Ravi Kumar Kavuri

Scott Cary Hammett

Daniel James Plutt

James Prescott Hughes

Marcia Reid Martin

Dale Robert Eichel

Cathleen Susan Wharton

John Mitchell Black, Iii

Judith Gaye Leach

Timothy Craig Otswald

John George Ould

Randall K Hewitt

Michael Paul Abramowitz

Duc T Ho

John Charles Autrey

Frank T Smith

James Lee Ries

Robert Michael Raymond

Carl T Madison, Jr

John William Miller

Chad Alber

Jitesh Bakul Jhatakia

Terry Schmitt

John Richard Kostraba, Jr

Karl Kevin Nicoletti

Sudha Verma

Quentin Lee Rainsbury

Atiq Ahamad

Michael Patrick Kearney

Everett Scott Painter

Sarath Kumar Kodali

Nancy L Rassbach

George Thomas Ward

Techniques for management of movable devices are disclosed. A system receives a request for an operation associated with a position on a rail. The system selects a component on the rail to execute the operation. The system identifies a rail segment that extends from the component's initial position to the position associated with the operation. The system requests a reservation of that rail segment. If the reservation is obtained, then the system applies electrical signals to move the component along the rails segment to the rail position associated with the operation. The system may also identify one or more other components, physical cells, etc. to reserve, in order to complete the operation.

Reservation-based management of movable components

Techniques for discovery and management of physical components are disclosed. A push notification from a physical component is received. The push notification includes an announcement that the physical component has been physically coupled with a system. Responsive to receiving the push notification, the system registers the physical component. The system receives push notifications from physical component. Based on the push notifications, the system determines an operational status of the physical component.

Discovery and management of physical components

Techniques for asynchronous management of physical components are disclosed. A request to perform an operation in a tape library, including a physical task to be performed by a component, is received. Based on the request, a message handler is initialized. The message handler executes in an execution thread. State data associated with the component is retrieved from persistent storage. Using the state data, a code object representing the component is instantiated. Using the message handler and the code object, instructions are transmitted to the component to perform the physical task. A process, executing in a different execution thread, receives a message from the component indicating completion of the physical task. Based on the message, another message handler is initialized that updates persistent storage associated with the component.

Asynchronous management of movable components

Embodiments include systems and methods for controlling power distribution and supply across independently powered modules in a storage library. Embodiments operate in context of a data storage library having a base module and one or more expansion modules. Each expansion module is independently powered, and each is in communication with the base module via a powered data communications network. In some embodiments, when the base module power supply is on, a base controller in the base module provides network power over the powered data communications network. The network power causes expansion controllers in each expansion module to boot up and power on the power supplies of their respective modules. When the base module is powered down, power is no longer available to the expansion controllers, and the respective power supplies can be hard-coded to shut down automatically under that condition.

Power supply control across independently powered modules in a storage library

A method of accessing tape storage analytics data gathered from tape libraries. The method includes generating a user interface on a client device via a web browser. The user interface includes a first screen displaying graphics or an analysis table generated based on the tape storage analytics data. The method includes receiving user input selecting a portion of the displayed graphics or an item within a cell of the analysis table and, then, modifying the user interface to display a second screen, which presents a subset of the tape storage analytics data corresponding to the selected portion and to operation of at least one of one or more tape libraries, one or more tape drives, and one or more tape media within the tape libraries. The receiving and modifying steps may be repeated to navigate between data corresponding to a tape library, a tape drive, and media.

Storage tape analytics user interface

A system for monitoring and analyzing operation of a tape infrastructure. The system includes a plurality of real and virtual tape libraries each including a plurality of tape drives and tape media. The system includes a server linked to the tape library. On the server, a storage tape analytics application is provided that functions to extract raw data sets from the tape library corresponding to operations of the tape library. The data pertains to use of the drives and media during data storage operations and data about the activities of the real or virtual tape libraries. The analytics application stores the extracted data sets in an analytics database. The analytics application provides a user interface for viewing data in the analytics database, e.g., a GUI operable by monitoring personnel to view and interact with the gathered and processed tape operations monitoring data to provide historical and user-driven analysis of data for an entire data center.

Data storage tape analytics method and system

Systems and methods are described for using topographic and/or contrast spot scanning to facilitate various types of functionality in context of a data storage library. A robotic mechanism includes a hand assembly that has one or more integrated spot scanners. The hand assembly is configured to travel in at least two directions and to rotate, thereby locating and/or pointing the spot scanner in desired locations throughout the data storage library. By sweeping the spot scanner across a scan window, contrast and/or topographic data can be acquired and decoded to generate a profile of a region. The profile can be interpreted to facilitate functions, such as calibration of robot location with respect to media cartridges, targeting, proximity detection, empty cell detection, etc.

Contrast spot scanning for a storage library

Topographic spot scanning for a storage library

A virtual data storage system stores data as data objects to a plurality of storage devices in accordance with storage management policies. Storage pools define groups of medial that are to be treated in a uniform manner. A policy is composed of a series of policy copy/delete rules that direct movement of data objects into the storage pools. Copy and delete actions are preformed to manage copies of data objects among the storage pools in accordance with the policy. As an extension of the storage management policies, the process of creating export media sets is automated. These processes can also be used to create backup media. When an export media set is created, subsequent commands are prevented from modifying the media in the export media set. When a backup is created, subsequent commands are prevented from overwriting media containing data referred to by the manifest media for the backup.

Policy based creation of export sets and backup media

A data deduplication method using a small hash digest dictionary in fast-access memory. The method includes receiving customer data, dividing the data into smaller chunks, and assigning hash values to each chunk. For each chunk, the method includes performing lookup for a duplicate chunk by accessing a small dictionary in memory with the chunk's hash value. When no entry, the small dictionary is updated to include the hash value to fill the dictionary with earliest received data. When an entry is found, the entry's hash value is compared with lookup value and if matched, reference data is returned and an entry counter is incremented. If not matched, additional accesses are attempted such as with additional indexes calculated using the hash value. Collisions may trigger an entry replacement such that some initially entered entries are replaced when determined to not be most repeating values such as based on their counter value.

Data deduplication dictionary system

A virtual data storage system includes a device emulator and a storage system. The virtual data storage system requires the performance of activities on a scheduled basis. An activity scheduler manages a set of pending, running, and completed activities. The activity scheduler provides scheduler services for use by external processes. A scheduler process examines a list of to-be-run activities. For each activity that has reached its scheduled time, that activity is considered for starting. An activity monitor process monitors started activities. Upon determining a problem with an activity, a recovery process is performed. The recovery process includes returning the problem activity to the list of to-be-run activities.

Automated activity processing

A virtual data storage system stores data as data objects to a plurality of storage devices in accordance with storage management policies. The system manages multiple copies of stored data objects on multiple media types over time. Storage pools define groups of media that are to be treated in a uniform manner. A policy is composed of a series of policy copy/delete rules that direct movement of data objects into the storage pools. A rule defines a destination storage pool, a length of time that the data objects are to remain in the destination storage pool, and a data source for the data objects. Copy and delete actions are performed to manage copies of data objects among the storage pools in accordance with the policy.

Storage management policies in a virtual data storage system

A system for object-based archival data storage includes an object-based storage subsystem having respective data storage devices, at least one file presentation interface that interfaces to client platforms, an administration interface having graphical user interface (GUI) and a command line interface (CLI), a meta data subsystem for storing meta data about files, and includes a virtual file subsystem having a virtual file server (VFS), a policy subsystem, and a scalable interconnect to couple the object-based storage subsystem, the at least one file presentation interface, the administration interface, the meta data subsystem, and the policy subsystem, wherein the policy subsystem provides system rules predetermined by a user for at least one of hash based integrity checking, read-only/write-ability/erase-ability control, and duplicate data treatment corresponding to files and file objects.

Clustered hierarchical file services

Growing community of inventors

Wheat Ridge, CO, United States of America

Jon Mark Holdman