Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Cellport Systems, Inc.

Michael Tibbetts

William Lee Duncan

Wayne Ihde

Patrick J Kennedy

Charles W Spaur

Marc Tim Jones

Provided are a method, system, and an article of manufacture for detecting errors while accessing a storage device. A host system writes an identical initialization pattern into each block of a plurality of blocks while formatting the storage device. Each block of the plurality of blocks has a checksum field capable of containing a value. Any host system generates an error when data from a retrieved block from the plurality of blocks computes to a checksum that is different from the value contained within the checksum field for the retrieved block, and the retrieved block does not contain the initialization pattern.

Storage device with SCSI formatting

Error detection in storage data

A communications apparatus for enabling communications among networks, buses, devices and other subsystems having different communication requirements is provided. The communications apparatus offers an open architecture for interoperability among diverse subsystems. The communications apparatus is particularly applicable in a vehicle. In one embodiment, a portal apparatus located remote from the vehicle facilitates communications with the communications apparatus, particularly where the vehicle is part of a vehicle fleet. The communications apparatus includes a common module that has at least one protocol by which disparate subsystems can communicate with each other. One or more managers can be defined as being part of the common module. The disparate subsystem managers provide the necessary interfacing to enable the disparate subsystems to communicate between and among each other using the common module. Each such manager has dedicated functionalities to facilitate communications. Managers associated with the common module may include managers for use in configuration and diagnostic tasks, encryption/decryption, compression/de-compression, controlling data flow, security regulation, and selecting an acceptable link for outside communications. The common module also includes a base manager for registering disparate subsystem managers including associating a name with each of them.

Communications involving disparate protocol network/bus and device subsystems

Growing community of inventors

Longmont, CO, United States of America

Michael Tibbetts