International Business Machines Corporation

Rainer Richter

Steven Victor Kauffman

Arnon Amir

David Allan Pease

Lara Marie Lewis

Jane K Doong

Chiunn-shyong Yeh

John Ying

Wayne Isami Imaino

Harald Seipp

In one embodiment, a method includes generating a file list for an aggregation of files based on a file pattern descriptor for each file in the aggregation of files or a file name for each file in the aggregation of files. The method also includes opening a session with a storage system manager and writing data from each file in the file list to a storage tier of a storage system. The method further includes writing metadata and storage location information from each file in the file list to an index file, closing the index file, and closing the session with the storage system manager. Other systems, methods, and computer program products are described according to more embodiments.

Scalable and user friendly file virtualization for hierarchical storage

In one embodiment, a data storage system includes a tape drive configured to: write a plurality of files to a first partition of a magnetic recording tape; and write an index to a second partition of the magnetic recording tape, the index including information about locations of data of the plurality of files in the first partition of the magnetic recording tape. In another embodiment, a magnetic recording tape includes: a plurality of files to written to a first partition of the magnetic recording tape using a tape drive; and an index written to a second partition of the magnetic recording tape using the tape drive, the index including information about locations of data of the plurality of files in the first partition of the magnetic recording tape.

File index, metadata storage, and file system management for magnetic tape

In one embodiment, a method for writing data to a magnetic recording tape includes writing a plurality of files to a first partition of a magnetic recording tape using a tape drive, and writing an index to a second partition of the magnetic recording tape using the tape drive, the index including information about locations of data of the plurality of files in the first partition of the magnetic recording tape.

A system according to one embodiment includes a tape cartridge, the tape cartridge comprising: a housing; a magnetic recording tape in the housing; and a non-tape nonvolatile memory coupled to the housing, the nonvolatile memory being for storing therein an index comprising file system information for a plurality of files stored on the magnetic recording tape. A method for storing data on a tape cartridge according to one embodiment includes writing a plurality of files to a magnetic recording tape of a tape cartridge; and writing an index to a non-tape nonvolatile memory of the tape cartridge, the index including information about locations of data of the plurality of files on the magnetic recording tape.

Primary storage media with associated secondary storage media for efficient data management

In one embodiment, a method includes storing files in at least one directory in a first storage tier on at least one random access storage medium, creating an index file which includes entries for each file stored in the directory in the first storage tier on the at least one random access storage medium, aggregating in binary large objects (BLOBs) the files stored in the directory in the first storage tier on the at least one random access storage medium, writing out the aggregated BLOBs of files to a second storage tier on at least one sequential access storage medium, adding location information for each aggregated BLOB of files written to the second storage tier on the at least one sequential access storage medium to the index file, and copying the index file to the second storage tier on the at least one sequential access storage medium.

In one embodiment, a method includes loading a tape cartridge into at least one tape drive installed in an automated tape library, where a tape of the tape cartridge has at least two partitions; writing plurality of data blocks on a first of the partitions; and writing an index on a second of the partitions, wherein the index includes information about at least one of files and the blocks on the first partition.

An aggregated file is generated, by storing a plurality of initially provided files in a sequence. A computational device executes a first set of compression operations on each of the plurality of initially provided files to generate a plurality of compressed files that replace the plurality of initially provided files, wherein starting locations of the plurality of compressed files and the plurality of initially provided files are identical, and wherein predetermined bit patterns are stored in empty spaces that follow each of the plurality of compressed files. The computational device sends the aggregated file to a linear storage device configured to perform a second set of compression operations on the aggregated file.

Position invariant compression of files within a multi-level compression scheme

Embodiments of the invention relate to creating an identical copy of a data storage tape cartridge. In one aspect, data contents of a source tape cartridge are copied to a destination tape cartridge. The source tape being formatted by a file system and includes at least one file system metadata block. Data blocks are read from the source tape to a memory buffer. Whether the blocks read are file system metadata blocks and whether the metadata blocks include cartridge-specific and/or cartridge-dependent content is determined. The content is adapted to the destination cartridge, thereby creating consistent file system metadata on the destination tape. The buffered blocks are written to the destination tape, thereby creating a file system on the destination tape that is a physical copy of the file system and data contents on the source tape.

Creating an identical copy of a tape cartridge

A method, system and program product are described for specifying a selection of content segments stored in different formats. The invention involves receiving specification of a plurality of portions of first content stored in a first format, the specification identifying beginning and ending frames for each portion, and building a list comprising a starting mark and ending mark for each selected portion of first content, the list for use in accessing corresponding portions of the same content stored as second content in a second format.

Method and system for specifying a selection of content segments stored in different formats

A method, system and program product are described for synchronizing content stored in different encoding formats, only one of which includes timecode support, the invention involving accessing content stored at a first format, the first content having timecodes superimposed on its frames, determining the superimposed timecodes of first and second representative frames of the first content, determining the frame numbers corresponding to the first and second representative frames, and using the determined timecodes and frame numbers to determine general correspondence information between frame numbers and timecodes of the first format.

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Rainer Richter