Digital Equipment Corporation

Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p.

National Semiconductor Corporation

Xiotech Corporation

Dell Products Inc.

Seagate Technology Incorporated

Violin Systems LLC

Richard Franklin Lary

Stephen J Sicola

Susan Gaye Elkington

Barry L Rubinson

David William Thiel

Brian C Edem

Richard Perham Helliwell

Edward A Gardner

William D Strecker

David P Rodgers

John T Johnston

Thomas N Hastings

Steven H Rothman

Michael D Walker

Robert E Willard

William Watson

Catharine Van Ingen

Verell Boaen

Robert G Bean

Jesse L Yandell

Daniel T Sullivan

Roger Oakey

Randal S Marks

Julia A Hodges

Gerald L Golden

Ryan J Johnson

Bert Martens

Karen E Workman

Robert A Giggi

Jega A Arulpragasam

Theodore E Bruning, Iii

Robert Blackledge

Clark Edward Lubbers

James Michael Reuter

Damon Hsu-Hung

Bill A Pagano

Bruce A Sardeson

William K Miller

James Perry Jackson

Thomas F Fava

Paul D Guttormson

Dennis Spicher

Dale R Keck

Bruce Roberts

John Oliver Burness

Stephen T Pomfret

Fernando Colon-Osorio

Nii Quaynor

Mohammad V Abidi

Xi-Ren Cao

James McDonald

William R Bidermann

Keith Hageman

Timothy E Nerger

John C Lyle

Kenneth J Gibson

Wayne A Thorsted

Mark J Conrad

Bill Wong

William A Grace

Mark A Parenti

Michael Chow

Yerell Boaen

A system and associated methodology for controlling block duplicates when deduplicating data (Dedup Blocks) to a storage space. The system includes a persistent database of known duplicates stored in the storage space (KD Table), and a non-persistent database of possible duplicates stored in the storage space (PD Table). Computer logic executes programming instructions stored in memory that are configured to index the KD Table according to a value derived from bits of a Dedup Block's hash signature, to index the PD Table according to another value derived by other bits of the Dedup Block's hash signature, to demote known duplicates from the KD Table to the PD Table, and to promote possible duplicates from the PD Table to the KD Table.

Controlling block duplicates

A hierarchical compression tester and associated method employs a grid-based storage capacity wherein a storage unit is defined by a grouping of data blocks. Each data block is stored in one of a plurality of storage devices. Each stored data block has a data portion and a data integrity field (DIF) including a data reliability qualifier (DRQ) indicating whether the respective data portion is valid. The tester also has a logical device allocation map that includes a storage unit descriptor array that identifies one or more storage units corresponding to a selected logical address. The logical device allocation map has a DIF array that identifies whether any of the data blocks in the one or more storage units corresponding to the selected logical address includes invalid data.

Hierarchical data compression testing

Method and apparatus for application profiling in a multi-device data storage array. In accordance with various embodiments, a storage array is formed of independent data storage devices that form a fast pool and a slow pool of said devices, such as solid-state drives (SSDs) and hard disc drives (HDDs). A controller is adapted to migrate a distributed data set stored across a first plurality of the devices in the slow pool to a second plurality of said devices in the fast pool. The controller carries out the migration responsive to a hint that a selected application is about to be executed that utilizes the distributed data set, and responsive to a return on investment (ROI) determination that an estimated cost of said migration will be outweighed by an overall improved data transfer capacity of the storage array over a predetermined minimum payback period of time.

Application profiling in a data storage array

Method and apparatus for managing data in a multi-device data storage array. In accordance with various embodiments, a storage array of independent data storage devices are arranged to form a fast pool and a slow pool of said devices. A controller is adapted to migrate a distributed data set stored across a first plurality of said devices in the slow pool to a second plurality of said devices in the fast pool. The migration is carried out responsive to a return on investment (ROI) determination by the controller that an estimated cost of said migration will be outweighed by an overall improved data transfer capacity of the storage array over a predetermined minimum payback period of time. In some embodiments, the fast pool is formed from a plurality of solid-state drives (SSDs) and the slow pool is formed from a plurality of hard disc drives (HDD).

Hot sheet upgrade facility

An efficient RAID-6 double parity erasure code scheme. Efficiency is provided by the addition of a single term to a diagonal parity equation. For example, in a five-wide layout (having five physical storage devices) the RAID-6 'parity diagonals' end up with six terms, which are the actual diagonal plus one more data block. As a result, no one data symbol contributes to the erasure code determined from the data symbols, such that no more than n+1 data symbols contribute to any one parity symbol.

Dual parity RAID wherein no more than N+1 data symbols contribute to any parity symbol

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 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.

A disaster-tolerant data backup and remote copy system which is implemented as a controller-based replication of one or more LUNs (logical units) between two remotely separated pairs of array controllers connected by redundant links. The system provides a method for allowing a large number of commands to be 'outstanding' in transit between local and remote sites while ensuring the proper ordering of commands on remote media during asynchronous or synchronous data replication. In addition, the system provides a mechanism for automatic 'tuning' of links based on the distance between the array controllers.

Method for transaction command ordering in a remote data replication system

A multi-cabinet mass storage system with unified management features. The system includes a first reporting group and a second reporting group each having enclosure with processors, such as an environmental monitoring units (EMUs), for generating and transmitting environmental messages pertaining to the particular enclosures. The enclosures are positioned on shelves within cabinets. A bus or cabinet cable links each enclosure to facilitate broadcasting the environmental messages. The environmental messages identify the sending device's reporting group and its physical location within the system. Additional enclosures are included in this reporting group with enclosures of each reporting group located all in one cabinet, in two or more cabinets, and each cabinet may house one, two, or more reporting groups. A network links all of the cabinets to concurrently broadcast the environmental messages throughout the system and allows enclosures in a single reporting group to be positioned in differing cabinets.

Unified management system and method for multi-cabinet data storage complexes

The present invention provides a virtual storage system that generally stores uses larger segmentations, but divides large segments into smaller sub-segments during data movement operations. The present invention provides a method and system having this hierarchy of segment sizes, namely a large segment for the normal case, while breaking the large segment into single disk blocks during data movement. The mapping has large segments except for those segments undergoing data movement. For those segments, it would be desirable to have the smallest segment size possible, namely, a single disk block. In this way, the administration costs are generally low, but latencies caused by the movement of large data blocks are avoided.

Distributed fine-grained enhancements for distributed table driven I/O mapping

A data replication system having a redundant configuration including dual Fibre Channel fabric links interconnecting each of the components of two data storage sites, wherein each site comprises a host computer and associated data storage array, with redundant array controllers and adapters. Each array controller in the system is capable of performing all of the data replication functions, and each host 'sees' remote data as if it were local. Each array controller has a dedicated link via a fabric to a partner on the remote side of the long-distance link between fabric elements. Each dedicated link does not appear to any host as an available link to them for data access; however, it is visible to the partner array controllers involved in data replication operations. These links are managed by each partner array controller as if being 'clustered' with a reliable data link between them.

System for data replication using redundant pairs of storage controllers, fibre channel fabrics and links therebetween

A speed and memory control system and method for use with a sort accelerator having a rebound sorter and merger is disclosed. The speed and memory control system includes a variable length shift register which utilizes circulating RAM indexing, tag extraction lookahead features to speed up access of records, and merge lookahead and memory management features to provide quick and effective storage of records.

Sorting system for serially processing records

A system and technique for optimizing the efficiency of maintenance operations performed on skip lists of data elements or nodes stored in memory is provided. Each node of a skip list includes a back pointer for pointing to an immediate predecessor node and a node level field for recording the node level associated with the node. The system further includes a system agent for operating on the data structure, the system agent capable of locating the address of the immediate predecessor node pointing to a selected node by using the back pointer in the selected node.

Skip list data structure enhancements

A dual addressing arrangement comprises a complex address pointer within entries of a communication queue used by a port driver and an port adapter when exchanging information in a host computer. The complex address pointer comprises a virtual address portion and a physical address portion. The port driver uses the virtual address portion to ascertain the location of entry structures, while the port adapter uses the physical address portion to locate the structures in a host memory. The arrangement and interpretation of the address portions of the complex pointers within an entry depend upon the direction of information flow, i.e., the passing of messages from the port driver to the port adapter using a driver-to adapter queue or the passing of responses from the adapter to the driver using an adapter-to-driver queue.

Dual addressing arrangement for a communications interface architecture

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Colorado Springs, CO, United States of America

Richard Franklin Lary