International Business Machines Corporation

Shah Mohammad Rezaul Islam

Gregg Steven Lucas

Robert Akira Kubo

Linda Ann Riedle

Yoshihiko Terashita

Philip Anthony Richardson

John Charles Elliott

William Gavin Holland

Kenneth Robert Schneebeli

Jason James Graves

Sandeep R Patil

Riyazahamad Moulasab Shiraguppi

Hiroshi Araki

Robert Beverley Basham

Hiroyuki Miyoshi

Tohru Sumiyoshi

Yoshihiro Fujie

Koji Nakase

Matthew J Kalos

Frank Bernhard Schmuck

Mark Edward Molander

Jason Aaron Matteson

Kalyan Chakravarthy Gunda

Soumitra Sarkar

Douglas J Griffith

Renu Tewari

Thomas Charles Jarvis

Deepak R Ghuge

Yi Zhou

Roger Lee Haskin

Theodore Brian Vojnovich

Dean Alan Kalman

Felipe Knop

Myung Mun Bae

Lawrence Carter Blount

Andrew Boyce McNeill, Jr

Tony Carl Sass

Joseph Edward Bolan

Thomas Basilio Genduso

Bret W Lehman

Robert J Curran

Thomas K Clark

Katherine Tyldesley Blinick

Sudhir Gurunandan Rao

Robert Earl Medlin

Lei Liu

Michael J Ryan

Darren Christopher Douglas

Ronald Dean Parrish

Michihiro Okamoto

Robert Mark Lindsay

Kenji Hidaka

Hirokazu Nishimura

James Blaine Engle

Basheer Neuhru Bristow

Donald Ingerman

Bharatkumar Jayantilal Oza

Robert Andrew Lackman

Kifumi Numata

John C Elliot

Greg S Lucas

An apparatus, method, system, and program product are disclosed for data replication. One method includes determining a predicted match ratio. The predicted match ratio may predict a percentage of a current version of a file that matches a prior version of the file. The method may include performing a delta transfer if the predicted match ratio is greater than a predetermined threshold. The delta transfer may transfer a portion of the current version of the file that has changed relative to the prior version of the file. The method may include performing a transfer of the current version of the file if the predicted match ratio is less than the predetermined threshold.

Enhanced data replication

An apparatus, method, system, and program product are disclosed for accessing stored data. One method includes receiving a first request to access a first file having a first filename. The method may include storing the first request in a queue. The method may also include receiving a second request to access a second file having a second filename. The second file may be stored on a tape cartridge. The method may include accessing the second file in response to receiving the second request. The tape cartridge may be loaded into a tape reader to enable accessing the second file. The method may include, while the tape cartridge is loaded into the tape reader, executing the first request if the first filename matches a filename for a file stored on the tape cartridge.

Accessing stored data

Methods, systems, and computer program products are provided for performing a secure delete operation in a wide area network (WAN) including a cache site and a home site. A method includes identifying a file for deletion at the cache site, determining whether the file has a copy stored at the home site, detecting a location of the copy at the home site prior to a disconnection event of the cache site from the home site, deleting the file from the cache site during the disconnection event, and performing a secure deletion of the copy at the home site immediately after a reconnection event of the cache site to the home site.

Secure deletion operations in a wide area network

An apparatus, system, and computer readable medium are disclosed for booting a server from a shared storage system. The present invention teaches at least one server having at least one processor, a storage system having a plurality of storage drives and at least one boot volume corresponding to the at least one server, and a switch fabric having at least one switch; the switch fabric isolates boot traffic form storage traffic and enables communication between the server and the boot volume of the storage system. In some embodiments the switch fabric includes one or more partitionable switches that isolate boot traffic from storage traffic. The boot volumes may be a redundant array of storage devices. In certain embodiments, the present invention also includes devices external to the server, switch fabric, and storage system.

Apparatus system and method for booting a server from a storage system

Methods, systems, and physical computer-readable storage medium are provided to optimize WAN traffic on cloud networking sites. In an embodiment, by way of example only, a method includes fetching deduplication information from a home site to build a repository comprising duplicate peer file sets, one or more of the duplicate peer file sets including one or more peer files, referring to the repository to determine whether a target file corresponds with a cache copy of a peer file of the one or more peer files included in the duplicate peer file sets, and creating a local copy of the peer file of the one or more peer files, if a determination is made that the target file corresponds with the cache copy of the peer file of the one or more peer files included in the duplicate peer file sets.

Optimizing wide area network (WAN) traffic by providing home site deduplication information to a cache site

Exemplary methods, systems, and computer program product embodiments for synchronizing a swappable module between modular computer systems are provided. Each of the embodiments has dual controllers and distributed copies of states. Upon an insertion of the swappable module in a storage system, a plurality of storage components are queried, including a partner swappable module, to determine if a quorum of identification information is present. If the quorum is present, at least one of the plurality of storage components having non-matching identification information is overwritten with the identification information of the quorum. If the quorum is not present, a reset to default procedure is performed. The reset to default procedure designates at least as many storage components of the plurality of storage components with the identification information sufficient to constitute the quorum.

Synchronization of swappable module in modular system

The acquisition of a lock among nodes of a divided cluster is disclosed. A method is performable by each of at least one node of the cluster. A node waits for a delay corresponding to its identifier. The node asserts intent to acquire the lock by writing its identifier to X and Y variables where another node has failed to acquire the lock. The node waits for another node to acquire the lock where the other node has written to X, and proceeds where Y remains equal to its own identifier. The node waits for another node to acquire the lock where the other node has written to a Z variable, and writes its own identifier to Z and proceeds where the other node has failed. The node writes a value to Y indicating that it is acquiring the lock, and maintains acquisition by periodically writing to Z.

Lock acquisition among nodes of divided cluster

An electronics component support assembly and an electronics system assembly employing the component support assembly are provided. The component support assembly includes a rotatable base support and a component connector assembly. The rotatable base support is sized to reside within an electronics enclosure and to operatively support multiple electronics components thereon. The component connector assembly is associated with the rotatable base support, and at least some electronics components of the multiple electronics components couple thereto when operatively supported by the rotatable base support. Rotation of the rotatable base support facilitates access to the multiple electronics components, and the component connector assembly allows for rotation of the rotatable base support with the multiple electronics components operatively supported on the rotatable base support.

Method for facilitating access to electronic components

An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for receiving digital instructions at devices or controllers sharing an identity. A first controller receives a digital instruction instance over a communications medium. The digital instruction instance may be a firmware instance. The first controller has ownership of the communications medium and shares the communications medium and a common identity with a second controller. An ownership module transfers ownership of the communications medium from the first controller to the second controller. The ownership module may transfer ownership in response to the first controller successfully receiving the digital instruction instance. A request module requests a retransmission of the digital instruction instance, and may request the retransmission in response to the transfer of ownership of the communications medium. The second controller receives the retransmitted digital instruction instance in response to the retransmission request.

Apparatus, system, and method for receiving digital instructions at devices sharing an identity

A method to assign addresses to a plurality of data storage devices, by providing a switch and (N) data storage devices, where each of those (N) data storage devices is interconnected with said switch. The method further establishes (M) arbitrated loop physical addresses ('AL_PAs'), where (M) is less than (N), and assigns a different one of each of the (M) AL_PAs to a different one of the (N) data storage devices, such that the (N) data storage devices comprise (M) AL_PA-assigned data storage devices and (P) non-address-assigned data storage devices. The method then detects a failure of an (i)th AL_PA-assigned data storage device, and transfers the (i)th AL_PA from the failed address-assigned data storage device to a (j)th data storage device, where that (j)th data storage device comprises one of the (P) previously non-addressed data storage devices.

Apparatus and method to assign addresses to a plurality of information storage devices

A data storage library includes a drive enclosure bay which can be adapted to work with multiple air-flow configuration requirements. This is accomplished by creating air-flow ports in the top and bottom of the drive enclosure bay, by forming drive tray slots and printed circuit board ports in associated drive trays, by creating frame ports and PCB notches in associated interface cards, and replacing traditional connectors with slimmer but longer connectors that provide additional standoff and improved air-flow.

Air distribution system compatible with disparate data storage systems

A method of configuring a blade enclosure is provided in which, in a first step, slots are identified whose SAS connectors are to be connected to SAS device blades in a minimum capacity configuration. In a second step, slots are identified whose SAS connectors are to be connected to the SAS device blades in a maximum capacity configuration. A path is then established from the SAS switch to the SAS connector of each slot identified in either the first step or the second step. Blade devices, such as RAID controller blades and disk enclosure blades are installed in the identified slots. Thus, the SAS switch within the enclosure selectively and efficiently interfaces with a predetermined number of blade slots rather than with all slots.

Maximizing blade slot utilization in a storage blade enclosure

A vital product data system memory stores warranty information in vital product data relating to replaceable unit(s) of a data handling system. The data comprises a date of first use, and a device state field comprising an identifier representing one of the states: 'new', 'recertified', and, &#x201c;in-use&#x201d;. Management control, in response to newly sensing a replaceable unit, detects its device state field, and if the detected field is set to the &#x201c;new&#x201d; state, resets it to the &#x201c;in-use&#x201d; state, sets the date of first use to a current date, and stores the state field and date of first use for the replaceable unit in the memory; and if the detected field is set to the &#x201c;recertified&#x201d; state, resets the field to the &#x201c;in-use&#x201d; state, and sets the replaceable unit date of first use to the date of first use stored in the memory for the previous replaceable unit at the same location.

Management of warranty information in vital product data for replaceable units of data handling systems

An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for integrating a blade RAID controller and storage. A storage blade enclosure communicates with a blade chassis. The storage blade enclosure is mounted within the blade chassis. A RAID controller disposed in the storage blade enclosure receives a command through the storage blade enclosure. In one embodiment, the command is communicated through the blade chassis from a processor blade mounted in the blade chassis. The RAID controller redundantly stores data to or retrieves data from a storage module disposed in the storage blade enclosure in response to the command using a RAID redundancy methodology.

Apparatus, system, and method for integrated blade raid controller and storage

A blade enclosure is provided which may accommodate a first configuration which includes integrated drive enclosure blades (I-DEBs) or a second configuration which includes I-DEBs and non-integrated or switched DEBs (S-DEBs). Each I-DEB includes a pair of redundant RAID controllers, each having two configurable ports. In the first configuration, all four ports are configured as host adapter (HA) ports through which data is exchanged with server blades. In the second configuration, one port of each RAID controller is configured as an HA port, through which data is exchanged with server blades, and the other port of each RAID controller is configured as a device adapter (DA) port, through which data may be exchanged with the S-DEB. Zones may also be established to separate traffic between the servers and the I-DEB from traffic between the I-DES and the S-DEB.

Configurable blade enclosure

Growing community of inventors

Tucson, AZ, United States of America

Shah Mohammad Rezaul Islam