Fujitsu Corporation

Shoichi Murano

Tohru Kobayashi

Jun Ishikawa

Jun Katayama

Tadashi Kumasawa

Mitsuru Maejima

Nobuyuki Kikuchi

Yoshihisa Aono

Hitoshi Matsushima

A disk array apparatus with a number of storage units aims at application of new control firmware to the storage units. The disk array apparatus includes a controlling unit controlling the storage units, which controlling unit includes a storing section storing control firmware to be applied; a monitoring section for monitoring a state of access to each storage unit to which the control firmware is to be applied; and an application instructing section instructing, on the basis of the result of the monitoring by the monitoring section, each the first storage unit to apply the first control firmware. In response to the instructing by the application instructing section, the control firmware is applied to each the storage unit.

Disk array apparatus, method for application of control firmware, and controlling unit for controlling application of control firmware

A failure predicting unit predicts a failure in a hard disk device that forms a disk array. A data transferring unit transfers data from a failure-predicted hard disk device for which the failure is predicted by the failure predicting unit to a spare disk. A data deleting unit deletes the data from the failure-predicted hard disk device after the data transferring unit completes transferring the data.

Disk array apparatus and disk-array control method

A disk controlling apparatus creates sense data indicating the contents of an error and writes it into an intermediate buffer provided within the disk controlling apparatus together with the record normally read when a key portion or a data portion constituting a record is not normally read. The disk controlling apparatus searches the intermediate buffer for desired record, reads and informs an error while taking the sense data into consideration for each record. The disk controlling apparatus stores a write address in a memory at the time of writing data, and when data are normally written the write address is eliminated from the memory, while holding the address when data are not normally written. At the time of reading data, if the address which agrees with the read address is stored in the memory, the disk controlling apparatus reports an error to a host apparatus. The disk controlling apparatus further calculates the busy ratio indicating the rate at which each channel adapters is used for I/O processing, and data is transmitted and received to and from the host apparatus through the channel adapter which has the lowest busy ratio.

Disk controlling apparatus

Disk controlling method and apparatus for transferring a record from a

A disk controlling apparatus creates sense data indicating the contents of an error and writes it into an intermediate buffer provided within the disk controlling apparatus together with the record normally read when a key portion or a data portion constituting a record is not normally read. The disk controlling apparatus searches the intermediate buffer for desired record, reads and informs an error while taking the sense data into consideration for each record. The disk controlling apparatus stores a write address in a memory at the time of writing data, and when data are normally written the write address is eliminated from the memory, while holding the address when data are not normally written. At the time of reading data, if the address which agrees with the read address is stored in the memory, the disk controlling apparatus reports an error to a host apparatus. The disk controlling apparatus further calculates the busy ratio indicating the rate at which each channel adapter is used for I/O processing, and data is transmitted and received to and from the host apparatus through the channel adapter which has the lowest busy ratio.

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Kawasaki, Japan

Shoichi Murano