Fujitsu Corporation

Tatsuo Matoba

Keiichi Yorimitsu

Yumiko Ohizumi

Shigeo Konno

Naoki Ohtake

A I/O controller which is connected to a plurality of I/O units and one spare I/O unit, controls a plurality of I/O units based on a command from a master unit, and allows a spare I/O unit to be used in place of an I/O unit where an abnormality is found, when an abnormality is found in any of a plurality of I/O units. This I/O controller gives a decision about normality at a time interval not in use for an operation when no command from a master unit (,) is being processed, after selecting I/O units (,) or a spare I/O unit (,). When it gives a decision of abnormality, the controller stores information about the abnormality in preventive maintenance information storage register (,) as preventive maintenance information.

Input/output controller providing preventive maintenance information regarding a spare I/O unit

A status display system for storage device includes at least one logic device each having a plurality of physical device; and a plurality of device control means for controlling operations of the physical devices corresponding to a designated logic device in parallel in accordance with command from a host device. Preferably, the status display system is provided with status information generating means for collecting commands given to the device control means and responses to the commands given from the device control means, and generating a status information for the logic device; and display means provided corresponding to the logic device for displaying the status information in accordance with the generated status information.

Status display system for storage device

A I/O controller which is connected to a plurality of I/O units and one spare I/O unit, controls a plurality of I/O units based on a command from a master unit, and allows a spare I/O unit to be used in place of an I/O unit where an abnormality is found, when an abnormality is found in any of a plurality of I/O units. This I/O controller gives a decision about normality at a time interval not in use for an operation when no command from a master unit (10) is being processed, after selecting I/O units (30) or a spare I/O unit (31). When it gives a decision of abnormality, the controller stores information about the abnormality in preventive maintenance information storage register (25) as preventive maintenance information.

Input/output controller providing preventive maintenance information

Even if a plurality of disk units in a disk array which operate in parallel simultaneously causes faults, a system can instantaneously cope with a processing request without losing the data. For this purpose, a mirror disk unit in which two disk units are provided as one set is used as a component element of the disk array. The two disk units of the mirror disk unit are allocated to the disk unit for the present use and the disk unit for spare. Data is written into both the presently used disk unit and the spare disk unit. Data is read out from the present use disk unit. The occurrence of a fault of the disk unit is judged and the allocation is switched from the present use disk unit to the spare disk unit. In an idle state, a simulation to check the disk array is executed and fault information is collected. RAID3 or RAID5 in which a parity is stored in the mirror disk construction can be also used. Further, the present use disk unit is not constructed as a mirror disk and when the fault is judged in the present use disk unit, the data is copied to the spare disk unit, thereby dynamically realizing a mirror disk construction.

Disk array apparatus which predicts errors using mirror disks that can

An apparatus and method for controlling a background process in a disk array device including a disk array control unit which accesses the plurality of storage disk drives in parallel when a command for an access is issued from a host device and which executes a background process for the plurality of storage disk drives. The disk array control unit counts an amount of access, such as a data transfer amount to or from the host device, temporarily restrains an access requirement from the host device depending upon whether or not there is any background processing requirement when the data transfer amount reaches a predetermined transfer amount, and executes the background process. Access frequency of the host device may also be monitored as the amount of access. When one of working storage disk drives fails, data that was stored in the failed working storage disk drive is reconstructed from data stored in other working storage disk drives. The reconstruction is conducted during spare time during which there is no access from the host device. The data reconstruction amount may be changed in proportion to the amount of access until the spare time becomes available.

Apparatus and method for controlling background processing in disk array

A I/O controller which is connected to a plurality of I/O units and one spare I/O unit, controls a plurality of I/O units based on a command from a master unit, and allows a spare I/O unit to be used in place of an I/O unit where an abnormality is found, when an abnormality is found in any of a plurality of I/O units. This I/O controller outputs a decision about a normality at a time interval not in use for an operation when no command from a master unit (10) is being processed, after selecting I/O units (30) or a spare I/O unit (31). When the I/O controller outputs a decision of abnormality, the controller stores information about the abnormality in a preventive maintenance information storage register (25) as preventive maintenance information.

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Kawasaki, Japan

Tatsuo Matoba