Ecrix Corporation

Exabyte Corporation

Other

Tandberg Data As

Thomas Edward Zaczek

Richard H McAuliffe

Frederick G Munro

Michael A Blatchley

Kelly J Beavers

David L Detro

Christopher L Turner

Paul Newsome

William Edward Dunphy

Jamie Mark Stiger

Christopher J Turner

McClain Marshall Buggle

Frederick Graves Munro

A computer memory system () which comprises a media module (); a host computer () configured to accommodate the media module () in removable fashion; and a display unit (). The media module () is configured to store electronic data. The host computer () comprises a docking station () configured to accommodate the media module (); an interface () through which electronic signals representing the electronic data are transmitted between the host computer () and the media module (); an optical indicator (); and a host processor (). The host processor () is configured to control a read/write operation over the interface between the host computer () and the media module () and to activate the optical indicator () whereby the optical indicator () provides a first optical signal depicting transmission of electronic signals over the interface in the read/write operation. The host processor () is further configured to drive the optical indicator () whereby the optical indicator provides a second optical signal modulated to represent media module management information which can be displayed upon an output display device ().

Display for information storage module

A method and system for monitoring and/or adjusting the positioning of a magnetic tape using central control packets that are recorded to the tape is presented. Central control packets are used for adjusting the timing of the read head signal over the tape, adapting the reel count to that of the drive at the time the tape was recorded, and monitoring filemarks for logical tape positioning.

Method and system for monitoring and adjusting tape position using control data packets

A method and apparatus for varying track recording speed to maximize host-to-tape data transfer rates is presented. Variable data transfer rates of host systems and networks are accommodated by continually adjusting the tape speed to match the tape drive to the host's actual transfer rate. The speed of the tape is adjusted according to both the level of data present in the tape drive data buffer and whether the current mode of the drive is write mode or read mode. In the preferred embodiment, when the tape speed is accelerated or decelerated while writing a number of data track pairs to tape, a predetermined number of dummy track pairs are first written to tape at the current speed. On the next write head phase after the speed is increased or decreased as appropriate while the read heads are over the track, a predetermined number of dummy track pairs followed by more data track pairs are written to the tape at the new speed.

Variable speed recording method and apparatus for a magnetic tape drive

A method for rewriting track packets that fail a check-after-write test onto a track of a storage medium is presented. Local packet address information is included in the track packet itself to allow track packets to be written to the storage medium in any addressing order. This allows a single packet to be rewritten along a later track among other track packets that are being recorded for the first time, thereby reducing rewrite track overhead and eliminating the requirement for a lengthy backhitching sequence.

Fine granularity rewrite method and apparatus for data storage device

A method for logically rejecting previously recorded track residue from magnetic media is presented. A session ID unique to a given recording session is encoded into track packet error check and error correction codes but is not itself actually written to tape. During a data recovery session, a reference session ID for the original recording session is acquired by reconstructing the packet session ID from the first few track packets and verifying that a predetermined number of consecutive track packets have identical packet session IDs. Once the reference packet session ID is acquired, it is preloaded into error detection and correction hardware. When a residue track encoded with a previously recorded session ID is recovered by the tape drive track packet detection circuitry, it is inherently rejected because the error detection and correction hardware detects an error and it is therefore never allowed into the data buffer.

Method and apparatus for logically rejecting previously recorded track residue from magnetic media

A multi-level error correction technique for maintaining data integrity in a data recording/recovery device is presented. Data is stored in buffer packets in a segment of a data buffer before being recorded to a storage medium. Error correction codes are generated over a plurality of instances of a plurality of buffer packet patterns in the segment, and are recorded along with all of the buffer packets onto a storage medium. During data recovery from the storage medium, recovered error correction code packets are used to perform multi-level segment correction on the recovered data packets.

Growing community of inventors

Louisville, CO, United States of America

Thomas Edward Zaczek