Sun Microsystems, Inc.

William Lee Duncan

Wayne Ihde

Michael Tibbetts

David C Weibel

Howard Alt

Provided are a method, system, and an article of manufacture for detecting errors while accessing a storage device. A host system writes an identical initialization pattern into each block of a plurality of blocks while formatting the storage device. Each block of the plurality of blocks has a checksum field capable of containing a value. Any host system generates an error when data from a retrieved block from the plurality of blocks computes to a checksum that is different from the value contained within the checksum field for the retrieved block, and the retrieved block does not contain the initialization pattern.

Storage device with SCSI formatting

A latent error detector may be configured to reveal latent errors within a plurality of components within a computer system. The latent error detector may be configured to access configuration data specifying one or more types of components and one or more modules for each type of component. The one or more modules for each type of component may be configured to initiate a component-specific operation to reveal a latent error within the one or more components of the one or more types of components. A framework may be configured to call the one or more modules for each type of component. The framework may be configured as a main software module to access the one or more modules.

Latent fault detector

Error detection in storage data

Error detection using data block mapping is provided. One method includes receiving a write request to write a user data block having a first block size, generating an error detection code for the user data block, appending the error detection code to the user data block to form an extended data block, and mapping the extended data block to a plurality of actual data blocks, each actual data block having a block size equal to the first block size.

Error detection using data block mapping

In one aspect of the invention is a method for robust device token management. In x+ bit computers using x bit device cards, tokens are used for managing communication requests from applications to a device by using x+ bit to x bit conversion techniques, accompanied by error checking.

Robust device driver token management for upgraded computers using legacy device cards

A computer implemented method and apparatus for mounting a user removable media in a computer system includes acquiring a media identifier input and a function identifier input from a user of the computer system. The media identifier input identifies the user removable media, and the function identifier input specifies a mounting operation to be performed on the user removable media. The media identifier and the function identifier inputs are processed to access a system media interface of the computer system, for example, by converting the media identifier input to a physical path of the user removable media in the computer system, and determining if the physical path of the media identifier input is valid within the computer system. A simulated media event is generated to mount the user removable media in the computer system. If desired, a determination may be made whether the user has valid permission to control the user removable media identified by the media identifier input. This may be performed by reading a media permission level associated with the user removable media identified by the media identifier input, reading a user permission level associated with the user, and comparing the media permission level to the user permission level.

Flexible mounting and unmounting of user removable media

Programmable options for a mount command are checked for compatibility with file system types when attaching a media file system to a existing file system in a computing system. The options are programmed into a mount entry in a configuration file. The configuration file is used to generate the mount command. The mount entry defines file system types for the media file system and programmable options to control operation of the computing system with the media file system. The file system types, the programmable options and the compatibility of the programmable options with the file system types are all verified.

System for creating mount command from verified programmable options

A computing system operates a volume management system to manage accesses to the storage of information and provides to the users of the volume management system parallel process paths for accessing a storage device is as an access volume operation or as an access device operation. Further the volume management system prevents the two parallel logical operations from conflicting with each other by performing an open volume operation and an open device operation. These operations indirectly communicate by setting and clearing characteristics in stored volume data characteristics that they share for each device being accessed. The characteristics include an open count to track the open status of a device and an exclusive flag to track whether the storage device has been opened exclusively by either the open volume or the open device operation request from a user.

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Berthoud, CO, United States of America

William Lee Duncan