System and method for selecting which data copy to read in an

Abstract

The invention is a system, method, and computer readable medium for determining which copy of data to access in an information handling system. Since the same data is often stored in more than one storage location (e.g., on more than one physical volume or disk, or in more than one memory area), it is often more efficient to read a particular copy of the data. The present invention determines which copy of the desired data can be read most efficiently (i.e. in the least amount of time), and then accesses that particular copy of the data. In an embodiment of the invention, when a read request is received, each mirrored disk (i.e. copy) containing the requested data is checked to determine which disk contains the fewest relocated blocks within the desired read area. The data is then read from the mirrored disk with the fewest relocated blocks within the read area. The present invention decreases the amount of time it takes to perform I/O operations in an information handling system, as the data copy which is read is the one which can be read in the least amount of time.