Data storage system and method for a plurality of disk arrays

A data storage method, comprising the steps as follows:

• creating an index data for physical storage locations in a plurality of disk arrays by a controller, each disk array having a corresponding data protection unit;
• dividing said index data into a first physical storage location block and a second physical storage location block;
• storing said index data into a data mapping table by said controller;
• writing data into said disk arrays or reading data stored in said disk arrays by said controller on the basis of said index data in said data mapping table;
• ascertaining when at least one disk drive of a plurality of disk drives within a respective disk array is damaged and defining the associated disk array as a damaged disk array;
• placing said damaged disk array in a read only mode;
• and
• writing and storing newly written data from said controller into a reserve disk area in another operational disk array, thereby maintaining redundancy of the newly written data in the operational disk array within the reserve disk area provided in the operational disk array during a failure of the damaged disk array to permit normal read and write operations to be performed while said damaged disk array is in the read only mode.

A data storage method, comprising the steps as follows:

• connecting a controller to a plurality of disk arrays, each disk array having a corresponding data protection unit;
• grouping a desirable written data into a plurality of grouped data, and then writing each grouped data into different disk arrays, respectively, by said controller, said controller storing contents of relation between logical data addresses and physical storage locations of said grouped data into a data mapping table;
• dividing said data mapping table into a first physical storage location block and a second physical storage location block,
• ascertaining when at least one disk drive of a plurality of disk drives within a respective disk array is damaged and defining the associated disk array as a damaged disk array;
• placing said damaged disk array in a read only mode;
• and
• writing and storing newly written grouped data from said controller into a reserve disk area in another operational disk array, thereby maintaining redundancy of the newly written grouped data in the operational disk array within the reserve disk area provided in the operational disk array during a failure of the damaged disk array to permit normal read and write operations to be performed while said damaged disk array is in the read only mode.