Room-scale data storage library with independently scalable components
AssigneeAmazon Technologies, Inc.
InventorsThierry Philippe Perraut, Jon Mark Holdman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In some embodiments, a room-scale data storage library includes shelf robots and movable shelves on a floor of the room-scale data storage library. The shelf robots move the movable shelves between storage locations on the floor of the room-scale data storage library and drive bays comprising drives and mechanisms to move the data storage devices between the movable shelves and the drives. In such a system, different type of components, such as movable shelves, data storage devices, drives, drive bay robots, etc. may be independently scaled up or down, to include more such components, providing flexibility to fully utilize the components of the room-scale data storage library.
Claims25
A system, comprising:
- a data center building;
- and
- a room-scale data storage library in a room of the data center building, wherein the room-scale data storage library comprises:
- a plurality of moveable shelves;
- a plurality of data storage devices positioned on the movable shelves;
- a plurality of shelf robots configured to move respective ones of the moveable shelves within the room;
- a drive bay comprising a plurality drives configured to read or write data to, or from, the data storage devices;
- and
- a robotic mechanism associated with the drive bay,
- wherein the robotic mechanism is configured to:
- retrieve respective ones of the data storage devices from a given one of the moveable shelves that has been positioned adjacent to the drive bay;
- and
- insert the respective ones of the data storage devices into respective ones of the drives of the drive bay;
- and
- wherein the robotic mechanism is further configured to:
- remove the respective ones of the data storage devices from the respective ones of the drives of the drive bay;
- and
- return the respective ones of the data storage devices to the moveable shelf or another one of the moveable shelves that has been positioned adjacent to the drive bay.
A system comprising:
- one or more computing devices configured to implement a storage controller for a room-scale data storage library,
- wherein the storage controller is configured to:
- receive location information for respective data storage devices positioned on movable shelves of the room-scale data storage library, wherein for a given data storage device, the location information comprises:
- a scanned or detected identifier or metadata for the given data storage device;
- and
- an associated shelf position in a given one of the movable shelves where the given data storage device with the scanned or detected identifier or metadata is positioned;
- issue instructions to one or more shelf robots of the room-scale data storage library to move a given movable shelf comprising a given data storage device, that is to be accessed, to a drive bay of the room-scale data storage library;
- and
- issue instructions to a robotic mechanism associated with the drive bay to retrieve the given data storage device from the given movable shelf and insert the given data storage device in a drive of the drive bay.
A method comprising:
- positioning a plurality of movable shelves comprising data storage devices positioned on the movable shelves in a room of a facility;
- moving, via respective shelf robots, respective ones of the movable shelves to a drive bay in or adjacent to the room of the facility, wherein the drive bay comprises drives configured to read or write data from the data storage devices;
- retrieving, via a robotic mechanism, a given one of the data storage devices from one of the movable shelves that has been moved adjacent to the drive bay;
- inserting, via the robotic mechanism, the given data storage device into a drive of the drive bay;
- and
- reading or writing data to, or from, the given data storage device that has been inserted into the drive of the drive bay.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.