Seek scheduling in a split actuator drive
AssigneesKabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation
InventorsGary W. Calfee, Richard M. Ehrlich, Thorsten Schmidt, Eric R. Dunn
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods for scheduling the execution of disk access commands in a split-actuator hard disk drive are provided. In some embodiments, while a first actuator of the split actuator is in the process of performing a first disk access command (a victim operation), a second disk access command (an aggressor operation) is selected for and executed by a second actuator of the split actuator. The aggressor operation is selected from a queue of disk access commands for the second actuator, and is selected based on being the disk access command in the queue that can be initiated sooner than any other disk access command in the queue without disturbing the victim operation.
Claims20
A disk drive comprising:
- a first actuator that controls an arm having a first head and extending over a first surface of a plurality of disk surfaces;
- a second actuator that controls an arm having a second head and extending over a second surface of a plurality of disk surfaces other than the first surface;
- and
- a controller configured to:
- control the first actuator to start a first disk access operation;
- and
- while the first actuator is moving in connection with the first disk access operation,
- select a second disk access operation from a queue of operations to be performed by the second actuator,
- determine that a disturbance time of the second disk access operation coincides with at least a portion of a critical time of the first disk access operation,
- in response to determining that the disturbance time coincides with the at least a portion of the critical time, generate a modified second disk access operation that does not include the disturbance time that coincides with the at least a portion of the critical time of the first disk access operation,
- select as an operation for execution either the modified second disk access operation or a third disk access operation from the queue of operations to be performed by the second actuator, and
- execute the operation for execution.
A method of selecting and executing disk access commands in a disk drive that includes a first actuator that controls an arm having a first head and a second actuator that controls an arm having a second head, the method comprising:
- controlling the first actuator to start a first disk access operation;
- and
- while the first actuator is moving in connection with the first disk access operation,
- selecting a second disk access operation from a queue of operations to be performed by the second actuator,
- determining that a disturbance time of the second disk access operation coincides with at least a portion of a critical time of the first disk access operation,
- in response to determining that the disturbance time coincides with the at least a portion of the critical time, generating a modified second disk access operation that does not include the disturbance time that coincides with the at least a portion of the critical time of the first disk access operation,
- selecting as an operation for execution either the modified second disk access operation or a third disk access operation from the queue of operations to be performed by the second actuator, and
- executing the operation for execution.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.