Integration of a RAID controller with a disk drive module
AssigneeSun Microsystems, Inc.
InventorFay Chong JR.
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In one embodiment, a disk array storage system includes multiple disk drive modules that contain sets of drives and a number of storage controllers. Each storage controller is connected to a group of disk drives from two or more disk drive modules. The number of disk drives from the same disk drive module that are connected to the storage controller does not exceed a predefined number.
Claims29
A system comprising:
- a plurality of disk drives;
- a plurality of disk drive modules, each of the plurality of disk drive modules comprising at least two of the plurality of disk drives;
- and
- a plurality of storage controllers associated with the plurality of disk drives, each of the plurality of storage controllers being connected to a set of disk drives from two or more of the plurality of disk drive modules,
- wherein, in the set of disk drives, a number of disk drives from each of the two or more of the plurality of disk drive modules does not exceed a predefined number.
A system comprising:
- a plurality of disk drives;
- a plurality of disk drive modules, each of the plurality of disk drive modules comprising at least two of the plurality of disk drives;
- and
- a plurality of RAID controllers coupled to the plurality of disk drives, each of the plurality of RAID controllers being included in one of the plurality of disk drive modules and being connected to one or more disk drives from each of two or more of the plurality of disk drive modules, a number of the one or more disk drives not exceeding a predefined number.
A method of facilitating availability of data in a RAID system in which each of a plurality of disk drive modules comprises at least two of a plurality of disk drives, the method comprising:
- identifying a maximum number of disk drives within any one of the plurality of disk drive modules that can be connected to one of a plurality of RAID controllers;
- and
- defining connections between said one of the plurality of RAID controllers and one or more disk drives contained in each of two or more of the plurality of disk drive modules, a number of the one or more disk drives not exceeding the maximum number.
A computer-readable medium containing executable instructions which, when executed by a processing system, cause the processing system to perform a method, the method comprising:
- identifying a maximum number of disk drives within any one of the plurality of disk drive modules that can be connected to one of a plurality of RAID controllers;
- and
- defining connections between said one of the plurality of RAID controllers and one or more disk drives contained in each of two or more of the plurality of disk drive modules, a number of the one or more disk drives not exceeding the maximum number.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.