Identifying performance affecting causes in a data storage system

A method of identifying performance affecting causes in a data storage system comprising a data library and a plurality of other data storage components, the data library having a plurality of media data transfer drives and a plurality of media locations and being in communication with the other components, the method comprising:

• obtaining characteristics of data being transferred in the data storage system using a processor located in the data library and/or obtaining characteristics of data transfer in the data storage system using a processor located in the data library;
• processing the obtained data to produce an indication of whether a cause affecting performance of the data storage system relates to one or more of said data storage system components and/or characteristics of the data being transferred, and
• producing an output relating to at least some of the results of the processing.

A computer program product configured to make a computer execute a procedure to identify performance affecting causes in a data storage system comprising a data library and a plurality of other data storage components, the data library having a plurality of media data transfer drives and a plurality of media locations and being in communication with the other components, the procedure comprising:

• obtain characteristics of data being transferred in the data storage system using a processor located in the data library and/or obtain characteristics of data transfer in the data storage system using a processor located in the data library;
• process the obtained data to produce an indication of whether a cause affecting performance of the data storage system relates to one or more of said data storage system components and/or characteristics of the data being transferred, and
• produce an output relating to at least some of the results of the processing.

A data library processor operable in use to identify performance affecting causes of a data storage system, the data storage system comprising a data library and a plurality of other data storage components, the data library having a plurality of media data transfer drives and a plurality of media locations and being in communication with the other components, said data library processor being configured to:

• obtain characteristics of data being transferred in the data storage system and/or obtain characteristics of data transfer in the data storage system;
• process the obtained data to produce an indication of whether a cause affecting performance of the data storage system relates to one or more of said storage system components and/or characteristics of the data being transferred, and
• produce an output relating to at least some of the results of the processing.

A data library having a plurality of media data transfer drives and a plurality of media locations, the library being in communication with a data storage system comprising a plurality of other data storage components, the data library configured to determine causes affecting performance of the data storage system and comprising:

• means in the data library for obtaining characteristics of data being transferred in the data storage system and/or means in the data library for obtaining characteristics of data transfer in the data storage system;
• means for processing the obtained data to produce an indication of whether a cause affecting performance of the data storage system relates to one or more of said storage system components and/or characteristics of the data being transferred, and
• means for producing an output relating to at least some of the results of the processing.

A data storage system configured to identify performance affecting causes, the data storage system comprising a tape library and a plurality of other data storage components external to the library, the library having a plurality of tape data transfer drives and a plurality of tape locations and being in communication with the other components, the system further comprising:

• a processor located in a router or interface manager component of the data library, the processor being configured to obtain characteristics of data being transferred in the data storage system and/or a processor in the data library configured to obtain characteristics of data transfer in the data storage system, wherein the processor processes the obtained data to produce an indication of whether a cause affecting performance of the data storage system relates to one or more of said storage system components and/or characteristics of the data being transferred, and the processor produces an output relating to at least some of the results of the processing.

A tape library having a plurality of tape drives, a plurality of media slots and a controller for transferring tape media between a said media slot and a said tape drive, the tape library being in communication with a data storage system comprising a plurality of other data storage components, the tape library configured to determine causes affecting performance of the data storage system and comprising:

• a router or interface manager in the data library that obtains characteristics of data being transferred in the data storage system and/or a processor in the data library that obtains characteristics of data transfer in the data storage system, the router or interface manager further processing the obtained data to produce an indication of whether a cause affecting performance of the data storage system relates to one or more of said storage system components and/or characteristics of the data being transferred, and
• a device that produces an output relating to at least some of the results of the processing.

A tape library having a plurality of tape drives, a plurality of media slots and a controller for transferring tape media between a said media slot and a said tape drive, the tape library being in communication with a data storage system comprising a plurality of other data storage components, the tape library configured to determine causes affecting performance of the data storage system and comprising:

• a processor that obtains characteristics of data being transferred in the data storage system, the processor configured to process the obtained data to identify whether the compressibility of at least some of the data being transferred in the data storage system is affecting performance of the data storage system, and produce an indication of whether the compressibility is affecting the performance of the system.