Method and Apparatus for Managing Data Integrity in a Distributed Storage Network

Abstract

A storage network including a network interface, a computer processing unit with one or more processing modules and memory that includes instructions for causing the computer processing unit to determine data integrity information for data stored in a predetermined portion of the storage network and determine, based on the data integrity information, whether a storage device associated with the portion of the storage network has failed. In response to a determination that a storage device has failed, the computer processing unit determines whether the storage device has failed due to a transitory condition and in response to a determination that the storage device failure is due to a transitory condition the processing unit is adapted to wait a predetermined amount of time to again determine data integrity information for the predetermined portion of the storage network again. In response to a determination that the storage device failure is not due to a transitory condition, the processing unit initiates rebuilding of the portion of the storage network.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.