Back to results
US 6,328,766 B1Granted
Media element library with non-overlapping subset of media elements and non-overlapping subset of media element drives accessible to first host and unaccessible to second host
AssigneeOverland Data, Inc.
InventorRobert M. Long
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A media element library defines a viral configuration different from the physical configuration of media and drives actually present in the library. A plurality of host computer systems communicate with the library as if they were communicating with a conventional library having a physical configuration identical to the virtual configuration defined by the library.
Claims11
A data storage system comprising:
- a plurality of media element drives;
- a plurality of media elements, all of which are readable in each of said plurality of media element drives;
- a plurality of media element storage locations;
- a moveable carriage adapted to transport media elements from at least one of said media element storage locations to at least one of said media element drives;
- a plurality of host computers;
- and
- a controller coupled to said plurality of media element drives, said moveable carriage, and said plurality of host computers, wherein said controller is configured such that a subset of said plurality of media elements and a subset of said plurality of media element drives are available for read/write access by a first one of said plurality of host computers and are unavailable for read/write access by a second one of said plurality of host computers.
4 more elements
In a media element library, a method of executing a plurality of data manipulation commands comprising:
- pre-allocating subsets of media elements present in said media element library to servicing requests from respective ones of a plurality of host computers so that no subset contains the same media element as another subset;
- pre-allocating subsets of media element drives present in said media element library to servicing requests from respective ones of said plurality of host computers so that no subset contains the same media element drive as another subset;
- wherein all media elements are readable in each of said media element drives;
- wherein a subset of said media elements and a subset of said media element drives are available for read/write access by a first one of said plurality of host computers and are unavailable for read/write access by a second one of said plurality of host computers;
- receiving a plurality of data manipulation commands from said plurality of host computers coupled to said media element library;
- queuing said plurality of data manipulation commands in a memory of said media element library;
- and
- sequentially performing said data manipulation commands.
5 more elements
A method of communicating information between a host computer system and a data storage library, said method comprising the steps of:
- dividing a plurality of media storage locations into a first plurality of portions, wherein each of a plurality of host computers is associated with a separate one of said first plurality of portions;
- dividing a plurality of media element drives into a second plurality of portions, wherein each of the plurality of host computers is associated with a separate one of said second plurality of portions of media element drives;
- sending a first request for information regarding the number of media element storage locations in said library from one of the plurality of host computers to the library;
- sending a second request for information regarding the number of media element drives in said library from said one of the plurality of host computers to the library;
- sending a response to said first request from said library to said one of the plurality of host computers, said response including only the number of media element storage locations in the portion of the first plurality of portions associated with said one of the plurality of host computers;
- and
- sending a response to said second request from said library to said one of the plurality of host computers, said response including only the number of media element drives in the portion of the second plurality of portions associated with said one of the plurality of host computers,
- whereby said one of the plurality of host computers sees only its associated portion of the media storage locations and its associated portion of the media element drives, and
- whereby the media element storage locations in said one of said fist plurality of portions and the media element drives in said one of said second plurality of portions associated with said one of said plurality of host computers are available for read/write access by said one of said plurality of host computers are unavailable for read/write access by an another one of said plurality of host computers.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.