Method, system and apparatus for scanning newly added disk drives and automatically updating RAID configuration and rebuilding RAID data

Patent 6952794 Issued on October 4, 2005. Estimated Expiration Date:

October 10, 2022. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.

Abstract Claims Description Full Text

Patent References

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Inventor

Lu, Ching-hung

Application

No. 10269186 filed on 10/10/2002

US Classes:

714/7, Reconfiguration (e.g., adding a replacement storage component)714/6, Redundant stored data accessed (e.g., duplicated data, error correction coded data, or other parity-type data)711/114, Arrayed (e.g., RAIDs)711/162, Backup710/22, Direct Memory Accessing (DMA)711/170, Memory configuring714/770, Disk array710/10, Configuration initialization714/42, Memory or storage device component fault361/685, Disk drive support710/8Peripheral configuration

Examiners

Primary: Kim, Chong H.

Attorney, Agent or Firm

Theodore; Marcus G.

International Class

G06F011/00

Abstract

The present invention pertains to a computer software implemented method, system, and apparatus for automatic updating disk drive configuration and rebuilding RAID data to assure proper data storage in a RAID configured system. The computer software implemented configuration mechanism utilizing CPU and memory of a computer system automatically generates a full configuration of the disk drives connected to system peripheral bus both at system initialization time and runtime. The configuration mechanism uses a computer-implemented procedure for scanning a newly added disk drive, detecting conflict to the existing configuration, resolving conflicts, finding a proper target referenced or ruined disk drive, replacing this target disk drive with the newly added disk drive, rebuilding the RAID data into the added disk drive, updating RAID configuration with the added disk drive, and presenting to the host operating system the current configuration information.