Disk array apparatus

• US 20050111136A1
• Filed: 01/29/2004
• Published: 05/26/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Miyamoto, Kenichi, Tanaka, Shigeaki, Morishita, Yasuji, Katakura, Yasuyuki, Kasahara, Yoshikatsu
• Granted Patent: US 7,061,715 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 360/97.30
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/20 Cooling means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0601 Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0673 Single storage device
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 33/126 Arrangements for providing electrical connections, e.g. connectors, cables, switches
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 33/128 of the plurality of recording/reproducing devices, e.g. disk drives, onto a chassis
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 33/142 by air cooling
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20736 within cabinets for removing heat from server blades

Abstract

Aligned disk drives are installed in a disk box nearly taking a rectangular shape. Every two of the disk boxes are paired and accommodated in a rack in a multi-stage form. Each pair of disk boxes are disposed with their exhaust planes opposed to each other with a gap therebetween. An air intake plane of each disk box opposite to the exhaust is disposed on a front or rear side of the rack. A draft path, having front and rear walls formed by gaps between disk boxes and side walls on left and right planes of the rack, is formed in the rack center. Exhaust fans disposed on top of the rack and having air intake ports nearly equivalent in dimension to a section of the draft path suck in air through the intake and exhaust planes and draft path, and exhaust the air outside the rack.

Claims

1. A disk array apparatus comprising:

a plurality of disk boxes each generally taking the shape of a rectangular solid, and each having an air intake plane through which air flows in and an exhaust plane provided at an end opposite to that of the air intake plane, a plurality of disk drives being to be aligned and installed in each of the disk boxes;

a rack nearly taking the shape of a rectangular solid, disk units being accommodated in said rack so as to form a plurality of stages in a vertical direction, each of the disk units being formed by putting two of the disk boxes back to back via a gap therebetween in a horizontal direction with the exhaust planes respectively of the two disk boxes being opposed to each other, ventilation being created to flow through planes of said rack respectively perpendicular to the air intake planes of the disk boxes and then through a top plane of said rack, a draft path having a width generally equivalent to a lateral width of said rack and extending in the vertical direction being formed by the gaps of the disk units accommodated in said rack; and

an exhaust device disposed at an upper part of said rack, air within said rack being sucked in from the air intake planes of the disk boxes by said exhaust device so as to pass through the exhaust planes of the disk boxes and the draft path, and being exhausted through the top plane of said rack to outside by said exhaust device,

wherein said exhaust device is disposed with a substantially entire surface of an air intake port of said exhaust device facing a cross-section of the draft path.

2. The disk array apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the disk drives are installed in each of the disk boxes in a multi-stage form,

a flow straightening plate is disposed behind the exhaust planes of the disk boxes, the flow straightening plate has a plurality of vent holes to adjust a flow rate of the air sucked in by said exhaust devices, and

when the flow straightening plate is virtually divided into a plurality of divisional portions so as to correspond to the stages of disk drives, a total area of the vent holes in a divisional portion located near said exhaust device is smaller than a total area of the vent holes in a divisional portion located far from said exhaust device.

3. The disk array apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, in each of the divisional portions, a total area of the vent holes in a position located nearer said exhaust device is smaller than a total area of the vent holes in a position located farther from said exhaust device.

4. The disk array apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

a circuit board having connectors to electrically connect the disk drives is disposed between the exhaust planes of the disk boxes and the flow straightening plate, and

the vent holes in the flow straightening plate are disposed so as to be separated from the projected contour of each of the connectors.

5. The disk array apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a DC power supply for supplying power to the disk drives, and a battery for supplying power when a trouble has occurred in the DC power supply, said DC power supply and said battery being accommodated in a lowest stage of the rack.

6. The disk array apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an air duct in said draft path in order to separate exhausts form the stages in the rack from each other, said air duct generally taking a shape of a cylinder.

7. The disk array apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each of said vent holes generally takes a shape of a circle.

8. The disk array apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each of said vent holes generally takes a shape of a rectangle.

9. The disk array apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a contour defined by said vent holes generally takes a shape of a rectangle.

10. The disk array apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each of said vent holes generally takes a shape of a trapezoid or a triangle.