Storage device system operating based on system information, and method for controlling thereof

• US 20060245103A1
• Filed: 06/28/2005
• Published: 11/02/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Morita, Seiki, Ueno, Koichi
• Application Number:
  US11/167,469
• Publication Number:
  US 20060245103A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 360/53
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1076 Parity data used in redundant arrays of independent storages, e.g. in RAID systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2211/1009 Cache, i.e. caches used in RAID system with parity

Abstract

The storage device system has a storage device to which system information related to the storage device system is written, and a determination unit determining the presence and absence of system information errors before operation based on system information written to the storage device is conducted. When an error is determined as a result of the determination of the system information written to one storage device of a plurality of storage devices, storage device can be closed, and system information written to another storage device is determined for the presence and absence of errors.

Claims

1. A storage device system operating based on system information related to a storage device system comprising:

a storage device to which system information is written; and

a determination unit for determining the presence and absence of system information errors prior to operation based on the system information written to the storage device.

2. The storage device system according to claim 1, comprising:

a plurality of storage devices storing the same system information;

wherein when the determination unit determines that system information written to one of a plurality of storage devices has an error, the one storage device is closed, and the presence and absence of errors in system information written to another storage device is determined.

3. The storage device system according to claim 1, wherein the storage device to which the system information is written is a SATA hard disk drive or an SAS hard disk drive.

4. The storage device system according to claim 1, further comprising a write unit for writing the system information to the storage device,

wherein the determination unit reads the system information from the storage device, compares the read system information with the written system information, and determines an error if one system information does not match the other system information.

5. The storage device system according to claim 1, further comprising a write unit for writing the system information and an error present/absent determination code for that system information to the storage device;

wherein the determination unit reads the system information and the error present/absent determination code for that system information from the storage device, and uses the read error present/absent determination code to determine the presence and absence of system information errors.

6. The storage device system according to claim 5, wherein,

the error present/absent determination code is a checksum for the system information;

and

the determination unit reads the system information and the checksum from the storage device, computes the checksum for the read system information, compares the computed checksum and the read checksum and determines an error when one checksum does not match the other checksum.

7. The storage device system according to claim 5, wherein,

the error present/absent determination code is at least two specific codes;

and

the determination unit reads the system information and the two specific codes from the storage device, compares the two specific codes, and determines an error when one specific code does not match the other specific code.

8. The storage device system according to claim 1, wherein,

the system information includes a plurality of system information elements;

and

the determination unit determines the presence and absence of errors for each of at least one system information element.

9. The storage device system according to claim 8, wherein,

each of at least one system information element of the plurality of system information elements has differing type, update timing, or read timing;

and

the determination unit determines the presence and the absence of errors of system information element based on differing type, update timing, or read timing.

10. The storage device system according to claim 9, further comprising a write unit for writing the error present/absent determination code of at least one system information element to the storage device,

wherein error present/absent determination codes differ with regard to the system information elements by type of, update timing, or read timing.

11. The storage device system according to claim 8, wherein the determination unit selects whether or not to determine the presence and absence of errors in the prescribed system information element of a plurality of system information elements, and when determination is selected, determines the presence and absence of errors in the prescribed system information element.

12. The storage device system according to claim 11, wherein

the determination unit is a processor reading and executing a computer program;

the system information includes the computer program, configuration information related to the configuration of the storage device system, and analysis data for. analyzing faults occurring in the storage device system, as the plurality of system information elements; and

the determination unit always determines the presence and absence of errors of the computer program and the configuration information, and selects whether or not to determine the presence and absence of errors of the analysis data, and when determination is selected, the prescribed system information element is determined for the presence and absence of errors.

13. The storage device system according to claim 8, further comprising a storage area in which each degree of importance of a plurality of system information elements can be stored,

wherein the determination unit references the storage area and determines the presence and absence of errors of system information elements, beginning from the system information element having the highest degree of importance.

14. The storage device system according to claim 2, the storage device system being communicably connected to the host device sending access requests, and comprising:

a plurality of storage devices including the storage device to which system information is written;

a computing unit for computing error present/absent determination codes for all or part of the system information;

a write unit for writing system information and error present/absent determination codes to the storage device; and

a control unit reading and writing data to and from at least one of the plurality of storage devices based on access requests from the host device;

wherein the computing unit computes the error present/absent determination codes when processing based on access requests is not conducted by the control unit.

15. The storage device system according to claim 2, wherein,

the write unit writes the system information and a plurality of types of error present/absent determination codes to the storage device;

and

the determination unit uses the plurality of types of error present/absent determination codes to determine the presence and absence of system information errors.

16. The storage device system according to claim 1, the storage device system being communicably connected to the host device sending access requests further, and comprising:

a plurality of storage devices including a storage device to which system information is written;

a control unit for reading and writing data to and from at least one of the plurality of storage devices based on access requests from the host device;

a cache area for temporarily storing data sent and received between at least one of a plurality of storage devices and the host device,

wherein the determination unit uses a storage area separate from the cache area for determination of the presence and absence of errors.

17. The storage device system according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of storage devices comprising a single RAID group and communicably connected to a host device sending access requests,

wherein each of at least two storage devices of the plurality of storage devices are divided into a system area in which system information is written, and a user area accessed by the host device according to access requests from the host device;

wherein the same system information is written to each system area; and

and wherein the storage device system can either induce the host device not to recognize each system area, or induce the host device to recognize each system area as a write-prohibited area.

18. A method for controlling the storage device system operating based on system information related to the storage device system, comprising the steps of:

writing the system information to at least one storage device; and

determining the presence and absence of errors of the system information prior to operation based on system information written to the storage device.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein when an error is determined as a result of the determination of the system information written to one storage device of a plurality of storage devices, that storage device is closed, and system information written to another storage device is determined for the presence and absence of errors.

20. A recording media recording a computer program, wherein,

the computer program is read to a processor mounted in a storage device system operating based on system information related to the storage device system;

the computer program writes the system information to at least one storage device; and

the computer program determines the presence and absence of system information error prior to operation based on system information written to the storage device.