Disk failure restoration method and disk array apparatus

• US 20080178040A1
• Filed: 11/07/2007
• Published: 07/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Tatsuya
• Application Number:
  US11/979,738
• Publication Number:
  US 20080178040A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/6
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1088 Reconstruction on already foreseen single or plurality of spare disks
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1662 the resynchronized component or unit being a persistent storage device re-synchronization of failed mirror storage G06F11/2082; rebuild or reconstruction of parity RAID storage G06F11/1008
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2094 Redundant storage or storage space G06F11/2056 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2211/1059 Parity-single bit-RAID5, i.e. RAID 5 implementations

Abstract

If a disk fails, another disk is used to rebuild the data of the failed disk on a first spare disk. When finishing being rebuilt, the first spare disk is separated from the disk array apparatus. Data to be updated while the first spare disk separated is written in another disk and managed by a bit map. The first spare disk is connected to the disk array apparatus at the position of the failed disk, then only the updated data is rebuilt on the first spare disk using another disk.

Claims

1. A method for restoring a disk array apparatus from failure of a disk, comprising:

rebuilding data from another disk at a first spare disk,

separating said rebuilt first spare disk from said disk array apparatus,

writing the data to be updated in said separated first spare disk into said other disk until said separated first spare disk is connected with said disk array apparatus and storing the disk regions of said data to be updated into a bit map, and

connecting said rebuilt first spare disk to said disk array apparatus at the position of arrangement of said failed disk.

2. A method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising, after connecting said first spare disk to said disk array apparatus, rebuilding said updated data from said other disk on said first spare disk by referring to said bit map.

3. A method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising, after writing said data to be updated in said other disk and storing the regions of said data to be updated into a bit map, rebuilding the updated data written in said other disk on a second spare disk.

4. A method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising, when said other disk fails, connecting said first spare disk to said disk array apparatus, then rebuilding said updated data from said second spare disk on said first spare disk by referring to said bit map.

5. A disk array apparatus, comprising:

a redundant disk array,

a first spare disk storing rebuilt data of a failed disk in said redundant disk array using data of another disk, and

a bit map storing a region of said first spare disk in which data is to be updated in said first spare disk when a first spare disk is detached from the apparatus.

6. A disk array apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein the data to be updated in the first spare disk is written into the other disk when the first spare disk is detached from the apparatus.

7. A disk array apparatus as set forth in claim 6, further comprising a second spare disk for rebuilding regions including data to be updated in said first spare disk when said first spare disk is detached from the apparatus.