Storage device

• US 20080253077A1
• Filed: 01/14/2008
• Published: 10/16/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Miyamoto, Kenichi, Yokoi, Chikazu
• Granted Patent: US 7,719,834 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 361/685
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/187 Mounting of fixed and removable disk drives
• 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

Abstract

Two or more media drives that cannot be detached by the user are pre-installed in an enclosure. An expansion slot member having the smaller number of expansion drive slots than the number of media drives that can be pre-installed are provided. The media drives that are installed via the expansion drive slots are installed so as to be detached by the user.

Claims

1. A storage device, comprising:

an enclosure;

a plurality of drive connectors provided within the enclosure and to which media drives are connected;

two or more media drives which are connected beforehand to two or more drive connectors among the plurality of drive connectors and which are installed so as to be undetachable by a user; and

an expansion slot member having a smaller number of expansion drive slots than the number of media drives that can be pre-installed,

the plurality of drive connectors being constituted by a first drive connector to which a media drive that is inserted via the expansion drive slot is connected and a second drive connector to which a pre-installed media drive is connected, the media drive connected to the first drive connector being installed so as to be detachable by the user.

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

a cooling fan provided in the enclosure;

a backboard which is a circuit substrate having all or some of the plurality of drive connectors on the front face thereof and which is disposed so as to divide an interior space of the enclosure in an anteroposterior direction; and

a plurality of temperature-dependent devices disposed behind the backboard, wherein

air is taken in via an enclosure front face from outside the enclosure as a result of rotation of the cooling fan, flows through an interior of the enclosure, and then passes through the backboard; and

a media drive is connected beforehand to a second drive connector other than a certain drive connector on the backboard.

3. The storage device according to claim 2, wherein

a matrix constituted by a first drive connector and a second drive connector is provided at the front face of the backboard;

respective rows that constitute the matrix are parallel in a width direction of the enclosure;

respective columns that constitute the matrix are parallel in a height direction of the enclosure;

the certain drive connector is a drive connector in a position that is determined on the basis of predetermined rules, wherein the predetermined rules are at least one of the following rules (1) to (5);

(Rule

     1);

media drives are connected in order of priority to a second drive connector located in front of a device of low temperature dependence;

(Rule

     2);

drive connectors to which media drives are not connected are not successive in each column of the matrix;

(Rule

     3);

the first drive connector is in a column on an edge of the matrix;

(Rule

     4);

media drives are connected in order of priority to the drive connectors that constitute at least one column of a plurality of columns located in front of the controller in the matrix;

(Rule

     5);

media drives are connected in order of priority to a drive connector in a low position.

4. The storage device according to claim 2, wherein

the plurality of temperature-dependent devices include a battery and a power device;

and

a media drive is not connected to a drive connector in front of the battery and a media drive is connected to a drive connector that is in front of the power device.

5. The storage device according to claim 4, wherein a media drive and a controller are connected beforehand to a rear face of the backboard, and the battery is provided in front of the power device and in the space produced between the media drive and the controller.

6. The storage device according to claim 1, comprising:

a cooling fan that is provided in the enclosure;

a controller that is provided in the enclosure;

a power device that is provided in the enclosure;

a battery that is provided in the enclosure; and

a backboard which is a circuit substrate having all or some of the plurality of drive connectors on a front face thereof, and which has a controller connector to which the controller is connected and a power connector to which the power device is connected on a rear face, and which is disposed to divide an interior space of the enclosure in an anteroposterior direction, wherein

air is taken in from outside the enclosure via a front face of the enclosure as a result of rotation of the cooling fan, flows through an interior of the enclosure, and then passes through the backboard; and

the battery is provided in front of the power device.

7. The storage device according to claim 6, wherein the power device and power connector on the rear face of the backboard are connected by means of a cable.

8. The storage device according to claim 6, wherein

a battery control circuit substrate for controlling charge/discharge of the battery is provided behind the battery;

and

the battery control circuit substrate and the battery are connected by means of a cable.

9. The storage device according to claim 8, wherein

a switch control circuit substrate having a switch for turning ON power of the power device is provided in a position in which the switch is exposed via the rear face;

the battery control circuit substrate and the switch control circuit substrate have substantially the same size; and

the battery control circuit substrate is provided in the vicinity of the switch control circuit substrate.

10. The storage device according to claim 1, comprising a backboard which is a circuit substrate having a plurality of drive connectors, wherein

each of the plurality of drive connectors is an SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) drive connector;

the two or more media drives that are undetachably pre-installed are constituted by SATA drives, and each SATA (Serial ATA) drive is connected to a second drive connector via an interface conversion device; and

an interface conversion device is connected beforehand to the first drive connector.

11. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein

each of the plurality of drive connectors is an SAS drive connector;

the two or more media drives that are undetachably pre-installed are constituted by SAS drives, and each SAS drive is connected directly to a second drive connector without the involvement of an interface conversion device that is interposed between the SATA drive and SAS drive connector in order to connect the SATA drive to the SAS drive connector; and

the storage device is shipped without the interface conversion device being attached as an accessory.

12. The storage device according to claim 1, comprising a backboard which is a circuit substrate having a plurality of drive connectors, wherein

each of the plurality of drive connectors is an SAS drive connector;

the two or more media drives that are undetachably pre-installed are constituted by SATA drives, and each SATA drive is connected to a second drive connector via an interface conversion device; and

each of the one or more first drive connectors is provided with a protrusion that enters a cutout that is absent from the connector of a SATA drive but which exists in the connector of a SAS drive in cases where the SAS drive is connected.

13. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein

each of the plurality of drive connectors is a SAS drive connector, and the two or more media drives that are undetachably pre-installed are constituted by SATA drives, and each SATA drive is connected to a second drive connector via an interface conversion device,

the storage device further comprising:

a sensing section for sensing that a SATA drive has been erroneously connected to the first drive connector; and

a reporting section that reports that a SATA drive has been erroneously connected.

14. The storage device according to claim 1, comprising a backboard which is a circuit substrate having a plurality of drive connectors, wherein

each of the plurality of drive connectors is a SAS drive connector;

in cases where the two or more media drives that are undetachably pre-installed are constituted by SATA drives, each SATA drive is connected to a second drive connector via an interface conversion device;

a hole is made in the vicinity of the first drive connector of the backboard;

a protrusion that enters the hole is provided in a position of the interface conversion device that faces the hole in the backboard in cases where the interface conversion device is attached as an accessory and the interface conversion device is connected to the first drive connector; and

the interface conversion device that is attached as an accessory is a device that is attached to a SATA drive that is inserted in the expansion drive slot.

15. The storage device according to claim 14, wherein, in cases where the two or more media drives that are undetachably pre-installed are constituted by SAS drives, the hole in the backboard is covered beforehand.

16. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein a first front bezel, which covers the front faces of the pre-installed media drives, and the surface of which is constituted by an insulator, is undetachably attached to the front face of the enclosure.

17. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the expansion slot member has a door that opens and closes the expansion drive slot.

18. The storage device according to claim 17, wherein

the door is a set of two doors that are spaced vertically in a height direction of the enclosure, and the two doors are constituted to open in a direction of insertion of a media drive;

and

the expansion drive slot is in a position spaced apart in a forward direction by a distance equal to or more than widths of each of the two doors from the front face of the media drive connected to the first drive connector.

19. The storage device according to claim 18, wherein

the first front bezel, which covers the front faces of the pre-installed media drives, and the surface of which is constituted by an insulator, is undetachably attached to the front face of the enclosure;

an insulating second front bezel is detachably attached to the doors; and

the attached first front bezel is substantially flush with the attached second front bezel.

20. The storage device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a power cable connector that is provided on a rear face of the enclosure; and

a detachable enclosure cover which has a member surrounding the power cable connector, and which constitutes at least part of an upper surface of the enclosure.

21. The storage device according to claim 20, wherein the enclosure cover has an insertion section that is inserted in a member constituting a separate part of the upper surface of the enclosure, and a length of the insertion section in an anteroposterior direction is greater than a distance that the enclosure cover is able to move in the posterior direction.

22. The storage device according to claim 1, comprising a controller that is provided in the enclosure, wherein

a partial area of a rear face of the enclosure sinks forward, and a connector for a connection with the controller is provided at the maximum depth of a cavity created thereby.

23. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein each of the media drives connected to the drive connector is the media drive itself not attached to a canister.

24. The storage device according to claim 23, wherein

a first front bezel that covers front faces of the media drives that are pre-installed within the enclosure toward the front face of the enclosure is undetachably attached to the front face of the enclosure;

a second front bezel that covers the expansion drive slot is detachably attached; and

pushable sections that push the media drives are installed on rear faces of the first and second front bezels.

25. The storage device according to claim 24, wherein the pushable sections are respectively elastic members that are provided in respective positions facing the respective media drives.

26. The storage device according to claim 24, comprising a backboard which is a circuit substrate having a plurality of drive connectors, wherein

each of the plurality of drive connectors is a SAS drive connector;

in cases where the two or more media drives that are undetachably pre-installed are constituted by SATA drives, each SATA drive is connected to a second drive connector via an interface conversion device and, in cases where the two or more media drives that are undetachably pre-installed are constituted by SAS drives, each SAS drive is connected directly to a second drive connector without involvement of an interface conversion device that is interposed between the SATA drive and SAS drive connector in order to connect the SATA drive to the SAS drive connector;

a distance from the rear faces of the first and second front bezels to the media drives that are connected to the drive connectors differs depending on whether the media drives are SAS drives or SATA drives; and

the pushable sections are constituted to push the SAS drives or SATA drives by means of a stronger force than a force that would cause these drives to fall out in a state where the first and second front bezels are attached irrespective of the distance from the rear faces of the first and second front bezels to the front faces of the respective media drives.

27. The storage device according to claim 23, comprising, for each drive connector, rails for guiding the inserted media drives to the drive connectors, wherein a height of the passage along which the media drives pass on the rails is a height that corresponds with a height of the media drives.

28. The storage device according to claim 1, comprising:

a cooling fan provided in the enclosure;

a controller that has a processor provided in the enclosure;

a first temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the processor or in the vicinity thereof; and

a second temperature sensor that detects a temperature in the vicinity of an exhaust vent for air that is taken in by the cooling fan, wherein

the controller controls rotation speed of the cooling fan on the basis of first temperature control information corresponding with the first temperature sensor and second temperature control information that corresponds with the second temperature sensor; and

the respective first and second temperature control information expresses correspondence between a detected temperature range and the rotation speed.

29. The storage device according to claim 1, comprising:

a cooling fan that is provided in the enclosure;

two controller substrates that are each disposed horizontally within the enclosure;

a power device that is provided in the enclosure;

a battery that is provided in the enclosure; and

a backboard which is a circuit substrate which has all or some of the plurality of drive connectors on a front face thereof, and which has a controller connector to which the controller is connected and a power connector to which the power device is connected on a rear face thereof, and which is disposed to divide an interior space of the enclosure in an anteroposterior direction, wherein

air is taken in from outside the enclosure via a front face of the enclosure as a result of rotation of the cooling fan, flows through an interior of the enclosure and then passes through the backboard;

the two controller substrates each have a processor and, as a result of being disposed facing each other, the processors do not overlap in a planar view;

the battery is provided in front of the power device which is a space that is produced between the controller and the media drives that are connected beforehand to a rear face of the backboard;

a power cable connector connected to the power device is provided on a rear face of the enclosure and the power device and the power connector on the rear face of the backboard are connected by means of a cable; and

a battery control circuit substrate for controlling charge/discharge of the battery is provided behind the battery and the battery control circuit substrate and the battery are connected by means of a cable.

30. The storage device according to claim 29, wherein

a first front bezel, which covers front faces of the media drives that are pre-installed within the enclosure toward the front face of the enclosure, and the surface of which is constituted by an insulator, is undetachably attached to the front face of the enclosure;

the expansion slot member has a conductive door that opens and closes the expansion drive slot; and

at least a portion of an upper surface of the enclosure is covered by a detachable enclosure cover that has a member that surrounds the power cable connector.