STORAGE DEVICE POWER CONSUMPTION STATE

• US 20090276647A1
• Filed: 04/30/2008
• Published: 11/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Boyd, James
• Application Number:
  US12/112,180
• Publication Number:
  US 20090276647A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/320
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3215 Monitoring of peripheral devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3268 Power saving in hard disk drive
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0625 Power saving in storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0634 by changing the state or mode of one or more devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0689 Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate

Abstract

In an embodiment, an apparatus is provided that includes circuitry to determine, at least in part, whether respective idle conditions have been satisfied for respective storage devices. If the circuitry determines, at least in part, that at least one respective storage device comprised in the respective storage devices satisfies at least one respective idle condition, the circuitry is also to issue at least one request that the at least one respective storage device enter, independently from at least one other respective storage device comprised in the respective storage devices, a respective relatively lower power consumption state compared to a respective relatively higher power consumption state. Of course, many alternatives, modifications, and variations are possible without departing from this embodiment.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

circuitry to determine, at least in part, whether respective idle conditions have been satisfied for respective storage devices, and if the circuitry determines, at least in part, that at least one respective storage device comprised in the respective storage devices satisfies at least one respective idle condition, the circuitry is also to issue at least one request that the at least one respective storage device enter, independently from at least one other respective storage device comprised in the respective storage devices, a respective relatively lower power consumption state compared to a respective relatively higher power consumption state.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a redundant array of independent disks (RAID) that comprises the at least one respective storage device and the at least one other respective storage device.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein:

the at least one respective storage device mirrors the at least one other respective storage device;

the at least one respective storage device comprises a hard disk mass storage device; and

the at least one other respective storage device comprises a semiconductor mass storage device.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the apparatus further comprises the at least one respective storage device and the at least one other respective storage device; and

if the circuitry determines, at least in part, that the at least one other respective storage device has not entered at least one other respective idle condition, then after the at least one request is issued the at least one other respective storage device remains in a respective unchanged power consumption state compared to prior to issuance of the request.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a data volume that spans the at least one respective storage device and the at least one other respective storage device.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in response at least in part, to a determination that access to the at least one respective storage device has been requested, the circuitry is also to issue at least one other request that the at least one respective storage device enter the respective relatively higher power state.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

determination of whether the respective idle conditions have been satisfied is carried out, at least in part, by one or more drivers based, at least in part, upon one or more respective timers associated with the at least one respective storage device, the one or more respective timers being implemented, at least in part, by the one or more drivers;

the one or more drivers also perform, at least in part, another determination that access to the at least one respective storage device has been requested; and

the one or drivers initiate issuance, at least in part, of the at least one request and the least one other request.

7. Machine-readable memory storing one or more instructions that when executed by a machine result in execution of operations comprising:

determining, at least in part, whether respective idle conditions have been satisfied for respective storage devices; and

if the determining, at least in part, determines that at least one respective storage device comprised in the respective storage devices satisfies at least one respective idle condition, issuing at least one request that the at least one respective storage device enter, independently from at least one other respective storage device comprised in the respective storage devices, a respective relatively lower power consumption state compared to a respective relatively higher power consumption state.

8. The memory of claim 7, wherein:

a redundant array of independent disks (RAID) comprises the at least one respective storage device and the at least one other respective storage device.

9. The memory of claim 8, wherein:

the at least one respective storage device mirrors the at least one other respective storage device;

the at least one respective storage device comprises a hard disk mass storage device; and

the at least one other respective storage device comprises a semiconductor mass storage device.

10. The memory of claim 7, wherein:

if the determination, at least in part, determines that the at least one other respective storage device has not entered at least one other respective idle condition, then after the at least one request is issued the at least one other respective storage device remains in a respective unchanged power consumption state compared to prior to issuance of the request.

11. The memory of claim 7, wherein a data volume spans the at least one respective storage device and the at least one other respective storage device.

12. The memory of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise, in response at least in part, to a determination that access to the at least one respective storage device has been requested, issuing at least one other request that the at least one respective storage device enter the respective relatively higher power state.

13. The memory of claim 12, wherein:

the determining is carried out, at least in part, by one or more drivers based, at least in part, upon one or more respective timers associated with the at least one respective storage device, the one or more respective timers being implemented, at least in part, by the one or more drivers;

the one or more drivers also perform, at least in part, the determination; and

the one or drivers initiate issuance, at least in part, of the at least one request and the least one other request.