TAPE DRIVE CACHE MEMORY

• US 20140215145A1
• Filed: 01/31/2013
• Published: 07/31/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Ballard, Curtis C.
• Application Number:
  US13/756,144
• Publication Number:
  US 20140215145A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/111
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0866 for peripheral storage systems, e.g. disk cache
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/213 Tape storage
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0611 in relation to response time
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0656 Data buffering arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0682 Tape device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0686 Libraries, e.g. tape libraries, jukebox

Abstract

A system including a tape drive having cache memory to detect a smaller partition and a larger partition in a tape and load stored information in the smaller partition into the cache memory to access the cache memory instead of the smaller partition on the tape.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a cache memory; and

a tape drive coupled to the cache memory, wherein the tape drive to detect a smaller partition and a larger partition in a tape and load stored information in the smaller partition into the cache memory to access the cache memory instead of the smaller partition on the tape.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the tape drive is configured to read and update the cache memory in response to commands for accessing the smaller partition on the tape.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the tape drive is configured to write the cache memory to the smaller partition on the tape to synchronize the cache memory with the smaller partition on the tape.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the smaller partition is a metadata partition and the larger partition is a data partition.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the cache memory includes a removable memory module.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the cache memory includes memory built into the tape drive.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the cache memory includes at least one of battery backed memory, super capacitor backed memory, flash memory, EEPROM, and disk drive memory.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the tape drive to indicate that the tape drive has the capability of detecting and loading the stored information in the smaller partition into the cache memory and accessing the cache memory in response to commands for accessing the smaller partition on the tape.

9. A system comprising:

a cache memory; and

a tape drive coupled to the cache memory, the tape drive to detect a smaller partition and a larger partition in a tape and load stored information in the smaller partition into the cache memory and access the cache memory in response to commands to access the smaller partition on the tape, wherein the tape drive to indicate that the tape drive is capable of detecting and loading the stored information in the smaller partition into the cache memory and accessing the cache memory in response to commands for accessing the smaller partition on the tape.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the tape drive is directed by an application to detect the smaller partition and the larger partition in the tape and to load the stored information in the smaller partition into the cache memory and access the cache memory in response to commands for accessing the smaller partition on the tape.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the tape drive is configured to automatically detect and load the stored information in the smaller partition into the cache memory and access the cache memory in response to commands to access the smaller partition on the tape.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the tape drive is configured to receive commands to locate to the smaller partition and the tape drive changes the logical address to the cache memory in response to the commands.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the cache memory includes a removable memory module attached to the tape drive.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the cache memory includes memory built into the tape drive.

15. A method comprising:

detecting a smaller partition and a larger partition on a tape by a tape drive;

copying stored information in the smaller partition from the tape into a cache memory of the tape drive; and

accessing the cache memory in response to commands for accessing the smaller partition on the tape.

16. The method of claim 15, comprising:

reading and updating the cache memory in response to commands for accessing the smaller partition on the tape.

17. The method of claim 15, comprising:

writing the cache memory to the smaller partition on the tape to synchronize the cache memory with the smaller partition on the tape.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein writing the cache memory to the smaller partition comprises:

writing the cache memory to the smaller partition on the tape to synchronize the cache memory with the smaller partition on the tape in the background, based on one or more of idle time, unloading of the tape, and a schedule.

19. The method of claim 15, comprising:

indicating that the tape drive can detect the smaller partition and the larger partition on the tape, load the stored information in the smaller partition from the tape into the cache memory of the tape drive, and access the cache memory in response to commands for accessing the smaller partition on the tape to an application on a server.

20. The method of claim 19, comprising:

receiving directions from the application to detect the smaller partition and the larger partition on the tape, load the stored information in the smaller partition from the tape into the cache memory of the tape drive, and access the cache memory in response to commands for accessing the smaller partition on the tape.