STATISTICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL DATA LOGGING SYSTEM FOR DATA PROCESSING STORAGE SUBSYSTEM

• US 3,704,363 A
• Filed: 06/09/1971
• Issued: 11/28/1972
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Oscar E. Salmassy, Robert E. Sullivan
• Original Assignee: Oscar E. Salmassy, Robert E. Sullivan
• Inventors: Salmassy, Oscar E., Sullivan, Robert E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Atkinson, Charles E.
• Application Number:
  US05/151,503
• Time in Patent Office: 538 Days
• Field of Search: 235/153 340/146.1,172.5 324/73R 444/1
• US Class Current: 714/704
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0727 in a storage system, e.g. in a DASD or network based storage system drivers for digital recording or reproducing units G06F3/06; circuits for error detection or correction within digital recording or reproducing units G11B20/18; for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0751 Error or fault detection not based on redundancy power supply failures G06F1/30; network fault management H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/076 by exceeding a count or rate limit, e.g. word- or bit count limit
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3409 for performance assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3447 Performance evaluation by modeling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3476 Data logging G06F11/14, G06F11/2205 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3485 for I/O devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/88 Monitoring involving counting

Abstract

A method and apparatus for maintaining a statistical data record of usage and error information for each physical device and for physical storage volumes within each physical device, in a data storage subsystem. Usage information provides an accumulated count of the total number of various types of usage, while error information provides an accumulated count of the total number of various types of errors encountered during the usage. All such information is identified by physical device and is further identified by physical ID of a storage volume mounted on the device. The usage/error information is off-loaded to a storage area of the using system each time one of the usage or error counts reaches a predetermined threshold, and can be off-loaded at end-of-day, or at a physical volume change time in order to allow a summary by time period and by storage volume ID. An environmental data logging mode is initiated when an intolerable amount of errors of a given type is encountered, and for the next predetermined number of times that the particular type of error which initiated logging occurs, detailed sense information is recorded by the subsystem and transmitted to the system. Statistical and environmental data is summarized for use by system maintenance personnel for diagnostic and maintenance purposes.

Claims

1. In a data processing subsystem having storage devices identified by physical address and logical address, said devices having associated therewith portable storage volumes identified by volume identifier, said system for performing operations having associated therewith usage parameters and error parameters, the method of collecting statistical data comprising the steps of:

associating a threshold number to each of said usage parameters for each said physical device having associated therewith an identified storage volume;

associating a threshold number to each of said error parameters for each said physical device relative to at least one of said usage parameters having associated therewith an identified storage volume;

counting the number of occurrences of said usage parameters for each physical device having associated therewith an identified storage volume;

counting the number of occurrences of said error parameters for each physical device having associated therewith an identified storage volume;

detecting, for each physical device and the storage volume associated therewith, at least one of said error parameters reaching its established threshold prior to said at least one usage parameter relative to which said threshold number of said error parameter was established reaching its threshold; and

transmitting, in response to said detection, said counted number of occurrences of said usage parameters and said error parameters for each physical device and associated identified storage volume for which said detection was accomplished, to a storage area.

2. The method of claim 1 further including the steps of:

detecting, for each physical device and the identified storage volume associated therewith, at least one of said usage parameters reaching its threshold before any of said error parameters reaches its threshold; and

transmitting, in response to said detection of said at least one of said usage parameters reaching its threshold before any of said error parameters reaches its threshold, said counted number of occurrences of said usage parameters and said error parameters for each physical device and storage volume, to said storage area.

3. The method of claim 1 further including the steps of:

collecting in at least one storage area, in response to said detection, detailed diagnostic sense information the next predetermined number of times the type of error causing said detection is encountered, from the physical device causing said detection; and

transmitting said detailed diagnostic sense information to said storage area.