Data transferring system having foreground and background modes and upon detecting significant pattern of access in foreground mode to change background mode control parameters
First Claim
1. A method for transferring blocks of data elements from storage locations in a first data storage device to storage locations in a second data storage device wherein a host computer generates data transfer requests for data elements from arbitrary storage locations in the second data storage device, said method comprising the steps of:
- A. defining a copy subroutine for effecting the transfer of data blocks in response to predetermined control parameters;
B. enabling a background mode controller to establish the predetermined control parameters for the copy subroutine;
C. enabling a foreground mode controller to make transfers of a data block in response to a data transfer request that accesses a data block located only in the first data storage device;
D. determining the existence of a significant pattern of accesses in response to data transfer requests from the host computer; and
E. altering the predetermined control parameters for the background mode controller in response to the occurrence of the significant pattern.
7 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for transferring data from a donor storage device to a target storage device in parallel with requests from a host computer for transfers between the host computer and the target storage device. A copy subroutine operates in response to background and foreground mode controllers. The background mode controller normally copies data from an initial position in the donor storage device sequentially by data block. When a DTR command from the host processor requests a data element from a block that has not migrated to the target storage device, the foreground controller uses the copy subroutine to transfer the designated block. The storage areas are divided into statistical blocks. If a threshold number of consecutive DTR commands accesses a particular statistical block, the system resets the parameters for the background mode controller to effectively move the copy subroutine to begin background copying from the statistical block. A subsequent request to move the subroutine in the background mode cannot occur until a minimum number of data blocks have been transferred.
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Citations
34 Claims
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1. A method for transferring blocks of data elements from storage locations in a first data storage device to storage locations in a second data storage device wherein a host computer generates data transfer requests for data elements from arbitrary storage locations in the second data storage device, said method comprising the steps of:
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A. defining a copy subroutine for effecting the transfer of data blocks in response to predetermined control parameters; B. enabling a background mode controller to establish the predetermined control parameters for the copy subroutine; C. enabling a foreground mode controller to make transfers of a data block in response to a data transfer request that accesses a data block located only in the first data storage device; D. determining the existence of a significant pattern of accesses in response to data transfer requests from the host computer; and E. altering the predetermined control parameters for the background mode controller in response to the occurrence of the significant pattern. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for transferring a data block of data elements from storage locations in a first data storage device to storage locations in a second data storage device by copying data blocks from sequential storage locations in a non-redundant fashion beginning from a defined starting storage location wherein data transfer requests for data elements that access arbitrary storage locations can occur during the sequential copying, said method comprising the steps of:
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A. defining a copy subroutine for effecting the transfer of data blocks in response to predetermined control parameters, B. initializing the predetermined control parameters thereby to establish initial operations of the copy subroutine including the defined starting storage location, C. defining a plurality of localized areas, each localized area corresponding to a predetermined number of consecutive data elements; and D. thereafter and until all the data elements are copied to the second data storage device; i. monitoring the data transfer requests for activity within a localized area constituting a significant activity; and ii. setting the control parameters including the starting storage location to a storage location in the localized area when said monitoring determines significant activity in a localized area thereby to enable the copy subroutine to make transfers at the localized area. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. Apparatus for transferring blocks of data elements from storage locations in a first data storage device to storage locations in a second data storage device wherein a host computer generates data transfer requests for data elements from arbitrary storage locations in the second data storage device, said apparatus comprising:
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A. a copy subroutine for effecting the transfer of data blocks in response to predetermined control parameters; B. a background mode controller for establishing the predetermined control parameters for the copy subroutine; C. foreground mode controller for transferring a data block in response to a data transfer request that accesses a data block located only in the first data storage device; D. means for determining the existence of a significant pattern of accesses in response to data transfer requests from the host computer; and E. means for altering the predetermined control parameters for said background mode controller in response to the occurrence of the significant pattern. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. Apparatus for transferring a data block of data elements from storage locations in a first data storage device to storage locations in a second data storage device by copying data blocks from sequential storage locations in a non-redundant fashion beginning from a defined starting storage location wherein data transfer requests for data elements the access arbitrary storage locations can occur during the sequential copying, said apparatus comprising:
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A. a copy subroutine for effecting the transfer of data blocks in response to predetermined control parameters, B. means for initializing the predetermined control parameters thereby to establish initial operations of the copy subroutine including the defined starting storage location, C. means for defining a plurality of localized areas, each localized area corresponding to a predetermined number of consecutive data elements; and D. means thereafter and until all the data elements are copied to the second data storage device for effecting a data transfer including; i. means for monitoring the data transfer requests for activity within a localized area constituting a significant activity; and ii. means for setting the control parameters including the starting storage location to a storage location in the localized area when said monitoring means determines significant activity in a localized area thereby to enable the copy subroutine to make transfers at the localized area. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification