Storage system with procedure for monitoring low level status codes, deriving high level status codes based thereon and taking appropriate remedial actions

• US 6,058,494 A
• Filed: 07/03/1997
• Issued: 05/02/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Gold, Stephen, Turner, Philip John, Lord, Jonathan Conrad
• Primary Examiner(s): Beausoliel, Jr., Robert W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Elmore, Stephen C.
• Application Number:
  US08/887,917
• Time in Patent Office: 1,034 Days
• Field of Search: 395/183.18, 395/183.01, 395/185.01, 364/265, 364/266.5, 364/267.1, 364/267.4, 714/42, 714/25, 714/48, 714/704, 711/4, 711/111
• US Class Current: 714/42
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/073 in a memory management context, e.g. virtual memory or cache management memory management G06F12/00; testing of static memory units G11C29/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0766 Error or fault reporting or storing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/327 Alarm or error message display

Abstract

A controller of a storage system for computer data enables diagnosis of errors and status monitoring of the storage system. The controller is enabled to categorize errors according to severity and to analyze low-level errors so as to trigger a combination of high level error conditions.

Claims

1. A system for storing computer data comprising:

a storage device having means for reading data from and writing data to removable media, and for generating low level system status indications;

a controller including

first means for monitoring said low level system status indications and for providing low level error indicators in accord therewith;

second means for interpreting said low level indicators and for generating one or more corresponding high level error indicators; and

third means for prioritizing said high level indicators when more than one is present; and

means to communicate occurrence of said high level error indicators to enable provision of error messages to the user.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the third means categorizes the high level error indicators into three classes according to severity.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein, if there are a plurality of error conditions occurring at the same time, said third means enables said error messages to be ordered according to the relative severity of the pertaining error indicators.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein said third means groups the low-level error indicators into functional types and enables the high level error indicators to be communicated according to what functional type of low-level error has occurred.

5. A system according to claim 1, further comprising means for automatically initiating a predetermined sequence of error recovery steps according to the high level error indicators.

6. A system according to claim 1, which is configured so that the occurrence of high level error indicators is communicated at predetermined points in a storage operation.

7. A system according to claim 1 which is configured so that the occurrence of high level error indicators is communicated whenever a new error is indicated by the storage device.

8. A system according to claim 1, wherein the storage device is a tape drive.

9. A method for storing computer data comprising the steps of:

reading data from and/or writing data to removable media, and generating low level system status indications;

monitoring said low level system status indications and providing low level error indicators in accord therewith;

interpreting said low level indicators and generating one or more corresponding high level error indicators; and

prioritizing said high level indicators according to severity; and

triggering error messages to a user of the system on the basis of the occurrence of said high level error indicators.

10. A computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium executable by a host computer to perform in accordance with the method recited in claim 9.

11. The method as recited in claim 9 wherein at least some low-level error indicators result in a combination of high-level error indicators to be generated.