1394 hard disk sector format selection

• US 6,385,711 B1
• Filed: 04/26/1999
• Issued: 05/07/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Colligan, Tom
• Primary Examiner(s): Yoo, Do Hyun
• Assistant Examiner(s): Namazi, Mehdi
• Application Number:
  US09/299,460
• Publication Number:
  US 20020065982A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,107 Days
• Field of Search: 711/170, 714/6, 713/1, 710/129, 707/205
• US Class Current: 711/170
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0866 for peripheral storage systems, e.g. disk cache
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0613 in relation to throughput
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/064 Management of blocks
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0676 Magnetic disk device
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99956 File allocation

Abstract

A method, computer system and apparatus describe how a data transmission rate of incoming and outgoing data are correlated to the size of a data storage area of a medium by formatting the medium with the data storage area into a plurality of sectors according to the data transfer rate of the data. The medium is correlated to a data transmission rate of data by providing a controller to format the medium into a sector size according to a packet size associated with the data transfer rate of the data. The method includes providing a controller with a capability of determining a read/write transmission size, the read/write transmission size correlated to the data transmission rate and the sector size. The controller also has the capability of determining a read/write transmission size according to the formula: R_trans=(R_HD, R_data)_max. The method includes formatting a hard disk drive, wherein the correlating the size of a data storage area on the hard disk drive with a data transfer rate includes correlating sector sizes of the hard disk drive according to a size of data packets to be transferred to the hard disk drive. The method includes providing an adaptive disk cache, the disk cache adaptively organizing the data into the size of the data storage area. The adaptive disk cache arranges the data for the data storage area such that a plurality of pending data requests can be reordered to complete the pending data requests efficiently.

Claims

1. A method of formatting a hard disk drive capable of data storage of data, the method comprising:

determining a data storage capacity of a hard disk drive, the data storage capacity including a sector size; and

formatting the hard disk drive into a plurality of sectors by setting the sector size of each of the plurality of sectors to a value substantially equivalent to a packet size associated with a data transfer rate of the data, wherein the data transfer rate of the data is associated with a data transfer protocol.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the formatting the hard disk drive includes providing a controller to perform the formatting the hard disk drive step.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the formatting the hard disk drive includes:

providing an adaptive cache, the adaptive cache storing the data on the hard disk drive depending on a packet data transfer rate.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the adaptive cache arranges the reading and writing of a plurality of sectors to provide a virtual hard disk sector size, the virtual hard disk sector size correlated to the packet data transfer rate.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the formatting the hard disk drive includes:

transmitting packet data to the hard disk drive according to the sector size; and

transmitting packet data from the hard disk drive according to the sector size.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the sector size and the packet data size are substantially equivalent.

7. The method of claim 2, further includes:

providing the controller with a capability of determining a read/write transmission size, the read/write transmission size correlated to the data transmission rate and the sector size.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein providing the controller with the capability of determining a read/write transmission size further includes:

providing for a data transmission rate according to R_trans=(R_HD, R_data)_max.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the substantially equivalent value includes correlating a size of at least one sector of a hard disk drive according to a size of at least one data packet to be transferred to the hard disk drive.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing information regarding the data storage area to a driver for the hard disk drive, the providing of information including;

providing at least one format command indicative of information including a size to which the data storage area is capable of receiving data;

providing a controller that receives and transmits the at least one format command; and

installing an operating system capable of operating the driver.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing an adaptive disk cache, the disk cache adaptively organizing the data into the size of the data storage area.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the disk cache arranges the data for the data storage area such that a plurality of pending data requests can be reordered to complete the pending data requests.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the data storage area includes read and write sectors of a hard disk drive.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the data is received as packets defined under a protocol, the protocol selected from a group including an IEEE 1394 Serial Bus Standard.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the data transfer protocol is the IEEE 1394 Serial Bus Standard.

16. A computer system comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to the processor;

a hard disk drive having a data storage area, the hard disk drive coupled to a bus; and

a controller coupled to the bus, the controller capable of correlating a size of the data storage area on the hard disk drive, wherein the controller determines a data storage capacity of a hard disk drive, the data storage capacity including a sector size, and wherein the controller formats the hard disk drive into a plurality of sectors by setting the sector size of each of the plurality of sectors to a value substantially equivalent to a packet size associated with a data transfer rate of the data, wherein the data transfer rate of the data is associated with a data transfer protocol.

17. The computer system of claim 16, wherein the controller capable of correlating the size of the data storage area includes:

means for determining a data storage capacity of the hard disk drive, the data storage capacity including a sector size; and

means for formatting the hard disk drive into a plurality of sectors according to the data transfer rate of the data.

18. The computer system of claim 16, wherein the hard disk drive provides an adaptive cache, the adaptive cache storing the data on the hard disk drive depending on a packet data transfer rate.

19. The computer system of claim 18, wherein the adaptive cache arranges the reading and writing of a plurality of sectors to provide a virtual hard disk sector size.

20. The computer system of claim 18, wherein the adaptive cache arranges the data for the data storage area such that a plurality of pending data requests can be reordered to complete the pending data requests.

21. The computer system of claim 16, wherein:

the controller correlating the size of the data storage area transmits packet data to and from the hard disk drive according to the sector size.

22. The computer system of claim 21 wherein:

the controller transmits packet data at a data transmission rate according to;

R_trans=(R_HD, R_data)_max.

23. The computer system of claim 16, wherein the controller is in a hard disk drive.

24. The computer system of claim 16, wherein the data transfer protocol is the IEEE 1394 Serial Bus Standard.