Method for communicating occurrence of events in a storage medium

• US 7,000,237 B1
• Filed: 12/21/1999
• Issued: 02/14/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Sinha, Alok
• Primary Examiner(s): An, Meng-Al T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CAO, DIEM K
• Application Number:
  US09/468,614
• Time in Patent Office: 2,247 Days
• Field of Search: 709/318, 714/26, 714/114, 719/310, 719313-318, 719/320
• US Class Current: 719/318
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3485 for I/O devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/86 Event-based monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications

Abstract

Briefly, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a computing system includes an event programming interface and a management application. The management application is communicatively coupled to the event programming interface so that the management application may register an event that the event programming interface will notify the management application once that event has occurred. In one embodiment, the event programming interface may notify the management application of the occurrence of an event that is associated with a storage medium in a RAID process.

Claims

1. In a computing device having an operating system module to interface with a RAID device controller that comprises an I/O processor, a method of indicating occurrence of an event to a management application, comprising:

registering the management application with an event application programming interface;

detecting occurrence of an event of the I/O processor with a RAID monitor service operating above the operating system module that interfaces with the RAID device controller; and

notifying the management application program of the event via the event application programming interface,

wherein registering includes storing a hardware identification value that identifies a storage medium associated with the event, and identifying the type of event.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating the event application programming interface with the RAID monitor service upon occurrence of the event.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein registering the management application includes providing the event application programming interface with a callback function.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the event application programming interface uses the callback function to notify the management application of the occurrence of the event.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein registering the management application includes creating an interprocess communication between the RAID monitor service and the management application.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of unregistering the management application with the event application programming interface upon notification of the event.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the event application programming interface returns a callback function upon notification of the event.

8. In a computing device having an operating system module to interface with a device, a method for notifying an application of the occurrence of a hardware event comprising:

registering the application with a programming interface;

detecting occurrence of the hardware event with a monitor service that operates above the operating system module and that is separate from the programming interface; and

upon detecting occurrence of the hardware event, notifying the application of the hardware event via the programming interface,

wherein registering the application includes storing data identifying an input/output processor that monitors the device, identifying the type of event and

wherein storing the data includes storing a hardware identification value that identifies a storage medium associated with the event.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising notifying the programming interface of the occurrence of the hardware event with a RAID monitor service.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein notifying the application includes providing a callback function.

9. The method of clam 8, wherein storing the data includes storing data identifying the hardware event that the programming interface notifies the application of once the hardware event has occurred.

12. An article comprising:

a machine readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions capable of being executed by a data processing platform, said instructions being adapted to register a management application with a programming interface so that the programming interface is capable of notifying the management application of an event detected by a RAID monitor service that operates above an operating system module that interfaces with an I/O processor of a RAID device controller,

wherein said instructions being adapted to register the management application are further adapted to store a hardware identification value that identifies a storage medium associated with the event, and identifying the type of event.

13. The machine readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein said instructions are further adapted to unregister the management application.

14. The machine readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein said instructions are further adapted to notify the management application of a hardware event.

15. The machine readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the hardware event is selected from the group consisting of a disk drive failure, disk drive initialization, array migration, and data recovery.

16. The machine readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein said instructions are further adapted to register a processor identification value.

17. An article comprising:

a processor;

a medium for storing instructions;

a medium for storing data; and

a module to interface with an I/O processor that monitors the medium for storing data;

wherein instructions on the medium for storing instructions define a monitor service adapted to cause the processor to detect via the module the occurrence of an event with the medium for storing data, to indicate the occurrence of the event to a management application and

wherein instructions on the medium for storing instructions are adapted to register the management application including storing a hardware identification value that identifies a storage medium associated with the event, and identifying the type of event.

18. The article of claim 17, wherein the management application is selected from the group consisting of a desktop management program, a RAID system management application, and a RAID monitor application.

19. The article of claim 17, wherein the device medium for storing data comprises a RAID device and the monitor service comprises a RAID monitor service.

20. The article of claim 19, further comprising an intelligent input/output controller to interface with the RAID device, wherein the intelligent input/output controller comprises the I/O processor.

21. An apparatus comprising:

a processor;

a RAID controller comprising an I/O processor;

an operating system module to interface with a RAID device via the I/O processor of the RAID controller;

a RAID monitor service to detect events of the RAID device via the operating system module;

an event programming interface; and

a management application to register an event with the event programming interface and to provide the event programming interface with a hardware identification value that identifies a storage medium associated with the event, and identifying the type of event,

wherein the event programming interface is adapted to notify the management application of the event detected by the RAID monitor service.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, further comprising a storage medium, wherein the storage medium comprises instructions that cause the processor to register the management application with the event programming interface.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the storage medium further comprises instructions that cause the processor to provide the function of the event programming interface.