Apparatus and method for preventing an erroneous operation at the time of detection of a system failure

• US 7,117,397 B1
• Filed: 11/28/2000
• Issued: 10/03/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Azuma, Keizo, Kondo, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Beausoliel, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): PUENTE, EMERSON C
• Application Number:
  US09/723,768
• Time in Patent Office: 2,135 Days
• Field of Search: 714/4, 714/25, 714/34, 714/48
• US Class Current: 714/48
• 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 11/0793 Remedial or corrective actions recovery from an exception in an instruction pipeline G06F9/3861; by retry G06F11/1402; for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity H04L69/40
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/20 using active fault-masking, e.g. by switching out faulty elements or by switching in spare elements

Abstract

If a failure is detected in a system, it is automatically judged which operation mode should be selected, a system-down mode or a dynamic degeneracy mode. If a failed device is severed from the system, the severance of the device is reported by making a device control unit access the device or changing the state of the device.

Claims

1. A notification apparatus, comprising:

means for determining a failure has occurred in a device and a use of the failed device is prohibited, the determination of the failure being made independent of a device control unit that performs control over the failed device;

a notification device for instructing the device control unit that performs control over the failed device to access the failed device when the means for determining determines that the failure has occurred in the failed device;

wherein the device control unit recognizes the prohibition of use of the failed device if the device control unit is unable to access the failed device.

2. The notification apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said notification device includes a pseudo-interrupt issuance device making the device control unit access the failed device by issuing a pseudo-interrupt to the device control unit and calling up an interrupt process of the device control unit.

3. The notification apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said notification device includes an access instruction issuance device making the device control unit access the failed device by issuing an access instruction to the device control unit and calling up an access process of the device control unit.

4. The notification apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notification judgment device judging whether the device control unit should be notified of the prohibition of use of the failed device.

5. The notification apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said notification judgment device includes a device judging whether a device control unit should be notified of a prohibition of use of a failed device for each device group included in the system.

6. The notification apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said notification judgment device includes a device judging whether a device control unit should be notified of a prohibition of use of a failed device for each device control unit that performs control over a device included in the system.

7. The notification apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said notification judgment device includes a device judging whether a device control unit should be notified of a prohibition of use of a failed device for each device included in the system.

8. The notification apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said notification judgment device includes a setting device setting information about whether the device control unit should be notified of the prohibition of use of the failed device, and outputs a judgment result corresponding to the set information.

9. The notification apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said setting device includes a device setting the information for each device group included in the system.

10. The notification apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said setting device includes a device setting the information for each device control unit that performs control over a device included in the system.

11. The notification apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said setting device includes a device setting the information for each device included in the system.

12. The notification apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a confirmation device checking whether another device in the system is affected by the failed device, said system prohibiting use of a device affected by the failed device and said notification judgment device judging whether a device control unit that performs control over the affected device should be notified of the prohibition of use of the affected device.

13. The notification apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a confirmation device checking whether another device in the system is affected by the failed device.

14. A computer-readable storage medium on which a program is recorded, said program comprising:

determining a failure has occurred in a device and a use of the failed device is prohibited, the determination of the failure being made independent of a device control unit that performs control over the failed device;

enabling a computer to instruct the device control unit that performs control over the failed device to access the failed device when the determination is made that the failure has occurred in the failed device,

wherein the device control unit recognizes the prohibition of use of the failed device if the device control unit is unable to access the failed device.

15. A notification method, comprising:

determining a failure has occurred in a device and a use of the failed device is prohibited, the determination of the failure being made independent of a device control unit that performs control over the failed device;

prohibiting use of the failed device; and

instructing the device control unit that performs control over the failed device to access the failed device when the determination is made that the failure has occurred in the failed device,

the device control unit recognizing the prohibition of use of the failed device if the device control unit is unable to access the failed device.

16. A notification apparatus, comprising:

means for determining a failure has occurred in a device and a use of the failed device is prohibited, the determination of the failure being made independent of a device control unit that performs control over the failed device;

prohibition means for prohibiting use of the failed device; and

notification means for instructing the device control unit that performs control over the failed device to access the failed device when said means for determining determines that the failure has occurred in the failed device;

wherein the device control unit recognizes the prohibition of use of the failed device if the device control unit is unable to access the failed device.