Apparatus, method and program product for a multi-controller and multi-actuator storage device

• US 7,315,429 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2006
• Issued: 01/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: van Zyl, Jacques M. J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sniezek; Andrew L.
• Application Number:
  US11/385,115
• Publication Number:
  US 20070035868A1
• Time in Patent Office: 651 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 360/69
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/04 Arrangements for preventing, inhibiting, or warning against double recording on the same blank or against other recording or reproducing malfunctions
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 5/4806 specially adapted for disk drive assemblies, e.g. assembly prior to operation, hard or flexible disk drives G11B5/488 - G11B5/54 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 5/5578 Multiple actuators addressing the same disk, e.g. to improve data rate or access rate

Abstract

A data storage device, method and program product for high data transfer and access rate is disclosed. The data storage device includes a housing wherein at least one data storage disk is rotatably mounted. The housing further includes at least two actuator arm assemblies, each actuator arm assembly carrying a head for reading data from or writing data to the data storage disks. According to the invention the data storage device housing further includes a plurality of device interfaces, one device interface being associated to each of the actuator arm assemblies, and a common hard drive controller. Each of the plurality of device interfaces includes at least one hardware selection switch to configure the respective device interfaces for either read and write mode or read-only mode.

Claims

1. A data storage device comprising:

a housing;

at least one data storage disk rotatably mounted within said housing;

at least a first actuator arm assembly and at least a second actuator arm assembly, said at least first actuator arm assembly and said at least second actuator arm assembly being coupled to said housing, said at least first actuator arm assembly carrying a first head for at least reading data from said at least one data storage disk, said at least second actuator arm assembly carrying a second head for at least reading data from said at least one data storage disk;

at least a first data storage device interface associated with said at least first actuator arm assembly and at least a second data storage device interface associated with said at least second actuator arm assembly; and

a common hard drive controller, and wherein said first data storage device interface comprises at least a first hardware selection switch for configuring said at least first actuator arm assembly carrying said first head, and wherein said second data storage device interface comprises at least a second hardware selection switch for configuring said at least second actuator arm assembly carrying said second head.

2. The data storage device according to claim 1, wherein said first head is a read and write head for reading data from and writing data to said at least one data storage disk, and wherein said second head is a read only head for reading data from said at least one data storage disk.

3. The data storage device according to claim 2, further comprising:

a plurality of interdependent data storage disks, wherein said at least first actuator arm assembly and said at least second actuator arm assembly are configured to carry as many arms and heads as said plurality of interdependent data storage disks.

4. The data storage device according to claim 3, wherein said plurality of interdependent data storage disks include at least one data storage disk having two sides from which data can be read from or on which data can be written to, and wherein said at least first actuator arm assembly and said at least second actuator arm assembly comprise at least two heads.

5. The data storage device according to claim 4, wherein said administration server can read data from and write data to said at least first data storage device via said at least first data storage device interface.

6. The data storage device according to claim 4, wherein said network server can only read data from said at least second data storage device via said at least second data storage device interface.

7. The data storage device according to claim 2, wherein said at least first data storage device interface is adapted to connect to an administrator server and wherein said at least second data storage device interface is adapted to connect to a network server.

8. A method of managing data, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a network data storage system having a housing and at least a first data storage device, said first data storage device including at least one data storage disk, at least a first head assembly for at least reading data from said at least one data storage disk, at least a first data storage device interface associated with said at least first head assembly and configured for at least reading data from said at least one data storage disk, a second head assembly for at least reading data from said at least one data storage disk and at least a second data storage device interface associated with said second head assembly and configured for only reading data from said at least one data storage disk;

connecting at least a first computing device to said at least first device interface for exchanging data and transmitting commands to and from said first computing device and connecting at least a second computing device to said at least second device interface for accessing data and transmitting commands to and from said at least second computing device;

establishing a plurality of parameters for a common drive controller coupled to each of said at least first device interface and said at least second device interface of said data storage device; and

determining, using a logical state for one or more of said plurality of parameters, a current state of said at least one data storage disk for which a data function request is received before executing said data function request in order to avoid a failure associated with said at least one data storage disk.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising the step of:

transmitting to said common drive controller said data function request that is received, such that a first head of said at least first head assembly associated with said at least first device interface does not use a same data storage disk address argument as a second head of said second head assembly associated with said second device interface.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein said plurality of parameters for said common drive controller comprises a first parameter and a second parameter, and wherein said first parameter indicates whether or not said at least one data storage disk is rotating, and wherein said second parameter indicates whether or not a head associated with said at least one data storage disk is in a secure position on said at least one data storage disk.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein said first parameter is set to a first logical state if said at least one data storage disk is rotating;

wherein said first parameter is set to a second logical state if said at least one data storage disk is not rotating, wherein said second parameter is set to a first logical state if said head associated with said at least one data storage disk is not in said secure position on said at least one data storage disk, and wherein said second parameter is set to a second logical state if said head is in said secure position on said at least one data storage disk.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein said at least first head assembly comprises a read-write head for both reading data from and writing data to said at least one data storage disk, and said at least second head assembly comprises a read-only head for reading data from said at least one data storage disk.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein said determining step further comprises the steps of:

checking whether said first parameter is set to either said first logical state or said second logical state; and

if said first parameter is not set to said first logical state, setting said first parameter to said first logical state for turning on a rotation of said at least one data storage disk.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein said at least first data storage device interface is adapted to connect to an administration server that is configured to read data from and write data to said at least first data storage device and wherein said at least second data storage device interface is adapted to connect to a network server that can only read data from said at least second data storage device.

15. A computer program product for broadcasting data, said computer program product comprising:

a computer readable medium;

first program instructions for exchanging data and transmitting commands to and from a data storage device having a first device interface set in a read and write mode for access by a user via said first device interface;

second program instructions for accessing data and transmitting commands to and from said data storage device having a second device interface set in a read-only mode for access by another user via said second device interface;

third program instructions to set a plurality of parameters for a common drive controller for controlling one or more heads associated with said data storage device;

fourth program instructions to determine a logical state of said data storage device before executing a data request command for broadcasting said data; and

wherein said first, second, third and fourth program instructions are stored on said medium.

16. The computer program product according to claim 15, wherein said data stored in said first data storage device can be changed by said user connected via said first device interface, and wherein said data stored in said data storage device cannot be changed by said another user connected via said second device interface.

17. The computer program product according to claim 16, wherein said fourth program instructions further include instructions to determine a current state of at least one data storage disk on said data storage device for which a data function request is received before executing said data function request in order to avoid a failure associated with said at least one data storage disk.

18. The computer program product according to claim 17, wherein said plurality of parameters for said common hard drive controller comprises a first parameter and a second parameter, and wherein said first parameter indicates whether or not said at least one data storage disk is rotating, and wherein said second parameter indicates whether or not a head associated with said at least one data storage disk is in a secure position on said at least one data storage disk.

19. The computer program product according to claim 18, wherein said first parameter is set to a first logical state if said at least one data storage disk is rotating;

wherein said first parameter is set to a second logical state if said at least one data storage disk is not rotating, wherein said second parameter is set to a first logical state if said respective head is not in said secure position on said at least one data storage disk, and wherein said second parameter is set to a second logical state if said respective head is in said secure position on said at least one data storage disk.