Providing removable storage management services using removable storage error information

• US 7,913,117 B2
• Filed: 08/10/2007
• Issued: 03/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Wada, Shinobu, Christensen, Eric Rolf, Bates, Allen Keith, Winarski, Daniel James
• Primary Examiner(s): Bonzo; Bryce P
• Application Number:
  US11/837,473
• Publication Number:
  US 20090040650A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,320 Days
• Field of Search: 714/27, 714/42
• US Class Current: 714/27
• 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 11/0748 in a remote unit communicating with a single-box computer node experiencing an error/fault remote testing G06F11/2294
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/076 by exceeding a count or rate limit, e.g. word- or bit count limit
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0775 Content or structure details of the error report, e.g. specific table structure, specific error fields
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 15/689 Control of the cassette changing arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/18 Error detection or correction; Testing , e.g. of drop-outs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/11 by using information not detectable on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/36 Monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing for digital recording G11B20/00 and s.gr.; for monitoring, testing or measuring of TV recorders of the type covered by H04N5/76 and subgroups, see H04N17/06

Abstract

Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for providing removable storage management services using removable storage error information. Read/write error information is obtained for at least one removable storage by interfacing with the removable storage manager. The obtained read/write error information for the at least one removable storage is processed to determine read/write error rates for the at least one removable storage. A determination is made as to whether the determined read/write error rates for the at least one removable storage exceed at least one read/write error threshold. At least one message is sent to the removable storage manager to replace the at least one removable storage having read/write error rates that exceed the at least one read/write error threshold.

Claims

1. A method, comprising

interfacing, over a network, with removable storage managers executing in customer computers at different customer service sites to obtain read/write error information for removable storages coupled to the customer computers at the different customer service sites;

processing the obtained read/write error information for the removable storages at the different customer service sites to determine read/write error rates for the removable storages coupled to the customer computers;

determining whether the determined read/write error rates for the removable storages exceed at least one read/write error threshold; and

sending messages to the removable storage managers at the different customer service sites to replace the removable storages at the different customer service sites having read/write error rates that exceed the at least one read/write error threshold.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

maintaining a database including removable storage read/write error thresholds for removable storages from different vendors, wherein the removable storage read/write error thresholds used in determining whether the determined read/write error rates exceed the removable storage read/write error thresholds are determined from the database;

receiving input to update the removable storage read/write error thresholds for at least one removable storage; and

updating the removable storage read/write error thresholds based on the received input.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

maintaining a database including removable storage read/write error thresholds for removable storages from one vendor, wherein the read/write error thresholds used in determining whether the determined read/write error rates exceed the threshold are determined from the database.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving requests from the removable storage managers for removable storage replacement information;

wherein the operations of interfacing with the removable storage managers to obtain read/write error information for the removable storages are performed in response to the requests from the removable storage managers for removable storage replacement information and further comprises sending queries to the removable storage managers to access read/write error information from the removable storages for which the replacement information was requested.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the removable storage managers manages a plurality of at least one storage drive and wherein the removable storages comprise a plurality of removable storages capable of being coupled to the at least one storage drive, and wherein the read/write error information is obtained for the removable storages managed by the removable storage manager.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the read/write error information comprises at least one of total bytes read, total bytes written, total recoverable read errors, stop write rates, a total number of rewrites for total data set writes, and wherein the read/write error thresholds comprise a threshold for each rate obtained from the removable storage manager.

7. The method of claim l, further comprising:

billing a customer periodically for replacing at least one of the removable storages having read/write error rates that exceed the at least one read/write error threshold.

8. A system in communication with customer computers, having removable storage managers, at different customer service sites over a network, wherein the customer computers are each coupled to at least one removable storage, comprising:

interfacing over the network with the removable storage managers executing in the customer computers at the different customer service sites to obtain read/write error information for removable storages at the customer service sites;

processing the obtained read/write error information for the removable storages at the different customer service sites to determine read/write error rates for the removable storages coupled to the customer computers;

determining whether the determined read/write error rates for the removable storages exceed at least one read/write error threshold; and

sending messages to the removable storage managers at the different customer service sites to replace the removable storages at the different customer service sites having read/write error rates that exceed the at least one read/write error threshold.

9. The system of claim 8, further comprising:

a database including removable storage read/write error thresholds for removable storages from different vendors, wherein the removable storage read/write error thresholds used in determining whether the determined read/write error rates exceed the removable storage read/write error thresholds are determined from the database;

wherein the operations further comprise;

receiving input to update the removable storage read/write error thresholds for at least one removable storage; and

updating the removable storage read/write error thresholds based on the received input.

10. The system of claim 8, further comprising:

a database including removable storage read/write error thresholds for removable storages from one vendor, wherein the read/write error thresholds used in determining whether the determined read/write error rates exceed the threshold are determined from the database.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving requests from the removable storage managers for removable storage replacement information;

wherein the operations of interfacing with the removable storage managers to obtain read/write error information for the removable storages are performed in response to the requests from the removable storage managers for removable storage replacement information and further comprises sending queries to the removable storage managers to access read/write error information from the removable storages for which replacement information was requested.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein at least one of the removable storage managers manages a plurality of at least one storage drive and wherein the removable storages comprise a plurality of removable storages capable of being coupled to the at least one storage drive, and wherein the read/write error information is obtained for the removable storages managed by the removable storage manager.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the read/write error information comprises at least one of total bytes read, total bytes written, total recoverable read errors, stop write rates, a total number of rewrites for total data set writes, and wherein the read/write error thresholds comprise a threshold for each rate obtained from the removable storage manager.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise:

billing a customer periodically for replacing at least one of the removable storages having read/write error rates that exceed the at least one read/write error threshold.

15. An article of manufacture implementing code to communicate with customer computers, having removable storage managers, at different customer service sites over a network, wherein each of the customer computers is coupled to at least one removable storage, and wherein the code is further executed to perform operations, the operations comprising:

interfacing over the network with the removable storage managers executing in the customer computers at the different customer service sites to obtain read/write error information for removable storages at the customer service sites;

processing the obtained read/write error information for the removable storages at the different customer service sites to determine read/write error rates for the removable storages coupled to the customer computers;

determining whether the determined read/write error rates for the removable storages exceed at least one read/write error threshold; and

sending messages to the removable storage managers at the different customer service sites to replace the removable storages at the different customer service sites having read/write error rates that exceed the at least one read/write error threshold.

16. The article of manufacture of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

maintaining a database including removable storage read/write error thresholds for removable storages from different vendors, wherein the removable storage read/write error thresholds used in determining whether the determined read/write error rates exceed the removable storage read/write error thresholds are determined from the database;

receiving input to update the removable storage read/write error thresholds for at least one removable storage; and

updating the removable storage read/write error thresholds based on the received input.

17. The article of manufacture of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

maintaining a database including removable storage read/write error thresholds for removable storages from one vendor, wherein the read/write error thresholds used in determining whether the determined read/write error rates exceed the threshold are determined from the database.

18. The article of manufacture of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving requests from the removable storage managers for removable storage replacement information;

wherein the operations of interfacing with the removable storage managers to obtain read/write error information for the removable storages are performed in response to the requests from the removable storage managers for removable storage replacement information and further comprises sending queries to the removable storage managers to access read/write error information from the removable storages for which replacement information was requested.

19. The article of manufacture of claim 15, wherein at least one of the removable storage managers manages a plurality of at least one storage drive and wherein the removable storages comprise a plurality of removable storages capable of being coupled to the at least one storage drive, and wherein the read/write error information is obtained for the removable storages managed by the removable storage manager.

20. The article of manufacture of claim 19, wherein the read/write error information comprises at least one of total bytes read, total bytes written, total recoverable read errors, stop write rates, a total number of rewrites for total data set writes, and wherein the read/write error thresholds comprise a threshold for each rate obtained from the removable storage manager.

21. The article of manufacture of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

billing a customer periodically for replacing at least one removable storages having read/write error rates that exceed the at least one read/write error threshold.