Storage system, storage system control method and storage system control apparatus

• US 8,078,335 B2
• Filed: 12/23/2008
• Issued: 12/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Matsuda, Shinnosuke, Ishii, Takanori
• Primary Examiner(s): Robertson, Dave
• Application Number:
  US12/342,549
• Publication Number:
  US 20090171473A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,085 Days
• Field of Search: 700/20, 700/300, 361/688, 361/679.01, 361/679.02, 318/461, 318471-473, 714/6.21, 714/6.22
• US Class Current: 700/300
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric

Abstract

A storage system includes a housing, a cooling unit cooling the interior of the housing, and a plurality of control units adapted to control the cooling unit. The control units each include a mount state acquisition unit acquiring a mount state of the control unit in the housing, an operation state acquisition unit acquiring an operation state of the cooling unit, and a determining unit determining a provisional main control unit, from among the plurality of control units, that is operable to control the entire cooling unit based on information acquired from the mount state acquisition unit and the operation state acquisition unit.

Claims

1. A storage system comprising:

a housing;

a cooling unit configured to cool an interior of the housing; and

a plurality of control units adapted to control the cooling unit, wherein each of the control units includes a mount state acquisition unit acquiring a mount state of the control unit, an operation state acquisition unit acquiring an operation state of the cooling unit, and

a determining unit for determining a provisional main control unit, from among the plurality of control units, that is operable to control the entire cooling unit based on information acquired from the mount state acquisition unit and the operation state acquisition unit, and

wherein the control unit determined as the provisional main control unit operates to control the entire cooling unit prior to a complete starting of an in-operation cooling control unit that takes charge of the control of the cooling unit during the operation of the storage system.

2. The storage system according to claim 1,

wherein each of the control units acquire a mounted position of each respective control unit within the housing from the mount state acquisition unit and determine the provisional main control unit based on the mount position of each of the control units.

3. The storage system according to claim 1,

wherein the control unit determined as the provisional main control unit judges an own mount state as faulty and determines another control unit, from among the plurality of control units, as a subsequent provisional main control unit when the provisional main control unit cannot acquire the state of the cooling unit from the operation state acquisition unit.

4. The storage system according to claim 1,

wherein each of the control units, upon a confirmation of the operation of the cooling unit from the operation state acquisition unit, notifies an own mount state to each of the other control units.

5. The storage system according to claim 1, further comprising a temperature monitor unit monitoring an internal temperature of the housing,

wherein the provisional main control unit controls the cooling unit based on the monitoring of the temperature monitor.

6. The storage system according to claim 1,

wherein a plurality of cooling units are provided in the storage system,

and wherein the provisional main control unit improves, upon detection of a faulty of cooling unit, a cooling capacity of the remaining cooling units.

7. A method of controlling a storage system including a plurality of control units adapted to control a cooling unit for cooling an interior of a housing, comprising:

acquiring a mount state of each of the control units within the housing;

acquiring an operation state of the cooling unit;

determining a provisional main control unit, from among the plurality of control units, that is operable to provisionally control the entire cooling unit based on the acquired mount state and the acquired cooling unit operation state; and

controlling the cooling unit by the determined provisional main control unit,

wherein the control unit determined as the provisional main control unit operates to control the entire cooling unit prior to a complete starting of an in-operation cooling control unit that takes charge of the control of the cooling unit during the operation of the storage system.

8. The storage system control method according to claim 7, further comprising:

acquiring, by each of the control units, a mount position of each of the other control units; and

determining the provisional main control unit based on own mount position and the acquired mount position of the other control units.

9. The storage system control method according to claim 8, further comprising:

judging, by the control unit determined as the provisional main control unit, an own mount state as faulty when the provisional main control unit cannot acquire the operation state of the cooling unit, and determining another control unit as a subsequent provisional main control unit.

10. The storage system control method according to claim 7, further comprising:

notifying, by each of the control units, an own mount state to each of the other control units, upon a confirmation of the operation of the cooling unit.

11. The storage system control method according to claim 7, further comprising:

monitoring an internal temperature of the housing; and

controlling the cooling unit based on the monitoring.

12. The storage system control method according to claim 7,

wherein a plurality of cooling units is provided in the storage system;

and wherein the provisional main control unit, any of the cooling units is determined to be faulty, improves the cooling capacity of the remaining cooling units.

13. A control apparatus adapted to control a cooling unit for cooling an interior of a housing, the control apparatus comprising:

a mount state acquisition unit acquiring a mount state of the control apparatus;

an operation state acquisition unit acquiring an operation state of the cooling unit;

a determining unit for determining a provisional main control apparatus, from among a plurality of control apparatuses provided in a storage system, that is operable to provisionally control the cooling unit based on the information acquired from the mount state acquisition unit and the operation state acquisition unit; and

a cooling unit control unit controlling the cooling unit when a local apparatus is determined as the provisional main control apparatus,

wherein the control unit determined as the provisional main control unit operates to control the entire cooling unit prior to a complete starting of an in-operation cooling control unit that takes charge of the control of the cooling unit during the operation of the storage system.

14. The control apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein the determining unit acquires a mount position of the control apparatus from the mount state acquisition unit and determines the provisional main control apparatus based on the mount position of the control apparatus.

15. The control apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein, when the local apparatus is determined as the provisional main control apparatus and cannot acquire the state of the cooling unit from the operation state acquisition unit, the determining unit judges an own mount state as faulty and determines another control apparatus as the provisional main control apparatus.

16. The control apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein the operation state acquisition unit, upon a confirmation of the operation of the cooling unit, notifies an own package state thereof to each of the other control apparatuses.