Auto-configuration of RAID systems

• US 8,090,981 B1
• Filed: 04/12/2010
• Issued: 01/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PMC-Sierra Incorporated (Microchip Technology Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: PMC-Sierra Incorporated (Microchip Technology Incorporated)
• Inventors: Kalman, Dean, Knight, Clinton D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Beausoliel, Jr., Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mehrmanesh, Elmira
• Application Number:
  US12/758,659
• Time in Patent Office: 631 Days
• Field of Search: 714/5, 714/6, 714/7, 714/6.22
• US Class Current: 714/6.22
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0632 by initialisation or re-initialisation of storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0689 Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD

Abstract

A computer-implemented method of automatically configuring a platform of storage devices includes querying components of the platform to gather information about the capability of the platform, locating one or more storage devices within the platform, automatically determining one or more RAID levels that are supported by the platform, and automatically configuring one or more storage devices within the platform as a RAID system having a particular RAID level, where the particular RAID level is selected based on the capability of the platform.

Claims

1. A method comprising

receiving information associated with a storage platform for configuring the storage platform as a RAID-based platform;

determining an existing configuration associated with the storage platform; and

configuring the storage platform as the RAID-based platform based on the existing configuration including;

identifying a highest RAID level supported by the storage platform, and

configuring the RAID-based platform using the highest RAID level.

2. The method of claim 1, where receiving the information includes receiving information associated with at least one of a number of storage devices associated with the storage platform, a storage capacity of each storage device, or a channel to which each storage device is connected.

3. The method of claim 1, where receiving the information includes receiving information associated with hardware and software components of the storage platform.

4. The method of claim 1, where determining the existing configuration includes determining whether the storage platform is associated with a RAID controller.

5. The method of claim 4, where configuring the storage platform includes:

configuring the storage platform as a hardware-based RAID platform if the storage platform is associated with a RAID controller; and

configuring the storage platform as a software-based RAID platform if the storage platform is not associated with a RAID controller.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving user input including a user-selected RAID level; and

if the storage platform is a RAID-based platform, reconfiguring the RAID-based platform to replace the highest RAID level with the user-selected RAID level.

7. The method of claim 6, where identifying the highest RAID level includes selecting a highest RAID level from the one or more determined RAID levels.

8. The method of claim 6, where configuring the RAID-based platform includes configuring the RAID-based platform as a RAID level 1 platform if two storage devices are identified as available for RAID-based configuration.

9. The method of claim 6, where configuring the RAID-based platform includes configuring the RAID-based platform as a RAID level 5 platform if three storage devices are identified as available for RAID-based configuration.

10. The method of claim 6, where, if three storage devices are identified as available for RAID-based configuration, configuring the RAID-based platform includes:

configuring the RAID-based platform as a RAID level 1 platform; and

configuring one of the three storage devices as a hot spare storage device.

11. The method of claim 6, where configuring the RAID-based platform includes configuring the RAID-based platform as a RAID level 5 platform with a hot spare storage device if more than three storage devices are identified as available for RAID-based configuration.

12. The method of claim 1, where determining an existing configuration includes:

identifying one or more storage devices available for RAID-based configuration; and

determining one or more RAID levels supported by the one or more identified storage devices.

13. A system comprising:

a data processing apparatus; and

a memory in data communication with the data processing apparatus and storing instructions executable by the data processing apparatus and upon such execution cause the data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising;

receiving information associated with a storage platform for configuring the storage platform as a RAID-based platform;

determining an existing configuration associated with the storage platform based on the received information; and

configuring the storage platform as the RAID-based platform based on the existing configuration including;

identifying a highest RAID level supported by the storage platform, and

configuring the RAID-based platform using the highest RAID level.

14. The system of claim 13, where the instructions cause the data processing apparatus to receive information associated with at least one of a number of storage devices associated with the storage platform, a storage capacity of each storage device, and a channel to which each storage device is connected.

15. The system of claim 13, where the instructions cause the data processing apparatus to receive information associated with hardware and software components of the storage platform.

16. The system of claim 13, where the instructions cause the data processing apparatus to determine whether the storage platform is associated with a RAID controller.

17. The system of claim 16, where the instructions cause the data processing apparatus to:

configure the storage platform as a hardware-based RAID platform if the storage platform is associated with a RAID controller; and

configure the storage platform as a software-based RAID platform if the storage platform is not associated with a RAID controller.

18. The system of claim 13, where the memory further includes instructions executable by the data processing apparatus and upon such execution cause the data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

receiving user input including a user-selected RAID level; and

reconfiguring the RAID-based platform to replace the highest RAID level with the user-selected RAID level.

19. The system of claim 18, where the instructions cause the data processing apparatus to select a highest RAID level from the one or more determined RAID levels.

20. The system of claim 18, where the instructions cause the data processing apparatus to configure the RAID-based platform as a RAID level 1 platform if two storage devices are identified as available for RAID-based configuration.

21. The system of claim 18, where the instructions cause the data processing apparatus to configure the RAID-based platform as a RAID level 5 platform if three storage devices are identified as available for RAID-based configuration.

22. The system of claim 18, where, if three storage devices are identified as available for RAID-based configuration, where the instructions cause the data processing apparatus to:

configure the RAID-based platform as a RAID level 1 platform; and

configure one of the three storage devices as a hot spare storage device.

23. The system of claim 18, where the instructions cause the data processing apparatus to configure the RAID-based platform as a RAID level 5 platform with a hot spare storage device if more than three storage devices are identified as available for RAID-based configuration.

24. The system of claim 13, where the instructions cause the data processing apparatus to:

identify one or more storage devices available for RAID-based configuration; and

determine one or more RAID levels supported by the one or more identified storage devices.

25. A system comprising:

one or more clients in communication with a host, the host in communication with a storage platform associated with one or more storage devices and configured to grant the one or more clients access to the one or more storage devices, where the host is further configured to;

identify one or more RAID levels supported by the one or more storage devices;

identify a highest RAID level from the one or more identified RAID levels; and

configure the storage platform as a RAID-based platform using the highest RAID level.