Patent Application
20050268036
Some storage systems comprising a plurality of storage devices may be operated according to any one of a variety of configurations. Such storage systems are configured prior to their use in accordance with the desired configuration. User friendly mechanisms and procedures for configuring the storage systems are desirable.
In at least some embodiments, a storage unit, and associated system and method, comprises a plurality of storage devices, a user input device and a storage controller. The storage controller couples to the user input device and to the storage devices and is capable of configuring the storage devices in accordance with a selection made by the user via the input device.
For a detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:
Certain terms are used throughout the following description and claims to refer to particular system components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, computer companies may refer to a component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function. In the following discussion and in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . .” Also, the term “couple” or “couples” is intended to mean either an indirect or direct electrical connection. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct electrical connection, or through an indirect electrical connection via other devices and connections.
The following discussion is directed to various embodiments of the invention. Although one or more of these embodiments may be preferred, the embodiments disclosed should not be interpreted, or otherwise used, as limiting the scope of the disclosure, including the claims. In addition, one skilled in the art will understand that the following description has broad application, and the discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be exemplary of that embodiment, and not intended to intimate that the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, is limited to that embodiment.
Referring now to
In addition to the storage devices 66, the storage unit 60 includes a storage controller 64. The storage controller 64 includes a central processing unit (“CPU”) 69 coupled to a read only memory (“ROM”) 68, to a random access memory (“RAM”) 72, and to a button interface 74. The ROM 68 contains firmware 70 that is executable by the CPU 69. During initialization of the storage unit 60, the firmware 70 may be copied to RAM 72 and thus may be executed by the CPU 66 from the RAM. Either or both of the ROM 68 and RAM 72 comprise a storage medium on which executable code is stored and executed by the CPU 69. The firmware 70 may be stored on other forms of storage as well. The firmware 70 causes the CPU 69 to perform one or more of the actions described herein.
One or more user-activated input control devices are provided on a user-accessible outer surface of the storage unit 60. If desired, the input control device(s) may be located on an exposed outer surface of a printed circuit board containing the storage controller 64. In at least some embodiments, the input control devices comprise user-activated buttons 76, 78, 80, 82, and 84, although other forms of input control devices are acceptable as well, such as a rotatable knob or a slider mechanism. Although five buttons 76-84 are shown in the embodiment of
The storage devices 66 can be configured to operate in any of a plurality of configurations such as any of a variety of Redundant Array of Independent Disks (“RAID”). Such configurations may include RAID0, RAID1+0, RAID1, RAID4, RAID5, RAID5+0, or other suitable configurations as desired. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,694,479 and 6,643,822, both of which are incorporated herein by reference, illustrate various exemplary configurations.
In a RAID configuration, a plurality of storage devices (e.g., hard disk drives) are provided for redundancy. In a RAID configuration, data is “striped” across multiple storage devices. That is, a data set is divided up and stored across two or more storage devices. In a RAID1+0 configuration, storage devices are configured in a “mirrored” implementation in which data may be striped across two storage devices and the same data is also striped across two other storage devices. A RAID4 configuration includes a parity storage device in addition to data storage devices. Information stored on the parity storage device generally is the exclusive OR of the data on the data storage devices. In the event of a device failure, data on any of the data or parity storage devices can readily be recovered by computing the exclusive OR of the remaining storage devices. RAID5 is similar to RAID4, but parity information is rotated among the various data drives (i.e., there is no dedicated parity drive).
In the embodiment shown in
The mechanism by which the storage controller 64 configures the storage devices 66 can implement any suitable technique, examples of which are described in some or all of the following documents, incorporated herein by reference: U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,058,489; 6,418,539; 6,269,453; and 6,061,752. For example, a software configuration utility can be included in ROM 70 or RAM 72 that can be run on the storage controller's CPU 69 to cause the CPU 69 to configure the storage devices 66 in accordance with the user-selected storage device configuration. Such a utility generally performs a function such as creating storage volumes according parameters such as size, fault tolerance (e.g., RAID), stripe size, and so on. The utility may also be used to configure various array controller parameters including cache settings and rebuild priority. As such, when a button 76-84 is pressed, an interrupt is asserted to the CPU 69 thereby causing the CPU to determine the nature of the interrupt and execute the configuration utility to configure the storage devices 66. Moreover, the storage controller 64 configures the storage devices 66 upon activation by a user of an input control (e.g., the buttons 76-84) without use of a keyboard or mouse.
The storage unit 60 of
To safeguard against inadvertently pressing one of the buttons 76-84, the button interface 74 may be configured to only cause the interrupt 75 to be asserted if a button 76-84 is activated for more than a threshold amount of time (for example, 2 seconds). Further still, mechanical switch guards may be included that prevent a button from being pressed absent the guards being released and moved out of the way.
Visual feedback may be included to permit the user to know that the selected configuration has been implemented. Each button 76-84 may be implemented as a backlit button or a button having an outer rim that is illuminated. In some embodiments, the configuration may be changed while the system is operational first quiescing the storage unit 60. For example, all storage device accesses may be buffered. While the storage devices 66 are quiesced, the configuration may be changed as explained above. In other embodiments, the configuration can be changed without quiescing accesses to the storage devices 66. U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,489, incorporated herein by reference, illustrates at least one technique for changing a RAID configuration while still permitting a storage system to be operational. An example of suitable visual feedback may include illuminating the particular button 76-84 pressed by the user when the corresponding configuration has been completed. Thus, the user can determine the storage unit's configuration by visually inspecting the buttons 76-80. In some embodiments, a first visual feedback is provided when the user presses the button while the configuration is being performed and a second visual feedback is provided upon successful completion of the configuration. The first and second visual feedbacks may differ in color of an illuminated backlight. Alternatively, the backlight may blink during the configuration process and remain constant (non-blinking) after successful configuration completion. Alternatively, the button pressed may remain depressed until another button is pressed. In this way, the user can determine the configuration by determining which button is depressed.
When the user enables power to the storage unit for the first time, and if the buttons are backlit, one of the buttons 76-84 may be made to illuminate constantly or blink at a predetermined rate to indicate to the user a suggested storage device configuration. The user can elect to implement the suggested configuration by pressing the visually indicated button. Alternatively, the user can elect a different configuration by pressing another button. The configuration suggestion may be programmed during manufacturing of the storage unit and may be specific to the purchaser. For example, the storage unit manufacturer may cause the storage unit to suggest one configuration for one purchaser and a difficult configuration for another customer. The different configurations may be determined from knowledge of the purchasers' intended applications. In some embodiments, the storage unit 60 configuration may be implemented even in the absence of an affirmative choice by a user. That is, a default configuration will be implemented for the storage devices if the use does not actively make a choice. The default configuration may be implemented if user input via buttons 76-84 is detected within a predetermined amount of time following powering up of the storage unit 60 for the first time.
The above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles and various embodiments of the present invention. Numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60574726 | May 2004 | US |
