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EP0320107A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Parallel disk drive array storage system
Assignee: Micropolis Corp
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Filing: 1988-11-02
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2008-11-02
Abstract
Abstract A Winchester disk drive storage system comprises a plurality of disk drives (18,26), a controller (14) for controlling the operation of the disk drives to store digital data in the drives and to route data and instructions between a host computer (12) and the drives, the data being stored in terms of successive bytes or groups of bits from the host computer being successively applied to successive ones of a group of said drives, means for storing in another (26) of said drives parity check data relating to the data stored in the group, and means for regenerating erroneous or missing data from any one of the drives of said group from the parity check data drive and from data form the remaining drives of the group. The angular rotation of all of the drives is synchronised by a signal supplied by the controller (14).
Inventors
- 👤 David L. Bultman
- 👤 Anthony Fung
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 21:23
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F11/00; G06F11/07; G06F11/08; G06F11/10; G06F11/1008; G06F11/1076; G06F3/00; G06F3/06; G06F3/0601; G11; G11B; G11B19/00; G11B19/20; G11B19/28; G11B20/00; G11B20/10; G11B20/18; G11B20/1833; G06F11/14; G06F11/16; G06F11/20; G06F3/0668; G06F3/0671; G06F3/0673
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
200 words
A parallel array Winchester disk drive storage system comprising: at least three disk drive units; means for mounting said disk drive units side-by-side; master controller means for controlling the operation of said disk drives to store digital data in said drives and to route data and instructions between a host computer and said disk drives; means for storing data in a group of said drives, and means for storing parity check data relating to the data stored in said group of drives in at least one other of said drives; means for regenerating erroneous or missing data from any one of said group of drives from the parity check drive data, and data from the other drives in said group, in an on-line basis; means for powering down a malfunctioning one of said drives; means for replacing any single drive of said group while the system remains on line; means for restoring data onto a new drive which is replacing the malfunctioning drive, using said regenerated data; and said controlling means storing data on said drives in terms of successive bytes or groups of bits from the host computer being successively applied to successive ones of said group of drives.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
200 words
A parallel array Winchester disk drive storage system comprising: at least three disk drive units; means for mounting said disk drive units side-by-side; master controller means for controlling the operation of said disk drives to store digital data in said drives and to route data and instructions between a host computer and said disk drives; means for storing data in a group of said drives, and means for storing parity check data relating to the data stored in said group of drives in at least one other of said drives; means for regenerating erroneous or missing data from any one of said group of drives from the parity check drive data, and data from the other drives in said group, in an on-line basis; means for powering down a malfunctioning one of said drives; means for replacing any single drive of said group while the system remains on line; means for restoring data onto a new drive which is replacing the malfunctioning drive, using said regenerated data; and said controlling means storing data on said drives in terms of successive bytes or groups of bits from the host computer being successively applied to successive ones of said group of drives.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
25 words
A storage system as defined in claim 1 wherein drive formatter means are provided for coupling said master controller means to each of said drives.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
40 words
A storage system as defined in claim 1 or 2 wherein said controlling means stores data on said drives in terms of successive bytes of information of eight bits each, being supplied to successive drives in said group of drives.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
58 words
A storage system as defined in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein a control and signalling panel is provided, including signal light means for indicating the status of the system, control switches for controlling the mode of operation of the system, alphanumeric display means for providing diagnostic information, and a keyboard for applying control signals to the system.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
59 words
A storage system as defined in claim 4 wherein means are provided for mounting said panel in front of at least one of said drives, and means are provided for shifting said panel away from the front of any of said drives while maintaining said panel operatively coupled to said system, to permit removal and replacement of said drives.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
35 words
A storage system as deinfed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said system includes five drives, of which four are included in said group of drives and wherein there is one parity drive.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
35 words
A storage system as defined in any one of the preceding claims and further comprising means for synchronizing the angular rotation of all of said drives from a signal supplied by said master controller means.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
88 words
A storage system as defined in any one of claims 3 to 7 when appended to claim 2 wherein said storage system includes a housing, and wherein each disk drive and associated formatter unit is mounted on means for guiding the drive and formatter into said housing, and mating connector means are provided on said housing and on each said drive and associated formatter, to automatically connect and disconnect each said drive and formatter into the system as they are guided into and removed from said housing, respectively.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
74 words
A storage system as defined in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said system includes five standard five and one-quarter inch disk drive units, and a housing having a height of approximately seven inches and a transverse width of approximately seventeen inches to fit in standard nineteen inch spacing racks, and wherein said standard disk drives are removably mounted, side-by-side with the axes of the disk drives being generally horizontal, within said housing.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
34 words
A storage system as defined in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said system includes means for transferring data in parallel to the multiple drives, thereby increasing the data rate of the system.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
54 words
A storage system as defined in any one of the preceding claims and including means for providing SCSI commands to the master controller means from the host data processor, and means for initially processing partial SCSI commands relating to data transfer, and relaying head positioning instructions to the drives, to speed up system response.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
64 words
A storage system as defined in claim 4 or 5, or any one of claims 6 to 11 when appended to claim 4, wherein a removable cover for the front of the system is provided, and means are provided for permitting viewing of the signal lights when the cover is in place covering the front of the drives and the control and signalling panel.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
125 words
A disk drive storage system comprising at least three disk drives, controller means for controlling the operation of the disk drives to store digital data in said drives and to route data and instructions between a host computer and the drives, said data being stored in terms of successive bytes or groups of bits from the host computer being successively applied to successive ones of a group of said drives, means for storing in at least one other of said drives parity check data relating to the data stored in said group, and means for regenerating erroneous or missing data from any one of the drives of said group from the parity check data drive and from data form the remaining drives of the group.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
125 words
A disk drive storage system comprising at least three disk drives, controller means for controlling the operation of the disk drives to store digital data in said drives and to route data and instructions between a host computer and the drives, said data being stored in terms of successive bytes or groups of bits from the host computer being successively applied to successive ones of a group of said drives, means for storing in at least one other of said drives parity check data relating to the data stored in said group, and means for regenerating erroneous or missing data from any one of the drives of said group from the parity check data drive and from data form the remaining drives of the group.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
16 words
A storage system according to claim 13, wherein the disk drives are Winchester type disk drives.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
20 words
A storage system according to claim 13 or 14, and comprising means for mounting the drives side-by-side or adjacent one-another.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
32 words
A storage system according to claim 13, 14 or 15 and comprising means for synchronizing the angular rotation of all of said drives from a signal supplied by said master controller means.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
91 words
A storage system according to any one of claims 13 to 16 and comprising drive formatter means for coupling said master controller means to each of said drives and a housing, each disk drive and associated formatter means being mounted on means for guiding the drive and formatter into said housing, there being mating connector means on said housing and on each drive and associated formatter means automatically to connect and disconnect each drive and formatter means into the system as they are guided into and removed from said housing, respectively.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
73 words
A storage system according to any one of the preceding claims and including means for providing commands to the master controller means from the host data processor, said commands having a lengthy format including data transfer information, if any, in an early portion of said command, and means for initially processing the portion of the commands relating to data transfer, and relaying head positioning instructions to the drives, to speed up system response.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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