US5754882A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Method for scheduling I/O transactions for a data storage system to maintain continuity of a plurality of full motion video streams
Assignee: Starlight Networks Inc
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Filing: 1996-09-10
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Granted: 1998-05-19
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Expires: 2016-09-10
Abstract
Abstract A method for operating a disk storage system, comprising a disk and forming part of a communications network, simultaneously maintains the continuity of a plurality of data streams. Typically, each stream transfers video data to or from the disk storage system. Illustratively, each of the data streams is produced in the network at a rate of W base bits/sec and consumed by the disk storage system or produced by said disk storage system and consumed in the network at a rate of W base bits/sec. One I/O transaction is performed for each stream in each of a plurality of I/O cycles of duration S/W base , wherein in each I/O transaction a segment of S bits is retrieved from or stored in the disk. The number of streams whose continuity can be maintained in this manner is limited by the number of I/O's which can be performed in a cycle of duration S/W base . More generally, when a stream has a bit rate (A/B)W base bits/sec where A and B are integers chosen independently for each stream, then for this-stream A I/O transactions are performed in B cycles of duration S/W base . If the number of disks is N d , N d , ≦1, then the I/O cycles have a duration N d S/W base and then A I/O transactions are performed in each disk for each stream in B I/O cycles.
Inventors
- 👤 Fouad A. Tobagi
- 👤 Joseph M. Gang, Jr.
- 👤 Randall B. Baird
- 👤 Joseph W. M. Pang
- 👤 Martin J. McFadden
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 09:35
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N21/00; H04N21/20; H04N21/21; G; G06; G06F; G06F16/00; G06F16/10; G06F3/00; G06F3/06; G06F3/0601; G06F3/0602; G06F3/061; G06F3/0628; G06F3/0655; G06F3/0659; G06F3/0668; G06F3/067; G11; G11B; G11B27/00; G11B27/10; G11B27/102; G11B27/105; H04N21/23; H04N7/00; H04N7/16; H04N7/173; H04N7/17309; H04N7/17336; H04N7/24; G11B2220/00; G11B2220/20
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 7
Claim 1
Independent Claim
279 words
A method for scheduling I/O transactions for a data storage system comprising N d storage units, said data storage system storing data for a plurality of full motion video streams, each of said streams having a bit rate of W base , said method comprising the steps of maintaining the continuity of said full motion video streams simultaneously by performing for each of said streams one I/O transaction in each of said N d storage units within each I/O cycle in a sequence of I/O cycles, each I/O cycle having a duration of N d S/W base , in each of said I/O transactions a segment of S bits is retrieved from one of said storage units or written into one of said storage units, the duration of each I/O transaction being shorter than S/W base , for streams in which segments are retrieved from said storage system, the segments of a stream retrieved from said storage system in each particular I/O cycle being consumed in a particular consumption cycle in a sequence of consumption cycles, the particular consumption cycle beginning after the first I/O transaction is performed for the stream in the particular I/O cycle, the duration of a consumption cycle being N d S/W base , for streams in which segments are written into said storage system, the segments of a stream written into said storage system in each particular I/O cycle being produced in a particular production cycle in a sequence of production cycles, the particular production cycle ending prior to performing the last I/O transaction for the stream in the particular I/O cycle; the duration of a production cycle being N d S/W base .
Claim 2
Independent Claim
279 words
A method for scheduling I/O transactions for a data storage system comprising N d storage units, said data storage system storing data for a plurality of full motion video streams, each of said streams having a bit rate of W base , said method comprising the steps of maintaining the continuity of said full motion video streams simultaneously by performing for each of said streams one I/O transaction in each of said N d storage units within each I/O cycle in a sequence of I/O cycles, each I/O cycle having a duration of N d S/W base , in each of said I/O transactions a segment of S bits is retrieved from one of said storage units or written into one of said storage units, the duration of each I/O transaction being shorter than S/W base , for streams in which segments are retrieved from said storage system, the segments of a stream retrieved from said storage system in each particular I/O cycle being consumed in a particular consumption cycle in a sequence of consumption cycles, the particular consumption cycle beginning after the first I/O transaction is performed for the stream in the particular I/O cycle, the duration of a consumption cycle being N d S/W base , for streams in which segments are written into said storage system, the segments of a stream written into said storage system in each particular I/O cycle being produced in a particular production cycle in a sequence of production cycles, the particular production cycle ending prior to performing the last I/O transaction for the stream in the particular I/O cycle; the duration of a production cycle being N d S/W base .
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
9 words
The method of claim 1 wherein N d =1.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 1 wherein segments are grouped into data stripes of N d consecutive segments, wherein said array is organized into bin stripes comprising corresponding locations in each of said N d storage units, and wherein data stripes are allocated to bin stripes randomly.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the N d I/O transactions for a stream in each I/O cycle of duration N d S/W base comprises retrieving or storing some segments from a first bin stripe and some segments from a second bin stripe.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the total number of I/O transactions for active streams for each storage unit does not exceed a predetermined number in each I/O cycle.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 1 wherein consecutive segments of said streams are allocated to the storage units in said array in a regular cyclic pattern.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
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| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2001-05-18 | 2001-11-17 | 2002-05-19 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2005-05-18 | 2005-11-17 | 2006-05-19 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2009-05-18 | 2009-11-17 | 2010-05-19 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |