Storage device and storage system

Abstract

Disclosed are a storage device and a storage system, relating to the technical field of tapes. Tape in a tape media storage is accessed by a head driver in the tape media storage, and the head driver in the tape media storage would not be used to access tape in other tape media storages, that is, shared components in the storage device do not include mechanical structures, i.e., head drivers, reducing the problem of storage device failure caused by unreliable mechanical components, facilitating the improvement of the service stability of the storage device. A data processing component is connected to different tape media storages by means of a plurality of data channels, the plurality of tape media storages share the data processing component, that is, the shared components in the storage device do not include mechanical components, and the mechanical components, i.e., the head drivers, do not need to be moved multiple times, improving the reliability of mechanical components in the storage device, facilitating the further improvement of the service stability of the storage device.

Description

Storage device and storage system

[0001] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202410525577.8, filed on April 28, 2024, and entitled "A storage device and storage system", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the technical field of magnetic tape, in particular to a storage device and storage system. BACKGROUND

[0003] Magnetic tape is a tape-shaped material with a magnetic layer used for recording sound, image, digital or other signals. Magnetic tape has magnetic media attached, such as magnetic powder, etc. for storing data. In storage technology, magnetic tape is the best choice for backup, archiving and other scenarios due to its low cost, high reliability and safety. The current magnetic tape storage system mainly adopts the solution of tape library. The tape library includes a server, a mechanical arm component, a tape drive, a tape cabin and a special cabinet. The tape cabin has multiple tape cartridges, and the tape cartridge includes a packaged magnetic tape.

[0004] The data read / write process of the tape library includes: after the server issues a read / write operation instruction to the mechanical arm component, the mechanical arm component transports the corresponding tape cartridge from the tape cabin to the corresponding tape drive, and the tape drive performs data read / write on the specified position in the tape cartridge. When the extracted tape cartridge is full or needs to read / write data in other tape cartridges, the server issues another read / write operation instruction to the mechanical arm component, which extracts the current tape cartridge from the tape drive and moves the new tape cartridge in the tape cabin for data read / write. In the tape library, all components except the tape cartridge are shared components of different tape cartridges. Therefore, during the data read / write process, the mechanical arm component has a high frequency of moving different tape cartridges, and the mechanical arm is a complex mechanical component with low reliability. The mechanical arm failure will cause the business interruption of the tape library. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application provides a storage device and storage system, which solves the problem of moving tape cartridges for data read / write. Different magnetic tape medium storage devices containing magnetic tape and head drives share data processing components. Each magnetic tape medium storage device has a head drive, so that the mechanical components in the magnetic tape medium storage device are not used by the magnetic tape in other magnetic tape medium storage devices, reducing the problem of storage device failure caused by unreliable mechanical components, and improving the business stability in the storage device.

[0006] The present application adopts the following technical solutions.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a storage device. The storage device comprises: a plurality of tape media storages and a data processing component. Each of the plurality of tape media storages comprises: a magnetic tape and a head driver configured to access the magnetic tape. The data processing component is electrically connected to the plurality of tape media storages respectively, and is configured to: select a target data channel from a plurality of data channels according to a data access request, and output data transmitted by the target data channel. Different data channels correspond to different tape media storages.

[0008] In the first aspect, the data processing component selects a target data channel from the plurality of data channels according to different data access requests, and accesses the tape media storage corresponding to the target data channel, thereby reducing the problem of storage device failure caused by unreliable mechanical components, and improving the service stability of the storage device. Since the data processing component is electrically connected to the plurality of tape media storages, the plurality of tape media storages share the data processing component in the storage device. Moreover, each tape media storage has a head driver, i.e., the mechanical components in the tape media storage are not used by the magnetic tapes in other tape media storages, i.e., the shared components in the storage device do not include mechanical components. The mechanical components, such as the head driver, do not need to be moved multiple times, thereby improving the reliability of the mechanical components in the storage device and further improving the service stability of the storage device.

[0009] In combination with the storage device provided in the first aspect, in an optional implementation, the data processing component comprises: an electronic switch and a data processing circuit. The electronic switch is electrically connected to the plurality of tape media storages respectively, and the data processing circuit is electrically connected to the electronic switch. The data processing circuit is configured to: select a target data channel from the plurality of data channels connected to the electronic switch according to a data access request, and output data transmitted by the target data channel.

[0010] In the first aspect, the electronic switch is connected to each tape media storage respectively, and the data processing circuit selects a target data channel from the plurality of data channels connected to the electronic switch, without moving the tape media storages, thereby reducing the number of times of moving the tape media storages for data access of the magnetic tapes in the storage device, reducing the data access delay in the storage device, and improving the access efficiency of the storage device.

[0011] With reference to the storage device provided in the first aspect, in an optional implementation, the electronic switch is integrated in the data processing circuit. In the first aspect of the present application, the electronic switch is integrated in the data processing circuit, and the data processing circuit is used to select the plurality of data channels to determine the target data channel, so as to realize the function of the electronic switch by multiplexing the access pins of the data processing circuit and the processing capability provided by the data processing circuit. That is, on the basis of selecting the plurality of data channels corresponding to the plurality of tape medium storages, the cost of the data processing assembly is reduced, thereby reducing the hardware cost of the storage device.

[0012] With reference to the storage device provided in the first aspect, in an optional implementation, the data processing circuit includes a plurality of access pins, and different access pins are connected to different tape medium storages.

[0013] With reference to the storage device provided in the first aspect, in an optional implementation, the storage device provided in the present application further includes a backboard. The backboard has a plurality of data channels, and the plurality of data channels include a first data channel. The first data channel includes a first connection portion and a second connection portion arranged oppositely, the first connection portion is connected to a first tape medium storage in the plurality of tape medium storages, and the second connection portion is connected to the data processing assembly.

[0014] With reference to the storage device provided in the first aspect, in an optional implementation, the first tape medium storage is detachably connected to the first connection portion. In the first aspect of the present application, the detachable connection between the tape medium storage and the first connection portion means that in the case of damage or failure of the tape medium storage, the user can replace the tape medium storage in the storage device according to the use requirement, and the data processing assembly can perform data recovery on the newly added tape medium storage in the storage device based on the data stored in the other non-failed tape medium storages, thereby avoiding the problem of data loss caused by failure of the old tape medium storage, and improving the data security of the storage device.

[0015] With reference to the storage device provided in the first aspect, in an optional implementation, the electronic switch includes a plurality of sub-switches, and a first sub-switch in the plurality of sub-switches includes a plurality of read signal input ports and a read signal output port. One read signal input port in the plurality of read signal input ports is connected to the first tape medium storage, and the one read signal input port is used to receive a read data signal of the first tape medium storage. The one read signal output port is connected to the data processing circuit, and is used to output the read data signal of the first tape medium storage.

[0016] In an optional implementation of the storage device provided in the first aspect, the head driver in the first magnetic tape medium storage comprises a head assembly. The head assembly comprises a read data head, a read servo head, and an analog-to-digital conversion circuit, and the analog-to-digital conversion circuit is electrically connected to the read data head and the read servo head. The read servo head is configured to determine the positioning information of the first magnetic tape according to the first address in the data access request. The read data head is configured to read the tape area specified by the positioning information and send a first electrical signal corresponding to the tape area to the analog-to-digital conversion circuit. The analog-to-digital conversion circuit is configured to receive the first electrical signal, process the first electrical signal to obtain a first digital signal, and send the first digital signal to the first data channel.

[0017] In an optional implementation of the storage device provided in the first aspect, the data processing circuit provided in the present application comprises a first communication interface, a sub-processing circuit, and a second communication interface. The first communication interface is connected to the second connection part described above and is configured to receive the first digital signal from the first magnetic tape medium storage. The sub-processing circuit is configured to convert and process the first digital signal to obtain a second digital signal, the service information carried by the first digital signal and the second digital signal is the same, and the protocol standard to which the first digital signal and the second digital signal conform is different. The second communication interface is configured to serially output the second digital signal described above.

[0018] In the implementation of the first aspect provided in the present application, since the protocol standard to which the digital signal output by the read data head is generally different from the protocol standard to which the digital signal output by the storage device, the data processing circuit provided in the present application can convert the received digital signal of the read data head, so that the converted digital signal conforms to the protocol standard of the storage device, thereby avoiding the problem that the digital signal output by the storage device cannot be effectively recognized by other devices.

[0019] In an optional implementation of the storage device provided in the first aspect, the head assembly described above further comprises an amplification circuit. The amplification circuit is provided with an input end and an output end, the input end is connected to the read data head, and the output end is connected to the analog-to-digital conversion circuit. The amplification circuit is configured to amplify the first electrical signal and output the amplified first electrical signal to the analog-to-digital conversion circuit.

[0020] In an optional implementation of the storage device provided in the first aspect, the head driver provided in the present application further comprises a motor and a plurality of rollers. The plurality of rollers are configured to carry the magnetic tape, and the motor is configured to drive the plurality of rollers to rewind the magnetic tape in a first direction, rewind the magnetic tape in a second direction, or stop rewinding the magnetic tape, the first direction and the second direction being opposite.

[0021] For example, the motor described above comprises one or a combination of the following: a voice coil motor, a stepping motor, and a tape winding motor.

[0022] In an optional implementation of the storage device provided in the first aspect, the plurality of magnetic tape medium storages provided in the present application comprises a first magnetic tape medium storage, and the head driver in the first magnetic tape medium storage comprises a write data head, which is electrically connected with a first data channel of the plurality of data channels. The write data head is configured to write second data in a data access request into a target tape area of a magnetic tape in the magnetic tape medium storage.

[0023] In an optional implementation of the storage device provided in the first aspect, the first magnetic tape medium storage provided in the present application further comprises a management chip, which is electrically connected with the data processing component through a first write data bus and electrically connected with the write data head through a second write data bus. The management chip is configured to send a second write data signal to the write data head according to a first write data signal in the first write data bus.

[0024] In an optional implementation of the storage device provided in the first aspect, a bit width of the first write data bus is less than or equal to a bit width of the second write data bus.

[0025] In the implementation of the first aspect provided in the present application, the management chip in the magnetic tape medium storage can not only be used to coordinate the performance difference between the data processing component and the head driver in the magnetic tape medium storage, but also can reduce the bus bit width of the connection between the data processing component and the magnetic tape medium storage, thereby reducing the hardware equipment of the storage device.

[0026] In an optional implementation of the storage device provided in the first aspect, the first write data bus and the second write data bus are serial buses.

[0027] In an optional implementation of the storage device provided in the first aspect, the management chip is further electrically connected with the data processing component through a first management bus and electrically connected with the head driver in the first magnetic tape medium storage through a second management bus.

[0028] In an optional implementation of the storage device provided in the first aspect, the first magnetic tape medium storage comprises a magnetic tape, a head driver and a shell. The magnetic tape and the head driver are located in the shell. The shell has an electrical connector, which is electrically connected with the head driver and electrically connected with the data processing component through a first data channel of the plurality of data channels.

[0029] In an optional implementation of the storage device provided in the first aspect, the storage device further comprises a rack. The rack comprises a slot structure and an electrical connector, and the electrical connector is located in the slot structure. The slot structure is configured to accommodate one of the plurality of tape medium storages, and the electrical connector is configured to electrically connect with the one of the plurality of tape medium storages. Alternatively, the slot structure is configured to accommodate a data processing component, and the electrical connector is configured to electrically connect with the data processing component.

[0030] In an optional implementation of the storage device provided in the first aspect, the storage device further comprises a heat dissipation structure, which is located outside the slot structure and close to the electrical connector.

[0031] In the second aspect, the present application provides a storage system. The storage system comprises a storage controller, a communication interface, and a plurality of the storage devices provided in the first aspect or any of the optional implementations of the first aspect. The storage devices are configured to store data, the communication interface is configured to receive a data access request, and the storage controller is configured to manage a target storage device in the storage system according to the data access request. The storage system can achieve the beneficial effects of the first aspect or any of the optional implementations of the first aspect, and thus repeated description is omitted here.

[0032] On the basis of the implementation of each of the aspects provided in the present application, the present application can be further combined to provide more implementations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0033] FIG. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a data access system provided in the present application;

[0034] FIG. 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a storage device provided in the present application;

[0035] FIG. 3 is a structural schematic diagram of a storage device provided in the present application;

[0036] FIG. 4 is a structural schematic diagram of a storage device provided in the present application;

[0037] FIG. 5 is a structural schematic diagram of a storage device provided in the present application;

[0038] FIG. 6 is a structural schematic diagram of a storage device provided in the present application;

[0039] FIG. 7 is a structural schematic diagram of a storage device provided in the present application;

[0040] FIG. 8 is a structural schematic diagram of a data processing circuit provided in the present application;

[0041] FIG. 9 is a structural schematic diagram of a storage device provided in the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] The application provides a storage device and a storage system. A magnetic tape in a magnetic tape medium storage is accessed by a head driver in the magnetic tape medium storage, and the head driver in the magnetic tape medium storage is not used to access a head driver in another magnetic tape medium storage, that is, a shared component in the storage device does not include the mechanical structure of the head driver, thereby reducing the problem of storage device failure caused by unreliable mechanical components and facilitating improvement of service stability in the storage device.

[0043] Specifically, the data processing assembly is connected to different magnetic tape medium storages through a plurality of data channels, and the plurality of magnetic tape medium storages share the data processing assembly, that is, the shared component in the storage device does not include a mechanical component, and the mechanical component of the head driver does not need to be moved multiple times, thereby improving the reliability of the mechanical component in the storage device and facilitating further improvement of service stability in the storage device.

[0044] The technical solutions involved in the application can be applied not only to current magnetic tape technology or storage devices, but also to future magnetic tape technology or storage devices, or storage systems including magnetic tape medium storages or storage devices. The terms used in the embodiment part of the application are only used to explain the specific embodiments of the application, and are not intended to limit the application. Some concepts that can be involved in the application will be briefly introduced below.

[0045] Storage medium: a storage material for recording sound, image, digital or other signals. The storage material can include but is not limited to magnetic tape, such as a tape-shaped material carrying a magnetic layer for recording sound, image, digital or other signals. The magnetic tape is attached with a magnetic medium, such as magnetic powder, for storing data. For example, the magnetic field change in the magnetic medium is usually formed by coating a layer of granular magnetic material on a plastic film tape base (support) or evaporating and depositing a layer of magnetic oxide or alloy film. The tape base of the magnetic tape can include but is not limited to paper, cellophane or polyester film, etc.

[0046] Header: a component for reading and writing the magnetic medium on the magnetic tape by magnetic principle, which is divided into a write head and a read head. The write head records data by magnetizing the magnetic field of the magnetic medium (such as magnetic powder), and the read head reads the data on the magnetic medium by inducting the magnetic field of the magnetic medium.

[0047] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the application more clear, the application will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0048] Hereinafter, the terms "first", "second", and the like are used only for descriptive purposes, and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implying the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined with "first", "second", and the like can explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, the meaning of "a plurality of" is two or more.

[0049] In addition, in the present application, the orientation terms such as "upper", "lower", and the like are defined with respect to the orientation in which the components in the drawings are placed, and it should be understood that these directional terms are relative concepts, which are used for relative description and clarification, and can be changed accordingly according to the change of the orientation in which the components are placed in the drawings.

[0050] In the tape library, after the server issues a read-write operation instruction to the mechanical arm component, the mechanical arm component takes out the corresponding tape cartridge from the tape cabin and transports it to the corresponding tape drive, and the tape drive performs data read-write on the specified position in the tape cartridge. When the taken-out tape cartridge is full or needs to read and write data in other tape cartridges, the server issues another read-write operation instruction to the mechanical arm component, and the mechanical arm component takes out the current tape cartridge from the tape drive and moves the new tape cartridge in the tape cabin for data read-write. In the tape library, in addition to the tape cartridge, other components are shared components of different tape cartridges, so during data read-write, the frequency of the moving operation of the mechanical arm component to different tape cartridges is high, and the mechanical arm is a complex mechanical component with low reliability, and the mechanical arm failure will cause the business interruption of the tape library.

[0051] To solve the above problems, first, the scene to which the embodiments of the present application are applied will be introduced in combination with the drawings.

[0052] FIG. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a data access system provided by the present application. The data access system includes a data access device 100 and a storage system 120. In the application scenario shown in FIG. 1, a user accesses data through an application program. The computer running these application programs can be referred to as a "computing device".

[0053] The data access device 100 can be a physical machine, a virtual machine, or a container. The physical machine can include one or both of a user end and a smart NIC. For example, the data access device 100 includes a user end. The user end can refer to a client, such as a host, a desktop computer, a server, a notebook computer, a mobile device, and the like. For another example, the data access device 100 includes a smart NIC. The smart NIC, also referred to as a smart network adapter, provides a built-in programmable and configurable hardware acceleration engine in addition to the network transmission function of a standard network card, improves the performance of an application, and greatly reduces the consumption of a CPU in communication in a host connected to the smart NIC, and provides more CPU resources for the application. For example, in a highly virtualized environment, a CPU in a host needs to run open virtual switch (OVS) related tasks, and the CPU in the host also needs to process storage, online or offline encryption and decryption of data packets, deep packet inspection, firewall, complex routing, and the like. These operations not only consume a large amount of CPU resources, but also cause the performance of services to be unable to be best due to the contention of CPU resources among different services. The smart NIC serves as a hub connecting various services, and accelerates the above services on the smart NIC.

[0054] In one possible example, the data access device 100 accesses the storage system 120 through a network to access data. For example, the network can include the switch 110.

[0055] In another possible example, the data access device 100 can also communicate with the storage system 120 through a wired connection, such as a universal serial bus (USB) or a peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) bus, and the like.

[0056] The storage system 120 shown in FIG. 1 can be a centralized storage system. The centralized storage system has the feature of having a unified entrance through which all data from external devices passes, and the entrance is an engine 121 of the centralized storage system. The engine 121 has a management function, and many advanced functions of the storage system are implemented therein.

[0057] As shown in FIG. 1, the engine 121 can have one or more controllers. FIG. 1 illustrates an example in which the engine 121 includes one controller. In one possible example, if the engine 121 has multiple controllers, any two controllers can have a mirror channel to implement a backup function for each other, so as to avoid a hardware failure leading to an unavailability of the entire storage system 120. It should be understood that if the engine 121 includes multiple controllers, the engine 121 can also be referred to as an array controller of the storage system 120.

[0058] The engine 121 also includes a front-end interface 1211 and a back-end interface 1214. The front-end interface 1211 is used to communicate with the data access device 100, so as to provide data access services for the data access device 100. The back-end interface 1214 is used to communicate with the hard disks, so as to expand the capacity of the storage system 120. Through the back-end interface 1214, the engine 121 can connect more hard disks, so as to form a very large storage resource pool.

[0059] In hardware, as shown in FIG. 1, the controller includes at least a processor 1212 and a memory 1213. The processor 1212 is a central processing unit (CPU) used to process data access requests from outside the storage system 120 (a server or other storage systems) and to process requests generated inside the storage system 120. For example, when the processor 1212 receives a write data request sent by the data access device 100 through the front-end interface 1211, the processor 1212 temporarily saves the data in the write data request in the memory 1213. When the total amount of data in the memory 1213 reaches a certain threshold, the processor 1212 sends the data stored in the memory 1213 to at least one of the mechanical hard disk 1221, the solid state drive (SSD) 1222, the magneto-optical disk 1223, or other hard disks 1224 through the back-end port for persistent storage.

[0060] The memory 1213 refers to an internal memory that exchanges data directly with the processor. It can read and write data at any time and has a very fast speed, and is used as a temporary data storage for the operating system or other programs running at the moment. The memory includes at least two types of memories, for example, the memory can be a random access memory or a read only memory (ROM). For example, the random access memory is a DRAM or an SCM. The DRAM is a semiconductor memory, and like most random access memories (RAMs), it is a volatile memory device. However, the DRAM and the SCM are only exemplary in this embodiment, and the memory can also include other random access memories, such as static random access memories (SRAM) and the like. As for the read only memory, for example, it can be a programmable read only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), and the like. In addition, the memory 1213 can also be a dual in-line memory module or a dual in-line memory module (DIMM), that is, a module composed of dynamic random access memories (DRAMs), and can also be an SSD. In practical applications, multiple memories 1213 and different types of memories 1213 can be configured in the controller. This embodiment does not limit the number and type of the memory 1213. In addition, the memory 1213 can be configured to have a power retention function. The power retention function refers to that when the system is powered off and then powered on again, the data stored in the memory 1213 will not be lost. The memory with the power retention function is called a non-volatile memory. The memory 1213 stores software programs, and the processor 1212 runs the software programs in the memory 1213 to achieve the management of the hard disk. For example, the hard disk is abstracted as a storage resource pool, and the storage resource pool is provided to the server in the form of a logical unit number (LUN). The LUN is actually the hard disk seen on the server. Of course, some centralized storage systems themselves are file servers, which can provide shared file services for servers.

[0061] As shown in FIG. 1, in the system, the engine 121 can not have a hard disk slot, and the hard disk needs to be placed in the hard disk frame 122, and the back-end interface 1214 communicates with the hard disk frame 122. The back-end interface 1214 exists in the engine 121 in the form of an adapter card, and two or more back-end interfaces 1214 can be used simultaneously on one engine 121 to connect multiple hard disk frames. Alternatively, the adapter card can also be integrated on the mainboard, at which time the adapter card can communicate with the processor 1212 through the PCIe bus.

[0062] It should be noted that only one engine 121 is shown in FIG. 1, but in actual application, two or more engines 121 can be included in the storage system, and redundancy or load balancing is performed between the multiple engines 121.

[0063] The hard disk frame 122 includes a control unit 1225 and several hard disks. The control unit 1225 can have various forms. In one case, the hard disk frame 122 belongs to a smart disk frame as shown in FIG. 1, and the control unit 1225 includes a CPU and a memory. The CPU is used to perform address conversion and read / write data operations. The memory is used to temporarily store data to be written to the hard disk, or data read from the hard disk to be sent to the controller. In another case, the control unit 1225 is a programmable electronic component, such as a data processing unit (DPU). The DPU has the versatility and programmability of a CPU, but is more specialized and can efficiently operate on network packets, storage requests, or analysis requests. The DPU is distinguished from the CPU by a greater degree of parallelism (the need to process a large number of requests). Optionally, the DPU here can also be replaced by a graphics processing unit (GPU), an embedded neural-network processing unit (NPU), etc. In general, the number of control units 1225 can be one, two, or more. The functions of the control unit 1225 can be offloaded to the network card 1226. In other words, in this embodiment, the hard disk frame 122 does not have a control unit 1225 inside, but the data read / write, address conversion, and other computing functions are completed by the network card 1226. At this time, the network card 1226 is a smart network card. It can contain a CPU and a memory. The CPU is used to perform address conversion and read / write data operations. The memory is used to temporarily store data to be written to the hard disk, or data read from the hard disk to be sent to the controller. It can also be a programmable electronic component, such as a DPU. The network card 1226 in the hard disk frame 122 has no ownership relationship with the hard disks, and the network card 1226 can access any hard disk in the hard disk frame 122 (such as the mechanical hard disk 1221, the solid state disk 1222, the magnetic disk 1223, and other hard disks 1224 shown in FIG. 1), so it is more convenient to expand the hard disk when the storage space is insufficient.

[0064] In the embodiments of the present application, the magnetic disk 1223 refers to a storage device including magnetic tape media. In hardware implementation, the magnetic disk can include but is not limited to magnetic tape and a head driver. The head driver can be used to access the magnetic tape, such as writing data to the magnetic tape or reading data from the magnetic tape. The specific implementation of the magnetic disk can refer to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2-9 below, which will not be described here.

[0065] According to the type of the communication protocol between the engine 121 and the hard disk frame 122, the hard disk frame 122 can be a hard disk frame of a serial attached small computer system interface (SAS), can be a hard disk frame of NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory express), and can be a hard disk frame of another type. The hard disk frame of SAS adopts a SAS3.0 protocol, and each frame supports 25 SAS hard disks. The engine 121 is connected with the hard disk frame 122 through a built-in SAS interface or a SAS interface module. The hard disk frame of NVMe is more like a complete computer system, and the NVMe hard disk is inserted into the hard disk frame of NVMe. The hard disk frame of NVMe is connected with the engine 121 through an RDMA port. In some cases, the engine 121 can also be referred to as a hard disk management device.

[0066] In terms of hardware implementation, the hard disk frame 122 can be installed in the storage system, or the hard disk frame 122 can be packaged and independently arranged. When the hard disk frame 122 exists independently, the hard disk frame 122 can also be referred to as a storage device, which is not limited in the present application.

[0067] In an optional implementation, the storage system 120 is a centralized storage system with disk control integration, and the storage system 120 does not have the hard disk frame 122 described above. The engine 121 is used to manage a plurality of hard disks connected through hard disk slots. The function of the hard disk slot can be implemented by the back-end interface 1214.

[0068] In some optional implementations, the storage system 120 is a distributed storage system. The distributed storage system includes a computing node cluster and a storage node cluster. The computing node cluster includes one or more computing nodes, and the computing nodes can communicate with each other. The computing node can be a server, a desktop computer, or a controller of a storage array, etc. In terms of hardware, the computing node can include a processor, a memory, a network card, etc. The processor is a CPU, which is used to process a data access request from outside the computing node or a request generated inside the computing node. For example, when the processor receives a write data request sent by a user, the processor temporarily saves the data in the write data request in the memory. When the total amount of data in the memory reaches a certain threshold, the processor sends the data stored in the memory to the storage node for persistent storage. In addition, the processor is also used for data computing or processing, such as metadata management, data deduplication, data compression, virtualization of storage space, address conversion, etc. In the embodiments provided in the present application, the storage node can be a magnetic disk or a hard disk of another type, etc. It can be understood that the storage system described in the embodiments of the present application can be a distributed storage system with storage and computing integration, or can be a distributed storage system with storage and computing separation, which is not limited in the present application.

[0069] For example, the distributed storage system can be implemented by network attached storage (NAS) technology. NAS refers to a network storage architecture that provides storage resources through file-level data access and sharing based on an Internet Protocol (IP) network. In a NAS scenario, the NAS is an external device for a server / host, and the NAS is used to provide file-level storage space for the server / host in the distributed storage system.

[0070] It should be noted that the above examples only provide possible implementations of the data access system of the present embodiment and should not be construed as limiting the present application. For example, in the storage system 120 shown in FIG. 1, data is stored in the form of files on each hard disk. The files stored in each hard disk constitute a file storage system, for example, a distributed file system. For example, a network file system (NFS) is a distributed file system and also a network protocol for accessing and sharing files between devices on the same local area network. For example, a NAS system can be implemented by an NFS protocol. The network file system is a low-cost network file sharing option that enables users and applications to access, store, and update files on remote computers, just like using direct-attached storage. The network file system uses a remote procedure call protocol to route requests between clients and servers. Although the devices involved need to support the network file system, they do not need to understand the details of the network. It should be noted that remote procedure calls can not be secure, so the network file system should only be deployed on trusted networks behind a firewall. Although Windows supports the protocol, the protocol is mainly used in a Linux environment.

[0071] For the above-mentioned magnetic disk 1223, the present embodiment provides an optional example, as shown in FIG. 2, which is a structural schematic diagram of a storage device provided by the present application. The storage device 200 can be used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned hard disk frame or storage node, or the storage device 200 can also be used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned storage system, which will not be described here.

[0072] Referring to FIG. 2, the storage device 200 includes a data processing component 210 and a plurality of magnetic tape medium storage, such as magnetic tape medium storage 221 to magnetic tape medium storage 22x, magnetic tape medium storage 221 is also called first magnetic tape medium storage, magnetic tape medium storage 222 is also called second magnetic tape medium storage, and the names of other magnetic tape medium storage are the same, which will not be described here.

[0073] The data processing component 210 is electrically connected with the plurality of tape medium storages respectively. The electrical connection refers to connecting different electrical components or devices together to realize the transmission of current and signals. Exemplarily, the electrical connection can realize, but is not limited to, the functions of transmitting current, signal transmission (such as control signals, write data signals, read data signals, etc.), power distribution and device connection.

[0074] Different data channels correspond to different tape medium storages. For example, the tape medium storage 221 is connected with the data processing component 210 through the data channel 1, the tape medium storage 222 is connected with the data processing component 210 through the data channel 2, and the tape medium storage 22x is connected with the data processing component 210 through the data channel x.

[0075] The data channel provided by the embodiment of the present application is also referred to as a signal channel, an installation channel or other names, which are not limited in the present application. The data channel is exemplarily described below from the software layer and the hardware layer.

[0076] In the software layer, the data channel is used to transmit signals between the data processing component 210 and the tape medium storage 221, and the data channel is also referred to as a signal channel.

[0077] In the hardware layer, the data channel is used to connect the data processing component 210 and the tape medium storage 221 to fix the relationship between the data processing component 210 and the tapes in the tape medium storage 221, and the data channel is also referred to as an installation channel. The data channel can be realized by a data bus, which can be a serial bus.

[0078] In some optional cases, the data bus includes a read data bus used by the data processing component 210 to read data from the tape medium storage 221, and a write data bus used by the data processing component 210 to write data to the tape medium storage 221, and the read data bus and the write data bus are both serial buses. The embodiment of FIG. 9 exemplarily describes the data bus, which is not described here.

[0079] In the embodiment of the present application, the data processing component 210 is configured to select a target data channel from the plurality of data channels according to a data access request, and output data transmitted by the target data channel. The data access request can be, for example, a write data request, a read data request, a garbage collection request or other types of access requests, which are not limited in the present application. The garbage collection refers to erasing redundant data in the storage medium and releasing the storage space occupied by the redundant data when the remaining storage capacity in the storage medium is insufficient.

[0080] For example, the storage space can be provided by a magnetic tape in a magnetic tape medium storage, such as the storage area provided by the magnetic tape 2211 in FIG. 2.

[0081] The structure of the magnetic tape medium storage provided by the embodiments of the present application is described below by way of example with respect to a first magnetic tape medium storage (magnetic tape medium storage 221) in a plurality of magnetic tape medium storages. The magnetic tape medium storage 221 includes a magnetic tape 2211 and a head driver 2212 for accessing the magnetic tape 2211. The embodiments shown in FIGS. 6-9 below are illustrative of the head driver 2212, which will not be described in detail here.

[0082] For example, the magnetic tape 2211 can exist independently or be fixedly connected to a sealed housing.

[0083] For example, the magnetic tape 2211 can be housed in a housing, such as the magnetic tape medium storage 221 described above. For example, the physical form of the magnetic tape medium storage 221 can be similar to that of a cassette tape. In the magnetic tape medium storage, the magnetic tape is wound around one or more fixed shafts, and the magnetic tape medium storage 221 provides an access space. For example, the head in the head driver 2212 is aligned with the access space provided by the magnetic tape medium storage 221, and drives the magnetic tape in the magnetic tape medium storage 221 to start rewinding, so as to enable the head driver 2212 to access the data in the magnetic tape 2211.

[0084] For another example, when the magnetic tape 2211 exists independently, the magnetic tape 2211 can refer to a strip of material that includes a magnetic medium, such as magnetic powder or other medium, for storing data.

[0085] The difference between the magnetic tape medium storage 221 and the magnetic tape cartridge is that, in the conventional art, the head driver for accessing the magnetic tape cartridge is shared by all the magnetic tape cartridges in a tape library, and the head driver is a mechanical component that is frequently moved or used, and the reliability of the tape library is low. In contrast, the magnetic tape medium storage 221 provided by the embodiments of the present application includes a magnetic tape and a head driver for accessing the magnetic tape, and the magnetic tape cartridge only includes the magnetic tape and a fixed shaft around which the magnetic tape is wound, and does not include a head driver for accessing the magnetic tape. In the embodiments of the present application, the head driver in each magnetic tape medium storage 221 is not used by other magnetic tape medium storages, and the head driver is not frequently moved or shifted, and the reliability of the magnetic tape medium storage is improved.

[0086] In combination with the embodiment of FIG. 2, the data processing component can select a target data channel connected by electricity among the plurality of data channels according to different data access requests, so as to access the tape medium storage corresponding to the target data channel, thereby reducing the problem of storage device failure caused by unreliable mechanical components, and improving the service stability of the storage device.

[0087] On the basis of FIGS. 1 and 2, in order to further illustrate the structural design of the storage device provided by the embodiments of the present application, the storage device provided by the embodiments of the present application is exemplarily described below in combination with FIG. 3, which is a structural schematic diagram two of a storage device provided by the present application. The storage device 200 further includes a rack 230, which includes slot structures and electrical connectors.

[0088] As shown in (1) and (2) of FIG. 3, the rack 230 includes slot structures 1 to 8 and electrical connectors 1 and 8, wherein electrical connectors 2 to 7 are not shown in FIG. 3. It can be understood that the electrical connectors are located in the slot structures corresponding to the electrical connectors, such as the electrical connector 1 located in the slot structure 1 and the electrical connector 8 located in the slot structure 8. The relative positions of the other electrical connectors and slot structures are similar to those of the slot structure 1 and the slot structure 8, and are not described herein.

[0089] In the storage device 200 shown in FIG. 3, the slot structures can be used to accommodate the tape medium storage or the data processing component 210.

[0090] For example, the slot structure 1 is used to accommodate a tape medium storage 221 in the plurality of tape medium storages, and the electrical connector 1 is used to be electrically connected with the tape medium storage 221. In (3) of FIG. 3, the tape medium storage 221 and the electrical connector 1 in the slot structure 1 are detachably connected.

[0091] For another example, the slot structure 8 is used to accommodate the data processing component 210, and the electrical connector 8 is used to be electrically connected with the data processing component 210. In (4) of FIG. 3, the data processing component 210 and the electrical connector 8 in the slot structure 8 are detachably connected.

[0092] In the present example, since the connectors in the slot structures are electrical connectors, the “detachable” described in (3) and (4) of FIG. 3 is also referred to as “hot pluggable”, which is not limited by the present application.

[0093] The slot structure shown in FIG. 3 is in the shape of a square, but the slot structure can also be in other shapes or can be used to accommodate the aforementioned magnetic tape medium storage or data processing component 210. It is worth noting that the arrangement of the slot structure and the deployment of the electrical connector in the example provided in FIG. 3 above is only an optional way provided by the present application, and the arrangement of the slot structure and the position of the electrical connector in the slot structure can be adjusted according to actual conditions, which is not limited by the present application.

[0094] As the magnetic tape medium storage 221 also includes a housing, the magnetic tape and the head driver are located in the housing. The housing has an electrical connector 1-1 electrically connected with the head driver, and the electrical connector 1-1 is electrically connected with the data processing component 210 through a first data channel in the plurality of data channels. The first data channel can be the aforementioned data channel 1. It can be understood that the magnetic tape medium storage is equivalent to the combination of the magnetic tape drive and the magnetic tape, and the magnetic tape is fixedly integrated in the magnetic tape drive when leaving the factory, thereby forming an overall structure similar to a hard disk drive (HDD), which is referred to as a "magnetic tape disk" or a "magnetic disk". This means that it is difficult to remove / insert the magnetic tape by opening the drive, so it is difficult to easily replace the magnetic tape; it is also difficult to move the magnetic tape to the position of the drive by a mechanical arm / human to read / write data of the magnetic tape. The advantage is that the magnetic tape is sealed in the magnetic disk, and external dust, liquid or air and other media are difficult to contact the magnetic tape and the heads, thereby improving the service life of the magnetic tape and the heads in the magnetic disk. In some possible cases, if the magnetic tape is fixedly sealed in the magnetic tape medium storage, the magnetic tape medium storage can also be referred to as a magnetic tape all-in-one, an integrated magnetic tape disk, a magnetic tape machine device, or an integrated magnetic tape machine, etc., which is not limited by the present application.

[0095] Corresponding to the description of the magnetic tape medium storage 221, the data processing component 210 can also be packaged in a housing, which is not described here.

[0096] Since the electrical connector is used to connect the magnetic tape medium storage or the data processing component, the resistance of the position where different devices are electrically connected increases, and in the case that the current between different devices is relatively stable, the increase in resistance will cause the heat at the position of the electrical connector to increase and the temperature to be relatively high. Therefore, in order to reduce the use temperature of the storage device 200 and improve the safety of the storage device 200, the storage device 200 can also include a heat dissipation structure. The heat dissipation structure is located outside the slot structure and is arranged close to the electrical connector.

[0097] For example, the heat dissipation structure can be arranged on the rack included in the storage device 200 shown in FIG. 3, and the heat dissipation structure can be arranged outside the rack and close to the position of the electrical connector.

[0098] For another example, the heat dissipation structure can also be arranged in the middle region of the rack. For example, the position between the slot structure 1 and the slot structure 2 in FIG. 3.

[0099] The above two examples are optional manners provided by the embodiments of the present application. In other optional manners, the heat dissipation structure can also be arranged between different racks. As shown in FIG. 4, which is a schematic structural diagram of a storage device provided by the present application, the storage device 200 includes not only the contents shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, but also a rack 232 and a heat dissipation structure 240. As shown in (2) in FIG. 4, the rack 232 and the rack 230 are arranged side by side, and the heat dissipation structure 240 is arranged between the rack 232 and the rack 230. The rack 230 shown in (1) in FIG. 4 can refer to the related description of (1) in FIG. 3, which is not repeated here.

[0100] The rack 232 also has a slot structure and an electrical connector. As shown in (3) in FIG. 4, the slot structure 9 to the slot structure 16 each have an electrical connector. The description of the rack 230 can be referred to, which is not repeated here.

[0101] Optionally, the heat dissipation structure 240 can be implemented based on at least one of air cooling technology and liquid cooling technology.

[0102] For example, the heat dissipation structure 240 is implemented based on air cooling technology. For example, the heat dissipation structure 240 includes a fan, which exchanges the air in the storage device 200 with external cold air during operation, so as to reduce the heat in the storage device 200, thereby reducing the working temperature of the storage device 200.

[0103] For another example, the heat dissipation structure 240 is implemented based on liquid cooling technology. For example, the heat dissipation structure 240 uses a liquid (such as water or other types of liquid) to flow through a pipe arranged in the storage device 200, so as to absorb the heat generated by the storage device 200, thereby reducing the working temperature of the storage device 200.

[0104] For another example, the heat dissipation structure 240 is implemented based on air cooling technology and liquid cooling technology. For example, the heat dissipation structure 240 uses a cooling medium (such as water or other types of liquid) to flow through a pipe arranged in the storage device 200, so as to absorb the heat generated by the storage device 200, and uses a fan to transfer the heat absorbed by the liquid in the pipe from a closed space where the pipe is located to external cold air, so as to reduce the working temperature of the storage device 200.

[0105] The above three examples are optional manners of the heat dissipation structure provided by the embodiments of the present application, and should not be construed as a limitation of the present application. With the development of technology, the heat dissipation structure can also use other technologies or structural designs, which are not limited by the present application.

[0106] When the storage device 200 shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 4 is used to accommodate the magnetic tape medium storage, the storage device 200 can be used not only to accommodate a plurality of magnetic tape medium storages, but also to accommodate a plurality of data processing components. Taking the storage device shown in FIG. 4 as an example, the slot structures 1 to 7, the slot structures 9 to 15 are used to accommodate the magnetic tape medium storages, and the slot structures 8 and 16 are used to accommodate the data processing components.

[0107] In the content shown in FIG. 4, the storage device 200 is designed as a disk control separated magnetic medium storage frame, which is a standard size of 4 units (4U) form, and is composed of 2 shared data processing components and 14 magnetic tape medium storages (which can also be composed of other numbers of data processing components and magnetic tape medium storages), wherein one data processing component can access 7 magnetic tape medium storages.

[0108] It is worth noting that according to the application scene of the storage device 200, the number of data processing components and magnetic tape medium storages that can be deployed in the storage device 200 can also be customized to change. Corresponding to the transformation of the data processing components and the magnetic tape medium storages in the storage device 200, the form of the storage device 200 can also change, such as the storage device 200 can also be set as a frame form, a cabinet form or other forms, etc., which is not limited by the present application.

[0109] Moreover, in the case that the processing capacity of the data processing component is large, one data processing component can access the data stored in multiple magnetic tape medium storages in parallel to improve the read-write bandwidth and data access performance of the storage device. For example, one data processing component can access seven magnetic tape medium storages in parallel.

[0110] Optionally, in order to improve the reliability of the storage device 200, a power module can also be provided in the storage device 200, which is used to temporarily provide power for the storage device 200 in the case of power failure of the storage device 200, to complete the current access service, or save the current access state, so that the storage device 200 can quickly recover the historical access service after the power connection is restored, and improve the service reliability of the storage device in the power failure state.

[0111] For the above-mentioned data processing component 210, the way the data processing component 210 selects the target data channel from the plurality of data channels can be to set an electronic switch (such as the electronic switch in FIG. 2), which can be used to select one or more data channels as the target data channel.

[0112] In one possible example, the electronic switch selects one data channel from the plurality of data channels as the target data channel, such as the target data channel being the data channel 1 in FIG. 2.

[0113] In another possible example, the electronic switch selects two or more data channels from the plurality of data channels as the target data channels, such as the data channel 1 and the data channel 2 in FIG. 2.

[0114] The above two examples are only optional manners of the target data channels provided by the embodiments of the present application, and should not be construed as a limitation to the present application.

[0115] In an optional implementation, for the above implementation of the plurality of data channels, a feasible example is provided below based on FIG. 2, as shown in FIG. 5, which is a structural schematic diagram four of a storage device provided by the present application. In FIG. 5, the storage device 200 not only includes the contents shown in FIG. 2, but also includes a backplane 250.

[0116] The backplane 250 has a plurality of data channels, including a first data channel (data channel 1) to an xth data channel (data channel x).

[0117] The structure design of each data channel is exemplarily described below by taking the first data channel as an example. The first data channel (data channel 1) includes oppositely arranged first and second connecting portions, the first connecting portion connects the magnetic tape medium storage 221 in the plurality of magnetic tape medium storages, and the second connecting portion connects the data processing assembly 210.

[0118] Exemplarily, the magnetic tape medium storage 221 is detachably connected with the first connecting portion, and other magnetic tape medium storages are also detachably connected with the connecting portions in the corresponding data channels, so that in the case of damage or failure of part of the magnetic tape medium storages, the damaged or failed magnetic tape medium storage can be replaced, and the data stored in the old magnetic tape medium storage can be recovered by using other un-replaced magnetic tape medium storages in the storage device, which is beneficial to the maintenance of the data stored in the storage device and improves the reliability of the storage device.

[0119] In hardware implementation, the backplane 250 is used to support the mutual connection between other circuit boards, devices and devices, and provide a circuit board or a frame for the supported devices. In some feasible cases, the backplane can include but is not limited to a printed circuit board (PCB) and a connecting member connecting electrical connecting members in different slot structures. In some optional cases, the above first and second connecting portions can also be called terminal connectors on the backplane 250, which are used to connect different devices to the backplane 250, so that the devices can realize signal transmission and power supply functions.

[0120] When the storage device 200 contains the backplane 250, the backplane 250 can be arranged in the rack close to the side of the electrical connector. In combination with the embodiment of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the backplane 250 can be arranged in the rack 230 close to the side of the electrical connector.

[0121] The above-mentioned data channel can be realized by a wire on the backplane 250, which can include but is not limited to a metal wire (such as a gold wire, a silver wire, etc.) or other wires with signal transmission capability.

[0122] According to different data access requests, the data processing assembly can access the magnetic tape medium storage corresponding to the target data channel by selecting the target data channel of the electrical connector, thereby reducing the problem of storage device failure caused by unreliable mechanical components, and facilitating to improve the business stability in the storage device. Since the data processing assembly is electrically connected to multiple magnetic tape medium storages, the multiple magnetic tape medium storages share the data processing assembly in the storage device.

[0123] Moreover, each magnetic tape medium storage in the storage device has a head driver, i.e., the mechanical components in the magnetic tape medium storage are not used by the magnetic tape in other magnetic tape medium storages, i.e., the shared components in the storage device do not include mechanical components, and the mechanical components of the head driver do not need to be moved multiple times, thereby improving the reliability of the mechanical components in the storage device and facilitating to further improve the business stability in the storage device.

[0124] For the specific implementation of the data processing assembly 210, on the basis of FIG. 2, an optional implementation provided by the embodiment of the present application is provided, as shown in FIG. 6, which is a structural schematic diagram of a storage device provided by the present application five. In FIG. 6, the above-mentioned data processing assembly 210 includes an electronic switch 211 and a data processing circuit 212.

[0125] The electronic switch 211 is electrically connected to the multiple magnetic tape medium storages, and the data processing circuit 212 is electrically connected to the electronic switch 211.

[0126] In some optional implementations, the electronic switch can be a hardware device arranged in the data processing assembly 210, such as a multiple-to-one selector. As shown in (1) of FIG. 6, the electronic switch and the data processing circuit are independently arranged.

[0127] In some other optional implementation manners, the electronic switch can be a logic switch arranged in the data processing component 210, such as the electronic switch integrated into the data processing circuit 212. As shown in (2) of FIG. 6, the electronic switch is integrated in the data processing circuit, and the data processing circuit is configured to gate the plurality of data channels connected thereto, and output first data after processing a signal transmitted by the gated target data channel.

[0128] In a possible example, as shown in (2) of FIG. 6, the data processing circuit 212 includes a plurality of access pins (lines marked with circles in FIG. 6), and different access pins are configured to connect different tape medium storages. The access pins can be configured to connect not only the tape medium storages, but also other types of storage media or hardware devices, which are not limited in the present application.

[0129] In the content shown in FIG. 6, the data processing circuit 212 is configured to select a target data channel from the plurality of data channels connected to the electronic switch 211 according to a data access request, and output data transmitted by the target data channel. The data processing circuit 212 can process a signal transmitted by the target data channel, such as digital filtering, decoding or other processing. The digital filtering refers to processing and optimizing characteristics of a received digital signal to reduce noise and improve characteristics of effective information in the digital signal. The decoding refers to a process of converting a digital signal into information or data represented by the digital signal by using a specific method, such as a viterbi algorithm, which is not limited in the present application.

[0130] For example, a filter used by the data processing circuit 212 to perform digital filtering can include, but is not limited to, a finite impulse response (FIR) filter. The FIR filter is also called a non-recursive filter, and the FIR filter can be implemented by an integrated circuit, a digital signal processor (DSP) or a programmable logic device, which are not limited in the present application.

[0131] In the embodiments of the present application, the data processing circuit 212 can be, for example, a general processor, a DSP chip, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, etc. In actual applications, the data processing component 210 can also include a plurality of data processing circuits, which are not limited in the present application.

[0132] The structure of the storage device 200 is further described below taking the data access request as a read data request as an example.

[0133] As shown in FIG. 7, FIG. 7 is a structural schematic diagram of a storage device provided by the present application. The head driver 2212 in the magnetic tape medium storage 221 includes a head assembly, which includes a read data head R1, a read servo head R2, and an analog-to-digital conversion circuit R3, and the analog-to-digital conversion circuit R3 is electrically connected with the read data head R1 and the read servo head R2 respectively.

[0134] The read servo head R2 is configured to determine the positioning information of the first magnetic tape according to the first address in the data access request. The positioning information is used to determine the position of the target magnetic tape area corresponding to the first address in the first magnetic tape.

[0135] The read data head R1 is configured to read the magnetic tape area specified by the positioning information and send a first electrical signal corresponding to the magnetic tape area to the analog-to-digital conversion circuit R3. The first electrical signal can be a current signal or a voltage signal.

[0136] The analog-to-digital conversion circuit R3 is configured to receive the first electrical signal, process the first electrical signal to obtain a first digital signal, and send the first digital signal to the first data channel. The first digital signal is a digital signal conforming to a magnetic tape transmission protocol, such as the JESD204B standard. The JESD204B standard is used to define the serial data interface between the converter and the digital processing device, and details can be referred to the general technology, which is not described here. For example, the analog-to-digital conversion circuit R3 can be implemented by an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), which can be used to convert the time-continuous and amplitude-continuous analog signal into a time-discrete and amplitude-discrete digital signal. Therefore, the A / D conversion generally needs to go through four processes of sampling, holding, quantization, and coding. In the actual circuit, some of these processes are combined, for example, sampling and holding, quantization and coding are often implemented simultaneously in the conversion process.

[0137] Optionally, an amplification circuit R4 can be further arranged between the read data head R1 and the analog-to-digital conversion circuit R3. The amplification circuit R4 is provided with an input end (R4 in ) and an output end (R4 out ), the input end (R4 in ) is connected with the read data head R1, and the output end (R4 out ) is connected with the analog-to-digital conversion circuit R3. The amplification circuit R4 is configured to amplify the first electrical signal and output the amplified first electrical signal to the analog-to-digital conversion circuit R3.

[0138] In some examples, since the amplification circuit R4 is located on the generation side of the digital signal, the amplification circuit R4 can also be referred to as a preamplification circuit, which can be implemented by a preamplifier (preamp) or other circuit with signal amplification function.

[0139] For example, the signals of the read data heads and the signals of the read servo heads in the head assembly are sampled by the analog front end (AFE) after preamplification, and the sampled signals are sent to the data processing assembly through the backplane for processing. In some feasible cases, the number of read data heads arranged in the head assembly in the tape medium storage is 32, and the number of read servo heads is 3x2. In order to simplify the number of interface PINs of the tape medium storage, the JESD interface protocol supported by the AFE is adopted in the present scheme, and the multi-channel head signals can be combined and transmitted (such as 4 channels into 1 channel of data), so as to achieve the purpose of simplifying the number of signal PINs, and the interface can be reserved for subsequent evolution of the number of heads.

[0140] In the embodiments of the present application, the position of the tape is positioned by the read servo head, so that the read data head can more accurately read the target data, thereby improving the accuracy of data access. Moreover, in the signal collection process of reading data, the collected electrical signals are amplified by the amplification circuit, which is conducive to improving the proportion of effective information in the electrical signals and reducing the influence of noise on the read signals, thereby further improving the accuracy of data access in the storage device.

[0141] Optionally, in the process of reading data by the read data head and the read servo head, the driving of the tape can be realized by the motor and the roller, the roller can be used to carry the tape, and the motor is used to drive the roller to reverse the tape in a first direction, reverse the tape in a second direction, or stop reversing the tape, the first direction and the second direction being opposite.

[0142] As shown in FIG. 7, the tape medium storage 221 further includes a motor M0, which can include one or a combination of the following: a voice coil motor (VCM), a stepping motor, and a tape winding motor.

[0143] The VCM is a direct drive motor, and the working principle of the VCM includes that the energized coil placed in the magnetic field will generate a force, and the size of the force is proportional to the current applied to the coil. The VCM working on this principle has a linear or circular arc motion form, and more details about the VCM can be referred to the description of the general technology.

[0144] A stepper motor is an electric motor that converts electric pulses into corresponding angular or linear displacement. For each input pulse, the rotor turns an angle or moves a step, and the output angular displacement or linear displacement is proportional to the number of input pulses, and the rotation speed is proportional to the pulse frequency. Therefore, the stepper motor is also called a pulse motor. More information about the stepper motor can be found in the description of the general technology.

[0145] In this embodiment, the tape winding motor can be an AC servo motor or a brushless DC servo motor, etc. The tape winding motor drives the roller to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise, so that the magnetic tape carried on the roller slides, and thus the magnetic heads in the magnetic tape drive can write data to the magnetic tape or read the data stored in the magnetic tape, etc.

[0146] In combination with the content shown in FIG. 7, for the electronic switching switch described above, a possible implementation is provided as follows. As shown in FIG. 7, the electronic switching switch includes a plurality of sub-switches, such as sub-switch 1 to sub-switch k (k is a positive integer), which can be determined according to the number of tape medium storage devices supported by the storage device 200 to access and the number of read signal input ports of each sub-switch.

[0147] In some cases, the sub-switch 1 is also referred to as the first sub-switch, the sub-switch 2 is also referred to as the second sub-switch, and the sub-switch k is also referred to as the kth sub-switch, which is not limited in the present application.

[0148] The ports of each sub-switch are exemplarily described below by taking the sub-switch 1 as an example. As shown in FIG. 7, the sub-switch 1 includes a plurality of read signal input ports and a read signal output port, and the plurality of read signal input ports include a read signal input port 1 and a read signal input port 2.

[0149] The read signal input port 1 of the plurality of read signal input ports of the sub-switch 1 is connected to the tape medium storage device 221, and is configured to receive a read data signal (such as a first digital signal) of the tape medium storage device 221. The read signal output port is connected to the data processing circuit 212, and is configured to output the read data signal (such as the first digital signal) of the tape medium storage device 221.

[0150] As an optional implementation, as shown in FIG. 8, FIG. 8 is a structural schematic diagram of a data processing circuit provided by the present application. The data processing circuit 212 includes a first communication interface 2121, a second communication interface 2122, and a sub-processing circuit 2123.

[0151] The first communication interface 2121 is connected to the second connection part shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6, and is configured to receive the first digital signal from the tape medium storage device 221.

[0152] The sub-processing circuit 2123 is configured to perform conversion processing on the first digital signal to obtain a second digital signal, the first digital signal and the second digital signal carrying the same service information (such as first data), and the first digital signal and the second digital signal conforming to different protocol standards.

[0153] The second communication interface 2122 is configured to serially output the second digital signal.

[0154] In this embodiment, the first communication interface 2121 and the second communication interface 2122 are both serial interfaces.

[0155] For example, the first communication interface 2121 is a serial data interface conforming to the JESD204B standard. The first digital signal and the first communication interface 2121 conform to the same protocol standard, such as the JESD204B standard.

[0156] For another example, the second communication interface 2122 is a PCIe interface, a USB interface, an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus interface, a unified bus (Ubus or UB) interface, a compute express link (CXL) interface, a cache coherent interconnect for accelerators (CCIX) interface, etc. The host can access the storage device 200 provided by the present application through the PCIe bus. The second digital signal and the second communication interface 2122 conform to the same protocol standard, such as PCIe.

[0157] In the embodiments of the present application, since the protocol standard conforming to the digital signal output by the read data head is generally different from the protocol standard conforming to the digital signal output by the storage device, the data processing circuit provided by the present application can convert the digital signal received by the read data head, so that the converted digital signal conforms to the protocol standard of the storage device, thereby avoiding the problem that the digital signal output by the storage device cannot be effectively recognized by other devices.

[0158] It is worth noting that in some feasible designs, a general-purpose processor such as a CPU can also be arranged in the data processing assembly 210, which is configured to coordinate the resource allocation of each device in the data processing assembly 210, thereby improving the resource utilization of the data processing assembly 210 and facilitating the improvement of the service performance of the storage device 200.

[0159] The read data process performed by the storage device 200 is described above in combination with FIG. 7 and FIG. 8. The structure of the storage device 200 provided in the embodiments of the present application is further exemplarily described below in the write data process of the storage device 200. As shown in FIG. 9, FIG. 9 is a structural schematic diagram of a storage device provided in the present application.

[0160] The structure design of the storage device 200 is described below taking the second data carried in the data access request as an example.

[0161] The head assembly in the tape medium storage 221 further includes a write driver and a write data head, the write data head being used for electrically connecting the data channel 1 of the plurality of data channels. The write data head is used for writing the second data in the data access request into the target tape area of the tape 2211 in the tape medium storage 221.

[0162] The tape medium storage 221 further includes a management chip 2213. The management chip 2213 may, for example, be an FPGA, an ASIC or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, etc.

[0163] The management chip 2213 is electrically connected with the data processing assembly 210 through a first write data bus (W1 in FIG. 9) and is electrically connected with the write data head through a second write data bus (W2 in FIG. 9).

[0164] The management chip 2213 is configured to send a second write data signal to the write data head according to a first write data signal in the first write data bus (W1 in FIG. 9).

[0165] Optionally, the first write data bus and the second write data bus are serial buses.

[0166] The first write data bus described above may be connected to a flexible Ethernet (FlexE) interface or other types of serial interfaces, which are not limited in the present application.

[0167] In an optional implementation, the bit width of the first write data bus is less than or equal to the bit width of the second write data bus.

[0168] For example, M=16, N=64, the data processing component 210 sends 4 taps of first write data signals (16bit) to the management chip 2213, then the management chip 2213 sends one tap of second write data signals (64bit) to the write data head according to the 4 taps of first write data signals. If the total bit width of the multiple first write data signals of the data processing component 210 is not an integer multiple of the bit width of the second write data signal, the management chip 2213 pads i invalid signals to the end of the i first write data signals in the process of managing the write data signals, and sends the second write data signal to the write data head.

[0169] In the embodiment of the present application, the bit width of the write data bus connected to the data processing component 210 of the tape medium storage is less than or equal to the bit width of the single write data of the head assembly in the tape medium storage, which is beneficial to reduce the number of data buses between the data processing component 210 and the tape medium storage, not only can reduce the number of buses of the data channel arrangement on the backboard, but also can reduce the hardware cost of the storage device.

[0170] Please continue to refer to FIG. 9, the management chip 2213 is also electrically connected with the data processing component 210 through a first management bus (such as M1 in FIG. 9), and is electrically connected with the head driver in the tape medium storage 221 through a second management bus (such as M2 in FIG. 9). For example, the bit width of the first management bus (M1) and the bit width of the second management bus (M2) are the same, such as 1bit, 2bit or other. For another example, the bit width of the first management bus (M1) and the bit width of the second management bus (M2) are different, such as the bit width of the first management bus (M1) is less than the bit width of the second management bus (M2). The first management bus (M1) and the second management bus (M2) are used to transmit control signals or management signals between the data processing component 210 and the tape medium storage 221, such as controlling the rotating speed of the motor, the rotation of the tape and the like.

[0171] Optionally, the tape medium storage 221 can also include a sensor and a security module, the sensor can be used to determine the relative position between the tape and the head driver, and the security module is used to encrypt the data stored in the tape medium storage and the like, the sensor and the security module can also be electrically connected with the management chip through the management bus (such as M2), which is not limited in the present application.

[0172] The embodiments of the present application further provide a storage system. The storage system comprises a communication interface, a storage controller, and the storage device provided by any of the foregoing embodiments. The storage device is configured to store data, the communication interface is configured to receive a data access request, and the storage controller is configured to manage a target storage device in the storage system according to the data access request. The storage system is, for example, a tape library or a computer / server comprising a tape medium storage as a persistent storage medium.

[0173] The storage controller comprises one or more processors, which can be a very large scale integrated circuit. The processor is installed with an operating system and other software programs, so that the processor can access the tape drive device and various PCIe devices. The processor comprises one or more processor cores. The processor core in the processor is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) or other ASIC. The processor can also be other general-purpose processors, DSPs, ASICs, FPGAs or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. In actual applications, the storage system can also comprise multiple controllers.

[0174] Optionally, the storage system can further comprise other storage media, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and static random access memory (SRAM), for caching data of the tape drive device for processing by the processor. In addition, the other storage media can also be read only memory (ROM). For the read only memory, for example, it can be programmable read only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), etc. The embodiments do not limit the number and type of the other storage media. In addition, the other storage media can be configured to have a power retention function. The power retention function refers to that when the system is powered off and then powered on again, the data stored in the storage media will not be lost. The storage media with the power retention function is referred to as non-volatile memory.

[0175] The above merely provides a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited to this. Various equivalent modifications or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be covered in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A storage device, characterized by, The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device.

2. The storage device of claim 1, wherein, The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device.

3. The storage device of claim 2, wherein, The application relates to a storage device.

4. The storage device of claim 3, wherein, The application relates to a storage device.

5. The storage device of any of claims 2-4, wherein, The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device.

6. The storage device of claim 5, wherein, The application relates to a storage device.

7. The storage device of claim 5 or 6, wherein, The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device.

8. The storage device of any of claims 5-7, wherein, The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device.

9. The storage device of claim 8, wherein, The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. The application relates to a storage device. 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10. The storage device of claim 8 or 9, wherein, The magnetic head assembly further comprises: An amplification circuit, provided with an input end and an output end, the input end being connected with the read data head, and the output end being connected with the analog-digital conversion circuit; The amplification circuit is configured to amplify the first electrical signal and output the amplified first electrical signal to the analog-digital conversion circuit.

11. The storage device of any of claims 1-10, wherein, The plurality of magnetic tape medium storages comprises a first magnetic tape medium storage, and a head driver in the first magnetic tape medium storage comprises a write data head, which is electrically connected with a first data channel of the plurality of data channels. The write data head is configured to write second data in the data access request into a target tape area of a magnetic tape in the magnetic tape medium storage.

12. The storage device of claim 11, wherein, The first magnetic tape medium storage further comprises: A management chip, which is electrically connected with the data processing assembly through a first write data bus and electrically connected with the write data head through a second write data bus; The management chip is configured to send a second write data signal to the write data head according to a first write data signal in the first write data bus.

13. The storage device of claim 12, wherein, The bit width of the first write data bus is less than or equal to the bit width of the second write data bus.

14. The storage device of claim 12 or 13, wherein, The first write data bus and the second write data bus are serial buses.

15. The storage device of any of claims 12-14, wherein, The management chip is further electrically connected with the data processing assembly through a first management bus and electrically connected with the head driver in the first magnetic tape medium storage through a second management bus.

16. The storage device of any of claims 1-15, wherein, The plurality of magnetic tape medium storages comprises a first magnetic tape medium storage, and the first magnetic tape medium storage comprises a magnetic tape, a head driver and a housing; The magnetic tape and the head driver are located in the housing; The housing has an electrical connector, which is electrically connected with the head driver and electrically connected with the data processing assembly through a first data channel of the plurality of data channels.

17. The storage device of any of claims 1-16, wherein, The storage device further comprises: A rack comprising a slot structure and an electrical connector, the electrical connector being located in the slot structure; The slot structure is configured to accommodate one of the plurality of magnetic tape medium storages, and the electrical connector is configured to be electrically connected with the one of the plurality of magnetic tape medium storages. Alternatively, the slot structure is configured to accommodate the data processing assembly, and the electrical connector is configured to be electrically connected with the data processing assembly.

18. The storage device of claim 17, wherein, The storage device further comprises: A heat dissipation structure, which is located outside the slot structure and close to the electrical connector.

19. A storage system, characterized by The storage device comprises: A plurality of storage devices according to any one of claims 1-18, configured to store data; A communication interface, configured to receive a data access request; A storage controller, configured to manage a target storage device in the storage system according to the data access request.

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