BIOS Bootable RAID Support for Fault-Tolerant Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Software RAID drivers lack RAID protection on the boot volume, leading to inability to boot from a RAID volume in case of failure, and are tied to specific hardware, making them expensive and inflexible.
Innovation Solution
Implementing BIOS bootable RAID support in System ROM, which provides RAID protection on the boot volume, operates independently of disk and controller types, and can coexist with software RAID drivers, enabling RAID-on-RAID support and extended redundancy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If software RAID drivers are used, then RAID functions can be executed by host CPU, but performance of other computations is substantially reduced during RAID operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a hardware RAID controller as an intermediary device between the host CPU and the RAID array. This controller offloads RAID operations from the CPU, allowing the CPU to focus on computation while the hardware controller handles RAID functions including parity calculation and data distribution across multiple disks.
2Adaptability or versatility
If software RAID drivers are used, then RAID functions are executed by host CPU, but the system is tied to specific hardware making it expensive and inflexible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal RAID controller that can work with multiple types of storage devices and configurations. The controller provides standardized interfaces and supports various RAID levels (0, 1, 5, etc.) along with features like hot-pluggable drives, spares, and virtualization, making it adaptable to different hardware configurations without being tied to specific vendor equipment.
3Reliability
If traditional boot methods are used, then booting is simple, but RAID protection is not provided on the boot volume leading to inability to boot on drive failure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary RAID protection mechanisms during the boot process by pre-configuring RAID metadata and bootable volumes on the RAID array. The system creates bootable RAID volumes with redundancy information stored beforehand, enabling automatic failover and continued operation even if individual drives fail during or after booting.
Data Source
AI summary
A computing apparatus comprises a persistent storage comprising a system code that implements Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) protection on a boot volume.