Disk Array Check Data Circuit With Southbridge Buffer Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fault-tolerant disk array technologies that produce check and recovery data often affect the performance of the central processing unit and are costly due to the need for separate input/output processors.
Innovation Solution
A circuit and method utilizing a combination of buffers, input selectors, and operation units that process data without affecting the central processing unit, integrating directly into a Southbridge chip to reduce hardware costs and improve performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a separate input/output processor is used to produce check data and recovery data, then the central processing unit performance is protected, but the hardware cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the check data and recovery data production functions directly into the Southbridge chip, eliminating the need for a separate input/output processor. This integration allows the central processing unit to focus on high-level tasks while the Southbridge chip handles disk array data protection operations, thus protecting CPU performance while avoiding the additional hardware cost of a separate processor.
2Productivity
If a separate input/output processor is used to produce check data and recovery data, then data processing is offloaded, but memory support is required increasing cost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the data processing functions directly into the Southbridge chip's existing buffer and operation units, eliminating the need for separate memory support infrastructure. The Southbridge chip utilizes its inherent buffer resources to store data temporarily during check data and recovery data production, thus offloading CPU work without requiring additional memory components.
3Reliability
If central processing unit is used to produce check data, then fault tolerance is achieved, but system performance is affected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the fault tolerance functions (check data and recovery data production) from the central processing unit and relocates them to the Southbridge chip. This extraction allows the CPU to maintain high system performance while the Southbridge chip independently handles the computationally intensive operations required for maintaining fault tolerance in the disk array.
4Measurement precision
If data is read from memories or disk drives for check data production, then accurate check data is generated, but time consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by having the Southbridge chip's buffer temporarily store data before it is written to disk drives. This pre-positioning of data in the buffer allows the operation units to quickly access the data for check data production without requiring time-consuming reads from the disk drives themselves, thus maintaining check data accuracy while significantly reducing access time.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is provided for producing check data or recovery data in a disk array. According to the present invention, a plurality of buffers receives and stores the data respectively for a plurality of operation units to perform operations to produce check data. An output selector selects one of the buffers and sends the check data to the coupled disk drive. When recovering the data in a disk drive, by using the buffers coupled to the other disk drives, the data or the check data stored in the other disk drives are sent to the operation units to perform operations on the data and the check data to produce recovery data. The recovery data is then sent to the disk drive to be recovered by selecting the buffer coupled to the disk drive to be recovered via the output selector. In addition, the buffers can be coupled to a plurality of input selectors, which are used for selecting to send data in one of the buffers to the coupled operation units.