Hard Disk Fault Handling via Data Migration to SSD

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Solution Overview

Problem

In solid state disks, faulty areas lead to reduced redundant space, increasing wear and affecting performance, as existing methods fail to efficiently handle faults without reducing nominal capacity.

Innovation Solution

A method to identify and handle faulty areas by migrating data to a second hard disk, using redundancy algorithms to recover lost data and maintain redundant space, thereby preventing wear and ensuring performance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If faulty area is compensated by using redundant space, then nominal capacity is maintained, but wear degree increases and performance deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenominal capacityVSAvoidwear degree
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDuration of action of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the faulty area from the hard disk and migrates its data to a solid state disk. By removing the faulty area from the storage system, the need to compensate it using redundant space is eliminated, thus preventing wear accumulation on the solid state disk while maintaining nominal capacity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a copy of the data from the faulty area on the hard disk and stores it on the solid state disk. This copying approach allows the faulty area to be isolated while preserving data accessibility through the copy, avoiding the need to reduce redundant space for compensation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

2Quantity of substance

If redundant space is reduced to compensate faulty area, then data can be stored, but performance of solid state disk is affected

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveredundant spaceVSAvoidperformance
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The faulty area is extracted from the hard disk and its data is migrated to the solid state disk. This removes the need to allocate redundant space for compensation, thereby preserving the full redundant space capacity and maintaining solid state disk performance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The solid state disk serves as an intermediary storage medium to hold the data from the faulty hard disk area. This intermediary approach allows data to be preserved without consuming redundant space, as the solid state disk has sufficient capacity to accommodate the migrated data without impacting its performance characteristics.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Reliability

If faulty area is not handled, then redundant space is maintained, but data loss occurs

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveredundant spaceVSAvoiddata loss
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary action by migrating data from the faulty area to the solid state disk before the faulty area can cause data loss. This proactive approach ensures that data is preserved while maintaining redundant space for future faults, balancing data safety with storage capacity preservation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a copy of data from the faulty hard disk area and stores it on the solid state disk. This copying mechanism ensures data is not lost while the faulty area is isolated, and the redundant space remains available for compensation of other potential faults.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentEP3920031B1Hard disk fault handling method, array controller, and hard disk
Publication Date: 2024.05.01 HUAWEI TECH CO LTD
  • EP3920031B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3920031B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3920031B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A hard disk fault handling method is provided. The method is performed by an array controller (101) in a storage array (100). The storage array (100) includes a plurality of hard disks (105, 106, 107, and 108), each of the hard disks (105, 106, 107, and 108) is divided into a plurality of chunks, and a plurality of chunks of different hard disks (105, 106, 107, and 108) form a chunk group by using a redundancy algorithm. The method includes: obtaining fault information of a faulty area that is in a first hard disk and in which a fault occurs; when the fault information indicates that data in the faulty area is lost, determining a faulty chunk in which the lost data is located; recovering the data in the faulty chunk by using another chunk in a chunk group to which the faulty chunk belongs; storing the recovered data in a recovered chunk, where the recovered chunk is located in a second hard disk, and the second hard disk is a hard disk other than hard disks in which the chunk group is located; and recording a correspondence between an address of the data in the faulty chunk in the first hard disk and an address of the recovered data block in the second hard disk.