Configurable Multiplexer for RAID Storage Expansion
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing RAID data storage systems face challenges in expanding storage capacity and maintaining fault tolerance while ensuring seamless connectivity and management of disk drives across multiple enclosures, particularly in large mainframe computer systems and data servers.
Innovation Solution
A multiplexing system is introduced that couples pairs of input ports to either dual or single ported disk drives, using a configurable multiplexer to manage connections between disk drives and storage processors, ensuring transparent operation and expanding storage capacity by connecting multiple disk drives through SAS expansion, with automatic enclosure numbering and identification strategies to maintain system integrity during component swaps.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a RAID data storage system uses traditional direct connections between storage processors and disk drives, then connectivity and management are straightforward, but the system cannot efficiently expand storage capacity by adding more disk drives
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a multiplexer as an intermediary device between storage processors and disk drives. The multiplexer manages multiple connections by time-division or space-division multiplexing, allowing a limited number of physical connections to access multiple disk drives. This resolves the contradiction by enabling capacity expansion without proportionally increasing connection complexity, as the multiplexer abstracts the multi-point connectivity into simplified point-to-point interfaces.
2Quantity of substance
If a RAID data storage system expands storage capacity by adding more disk drives, then storage capacity increases, but maintaining fault tolerance becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the storage system into modular components: storage processors, disk drives, and multiplexers organized in separate enclosures. This segmentation allows fault isolation where failures in one module do not propagate to other modules. The multiplexer-based architecture further segments the connectivity paths, enabling selective redundancy configurations where fault tolerance can be maintained even as the quantity of disk drives increases for capacity expansion.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a RAID data storage system uses multiple enclosures to expand capacity, then storage capacity and scalability improve, but ensuring seamless connectivity and management across enclosures becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The multiplexer is designed with universal functionality to handle multiple connection types and configurations across different enclosures. It provides standardized interfaces that work consistently regardless of which enclosure or disk drive is connected, abstracting the complexity of multi-enclosure connectivity. This universality simplifies management operations, as the same multiplexer handles all connectivity tasks across the distributed system uniformly.
4Adaptability or versatility
If a RAID data storage system uses dual ported disk drives to improve connectivity flexibility, then adaptability improves, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than making all disk drives complex dual-ported devices, the patent uses multiplexers as intermediaries that provide the connectivity flexibility. Single-ported disk drives can be connected through the multiplexer to access multiple logical connections, achieving the same adaptability with simpler, less expensive disk drives. The multiplexer absorbs the complexity of managing multiple connections, keeping the disk drive interface simple while maintaining connectivity flexibility.
Data Source
AI summary
A multiplexing system couples a pair of input ports to a either a dual ported disk drive or a single ported disk drive. The system includes a multiplexer having the pair of first ports and a pair of second ports. The multiplexer is configurable to couple each one of the pair of first ports to a corresponding one of the pair of second ports when the pair of second ports are coupled to the dual ported disk drive and to couple both pair of first ports to a single one of the second ports when a single ported disk drive is coupled to said single one of the second ports.