Distributed Parity Drive Pool Power Control for Storage Arrays
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing storage systems face challenges in effectively reducing power consumption, particularly in storage devices with large-capacity drives, where drives consume a significant proportion of the total power, and current pool power control methods are inadequate for efficient power management.
Innovation Solution
A storage system with a distributed parity group configuration, utilizing a storage controller to manage physical drives in a virtual pool, enabling transition between active and low-power states, and employing pool power control to hibernate or resume drives based on capacity and performance metrics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If drives are kept in active state to ensure data access capability, then data access reliability is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic power management by transitioning drives between active and hibernation states based on pool capacity conditions. When vacant capacity exceeds the threshold, drives are hibernated to save power; when capacity is needed, drives are resumed. This dynamic state adjustment resolves the contradiction between maintaining data access reliability and reducing power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameter of drives (power state) based on pool capacity parameters. By monitoring vacant capacity and comparing it to a threshold, the system adjusts drive power states accordingly, enabling power savings while maintaining data access capability when needed.
2Use of energy by moving object
If drives are hibernated to reduce power consumption, then power savings are improved, but data access speed deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by hibernating drives in advance when pool capacity is sufficient, preparing for power savings before they are critically needed. This allows the system to maintain power efficiency while ensuring drives can be quickly resumed when data access is required, mitigating the speed deterioration issue.
Solution Approach 2:
The dynamic transition mechanism allows drives to switch between hibernation and active states based on real-time pool capacity conditions. This ensures that drives are hibernated only when sufficient capacity exists, and quickly activated when needed, balancing power savings with data access speed requirements.
3Quantity of substance
If pool capacity is increased to accommodate more data, then storage capacity is improved, but the number of active drives increases leading to higher power consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the power consumption issue from the capacity expansion issue by introducing hibernation capability. When pool capacity increases and vacant space exceeds the threshold, excess drives are taken out of the active state and hibernated, separating the capacity provision function from the power consumption function.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the power state parameter of drives based on pool capacity utilization. When capacity is abundant, drives are transitioned to hibernation; when capacity is needed, drives are activated. This parameter change strategy allows the system to accommodate increased storage capacity without proportionally increasing power consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
A storage controller provides a storage area of physical drives forming a distributed parity group as a pool to a host device. The pool is formed by one or more virtual parity groups including virtual drives. The state of each of the physical drives includes a first state in which an input or an output of data is enabled, and a second state in which an input and an output of data are disabled, and in which less power is consumed than that in the first state. The storage controller causes one or more physical drives deleted from the pool to transition from the first state to the second state, and adds the one or more physical drives in the second state to the pool after causing the one or more physical drives to transition to the first state.