Storage Control Device Parallel Formatting Recovery Bitmap
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Solution Overview
Problem
In storage apparatuses, sequential formatting and recovery processing conflict due to disk failures, leading to prolonged redundancy restoration times as these processes are not performed in parallel.
Innovation Solution
A storage control device with a formatting management table, a formatting processing section, and a recovery management table that allows for parallel execution of recovery processing with formatting, using a recovery management table to store formatted region information at the time of redundancy restoration events.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sequential physical formatting is executed to ensure data initialization and redundancy, then formatting completeness is improved, but the time required for redundancy restoration increases when disk failures occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the storage volume into multiple data blocks and introduces a bitmap data structure to track the formatting status of each block individually. This segmentation allows the system to identify and process only the necessary blocks during recovery operations, rather than treating the entire volume as a single unit. The bitmap divides the formatting management into discrete, manageable units that can be independently processed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary actions by maintaining a bitmap that records the formatting status of each data block before failure occurs. This preliminary tracking of formatted versus unformatted blocks enables the recovery process to immediately identify which blocks require recovery, eliminating the need to re-process already formatted blocks. The bitmap serves as pre-computed information that guides subsequent recovery operations.
Solution Approach 3:
The patent applies partial action by executing recovery processing only on the specific data blocks that require it, rather than performing full recovery on the entire volume. The bitmap enables the system to identify exactly which blocks are unformatted and need recovery, allowing the recovery process to be applied partially only where necessary. This avoids the excessive action of recovering blocks that are already properly formatted.
2Manufacturing precision
If recovery processing waits for sequential formatting to complete before executing, then formatting integrity is maintained, but I/O access delays increase during conflicts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms through the bitmap, which continuously provides information about the formatting status of each data block. During recovery operations, the system queries the bitmap to determine which blocks have been formatted and which require recovery. This feedback loop ensures that recovery processing only targets blocks that need it, maintaining formatting integrity while avoiding unnecessary operations that would cause delays.
Solution Approach 2:
The bitmap performs preliminary identification of blocks requiring recovery before the actual recovery processing begins. By pre-marking unformatted blocks in the bitmap during or before sequential formatting, the system has advance knowledge of which blocks need attention. This preliminary action eliminates the need for real-time decision-making during recovery, reducing I/O access delays while maintaining integrity.
3Reliability
If full volume recovery is performed after disk failure, then redundancy is restored, but unnecessary recovery processing increases time requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential information needed for recovery by using the bitmap to identify only the specific data blocks that require recovery. Instead of performing recovery on the entire volume, the system extracts and processes only the unformatted blocks. This extraction approach removes unnecessary recovery operations from the process, improving productivity while maintaining the reliability of redundancy restoration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by performing recovery processing only on the subset of data blocks that are unformatted, as identified by the bitmap. Rather than executing full volume recovery, the system recovers only the necessary portions. This partial approach maintains the required redundancy level while significantly improving recovery processing efficiency by eliminating unnecessary operations on already-formatted blocks.
Data Source
AI summary
A storage control device for managing data in a storage while maintaining redundancy of the data includes a formatting management table, a formatting processing section, a recovery management table and a recovery processing section. The formatting management table manages a formatted region and an unformatted region in a management target volume. The formatting processing section executes formatting of the unformatted region in the management target volume on the basis of the formatting management table. The recovery management table retains a content of the formatting management table at a point of occurrence of a redundancy restoration event when a redundancy restoration event has occurred during formatting. The recovery processing section executes recovery of a formatted region, which had been formatted at the point of occurrence of the redundancy restoration event, on the basis of the recovery management table in parallel with the formatting.