Storage Control Apparatus RAID Group Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
The complexity of selecting storage devices for RAID configuration increases with a larger number and greater variety of storage devices, making it difficult to ensure data protection and stability due to the potential for simultaneous failures of individual devices and drive enclosures.
Innovation Solution
A storage control apparatus that includes a memory for storing selection condition information, group information, and connection information, and a processor to select storage devices based on these criteria, assigning group priorities to distribute the selection across different storage groups, thereby reducing the risk of simultaneous failures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a larger number and greater variety of storage devices are connected to increase storage capacity and flexibility, then storage capacity and adaptability are improved, but device complexity and difficulty of selecting storage devices for RAID construction increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the storage device selection process into distinct phases: first selecting drive enclosures based on connection information and group priorities, then selecting individual storage devices from those enclosures. This segmentation simplifies the overall selection complexity by breaking down the large-scale selection problem into manageable sub-problems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing group information and connection information for drive enclosures before the actual RAID construction. Drive enclosures are pre-categorized into groups with assigned priorities, which guides the subsequent storage device selection process and reduces the complexity of real-time decision-making.
2Ease of operation
If storage devices are selected without considering drive enclosure failures, then selection simplicity is maintained, but reliability decreases due to potential simultaneous failures of individual devices and enclosures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the RAID construction into two independent selection stages: drive enclosure selection and storage device selection. This segmentation allows the system to consider enclosure-level failure risks during the first stage by distributing selected enclosures across different groups, while maintaining operational simplicity through automated priority-based selection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements beforehand cushioning by pre-assigning group priorities to drive enclosures based on connection information before RAID construction. This prioritization creates a cushion against simultaneous failures by ensuring that selected enclosures are distributed across different groups, reducing the probability that a single failure event will impact multiple selected devices.
3Device complexity
If storage devices are concentrated in fewer drive enclosures, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability decreases due to higher risk of simultaneous failures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the drive enclosure population into multiple groups with different priorities, and systematically selects enclosures from different groups for RAID construction. This segmentation strategy distributes storage devices across multiple enclosures without creating management complexity, as the selection process is automated based on pre-established group information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the selection parameter from simple sequential selection to priority-based selection considering group membership. By introducing group priority as a selection parameter, the system automatically distributes devices across multiple enclosures to minimize simultaneous failure risk, without requiring complex manual management.
Data Source
AI summary
A storage control apparatus includes a memory and a processor. The memory stores selection condition information relating to a selection condition for storage devices to construct a RAID, group information relating to groups to which the storage devices belong, and connection information indicating a connection configuration of the storage devices. The processor is configured to perform a procedure including: selecting the storage devices that match the selection condition information; extracting groups to which the selected storage devices belong based on the group information; assigning group priorities, which indicate selection priorities in units of the groups of the storage devices, to the extracted groups based on the connection information; and selecting one storage device from each of the extracted groups in accordance with the group priorities until a predetermined number of storage devices have been selected.