Storage Apparatus Power Supply Failure Logging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current storage apparatuses face inefficiencies in failure analysis due to the lack of immediate and reliable information on power supply failures, leading to prolonged diagnostic times and reduced maintainability.
Innovation Solution
The storage apparatus incorporates a data processing board with a power supply control system that detects anomalies, shuts down affected power supplies, and writes failure information to a storage part using an auxiliary power supply, enabling efficient data logging and notification of failures across boards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the control board immediately shuts down all power supply when detecting an abnormality, then reliability is improved by preventing data corruption, but loss of information occurs because failure diagnosis information cannot be preserved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by having the control board write failure information to nonvolatile memory before shutting down power supplies. The detection unit detects power supply abnormalities and the control unit stores diagnostic information in nonvolatile memory in advance, ensuring that failure diagnosis data is preserved even when power is immediately cut off to maintain data integrity.
2Reliability
If the control board shuts down all power supply operation when a failure is detected, then reliability is improved by preventing malfunction, but ease of repair is worsened because maintenance personnel cannot access failure information without complex testing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service by enabling the control board to automatically detect, record, and store failure information without requiring external testing equipment or complex diagnostic procedures. The detection unit and control unit work autonomously to capture power supply abnormality data and store it in nonvolatile memory, allowing maintenance personnel to simply read the stored information for quick diagnosis.
3Productivity
If the control board continuously monitors and stores power supply status information, then productivity of failure analysis is improved, but use of energy increases due to continuous operation of monitoring and storage systems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic action by having the control board monitor power supply status continuously but only activate the storage function when an abnormality is detected. The detection unit periodically checks power supply conditions, and the control unit stores information only when failures occur, reducing unnecessary energy consumption while maintaining effective failure analysis capability.
Data Source
AI summary
A storage apparatus according to the present invention can store information related to a power supply abnormality after shutting down the principal functions of a data processing board when a power supply abnormality occurs in a data processing board. A power supply controller of a data processing board mounted in the storage apparatus monitors the operational status of DC/DC power supplies mounted to the data processing board, on the basis of detection signals from a voltage detection circuit. When a power supply abnormality is detected, the power supply controller immediately shuts down the operation of all the DC/DC power supplies. Shutting down the DC/DC power supplies also shuts down the principal functionality of the data processing board. Then, after storing information related to the power supply abnormality in memory, the power supply controller shuts down the auxiliary power supply. The information stored in memory can be transmitted to a management apparatus by way of an intermediary apparatus, which is another data processing board or the like.