Storage Subsystem Online Verification for Media Check Time Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
In large-scale storage subsystems, the increasing capacity of HDDs leads to prolonged media check processes, making it difficult to maintain reliability, especially when errors occur, causing potential data loss due to the need for reassignment and correction processes which delay operations.
Innovation Solution
Implementing storage tier control to estimate data usage in each tier, allowing for targeted online verification processing before data is stored, thereby improving the reliability of storage areas by identifying and addressing defects proactively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If full surface scan processing is executed on large capacity HDDs (4TB to 6TB), then storage media reliability can be verified, but the processing time becomes excessively long (approximately a month or longer)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the full surface scan processing into multiple segments by prioritizing verification of storage areas that are more likely to be used. Instead of scanning the entire storage capacity uniformly, the system segments the verification process into high-priority areas (next to be used) and low-priority areas (less likely to be used), allowing reliability verification to be performed on critical areas within reasonable timeframes while deferring or reducing verification on less critical areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs verification processing in advance on storage areas that are predicted to be used next, before actual data is written to those areas. By using prediction information about future data placement, the system proactively verifies the reliability of storage areas before they are needed, ensuring that when data is written, the storage area has already been confirmed as reliable, thus reducing the need for lengthy post-write verification.
2Reliability
If verification processing is performed on the entire storage area, then all defective portions can be detected, but the processing complexity and time consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The verification processing is segmented into priority levels based on the likelihood of storage area usage. The system divides the storage area into segments that require immediate verification (high priority), segments that can be verified later (medium priority), and segments that may not require verification within the current operational cycle (low priority). This segmentation reduces the immediate processing complexity while maintaining comprehensive defect detection over time.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of performing complete verification on the entire storage area, the patent applies partial verification action by focusing only on the portions of storage areas that are predicted to be used next. This partial action approach verifies sufficient storage capacity to meet future needs without the excessive complexity of verifying every single sector, achieving an optimal balance between defect detection and processing complexity.
3Productivity
If online verification is executed asynchronously during data access processing, then storage operations can continue without interruption, but the verification speed and thoroughness are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs verification processing in advance on storage areas that are predicted to be used next, before actual data access operations occur. This preliminary verification ensures that when data is written or accessed, the storage area has already been verified, maintaining both operational continuity and verification thoroughness. The prediction mechanism allows the system to prepare verified storage areas ahead of time without interrupting current operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The verification processing is made dynamic by adjusting the verification priority and scope based on predicted future storage usage patterns. The system dynamically allocates verification resources to areas that will be needed soonest, rather than using a static verification schedule. This dynamic approach allows the system to maintain high verification thoroughness for critical areas while preserving operational productivity across the entire storage system.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a method for verifying a full drive as an error check processing of a storage drive, but along with the increase in capacity of the storage drive, there are cases where error check cannot be executed before using the storage area. In the present invention, quantity of use of data is estimated, and the storage areas corresponding to the estimated quantity are verified periodically. By verifying the storage area to be used in advance before actual data use, the occurrence of error can be prevented without having to execute a check of the full drive.