JP2003297005A - System for managing defective storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily identify a defective storage medium within a changer. <P>SOLUTION: In order to solve the task above, a particular storage medium holding means (storage) in the changer is provided with an identification means which a person can externally identify. The storage having the identification means contains defective media so that the defective storage media can easily be identified in the changer. Thus, a manager using the system employing this invention can easily eliminate defective storage media from the changer. Further, in removing the defective storage media, a mistake of removing not defective media can be prevented. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of handling a faulty storage medium (faulty medium) in a device (generally called a changer device) for managing a recording medium (medium), and more particularly, to a plurality of changer devices. United,
The present invention relates to a failure storage medium management method when a disk array device is configured.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Instead of a hard disk drive (HDD: Hard Disk Drive) used alone, a plurality of hard disk drives are moved in parallel to speed up read / write, and reliability is increased by a redundant configuration. A disk array device (RAID: Redundant Arrays) that is an external storage device.
of Inexpencive Disks) is being considered (Paper: "AC
ase for Redundant Arrays of Inexpencive Disks (RAI
D) ", David A. Patterson, Garth Gibson, and Randy H.
Katz, Computer Science Division Department of Elec
trical Engineering and Computer Sciences, Universi
ty of Calfornia Berkeley). In the above paper, the levels are given numbers 1 to 5 depending on the configuration of the disk array device. It is well known that RAID level 3 is expected to improve performance in sequential access for transferring a large amount of data, and RAID level 5 is expected to improve performance in random access in which a large number of small-sized reads and writes occur. .

Hereinafter, a magnetic disk device using a non-removable storage medium is referred to as a "hard disk device", and a storage device (a magneto-optical disk device, an optical disk device, a magnetic disk device, etc.) using a removable storage medium. Distinguish.

Here, the RAID control will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14. As shown in FIG. 13, the disk array device 101 includes a plurality of hard disk devices (11
1-115). The RAID control means 105 is to define how to distribute data among a plurality of hard disk devices, how to create redundant data, and where to store the redundant data.

The disk array device shown in FIG.
It is composed of one hard disk device and has a data storage area from D0 to D15 as shown in FIG. This data storage area is called a "stripe" and is 32K, for example.
B data can be stored.

There is also a redundant data storage area represented by P0-3, P4-7, P8-11 and P12-15. For P0-3, the exclusive OR (XOR) of the data stored in stripe 0 (D0) to stripe 3 (D3) is calculated, (P0-3) = (data of stripe 0) XOR (data of stripe 1) XOR (data of stripe 2) XOR (data of stripe 3) is stored. In general, in the case of Pm-n, the result of calculating the exclusive OR (XOR) of the data stored in the stripe m (Dm) to the stripe n (Dn) is stored. Such redundant data becomes effective when one of the hard disk devices constituting the disk array device is broken. This "one hard disk device is broken" state is called "degenerate state", and the read / write processing in this degenerate state will be described later.

Stripe n to stripe m of the data storage area and redundant data storage area Pm-n are collected together.
It is called a “stripe group”. Looking at the disk array device from the host computer, stripes 0 to 1
It is recognized as one continuous logical storage device up to No. 5. However, in practice, a plurality of hard disk devices are used to store data in a distributed manner.

First, a process in which the host computer 100 reads data from the disk array device 101 will be described. For example, in order to read the data stored in stripes 4 and 5, the host computer 100 issues a read request for this data to the disk array device 101. The disk array device 101 reads stripe No. 4 of the hard disk 111 and stripe No. 5 of the hard disk 112 and transfers them to the host computer 100.

Next, a process in which the host computer 100 writes data in the disk array device 101 will be described. The writing process of the disk array device 101 is different from the hard disk device used alone because of the redundant data. When data is written, redundant data also needs to be updated. There are two methods for updating the redundant data.

For example, in order to write data to the stripe 6, stripe 4, stripe 5, stripe 7, and stripe 7 of the stripe group to which stripe 6 belongs are first written.
No. data is read, (P4-7) = (data of stripe 6) XOR (data of stripe 4) XOR (data of stripe 5) XOR (data of stripe 7) is calculated to obtain redundant data, and then , There is a first method of writing data in stripe 6 and redundant data in P4-7.

Similarly, in order to write the data to the stripe No. 6, first, the data of the stripe No. 6 before writing (referred to as "data of the old stripe 6") and P4-7 before writing ("the old P4- 7)), and using the data of stripe No. 6 to be written (“data of new stripe 6”), (P4-7) = (data of stripe 6) XOR (data of old stripe 6) XOR (old There is a second method in which P4-7) is calculated to obtain redundant data, and then stripe 6 is written with data and P4-7 is written with redundant data.

In the disk array device, it is necessary to update and write not only data but also redundant data, so the number of accesses to the hard disk device increases.

A read process in a degenerate state, which is a characteristic of a disk array device that uses parity for redundant data, will be described. For example, in FIG. 14, it is assumed that the hard disk device 111 has failed and cannot read or write. In this state, stripe 4 and stripe 5
Consider reading the data stored in turn. The disk array device first tries to read the first half of the data from stripe 4, but cannot read it because of a failure. In such a case, the disk array device 101
Is redundant data P4-7, stripe 5 and stripe 6
No. 1 and stripe No. 7 data are read, (stripe 4 data) = (P4-7) XOR (stripe 5 data) XOR (stripe 6 data) XOR (stripe 7 data) is calculated, and the damaged hard disk The data of the stripe No. 4 of the device 111 is restored. The restored data of stripe No. 4 and the read data of stripe No. 5 are transferred to the host computer. As a result, data can be read even in the degenerated state in which one hard disk device is broken.

Of course, if the disk array device knows in advance that the hard disk device 111 is broken, the read process for stripe 4 can be omitted.

In order to restore correct data in the degenerate state, correct redundant data (parity) must be generated. There are two methods for matching the consistency between this data and the redundant data (parity matching).

The first method is to calculate (Pmn) = (data of stripe m) to XOR (data of stripe n) for all stripe groups.

The second method is a method of writing zero to all the hard disk devices constituting the disk array. Compared to the first method that requires calculation, the second method only writes fixed data to the hard disk device and can simplify processing. The data to be written may not be zero as long as the above parity equation is satisfied.

In order to return from a degraded state in which one hard disk device has failed to a normal state, first, a new hard disk device is connected in place of the failed hard disk device. In a system having a spare hard disk device in advance, this spare hard disk device may be used.

The data restoration processing is to restore all the data in the hard disk device 111 that has been lost due to a failure to a newly connected (or preliminarily prepared spare) hard disk device. RAID control means 105
Restores data in the order of stripes 0, 4, 8, and 12. To restore the data of stripe 0, (data of stripe 0) = (P0-3) XOR (data of stripe 1) XOR (data of stripe 2) XOR (data of stripe 3) is calculated and restored. Write the data of stripe 0 to the newly connected hard disk device. As a result, the data of stripe 0 can be restored. Similarly, by restoring the data of stripes 4, 8, and 12,
All data can be restored. When all the data is restored, the degenerate state shifts to normal operation. Read and write processing can be performed as usual.

[0020]

The conventional disk array device has been premised on the use of a storage device using a non-detachable storage medium such as a hard disk device. Therefore, no consideration is given to configuring a disk array device using a removable storage medium and a storage device. In particular, a changer device having a function of managing a plurality of storage media and conveying only a desired storage medium to a drive is used, and a plurality of removable storage media and a plurality of changer devices configured by drives are used. The disk array device configured as above is not considered.

FIG. 15 shows the system configuration of a disk array device using a removable storage medium. In place of the hard disk devices 111 to 115 shown in FIG. 13, removable storage media 211 to 215 and a drive device 22.
1 to 225. When the storage medium is mounted on the drive device, array control can be performed as with the hard disk device. The read and write processing shown in the prior art is possible. Of course, the same applies to the read and write processing in the degenerated state in which one storage medium or drive device has failed.

In the disk array device constructed by using the removable storage medium and the drive device shown in FIG.
When a failure occurs in the storage medium, a new storage medium can be given to the drive device instead of the failed storage medium, and data can be restored to the new storage medium to continue processing. This storage medium exchange process can be performed manually by an administrator, but can be automated by using a changer device that manages a plurality of storage media.
When the storage medium is exchanged using the changer device, a problem is where to hold the storage medium that has become unusable due to a failure. This is because it is often impossible to externally determine the failure of the storage medium.

An object of the present invention is to easily identify a failed storage medium in a changer. As a result, an administrator who uses the system using the present invention can easily remove the failed storage medium from the changer. In addition, when removing a storage medium in which a failure has occurred, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of an error of removing an incorrect storage medium.

[0024]

In order to achieve the object of the present invention, a specific storage medium holding means (housing) in the changer device is provided with an identifying means which can be identified by a person from the outside. The storage medium having this identifying means holds the failed medium.

As an identification method, a specific storage is colored or a specific storage is provided near the top or bottom of the magazine. Here, the magazine can manage a plurality of storages as a set. It is also possible to provide a magazine that is configured only with a specific storage box and make the magazine removable or non-removable.

[0026]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<< First Embodiment >> A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

A magazine 1 using the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
Indicates 0. A magazine is like a shelf that stores a plurality of storage media. It is composed of a plurality of storages 59 for storing media. As shown in FIG.
Put the media 30 on the tray 20,
Store in one hangar 59. The magazines shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 have 12 storages 59 and can hold 12 media.

A feature of the magazine of the present invention is that the first color portion 40, the second color portion 50, and the third color portion 52 are separately painted, as shown in FIG. Furthermore, a detection hole 55 is provided. The second color section 50 and the third color section 52 distinguish the lower two storage boxes out of the twelve storage boxes by color so that a person can see. The detection hole 55 is used by the changer device 300 that uses the magazine 10 to determine the type of storage in the magazine. In the present embodiment, the type of hangar is determined by further changing the depth of the detection hole 55.

In the present embodiment, the first color part is divided into three colors such as "white", the second color part is "red", and the third color part is "green".

FIG. 3 shows an external view of the changer device 300. The changer device 300 has a door 301 that can be opened and closed, and the magazine 10 can be attached and detached by opening the door 301.
In the case of the changer device 300 shown in FIG. 3, the magazine 10
Two can be attached. The magazine 10 has a handle 99 on the back surface to facilitate handling when mounted on the changer 300. The changer 300 includes a liquid crystal display unit 30.
2 to display the state of the changer device 300.

FIG. 4 shows the internal structure of the changer device 300. The changer device 300 includes two magazines 10.
An accessor (320 and 325) for grasping and moving the medium 30 together with the tray 20, a drive 350 for reading and writing from the medium 30, and an accessor control unit 310 for controlling the accessor. The accessor includes a vertically moving unit 320 that can move up and down, and a handle unit 325 that can move the device back and forth while gripping a medium.

The accessor control unit 310 receives a medium move command from the host system via the SCSI bus 398. Upon receiving the command, the accessor control unit 31
0 controls the vertical movement unit 320 to move the handle unit 325 to a certain height of the target medium, and the handle unit 325
Is moved back and forth to take out the target medium 30. By carrying the taken-out medium 30 to the drive 350 and mounting it on the drive 350, reading and writing can be performed on the target medium. Drive 350 is S
It receives read and write instructions for media from the host system via the CSI bus 394. The data read from the medium and the data written to the medium are transferred via the SCSI bus 394.

In this embodiment, a DVD-RAM device is used as the drive 350. Therefore, the media stored in the magazine 10 are DVD-RAM media.

All media movement requests to the changer device 300 are managed by element numbers. The changer device 300 shown in FIG. 4 uses two magazines that can be loaded with 12 media, so the position of the hangar is designated by element numbers 1 to 24 (the first magazine is number 1). No. to No. 12. The second magazine is No. 13 to No. 24). Further, since the changer device 300 has one drive 350, the drive 350 is designated as the element number 100.

For example, when a request is made to move the medium from element number 10 to element number 100, the medium in the 10th storage is mounted in the drive and element 1
When the transfer of the medium from number 00 to number 10 is requested, the medium mounted in the drive is returned to the number 10 storage.

When there is no medium in the storage of No. 10 when the medium is requested to be moved from No. 10 to No. 100, the error "No media at the move source" occurs, and conversely the drive (No. 100) If there is already a medium in, the error "There is a medium in the destination" will occur.

FIG. 5 shows a disk array device using five changer devices 300. 5 changer devices 3
00 is connected to the disk array controller 400 to perform data distribution and aggregation processing and redundant data generation processing. The disk array controller 400 and the host computer 100 are connected via the SCSI bus 109.

FIG. 6 shows a disk array controller 400.
3 shows a connection form between the changer device 300 and the changer device. Since the changer device 300 has two SCSI buses 394 and 398, each SCSI bus is connected to the disk array controller 400. Connectors 395 and 399 are used to connect the SCSI bus, respectively.

The disk array controller 400 has 5
It controls the single changer device 300 and causes the host computer 100 to behave as if it were a single changer device. When a medium transfer request is issued from the host computer 100, the disk array controller 4
00 divides the request into five requests and issues the requests to the five changer devices 300, respectively.

Each of the five changer devices 300 constituting the RAID has two magazines 10. As shown in FIG. 1, since the magazine 10 has 12 storages, element numbers 1 to 24 are given. The first magazine is numbered 1 to 12 from the top, and the second magazine numbered 13 to 24 from the top. The magazine was previously loaded with 11 media each. These correspond to element numbers 1 to 11 and element numbers 13 to 23, respectively. That is, no media is loaded in the lowest storage element numbers 12 and 24 of the magazine 10.

From the host computer 100, the disk array device 400 controls the five changer devices as if they were one changer device. At this time, the disk array device 400 appears to the host computer 100 as a changer device having 20 storages (1 to 20) and one drive (100). The 20 storages correspond to the element numbers 1 to 10 and 13 to 22 of the five changer devices 300. That is, the element numbers 11, 12, 23, and 24 of the changer device 300 are hidden from the host computer 100.

For example, when the host computer 100 issues media movement commands 1 to 100,
The disk array controller 400 issues a media movement command from No. 1 to No. 100 to the five changer devices. The changer device 300 takes out the medium from the uppermost storage (number 1) of the first magazine and mounts it on the drive 350. 5 changer devices 30
When the movement of the medium is completed for all 0, the disk array controller 400 reports to the host computer 100 that the movement of the medium has been completed.

Further, when the host computer 100 issues the medium movement commands 11 to 100, the disk array controller 400 issues the medium movement commands 13 to 100 to the five changer devices. . The change from the number 11 to the number 13 is because the element numbers 11 and 12 of the changer device 300 are hidden. The changer device 300 takes out the medium from the uppermost storage (13th) of the second magazine and mounts it on the drive 350. When the movement of the media is completed in all of the five changer devices 300, the disk array controller 400 reports to the host computer 100 that the movement of the media has been completed.

Drive 3 of five changer devices 300
With the medium mounted on the medium 50, data read and write processing can be performed by the array control shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 and the conventional embodiment.

The host computer 100 instructs the disk array controller 400 to move the medium for reading and writing data to the drive. The disk array controller 400 issues a move command to the changer device 300 to move the corresponding five media to the drive 350. After the mounting of the five media is completed, data reading and writing are performed.

When a RAID is constructed by five changer devices 300, if one medium fails and read / write processing cannot be performed, it is possible to shift to the degenerate state and continue the processing. . The disk array controller 400 moves the failed medium to the storage box identified by the second color unit 50.
In the case of this embodiment, it moves to the element number 12 of the first magazine or the element number 24 of the second magazine.

When the administrator instructs the disk array controller 400 to restore the data, the storage (the element number 11 of the first magazine or the element of the second magazine) identified by the third color portion 52 is used. The media is taken out from the No. 23) and moved to the drive 350. When the medium is mounted on the drive 350, the disk array controller 400 starts data restoration. When the data restoration is completed, it returns from the degraded state to the normal operation state.

In order to take out the failed medium, the system administrator opens the door 301 and takes out the magazine 10. The medium held in the storage identified by the second color portion 50 of the magazine is the faulty medium. The administrator can remove the faulty medium by taking out the medium held in the storage identified by the second color portion 50 of the magazine.
In this embodiment, the storage for holding the failed media is color-coded and is the lowest part of the magazine. By providing a storage box for holding the failed media at the bottom of the magazine, identification is further facilitated.

By checking the presence / absence of a medium in the storage of the third color portion 52 of the magazine, the presence / absence of a spare medium can be confirmed. When there is no media in the storage of the third color part, it is possible to supplement the spare media by adding the media.

In this way, the media in which a failure has occurred,
Since the storage position for storing the spare media is held in the storage space determined by the physical position of the magazine or the storage space identified by the color, it is possible to judge at a glance whether or not there is a faulty media or a spare media when the magazine is taken out.

The changer device 300 uses the detection hole 55 of the magazine to identify the storage of the failed media. As shown in FIG. 4, the changer device 300 has a detector 330. The detector 300 detects the detection hole 55 of the magazine 10 and identifies whether or not the magazine has a storage room capable of holding a failed medium or a spare medium. The detection hole 55 may be realized by physically forming a recess as in the present embodiment, or may be realized by using a material having different reflectance and an optical sensor.

In the present embodiment, by changing the depth of the recess, the storage for holding the failed media and the storage for holding the spare media are distinguished.

<< Second Embodiment >> A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The difference between the first embodiment and the second embodiment is that instead of the magazine 10, three types of magazines (magazine 11, 12, and 13) are used. Further, instead of the changer device 300, a changer device 304 is used. The changer device 304 is
Two magazines 12, one magazine 11 and one magazine 13 can be loaded.

In this embodiment, three types of magazines are used. Magazine 11 and magazine 13 shown in FIG.
And the magazine 12 shown in FIG. The storage of the magazine 11 is color-coded by the second color section 50. The magazine 11 is a magazine that holds only failed media.
The storage of the magazine 13 is color-coded by the third color section 52. The magazine 13 is a magazine that holds only spare media. The storage for the magazine 12 is the first color section 4
Colored by 0. The magazine 12 usually holds media used by the host computer 100.

The magazine 11 and the magazine 13 are magazines that can store two media. Since the size and shape are the same, there is a risk that the changer device 304 may be accidentally mounted. Therefore, the magazine 11 has a slit 56.
The magazine 13 is provided with an engaging portion 57, and the engaging portion is provided at a physically different position. The changer device 304 is provided with a protrusion corresponding to the slit so that only magazines having the same slit can be mounted.

Further, the magazine 11 is provided with a label portion 18 and a label clearly indicating that it is a magazine for a troubled medium is attached. Similarly, the magazine 13 is provided with a label portion 19 and a label clearly indicating that it is a magazine for spare media is attached.

The magazine 12 is a magazine that can store 12 media. Since this magazine 12 does not store any obstacle media or spare media, unlike the case of FIG. 1, the second color portion 50, the third color portion 52 and the detection hole 5 are different.
5 does not have.

FIG. 9 shows an external view of the changer device 304. The changer device 304 has an openable / closable door 305, and the magazine 11, the magazine 12, or the magazine 13 can be attached or detached by opening the door 305. In the case of the changer device 304 shown in FIG. 9, two magazines 12 and one magazine 11 and one magazine 13 can be mounted. The changer 304 has a liquid crystal display 302 and displays the state of the changer device 304.

FIG. 10 shows the internal structure of the changer device 304. It is the same as the internal configuration of the changer 300 shown in FIG. 4 except that the magazines to be loaded are different.

Each of the five changer devices 304 constituting the RAID has two magazines 12. As shown in FIG. 8, since the magazine 12 has twelve storages, element numbers 1 to 24 are given. The first magazine is numbered 1 to 12 from the top, and the second magazine numbered 13 to 24 from the top. The magazine was previously loaded with 12 media each.

From the host computer 100, the disk array device 400 controls the five changer devices 304 as if they were one changer device. At this time, the disk array device 400 sends to the host computer 100 24 storage boxes (from 1 to 2).
It looks like a changer device with 4) and one drive (100).

No media is loaded in the magazine 11.
The magazine 13 is loaded with media and the changer device 3
Attach to 04. The media stored in the magazine 13
Used as spare media. The storages of the magazine 11 and the magazine 13 are hidden from the host computer 100.

When a RAID is constructed by five changer devices 304, if one medium fails and read / write processing cannot be performed, it is possible to shift to the degenerate state and continue the processing. . The disk array controller 400 moves the failed medium to the magazine 11 identified by the second color portion 50. In the case of this embodiment, the magazine 11 is moved to one of the two hangars which is vacant.

When the administrator instructs the disk array controller 400 to restore the data, the disk array controller 400 takes out the medium from the magazine 13 identified by the third color portion 52,
Move to drive 350. Drive media 350
Mounted on the disk array controller 400
Starts to restore the data. When the data restoration is completed, it returns from the degraded state to the normal operation state.

In order to take out the failed medium, the system administrator opens the door 305 and takes out the magazine 11. All the media held in the magazine 11 identified by the second color portion 50 are media in which a failure has occurred. The administrator can remove the faulty medium by taking out the medium held in the magazine 11. In the present embodiment, the storage for holding the failed media is color-coded and a magazine dedicated to the failed media is provided to further facilitate the identification.

By checking the presence / absence of the medium in the magazine 13 identified by the third color portion 52, the presence / absence of the spare medium can be confirmed. Magazine 13
If you don't have any media in your
Spare media can be replenished.

In this way, the media in which the failure has occurred,
By providing a dedicated magazine for storing the spare media, it is possible to determine the presence or absence of the faulty media or the spare media for each magazine.

<< Third Embodiment >> A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The difference between the second embodiment and the third embodiment is that in the second embodiment, the magazine 11 and the magazine 13 are used, and a dedicated magazine for storing the failed media and the spare media is used. In the above embodiment, the changer device 306 is equipped with a storage for holding the failed media and the spare media.

In this embodiment, only the magazine 12 shown in FIG. 8 is used. The magazine 12 does not hold faulty media or spare media.

In this embodiment, the changer device 306 is provided with a dedicated storage for holding the failed media and the spare media. The built-in storage 17 is provided with a second color portion 50 and a third color portion 52 to clearly show that the storage is a storage for holding a failed medium and a storage for storing a spare medium. As the spare medium, as shown in FIG. 11, the medium 30 is stored on the tray 20.

The media held in the built-in storage 17 can be carried by an accessor or taken out by the administrator. In other words, it can be operated from both sides. The accessor is controlled to stop when the door is opened so that the administrator cannot operate the media while the accessor is operating.

When a RAID is constructed with five changer devices 306, if one medium fails and read / write processing cannot be performed, it is possible to shift to the degenerate state and continue the processing. . The disk array controller 400 identifies the failed medium by the second color section 50 and stores it in the built-in storage 17
Move to. In the case of the present embodiment, one of the two hangars distinguished by the second color section 50 of the built-in hangar is moved to the vacant hangar.

When the administrator instructs the disk array controller 400 to restore the data, the disk array controller 400 takes out the medium from the built-in storage 17 identified by the third color portion 52 and moves it to the drive 350. When the medium is mounted on the drive 350, the disk array controller 400 starts data restoration. When the data restoration is completed, it returns from the degraded state to the normal operation state.

In order to take out the failed medium, the administrator of this system opens the door 307 and takes out the medium held in the storage box identified by the second color portion 50 of the built-in storage box 17. The troubled media can be removed by removing the media held in the storage identified by the second color portion 50 of the magazine. In this embodiment, the storage for holding the failed media is color-coded, and the built-in storage 17 is used to distinguish from the media in the magazine 12.

Further, the third color portion 52 of the built-in hangar 17
By checking the presence / absence of the medium, the presence / absence of the spare medium can be confirmed. When there is no medium in the storage of the third color portion 52, it is possible to supplement the spare medium by adding the medium.

In this way, the media in which a failure has occurred,
The presence or absence of a faulty medium or a spare medium can be determined at a glance by setting the storage position for storing the spare media in the built-in storage 17 and distinguishing it from the media stored in the magazine 12.

Instead of the changer device shown in FIG.
This embodiment can also be realized by using the changer device shown in FIG. In FIG. 11, the built-in hangar 17 is provided only once, and in FIG. 12, two built-in hangars 171 and 172 are provided. Built-in hangar 17
1 is used as the second color portion 50, and the built-in storage 172 is used as the third color portion 52. The built-in storage 171 is provided on the upper side of the changer device, and the built-in storage 172 is provided on the lower side of the changer device.

Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the door is 307
It can be opened and closed by dividing it into three parts, 1, 3072 and 3073. For example, when removing a failed media, the door 3
Only 071 needs to be opened, and only the door 3073 needs to be opened when supplementing the spare medium. By attaching a key to the door and attaching a color label to the door, it is possible to reduce operational errors by the administrator.

[0080]

By using the storage medium holding means (storage) described in this specification in the storage medium management means (changer device), the storage medium in which a failure has occurred can be easily identified in the changer. . As a result, an administrator who uses this system can easily remove the failed storage medium from the changer. Further, when removing a storage medium in which a failure has occurred, it is possible to prevent an error of erroneously removing another storage medium.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a magazine according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a magazine and a medium.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an appearance of a changer device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of a changer device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an external appearance of a disk array device using five changer devices.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a connection of a disk array device using five changer devices.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a failure media magazine and a spare media magazine.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a magazine used in the second embodiment and the third embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an appearance of a changer device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of a changer device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an appearance of a changer device according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an external view of a changer device according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a conventional disk array device using a hard disk device.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an arrangement of conventional data and redundant data.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a disk array device configured by using a removable storage medium in the prior art.

[Explanation of Codes] 10 ... Magazine, 11 ... Fault Media Magazine, 12
... Magazine, 13 ... Magazine for spare media, 17 ... Equipped storage box, 18 ... Label, 19 ... Label, 20 ... Tray, 30 ... Media, 40 ... First color part, 50 ... Second color part, 52 ... Third color 55, detection hole, 56 ...
57 ... slash, 59 ... hangar, 99 ... handle, 100
… Host computer, 171… Built-in hangar, 17
2 ... Built-in hangar, 300 ... Changer device, 301
... door, 310 ... accessor control section, 320 ... vertical moving section, 325 ... handle section, 330 ... detector, 394 ... S
CSI bus, 398 ... SCSI bus, 400 ... Disk array controller.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] May 20, 2003 (2003.5.2)
0)

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be amended] Claims

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Claims]

1. A plurality of storage medium holding means for storing a storage medium, a recording / reproducing means for reading information from the recording medium or writing information to the recording medium, and a medium conveying means for conveying the storage medium. A storage system including: a first storage medium holding unit for storing a normal recording medium; and a second storage medium holding unit for storing a failed storage medium. A third storage medium holding means for storing a spare storage medium, wherein the storage medium holding means further includes the first storage medium holding means, the second storage medium holding means, and the third storage medium holding means. At least two of the first storage medium holding means, the second storage medium holding means, and the third storage medium holding means.
And an external configuration capable of visually identifying each of the means, the storage system detecting the detection mechanism unit to hold the first storage medium holding means and the second storage medium holding means. Further comprising a detector for distinguishing between the first storage medium holding means and the third storage medium holding means, and the medium transporting means based on the detection result of the detector. The positions of the second storage medium holding unit and the third storage medium holding unit are respectively specified, and data is read from the recording medium held in the first storage medium holding unit or to the recording medium. If the writing of the data fails, the failure recording medium is replaced with the second recording medium.
The storage system characterized in that the medium held in the storage medium holding means of (1) and the medium held in the third storage medium holding means are used instead of the recording medium in which the reading or writing has failed.

2. The storage system according to claim 1, wherein the recording / reproducing device makes the plurality of storage media look like logical storage media and reads information from the plurality of storage media or the plurality of storage media. A storage device system characterized by being a recording / reproducing means having an array control means for writing information into the storage device.

3. The storage system according to claim 2, wherein the array control means is provided with a failure recording medium detection function for detecting a failure recording medium capable of data recovery by an array algorithm, and the failure recording medium detection function is provided. When the recording medium that has failed is detected and the recording medium held in the third storage medium holding unit is used instead of the recording medium that has failed, the array control unit has failed. A storage device system characterized in that data is restored to a recording medium from a recording medium other than the recording medium by an array algorithm and is held in a first storage medium holding means.

4. The method of claim 1 or claim 2 storage system according, the second storage medium holding means or the third storage medium holding means, the uppermost portion or the lowermost portion of the storage medium holding means A storage system characterized by being installed nearby.

5. The storage system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first storage medium holding means is detachable from the other storage medium holding means independently.

6. The storage system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second storage medium holding means and the third storage medium holding means are detachable from the other storage medium holding means independently of each other. A storage system characterized by:

7. The method of claim 1 or claim 2 storage system according to the vicinity of the first storage medium holding means and the second storage medium holding means and the third storage medium holding means each A storage system characterized in that it has an identification means by which a person can determine the type of storage medium holding means.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Taka Oeda             1099 Ozenji, Aso-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture             Ceremony company Hitachi Systems Development Laboratory F-term (reference) 5B065 BA01 CA30 CA40 EA18 ZA04                 5D072 AB25 BB20 BB46 CB02

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A storage medium, a plurality of storage medium holding means for storing the storage medium, a recording / reproducing means for reading information from the recording medium and writing the information, and a medium conveying means for conveying the storage medium. A failure storage medium management method in a storage system, wherein identification means for distinguishing from other storage medium holding means in a particular storage medium holding means or in the vicinity thereof and the recording / reproducing means cannot read or write. A failure storage medium management system characterized in that it has means for transporting a storage medium to the specific storage medium holding means. 2. A storage medium, a plurality of storage medium holding means for storing the storage medium, a recording / reproducing means for reading information from the recording medium and writing the information, and a medium carrying means for carrying the storage medium. And a plurality of storage medium management means, the plurality of storage media are made to look like a logical storage medium, and information is read from or written in the plurality of storage media. In an information processing apparatus having array control means, among storage medium management means having a plurality of storage medium holding means, a specific storage medium holding means or an identification means which can be identified by a human is provided near the specific storage medium holding means. A failure storage medium management method characterized in that 3. The faulty storage medium management system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is identified by a different color from the specific storage medium holding means. 4. The faulty storage medium management method according to claim 1, wherein the storage medium management means has a removable storage medium holding means with a plurality of storage medium holding means as a set. The holding means is a fault storage medium management system characterized in that it is provided near the uppermost part or the lowermost part of the removable storage medium holding means. 5. The faulty storage medium management system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a plurality of storage medium holding means are provided as a set of a plurality of storage medium auxiliary means, and the plurality of storage medium holding means are provided. A failure storage medium management method characterized by having a storage medium holding unit configured by only a specific storage medium holding unit as a set among the storage medium holding units. 6. The faulty storage medium management method according to claim 5, wherein the storage medium holding means constituted by only one set of specific storage medium holding means is detachable from other storage medium holding means. A failure storage medium management method featuring. 7. The faulty storage medium management system according to claim 5, wherein the storage medium holding means constituted by only one set of specific storage medium holding means is non-detachable. .