CN115480693A

CN115480693A - Data storage system and method of managing storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN115480693A
Application number: CN202110668545.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 严啸; 周鑫涛; 徐建荣; 余洲; 郭中天; 刘洪广
Original assignee: XFusion Digital Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: XFusion Digital Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-06-16
Filing date: 2021-06-16
Publication date: 2022-12-16

Abstract

The disclosure provides a data storage system and a method for managing storage media, and belongs to the technical field of data storage. The data storage system provided by the disclosure comprises a medium reading and writing cabinet, an offline storage resource pool and a robot system. The robot system comprises a medium read-write cabinet and an offline storage resource pool, wherein the medium read-write cabinet is physically decoupled from the offline storage resource pool, the medium read-write cabinet is used for performing read-write operation on a storage medium, the offline storage resource pool is used for storing the storage medium, and the robot system is used for transporting the storage medium between the medium read-write cabinet and the offline storage resource pool. The data storage system breaks the conventional integration of the medium read-write cabinet and the storage medium in the storage system, and stores the storage medium in the offline storage resource pool which is physically decoupled from the medium read-write cabinet. Therefore, when the number of the storage media is increased, the number of the media reading and writing cabinets does not need to be linearly increased along with the number of the storage media, and the data storage cost can be effectively reduced.

Description

Data storage system and method of managing storage medium

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of data storage technologies, and in particular, to a data storage system and a method for managing a storage medium.

Background

Under the wave of digital economy, various industries generate a large amount of data, and particularly, new infrastructures such as a fifth-generation mobile communication technology (5 th-generation mobile communication technology, 5G), a large data center, big data, an industrial internet, an automatic driving and an internet of things bring greater data flood.

Different read-write frequencies of data have different degrees of popularity, for example, the hottest real-time image, audio and video data and the like can be accessed by a large number of users in a short time, and the access amount of the cooler operation logs, database backups, monitoring videos and the like is relatively low. Over time, various types of data are transformed from hot to warm and warm to cold, with up to 80% of the data eventually becoming cold.

Data storage systems for storing cold data are required to be secure, durable and extremely low cost. The data storage system has low access frequency of the stored data, and the data can be prepared under the condition of meeting Service Level Agreement (SLA).

In the related art, data storage systems such as a tape library, a blu-ray disc library, and a just a bunch (JBOD) are all integrated data storage systems for storing, reading, and writing, that is, a server and a storage medium are stored in a cabinet at the same time, and the storage and reading and writing of the storage medium are performed in the same cabinet.

Taking JBOD as an example, JBOD is a server and is integrated with a plurality of hard disks, the hard disks are used for storing data, and each hard disk in JBOD can be independently controlled to be powered on and powered off without mutual interference. The hard disk is in a dormant state most of the time to reduce power consumption, and the hard disk can be awakened to a normal working state for reading and writing only when an access request exists.

However, as the amount of data required to be stored increases, the number of JBODs also increases in synchronization. That is, the cost of JBOD increases linearly with the increase in storage capacity, which makes the cost of JBOD large when the data amount of the stored data is large. Similar to JBOD, a tape library, a blu-ray disc library, and other storage read-write integrated data storage systems all result in a linear increase in the number of servers and cabinets following the number of storage media when the number of storage media increases, thereby resulting in a higher cost of the data storage system.

Disclosure of Invention

The present disclosure provides a data storage system and a method of managing a storage medium, which can store data at a lower cost. The technical solutions of the data storage system and the management storage medium are as follows:

in a first aspect, a data storage system is provided, which includes a media reading and writing cabinet, an offline storage resource pool and a robot system; the media read-write cabinet is configured to operate on a storage media, the operation comprising at least one of a read operation and a write operation; the offline storage resource pool is configured to host the storage media; the robot system is configured to take out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool and insert the storage medium into the medium read-write cabinet when the storage medium needs to be operated, and to take out the storage medium from the medium read-write cabinet and store the storage medium into the offline storage resource pool after the operation of the storage medium by the medium read-write cabinet is completed.

The data storage system provided by the present disclosure may also be referred to as an archival storage system, a deep archival storage system, a glacier deep archival storage system, an automated archival storage system, an archival data storage system, a cold data storage system, and the like. The data storage system provided by the present disclosure may be used to store cold data (or referred to as archival data), but is not so limited.

The medium reading and writing cabinet provides power supply and network connection, and provides relative software and hardware environment for data reading and writing, data transmission and the like. The media reading and writing cabinet can comprise a cabinet, a server and a media frame for interfacing or driving the storage media.

The off-line resource pool is physically decoupled from the medium reading-writing cabinet, does not need a network or a power supply, and is used for storing the storage medium. The offline storage resource pool may also be referred to as a storage medium storage system, a storage medium storage rack, a storage medium storage device, and the like.

The robotic system is used to transport storage media between the media reading cabinet and the offline storage resource pool. Specifically, when the storage medium needs to be read and written, the storage medium is transported from the offline storage resource pool to the medium reading and writing cabinet; and after the storage medium is read and written, the storage medium is put back to the offline storage resource pool from the medium reading and writing cabinet.

The storage medium may be at least one of a hard disk type storage medium, a tape type storage medium, an optical disk type storage medium, and the like, and the specific type of the storage medium is not limited in the present disclosure.

The technical scheme disclosed by the disclosure breaks through the conventional integration of the medium reading and writing cabinet and the storage medium in the data storage system, and stores the storage medium in the offline storage resource pool which is physically decoupled from the medium reading and writing cabinet. Therefore, when the number of the storage media is increased, the number of the medium reading and writing cabinets does not need to be linearly increased along with the number of the storage media, and the data storage cost can be effectively reduced.

In one possible implementation manner, the media reading and writing cabinet includes a cabinet, a server, and a first media frame; the server and the first medium frame are positioned inside the cabinet and electrically connected with the first medium frame; the first media box is configured to interface with a hard disk type storage medium.

The first media frame and the server can be two independent devices which are connected through a cable.

According to the technical scheme, each server can be connected with a plurality of first medium frames, so that resources and bandwidth of the servers can be utilized to the maximum extent, the number of hard disk storage media controlled by one server is increased, the number of servers required by a data storage system is reduced, and cost is saved.

In one possible implementation manner, the media reading and writing cabinet includes a cabinet, a server, and a plurality of media frames; the server and the plurality of medium frames are positioned inside the cabinet and electrically connected with the plurality of medium frames; the plurality of media frames include at least two of a first media frame, a second media frame and a third media frame, the first media frame is configured to interface with a hard disk type storage medium, the second media frame is configured to drive a tape type storage medium, and the third media frame is configured to drive an optical disk type storage medium.

The media frame and the server can be two independent devices which are connected through a cable.

According to the technical scheme, the media reading and writing cabinet is arranged to comprise the media frames of various types, so that the data storage system provided by the disclosure can support the mixed use of various storage media, and the application scene of the data storage system is expanded.

In one possible implementation manner, the first medium frame includes a first power supply unit, a first fan, and a first hard disk interface component; the first power supply unit is electrically connected with a power supply line in the cabinet, and the first power supply unit supplies power to the first fan and the first hard disk interface component; the first hard disk interface component is electrically connected with the server and is configured to be in butt joint with a hard disk storage medium.

In one possible implementation manner, the media reading and writing cabinet includes a cabinet, a server, and a fourth media frame; the server and the fourth medium frame are positioned inside the cabinet and electrically connected with each other; the fourth media frame is configured to interface a hard disk-like storage medium, a drive tape-like storage medium, and a drive optical disk-like storage medium.

According to the technical scheme, the fourth medium frame of the medium reading and writing cabinet can support various storage media, so that the data storage system can support the mixed use of the various storage media, and the application scene of the data storage system is expanded.

In one possible implementation, the fourth media frame includes a second power supply unit, a second fan, a second hard disk interface component, a tape drive, and an optical disk drive; the second power supply unit is electrically connected with a power supply line in the cabinet, and supplies power to the second fan, the second hard disk interface assembly, the tape drive and the optical disk drive; the second hard disk interface assembly, the tape drive and the optical disk drive are all electrically connected with the server, the second hard disk interface assembly is configured to interface with a hard disk type storage medium, the tape drive is configured to drive a tape type storage medium, and the optical disk drive is configured to drive an optical disk type storage medium.

In a possible implementation manner, the number of the media reading and writing cabinets is multiple, and the multiple media reading and writing cabinets include at least two of a first media reading and writing cabinet, a second media reading and writing cabinet and a third media reading and writing cabinet; the first medium read-write cabinet is configured to operate a hard disk type storage medium, the second medium read-write cabinet is configured to operate a tape type storage medium, and the third medium read-write cabinet is configured to operate a compact disk type storage medium.

According to the technical scheme, the data storage system can support the mixed use of various storage media by arranging the various media reading and writing cabinets, and the application scene of the data storage system is expanded.

In a possible implementation manner, the outer wall of the medium reading and writing cabinet has a first marker, and the first marker is used to assist the robot system in locating the position of the medium reading and writing cabinet.

In one possible implementation, the offline storage resource pool comprises a storage rack; the storage rack comprises a support member and a plurality of partitions; the plurality of partition plates are arranged at intervals along the vertical direction and are fixedly connected with the supporting piece, and the top surfaces of the partition plates are used for storing the storage medium.

In a possible implementation manner, the distance between two adjacent partition plates is adjustable.

According to the technical scheme, the storage rack can adjust the distance between two adjacent partition plates according to the adaptability of an actual scene (such as the shape of a storage medium actually stored), and therefore the adaptability of an offline storage resource pool can be improved.

In a possible implementation manner, the supporting member has a plurality of mounting positions with different heights corresponding to each partition, and the mounting positions are used for fixing the partitions; the partition plate is detachably connected with the supporting piece, and the partition plate can be fixed in any corresponding installation position.

In a possible implementation manner, the supporting member has a plurality of mounting positions with different heights, the mounting positions are used for fixing the partition boards, and the number of the mounting positions is greater than or equal to that of the partition boards; the clapboard is detachably connected with the supporting piece, and the clapboard can be fixed in any installation position.

In a possible implementation manner, the offline storage resource pool further comprises a plurality of receiving boxes, the receiving boxes are located on the top surface of the partition board, and the receiving boxes are used for receiving the storage media; the robotic system is configured to carry the storage medium through the tote.

According to the technical scheme, the storage media can be protected by using the containing boxes to contain the storage media, and each containing box can store a plurality of storage media, so that the efficiency of the robot system for conveying the storage media can be improved.

In a possible implementation manner, the number of the supporting pieces is two, and the two supporting pieces are respectively fixedly connected with two sides of the partition board in the length direction; two lines of storage boxes are arranged on the top surface of the partition plate, and each line of storage boxes comprises a plurality of storage boxes arranged in the length direction of the partition plate.

According to the technical scheme, the two rows of containing boxes are distributed on the partition plate, so that the containing boxes can be conveniently taken and placed on two sides of the robot system in the width direction of the partition plate.

In a possible implementation manner, the number of the supporting pieces is two, and the two supporting pieces are respectively fixedly connected with two sides of the partition board in the length direction; the storage box of a line has been arranged on the top surface of baffle, the storage box of a line includes a plurality of edges the storage box that the length direction of baffle was arranged, and two the storage rack is along the width direction of baffle arranges side by side.

According to the technical scheme, the containing boxes are arranged on the partition plate in a row, the two storage racks are arranged side by side along the width direction of the partition plate, and the containing boxes are conveniently taken and placed on two sides of the two storage racks by the robot system.

In a possible implementation manner, the offline storage resource pool further includes a second identifier; the second marker is fixed to the storage rack and used for assisting the robot system in locating the position of the storage medium.

In a possible implementation manner, the number of the supporting members is two, and the two supporting members are respectively and fixedly connected with a first side wall and a second side wall of the partition board, wherein the first side wall is opposite to the second side wall; the second markers are fixed on a third side wall and/or a fourth side wall of the partition board, the third side wall is opposite to the fourth side wall, and the position of each storage medium corresponds to the position of at least one second marker.

According to the technical scheme, the robot system can conveniently determine the positions of the storage media by setting at least one second marker for each storage medium, and then the robot system can conveniently operate the storage media.

In one possible implementation, the robot system includes a transfer robot and a plugging robot; the carrying robot is configured to take out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool and transfer the storage medium to the plugging robot, and to receive the storage medium transferred by the plugging robot and store the storage medium to the offline storage resource pool; the plugging robot is configured to receive the storage medium transferred by the transfer robot and insert the storage medium into the medium read-write cabinet, and to take out the storage medium from the medium read-write cabinet and transfer the storage medium to the transfer robot.

In one possible implementation, the plug-in robot is located outside the media reading and writing cabinet.

In a possible implementation manner, the plugging robot is located inside the medium reading and writing cabinet.

In one possible implementation, the data storage system further includes a middle index bit; the transfer robot is configured to take out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool and deposit the storage medium to the transfer position, and to take out the storage medium from the transfer position and deposit the storage medium to the offline storage resource pool; the inserting and pulling robot is configured to take out the storage medium from the transfer position and insert the storage medium into the medium reading and writing cabinet, and take out the storage medium from the medium reading and writing cabinet and store the storage medium to the transfer position.

According to the technical scheme, the middle transposition is arranged, so that when the storage medium is transferred between the transfer robot and the plugging robot, the transfer robot and the plugging robot are simpler and more stable, the transfer robot and the plugging robot can be designed more simply, and the cost of a robot system can be reduced.

And because of the existence of the middle transposition, the action of transferring the storage medium between the transfer robot and the plugging robot can be decomposed into two independent actions, the transfer of the storage medium does not require the simultaneous operation of the transfer robot and the plugging robot, the dispatching of the transfer robot and the plugging robot is more flexible, and the efficiency of the robot system for transporting the storage medium can be effectively improved.

In one possible implementation, the robotic system includes an operating robot; the operating robot is configured to take out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool and insert the storage medium into the medium read-write cabinet, and to take out the storage medium from the medium read-write cabinet and store the storage medium into the offline storage resource pool.

In a second aspect, there is provided a method for managing storage media, the method being applied to the data storage system according to any one of the first aspect, the method comprising: controlling the robot system to take out a storage medium from the offline storage resource pool and inserting the storage medium into a medium reading and writing cabinet; and after the operation of the medium reading and writing cabinet on the storage medium is finished, controlling the robot system to take out the storage medium from the medium reading and writing cabinet and store the storage medium into the offline storage resource pool.

In one possible implementation manner, when the robot system includes a transfer robot and a plug-in robot, the controlling the robot system to take out a storage medium from an offline storage resource pool and insert the storage medium into a medium read-write cabinet includes: controlling the carrying robot to take out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool, transmitting the storage medium to the plugging robot, and controlling the plugging robot to insert the storage medium into the medium reading and writing cabinet; the controlling the robot system to take out the storage medium from the medium reading and writing cabinet and store the storage medium into the offline storage resource pool includes: and controlling the plugging robot to take out the storage medium from the medium reading and writing cabinet, transmitting the storage medium to the transfer robot, and controlling the transfer robot to store the storage medium to the offline storage resource pool.

In a possible implementation manner, when the data storage system includes a middle index, the controlling the transfer robot to take out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool and transfer the storage medium to the plug-in robot to control the plug-in robot to insert the storage medium into the medium read-write cabinet includes: controlling the transfer robot to take out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool, storing the storage medium to the transfer position, controlling the plugging robot to take out the storage medium from the transfer position, and inserting the storage medium into the medium reading and writing cabinet; the controlling the plugging robot to take out the storage medium from the medium reading and writing cabinet, and transfer the storage medium to the transfer robot, and controlling the transfer robot to store the storage medium to the offline storage resource pool includes: and controlling the plugging robot to take out the storage medium from the medium reading and writing cabinet, storing the storage medium to the transfer position, controlling the transfer robot to take out the storage medium from the transfer position, and storing the storage medium to the offline storage resource pool.

In one possible implementation, when the robot system includes a handling robot, the controlling the robot system to take out a storage medium from an offline storage resource pool and insert the storage medium into a medium reading-writing cabinet includes: controlling the operating robot to take out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool and insert the storage medium into the medium reading and writing cabinet; the controlling the robot system to take out the storage medium from the medium reading and writing cabinet and store the storage medium into the offline storage resource pool includes: and controlling the operating robot to take out the storage medium from the medium reading and writing cabinet and store the storage medium to the offline storage resource pool.

In a third aspect, there is provided a data storage system comprising a scheduling system for performing the method of managing storage media according to any one of the second aspect and a data storage system according to any one of the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, comprising instructions, which, when run on an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform the method of any of the second aspects.

In a fifth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which when run on an electronic device, performs the method according to any of the second aspects.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided a chip comprising programmable logic and/or program instructions for implementing the method of any of the above second aspects when the chip is run.

The present application can further combine to provide more implementations on the basis of the implementations provided by the above aspects.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a data storage system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a media reading and writing cabinet according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a media reading and writing cabinet provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 is a block diagram of a first media frame according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a media reading and writing cabinet provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 6 is a block diagram of a fourth media frame provided in an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a data storage system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a media reading and writing cabinet according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a storage rack provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a portion of a storage rack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a storage rack and storage box provided by embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of a storage rack and storage bin provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a schematic view of a storage rack and storage case provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of a storage rack, a container, and a second identifier provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a data storage system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a data storage system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a data storage system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a data storage system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a data storage system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 20 is a flowchart of a method for managing a storage medium according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Description of the figures

1. A media read-write cabinet; 1a, a first medium reading and writing cabinet; 1b, a second medium reading and writing cabinet;

1c, a third medium reading and writing cabinet; 11. A cabinet; 12. A server;

13. a first media frame; 131. A first power supply unit; 132. A first fan;

133. a first hard disk interface component; 14. A second media frame; 15. A third media frame;

16. a fourth media frame; 161. A second power supply unit; 162. A second fan;

163. a second hard disk interface component; 164. A tape drive; 165. An optical disk drive;

17. a first marker; 2. An offline storage resource pool; 21. A storage rack;

210. mounting positions; 211. A support member; 212. A partition plate;

2121. a first side wall; 2122. A second side wall; 2123. A third side wall;

2124. a fourth side wall; 22. A storage box; 23. A second marker;

3. a robotic system; 31. A transfer robot; 32. Plugging and unplugging the robot;

33. operating the robot; 4. Performing neutral transposition; a. A storage medium.

Detailed Description

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a data storage system, as shown in fig. 1, the data storage system includes a medium reading and writing cabinet 1, an offline storage resource pool 2, and a robot system 3. The media read-write cabinet 1 is configured to perform an operation on the storage medium a, the operation including at least one of a read operation and a write operation. The offline storage resource pool 2 is configured to house storage media a. The robot system 3 is configured to take out the storage medium a from the offline storage resource pool 2 and insert the storage medium a into the media reading and writing cabinet 1 when the storage medium a needs to be operated, and to take out the storage medium a from the media reading and writing cabinet 1 and store the storage medium a into the offline storage resource pool 2 after the operations of the storage medium a by the media reading and writing cabinet 1 are completed.

The data storage system provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure may also be referred to as an archival storage system, a deep archival storage system, a glacier deep archival storage system, an automatic archival storage system, an archival data storage system, a cold data storage system, and the like. The data storage system provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure may be used to store any data with a low access frequency, such as cold data (or referred to as archived data), but is not limited thereto.

The data storage system breaks through the conventional integration of the medium reading and writing cabinet and the storage medium in the storage system, stores the storage medium in the offline storage resource pool 2 instead of the medium reading and writing cabinet 1, and transfers the storage medium between the medium reading and writing cabinet 1 and the offline storage resource pool 2 by the robot system 3.

Thus, when the number of the storage media is increased, the number of the medium reading and writing cabinets 1 does not need to be linearly increased along with the number of the storage media, and the data storage cost can be effectively reduced.

The media reading and writing cabinet 1, the offline storage resource pool 2, and the robotic system 3 will be exemplarily described in more detail below.

(1) The medium reading and writing cabinet 1 provides power supply and network connection, and provides related software and hardware environments for data reading and writing, data transmission and the like.

The embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit the specific form of the media reading and writing cabinet 1, and in some examples, the media reading and writing cabinet 1 includes a cabinet 11, a server 12, and a media frame. The medium frame and the server are two independent devices which can be connected through a cable, and the medium frame is used for butting or driving the storage medium.

The cabinet 11 has an accommodating space therein and a plurality of brackets to which the server 12 and the medium frame may be fixed, in the cabinet 11. The cabinet 11 may not have a front door, so that the robot system 3 can conveniently insert and extract the storage medium.

The server 12 is connected to the media frame through a cable, and specifically, the media frame is connected to an expansion board card of the server 12 through a cable, where the expansion board card may be a Host Bus Adapter (HBA) or another connection card having a connection function. The media frame includes at least one read/write unit (e.g., a hard disk interface assembly, a tape drive, an optical drive, etc.), and a base unit such as a power supply, a fan, and an interface assembly for interfacing with the server 12. In addition, the media frame also includes a housing.

Each server 12 may be connected to multiple media frames, thereby maximizing the utilization of the resources and bandwidth of the servers 12, reducing the number of servers 12 required for the data storage system, and saving costs.

The following describes the media cabinet 1 with reference to a storage medium used in a data storage system:

the storage medium used in the data storage system is not limited, and in some examples, the storage medium used in the data storage system may be at least one of a hard disk type storage medium, a tape type storage medium, and an optical disk type storage medium.

When a hard disk-type storage medium (e.g., a mechanical hard disk or a solid-state hard disk) is used, in some examples, as shown in fig. 2, the media cabinet 1 includes a cabinet 11, a server 12, and a first media frame 13. The server 12 and the first medium frame 13 are located inside the cabinet 11, and the server 12 is electrically connected with the first medium frame 13. The first media box 13 is configured to interface with a hard disk-like storage medium. Such a medium cabinet 1 may be referred to as a first medium cabinet 1a.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 4, the first medium frame 13 includes a first power supply unit 131, a first fan 132, and a first hard disk interface assembly 133. The first power supply unit 131 is electrically connected to the power supply line in the cabinet 11, and the first power supply unit 131 supplies power to the first fan 132 and the first hard disk interface assembly 133. The first hard disk interface component 133 is electrically connected to the server 12, and the first hard disk interface component 133 is configured to interface with a hard disk storage medium.

The first hard disk interface component 133 may be a serial attached small computer system interface (SAS) interface component or a Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) interface component, where the SATA interface is a serial hardware driver interface based on an industry standard.

When a tape-type storage medium is used, the media reading/writing cabinet 1 includes a cabinet 11, a server 12, and a second media frame 14. The server 12 and the second media frame 14 are located inside the cabinet 11, and the server 12 is electrically connected with the second media frame 14. The second media frame 14 is configured to drive a tape-like storage medium. This medium cabinet 1 may be referred to as a second medium cabinet 1b.

Illustratively, the second media frame 14 includes a power supply unit, a fan, and a tape drive. The power supply unit is electrically connected to the power supply lines in the cabinet 11, and supplies power to the fan and the tape drive. A tape drive is electrically connected to the server 12, the tape drive being configured to drive tape-like storage media.

When an optical disc-like storage medium (e.g., blu-ray disc cartridge) is used, the media cabinet 1 includes a cabinet 11, a server 12, and a third media frame 15. The server 12 and the third medium frame 15 are located inside the cabinet 11, and the server 12 is electrically connected with the third medium frame 15. The third medium frame 15 is configured to drive an optical-disc-like storage medium. This medium cabinet 1 may be referred to as a third medium cabinet 1c.

Illustratively, the third media frame 15 includes a power supply unit, a fan, and an optical disk drive. The power supply unit is electrically connected to the power supply line in the cabinet 11, and the power supply unit supplies power to the fan and the optical disk drive. An optical disk drive is electrically connected to the server 12, and the optical disk drive is configured to drive an optical disk storage medium.

Of course, the above three types of media reading and writing cabinets 1 are only exemplary, and in practical applications, other types of media reading and writing cabinets 1 may also be adopted.

The data storage system provided by the embodiment of the disclosure may also support the mixed use of storage media, for example, at least two of hard disk type storage media, tape type storage media and optical disk type storage media may be mixed used.

Therefore, different types of storage media can store data with different requirements on the reading and writing speed, and the functions of the data storage system can be expanded. For example, when the client has a high requirement on the read-write speed, the data may be stored in a hard disk storage medium, and when the client has a low requirement on the read-write speed, the data may be stored in a tape storage medium or an optical disk storage medium.

To enable the media reading and writing cabinet 1 to support mixed use of storage media, in some examples, as shown in fig. 3, the media reading and writing cabinet 1 includes a cabinet 11, a server 12, and a plurality of media frames. The server 12 and the plurality of media frames are located inside the cabinet 11, and the server 12 is electrically connected with the plurality of media frames. The plurality of media frames include at least two of a first media frame 13, a second media frame 14, and a third media frame 15, the first media frame 13 is configured to interface with a hard disk-type storage medium, the second media frame 14 is configured to drive a tape-type storage medium, and the third media frame 15 is configured to drive an optical disk-type storage medium.

As for the specific structures of the first media frame 13 (as shown in fig. 4), the second media frame 14 and the third media frame 15, reference may be made to the above contents, and details are not repeated here.

In other examples, as shown in fig. 5, the media reading and writing cabinet 1 includes a cabinet 11, a server 12, and a fourth media frame 16. The server 12 and the fourth media frame 16 are located inside the cabinet 11, and the server 12 is electrically connected with the fourth media frame 16. The fourth media frame 16 is configured to interface with hard disk type storage media, drive tape type storage media, and drive optical disk type storage media.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 6, the fourth media frame 16 includes a second power supply unit 161, a second fan 162, a second hard disk interface component 163, a tape drive 164, and an optical disk drive 165. The second power supply unit 161 is electrically connected to the power supply line in the cabinet 11, and the second power supply unit 161 supplies power to the second fan 162, the second hard disk interface module 163, the tape drive 164, and the optical disk drive 165. A second hard disk interface component 163, a tape drive 164, and an optical disk drive 165 are all electrically connected to the server 12, the second hard disk interface component 163 configured to interface with a hard disk-like storage medium, the tape drive 164 configured to drive a tape-like storage medium, and the optical disk drive 165 configured to drive an optical disk-like storage medium.

Of course, the fourth media frame 16 may include only any two of the second hard disk interface assembly 163, the magnetic tape drive 164 and the optical disk drive 165, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

The second hard disk interface component 163 may be the same as the first hard disk interface component 133, and is not described herein again.

In addition to the single media cabinet 1 being capable of operating on multiple types of storage media to support the mixed use of the storage media, multiple types of media cabinets 1 may be provided in the data storage system.

In some examples, as shown in fig. 7, the number of the media cabinets 1 is multiple, and the multiple media cabinets 1 include at least two of a first media cabinet 1a, a second media cabinet 1b, and a third media cabinet 1c (the data storage system shown in fig. 7 includes three media cabinets). The first medium cabinet 1a is configured to operate a hard disk type storage medium, the second medium cabinet 1b is configured to operate a tape type storage medium, and the third medium cabinet 1c is configured to operate a disk type storage medium.

For the specific structures of the first medium reading-writing cabinet 1a, the second medium reading-writing cabinet 1b and the third medium reading-writing cabinet 1c, reference may be made to the above contents, and details are not described here.

To assist the robotic system 3 in locating the position of the media reading cabinet 1, the outer wall of the media reading cabinet 1 is provided with a first marker 17, as shown in fig. 8. In some examples, the first identifier 17 is located on one side of the opening of the media reading cabinet 1.

The embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit the specific form of the first identifier 17, and in some examples, the first identifier 17 is an identifier block, and the identifier block has a special structure. The robot in the robot system 3 may be equipped with a sensor (e.g., a 3D camera), and the robot can recognize the spatial posture of the medium reading/writing cabinet 1 through the first marker 17, so that the robot can accurately insert the storage medium into the medium reading/writing cabinet 1 according to the actual posture of the medium reading/writing cabinet 1.

In other examples, the first identifier 17 may also be a two-dimensional code or other planar identifier.

The number of the first markers 17 is not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure, and in some examples, there is one first marker 17; in other examples, the second identifier 17 is a plurality of second identifiers, and the plurality of second identifiers 17 correspond to the plurality of media frames one by one; in other examples, as shown in fig. 8, the second identifier 17 is plural, and each second identifier 17 corresponds to a position of at least two media frames.

(2) The offline storage resource pool 2 is located outside the medium reading and writing cabinet 1 and is separated from the medium reading and writing cabinet 1, that is, the offline storage resource pool 2 is physically decoupled from the medium reading and writing cabinet 1. In addition, the offline storage resource pool 2 is only used for storing storage media, so that a network and a power supply are not needed.

Since the offline storage resource pool 2 is physically decoupled from the media reading and writing cabinets 1, when the number of storage media increases, the number of the media reading and writing cabinets 1 does not need to be linearly increased, so that the cost of the data storage system does not linearly increase with the increase of the storage capacity.

The form of the offline storage resource pool 2 is not limited in the embodiment of the present disclosure, for example, the offline storage resource pool 2 may be a storage table, a storage rack, or the like.

In some examples, as shown in fig. 9, the offline storage resource pool 2 includes storage shelves 21. The storage rack 21 includes a support 211 and a plurality of partitions 212. The partitions 212 are arranged at intervals along the vertical direction and are all fixedly connected with the support 211, and the top surfaces of the partitions 212 are used for storing storage media. Wherein, the support 211 may be a support plate.

Because the storage rack 21 and the medium reading and writing cabinet 1 are physically decoupled, the storage rack 21 does not need to comply with the height requirement on the cabinet, and the height of the storage rack 21 can break through the height limit of about 2m of the traditional cabinet, so that the storage density of the storage medium in unit area can be greatly improved.

Moreover, the storage rack 21 is physically decoupled from the media reading and writing cabinet 1, and external wires, network cables and the like are not needed, so that the storage rack 21 can be deployed, moved and expanded quickly.

In some examples, as shown in fig. 10, the spacing between two adjacent partitions 212 is adjustable, thereby enabling the storage rack 21 to accommodate more scenes and to store more types of storage media.

The embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit the implementation manner of the adjustable distance between two adjacent partition plates 212.

In some examples, as shown in fig. 10, the support 211 has a plurality of mounting locations 210 with different heights for each partition 212, and the mounting locations 210 are used to fix the partitions 212. The partition 212 is detachably connected to the support 211, and the partition 212 can be fixed in any corresponding mounting position 210.

As shown in fig. 10, the support 211 has three mounting positions 210 having different heights for each partition 212. As shown in the upper part of fig. 10, the lower partition 212 is fixed in the uppermost mounting position 210. When it is desired to increase the spacing between the partitions 212, as in the lower portion of fig. 10, the lower partition 212 is adjusted into the middle mounting position 210.

Of course, the adjustment manner shown in fig. 10 is merely an example, and in practical applications, the installation position 210 where the partition 212 is located may be adjusted according to practical needs.

In other examples, the support 211 may also have a plurality of mounting locations 210 with different heights, and the number of mounting locations 210 is greater than the number of partitions 212. The partition 212 is detachably connected to the support 211, and the partition 212 can be fixed in any of the installation sites 210. The plurality of mounting positions 210 may be arranged at equal intervals, but is not limited thereto.

That is, the partition 212 can be fixed in any of the mounting locations 210 of the support 211, and the partition 212 does not have a corresponding mounting location 210 (of course, it can be understood that each partition 212 corresponds to all the mounting locations 210).

It should be noted that the number of the partition plates 212 included in the storage rack 21 is adjustable, and the worker can adjust the distance between two adjacent partition plates 212 by increasing or decreasing the partition plates 212. The mounting locations 210 may be slot attachment locations as shown in fig. 10, or may be simple locations through which screws may pass. Each mounting position 210 may include one hole site or a plurality of hole sites, which is not limited in the embodiment of the disclosure.

In some examples, as shown in fig. 11, the offline storage resource pool 2 further comprises a plurality of containers 22, the containers 22 being located on the top surface of the partition 212 for containing storage media.

The storage box 22 may store one storage medium or a plurality of storage media, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present disclosure. When the storage box 22 stores a plurality of storage media, the storage media stored may be different types of storage media, or may be the same type of storage media, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

When the data storage system supports a mix of storage media, in some examples, each receptacle 22 may receive therein multiple types of storage media, such as at least two of hard disk type storage media, tape type storage media, and optical disk type storage media. In other examples, the storage boxes 22 include a first storage box for storing hard disk type storage media, a second storage box for storing tape type storage media, and a third storage box for storing optical disk type storage media.

The specific size of the storage box 22 is not limited in the embodiment of the present disclosure, and the specific size of the storage box 22 may be designed according to an actual application scenario. In some examples, the width of the receptacle 22 is greater than 300mm and less than 500mm, and the length of the receptacle 22 is greater than 500mm and less than 700mm. Illustratively, the storage case 22 is 400mm wide and 600mm long.

The walls of the storage box 22 may be filled with anti-static vibration-damping materials, so that the storage box 22 can play a role in anti-static and vibration-damping protection for the storage medium.

The storage box 22 can be placed on the top surface of the partition 212 without a connection with the partition 212, and the robot system 3 can transport the storage medium together with the storage box 22 when transporting the storage medium. In this way, when a plurality of storage media are stored in the storage box 22, the robot system 3 can transport the plurality of storage media at a time, and the transport efficiency of the robot system 3 is improved.

The storage box 22 may also be fixed on the top surface of the partition 212, and in this case, when the robot system 3 carries the storage medium, the storage medium needs to be carried separately (in this case, a protective shell or the like may be disposed on the outer side of the storage medium to prevent the storage medium from being damaged when the robot system 3 carries the storage medium, and to facilitate the carrying of the robot system 3). Specifically, when the robot system 3 takes out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool 2, the robot system 3 takes out the storage medium from the storage box 22; when the robot system 3 deposits the storage medium in the offline storage resource pool 2, the robot system 3 places the storage medium in the storage box 22.

The top surface of each partition 212 may be configured to accommodate (or fix) one container 22, or may be configured to accommodate (or fix) a plurality of containers 22, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present disclosure. In the following, several possible scenarios are listed, respectively:

in some examples, as shown in fig. 11, the number of the supporting members 211 is two, and the two supporting members 211 are fixedly connected to both sides of the partition 212 in the length direction. A row of storage boxes 22 is arranged on the top surface of the partition 212, and each row of storage boxes 22 includes a plurality of storage boxes 22 arranged in the longitudinal direction of the partition 212.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 11, the storage racks 21 may be individually placed in the width direction.

As another example, as shown in fig. 12, two storage racks 21 are arranged side by side (or back to back) in the width direction, and two rows of storage boxes 22 on two partition plates 212 corresponding to the two storage racks 21 may be directly opposite to each other.

In other examples, as shown in fig. 13, two rows of the storage boxes 22 are arranged on the top surface of the partition 212, and the two rows of the storage boxes 22 may be directly opposite to each other.

In both cases shown in fig. 12 and fig. 13, the robot system 3 may take and place the two rows of storage boxes 22 at both sides of the storage rack 21 (or two storage racks 21) in the width direction; in this case, when taking in and out the storage box 22 located inside, it is necessary to take out the storage box 22 located outside first and then take in and out the storage box 22 located inside. The storage density of the storage medium can be increased by two arrangements shown in fig. 12 and 13.

To facilitate the robotic system 3 in locating the positions of the storage shelves 21 and storage media, in some examples, as shown in fig. 14, the offline storage resource pool 2 also includes a second identifier 23. A second marker 23 is fixed to the storage rack 21, the second marker 23 being used to assist the robotic system 3 in locating the location of the storage medium.

The embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit the form of the second identifier 23, and in some examples, as shown in fig. 14, the second identifier 23 is a planar identifier, such as a two-dimensional code, a barcode, and other information codes. In other examples, the second identifier 23 may also be an identification block.

In some examples, as shown in fig. 14, there are two supports 211, and the two supports 211 are fixedly connected to a first side wall 2121 and a second side wall 2122 of the partition 212, respectively, with the first side wall 2121 opposing the second side wall 2122.

The second identifier 23 is plural, the second identifier 23 is fixed on the third side wall 2123 of the partition 212, and/or the fourth side wall 2124, the third side wall 2123 and the fourth side wall 2124 are opposite, and the position of each storage medium (or each storage box 22) corresponds to the position of at least one second identifier 23.

As shown in fig. 14, the first and

second sidewalls

2121 and 2122 extend in the width direction of the spacer 212, and the third and

fourth sidewalls

2123 and 2124 extend in the length direction of the spacer 212.

In some examples, the second identifier 23 may be secured only to the third side 2123 of the partition 212, and the robotic system 3 may need to access the storage medium on one side of the third side 2123 of the storage shelf 21.

In other examples, the second identifier 23 may be fixed only on the fourth side wall 2124 of the partition 212, and the robot system 3 needs to take and place the storage medium on one side of the fourth side wall 2124 of the storage rack 21.

It should be noted that, in the case shown in fig. 12, the second marker 23 may be fixed to the third side wall 2124 of the partition 212 of one storage rack 21, and the second marker 23 may be fixed to the fourth side wall 2124 of the partition 212 of the other storage rack 21, so that the robot system 3 can conveniently pick and place the storage boxes 22 from both sides in the width direction of the two side-by-side storage racks 21.

Of course, the second marker 23 may be fixed to only the partition 212 of one storage rack 21, and in this case, the robot system 3 needs to pick and place two rows of storage boxes 22 on the side of the storage rack 21 to which the second marker 23 is fixed, and the two rows of storage boxes 22 face each other.

In other examples, a second marker 23 may be secured to both the third side wall 2123 and the fourth side wall 2124 of the partition 212, and the robotic system 3 may provide access to the storage medium on either side of the third side wall 2123 and the fourth side wall 2124 of the storage rack 21. That is, the robot system 3 can take and place the storage medium from both sides of the storage rack 21. For example, the storage rack 21 shown in fig. 13 may be used in this manner, but is not limited thereto.

According to the technical scheme shown in the embodiment of the disclosure, the robot system 3 is facilitated to determine the position of each storage medium by setting at least one second identifier 23 corresponding to the position for each storage medium (or each container 22).

(3) The robotic system 3 is used to transport storage media between the media reading and writing cabinet 1 and the offline storage resource pool 2. Specifically, when the storage medium needs to be read and written, the storage medium is transported from the offline storage resource pool 2 to the medium reading and writing cabinet 1; after the storage medium is completely read and written, the storage medium is put back into the offline storage resource pool 2 from the medium reading and writing cabinet 1.

The embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit the types of robots included in the robot system 3, and the robot system 3 may include a plurality of types of robots, and may also include one type of robot. In the following, these two cases are exemplified separately:

in some examples, the robot system 3 includes a variety of robots, and as shown in fig. 15 and 16, the robot system 3 includes a carrier robot 31 and a plugging robot 32.

In the process of transporting the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool 2 to the medium reading and writing cabinet 1 by the robot system 3, the transfer robot 31 first takes out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool 2, and then transfers the storage medium to the plugging robot 32. The inserting/extracting robot 32 receives the storage medium transferred by the transfer robot 31 and then inserts the storage medium into the media reading/writing cabinet 1.

In the process that the robot system 3 transports the storage medium from the medium reading and writing cabinet 1 to the offline storage resource pool 2, the plugging robot 32 first takes the storage medium out of the medium reading and writing cabinet 1, and then transfers the storage medium to the transfer robot 31. The transfer robot 31 receives the storage medium transferred by the plug-in robot 32, and stores the storage medium in the offline storage resource pool 2.

In some examples, the robot system 3 may include a plurality of transfer robots 31 and a plurality of plugging robots 32, and the plurality of transfer robots 31 and the plurality of plugging robots 32 can operate simultaneously, so that the transportation efficiency of the robot system 3 for the storage medium can be improved, and the read-write efficiency of the data storage system can be improved.

The present disclosure does not limit the form of the transfer robot 31, and the transfer robot 31 is, for example, a slide rail type robot, a suspension type robot, a ground rail type robot, or an Automatic Guided Vehicle (AGV). The transfer robot 31 may be provided with a high-precision sensor so that the storage box 22 can be automatically taken in and out from the storage rack 21.

Illustratively, the transfer robot 31 has 4 degrees of freedom (movement, rotation, lifting, and embracing of the chassis), and can position the storage rack 21 and the storage box 22 by using a sensor and the second marker 23 on the storage rack 21.

The form of the plugging robot 32 is not limited in the embodiment of the present disclosure, and the specific form of the plugging robot 32 may be determined according to a specific application scenario (such as a location).

In some examples, as shown in fig. 15, the plugging robot 32 is located outside the media reading cabinet 1.

Illustratively, the plugging robot 32 includes a mechanical arm, the plugging robot 32 has 7-8 degrees of freedom (movement and rotation of a chassis, and 6 degrees of freedom of the mechanical arm itself), the end of the mechanical arm may be equipped with an industrial camera (or 3D camera), a force control sensor, a clamping jaw, and the like, and the clamping jaw may be replaced. The inserting/extracting robot 32 can grasp the storage medium from the storage box 22 and insert the storage medium into the medium read/write cabinet 1.

In other examples, as shown in fig. 16, the plugging robot 32 is located inside the media reading and writing cabinet 1.

The plugging robot 32 may be, for example, an automated mechanical arm in the media reading and writing cabinet 1.

In some examples, as shown in fig. 17 and 18, the data storage system further includes a middle index bit 4. The transfer station 4 may be a transfer platform or a transfer rack, for example, a rack similar to or identical to the storage rack 21, but is not limited thereto.

In the process that the robot system 3 transports the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool 2 to the medium reading and writing cabinet 1, the transfer robot 31 first takes out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool 2 and then stores the storage medium to the transfer station 4. The inserting/extracting robot 32 takes out the storage medium from the index bit 4 and then inserts the storage medium into the medium read/write cabinet 1.

In the process that the robot system 3 transports the storage medium from the medium reading and writing cabinet 1 to the offline storage resource pool 2, the plugging robot 32 first takes out the storage medium from the medium reading and writing cabinet 1, and then stores the storage medium to the transfer station 4. The transfer robot 31 takes out the storage medium from the intermediate transfer position 4, and then deposits the storage medium to the offline storage resource pool 2.

The storage medium may be transported by the transport robot 31 through the storage box 22 when transporting the storage medium, and the storage medium may be transported by the insertion/removal robot 32 alone when transporting the storage medium.

For example, in the process of transporting the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool 2 to the media reading/writing cabinet 1, the carrying robot 31 carries the storage box 22 to the middle index position 4, and then the plugging robot 32 takes out the storage medium from the storage box 22 and inserts the storage medium into the media reading/writing cabinet 1.

In the process of transporting the storage medium from the media reading and writing cabinet 1 to the offline storage resource pool 2, the plugging robot 32 takes the storage medium out of the media reading and writing cabinet 1, and then puts the storage medium into the storage box 22 of the middle index 4. Then, the transfer robot 31 returns the storage box 22 to the storage rack 21.

As shown in fig. 17, when the plugging robot 32 is located outside the media reading/writing cabinet 1, the middle indexing unit 4 may be located outside the media reading/writing cabinet 1, and a plurality of media reading/writing cabinets 1 may share the same middle indexing unit 4.

Of course, each media reading and writing cabinet 1 may also be provided with one middle index 4, and the middle index 4 may be located in front of or inside the media reading and writing cabinet 1, and the like, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 18, when the plugging robot 32 is located inside the media reading/writing cabinet 1, the middle indexing unit 4 may also be located inside the media reading/writing cabinet 1, and each media reading/writing cabinet 1 has one middle indexing unit 4.

Of course, the transfer position 4 may also be disposed in front of the medium reading/writing cabinet 1, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the transfer position 4 is arranged in the data storage system, so that the storage medium is simpler and more stable when being transferred between the transfer robot 31 and the plugging robot 32, the transfer robot 31 and the plugging robot 32 can be designed more simply, and the cost of the robot system 3 can be reduced.

Moreover, due to the existence of the middle index 4, the action of transferring the storage medium between the transfer robot 31 and the plugging robot 32 can be decomposed into two independent actions, the transfer of the storage medium does not require the simultaneous operation of the transfer robot 31 and the plugging robot 32, the scheduling of the transfer robot 31 and the plugging robot 32 is more flexible, and the efficiency of the robot system 3 for transporting the storage medium can be effectively improved.

In other examples, as shown in fig. 19, the robot system 3 includes a handling robot 33.

In the process that the robot system 3 transports the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool 2 to the medium reading and writing cabinet 1, the robot 33 is operated to take out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool 2 and insert the storage medium into the medium reading and writing cabinet 1.

In the process that the robot system 3 transports the storage medium from the medium reading and writing cabinet 1 to the offline storage resource pool 2, the robot 33 is operated to take out the storage medium from the medium reading and writing cabinet 1 and store the storage medium in the offline storage resource pool 2.

The operation robot 33 provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure may adopt the same or similar structure as the above-mentioned transfer robot 31, and guide structures are provided in both horizontal and vertical directions on the housing of the medium frame of the cabinet 1, so that the operation robot 33 can accurately dock the storage medium and the medium frame through the guide structures. In addition, when the storage medium is a hard disk storage medium, a first connector may be disposed on an outer wall of the storage medium, and the hard disk interface assembly of the medium frame may be in the form of a second connector, one of the first connector and the second connector is a male connector, and the other is a female connector, so as to facilitate the docking between the storage medium and the medium frame. The first connector and the second connector may be gold finger connectors, but are not limited thereto.

When the operation robot 33 transports the storage medium, the storage medium may be transported by itself. In this case, the storage box 22 may not be provided in the offline storage resource pool 2.

The storage medium used in the data storage system provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure may be a single storage medium, or a storage medium group formed by fixing a plurality of storage media, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

The data storage system provided by the embodiment of the disclosure has at least the following advantages:

the off-line storage resource pool 2 is only used for storing the storage medium, and the storage medium cannot be read and written, so that power supply is not needed, the overall power consumption of the data storage system is greatly reduced, and the storage cost of the data storage system cannot be linearly increased along with the storage capacity due to the physical decoupling of the off-line storage resource pool 2 and the medium reading and writing cabinet 1.

The robot system 3 can transport a plurality of storage media at one time, and the plurality of storage media can be read and written simultaneously in the media reading and writing cabinet 1, so that the efficiency of the data storage system provided by the embodiment of the disclosure is high.

The off-line storage resource pool 2 is physically decoupled from the medium reading-writing cabinet 1, and a power supply line, a network cable and the like do not need to be connected, so that the off-line storage resource pool 2 is convenient to deploy, move and expand. Further, the storage rack 21 is used only for storing the storage medium, and it is not necessary to comply with the height requirement of the cabinet, and therefore, the storage rack 21 can store a larger number of storage media per unit area than the cabinet. In addition, by placing the storage shelves 21 back to back (or arranging two rows of storage boxes 22 on the storage shelves 21), the super-high storage shelves 21 are customized, the inter-layer distance of the storage shelves 21 is reduced, and the storage density of the storage media can be further improved.

The storage space is decoupled from the read-write space, so that the expansion of the medium read-write cabinet 1 and the off-line storage resource pool 2 can be realized by utilizing a plurality of spaces (a plurality of machine rooms, warehouses and the like) without occupying a whole place.

Next, a method for managing storage media provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure is further described in conjunction with the description of the system structure, where the method is applied to the data storage system. The method may be performed by a scheduling system for controlling the data storage system, which may be any electronic device, such as a server.

As shown in fig. 20, the method includes:

in step 101, the robot system 3 is controlled to take out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool 2 and insert the storage medium into the medium read/write cabinet 1.

When a client requests data, the scheduling system issues a work order to the data storage system based on the overall state of the current data storage system, the read-write time consumption of the data requested by the client, whether the data is urgent or not and other multi-factor comprehensive sequencing. The work order carries the location of the storage medium, the location of the transfer position 4, the location of the medium reading and writing cabinet 1, the location of the medium frame in the medium reading and writing cabinet 1, and the specific time for fetching the storage medium.

Then, the robot system 3 may take out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool 2 and insert the storage medium into the medium read/write cabinet 1 according to the information carried by the work order.

In some examples, when the robot system 3 includes the handling robot 31 and the plugging robot 32, the process of controlling the robot system 3 to take out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool 2 and insert the storage medium into the media reading/writing cabinet 1 is as follows:

the transfer robot 31 is controlled to take out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool 2, and to transfer the storage medium to the plugging robot 32, and the plugging robot 32 is controlled to insert the storage medium into the medium read-write cabinet 1.

In some examples, when the robotic system 3 includes the middle index 4, the process of controlling the robotic system 3 to take out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool 2 and insert the storage medium into the medium reading and writing cabinet 1 is as follows:

and controlling the transfer robot 31 to take out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool 2, storing the storage medium to the transfer position 4, controlling the plugging robot 32 to take out the storage medium from the transfer position 4, and inserting the storage medium into the medium reading and writing cabinet 1.

In some examples, when the robot system 2 includes the operation robot 33, the process of controlling the robot system 3 to take out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool 2 and insert the storage medium into the medium reading/writing cabinet 1 is:

the control operation robot 33 takes out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool 2 and inserts the storage medium into the medium reading and writing cabinet 1.

In step 102, after the medium reading and writing cabinet 1 finishes operating the storage medium, the robot system 3 is controlled to take out the storage medium from the medium reading and writing cabinet 1 and store the storage medium into the offline storage resource pool 2.

After the operation of the medium read-write cabinet 1 on the storage medium is completed, the medium read-write cabinet 1 may send an operation completion message to the scheduling system. And after receiving the operation completion message, the scheduling system sends a storage message to the robot system 3, wherein the storage message is used for instructing the robot system 3 to store the storage medium back to the offline storage resource pool 2.

After receiving the storage message, the robot system 3 performs processing of taking out the storage medium from the medium reading/writing cabinet 1 and storing the storage medium in the offline storage resource pool 2.

In some examples, when the robot system 3 includes the handling robot 31 and the plugging robot 32, the process of controlling the robot system 3 to take out the storage medium from the medium reading/writing cabinet 1 and store the storage medium into the offline storage resource pool 2 is as follows:

and controlling the plugging robot 32 to take out the storage medium from the medium reading and writing cabinet 1, transferring the storage medium to the transfer robot 31, and controlling the transfer robot 31 to store the storage medium in the offline storage resource pool 2.

In some examples, when the robot system 3 includes the middle index 4, the process of controlling the robot system 3 to take out the storage medium from the medium reading/writing cabinet 1 and store the storage medium to the offline storage resource pool 2 is as follows:

and controlling the plugging robot 32 to take out the storage medium from the medium reading and writing cabinet 1, storing the storage medium to the transfer position 4, controlling the carrying robot 31 to take out the storage medium from the transfer position 4, and storing the storage medium to the offline storage resource pool 2.

In some examples, when the robot system 3 includes the operation robot 33, the process of controlling the robot system 3 to take out the storage medium from the medium reading/writing cabinet 1 and store the storage medium into the offline storage resource pool 2 is:

and controlling the operation robot 33 to take out the storage medium from the medium reading-writing cabinet 1 and store the storage medium in the offline storage resource pool 2.

The embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a data storage total system, which includes the data storage system and a scheduling system, where the scheduling system is configured to execute the method for managing storage media described in any one of the foregoing descriptions.

The present disclosure also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which includes instructions that, when run on a scheduling system, cause the scheduling system to perform any one of the methods for managing storage media described above.

The disclosed embodiments also provide a computer program product containing instructions, which when run on a scheduling system, performs any of the above methods of managing a storage medium.

The disclosed embodiment also provides a chip, which comprises a programmable logic circuit and/or a program instruction, and when the chip runs, the chip is used for implementing any method for managing the storage medium.

The above description is only for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure and is not to be construed as limiting the present disclosure, but rather as the subject matter of the present disclosure is to be accorded the full scope and breadth of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A data storage system is characterized by comprising a medium reading and writing cabinet (1), an offline storage resource pool (2) and a robot system (3);

the medium reading and writing cabinet (1) is configured to operate on a storage medium, and the operation comprises at least one of reading operation and writing operation;

the offline storage resource pool (2) is configured to host the storage medium;

the robot system (3) is configured to, when the storage medium needs to be operated, take out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool (2) and insert the storage medium into the medium reading-writing cabinet (1), and, after the operation of the storage medium by the medium reading-writing cabinet (1) is completed, take out the storage medium from the medium reading-writing cabinet (1) and store the storage medium into the offline storage resource pool (2).

2. The data storage system according to claim 1, wherein the media reading and writing cabinet (1) comprises a cabinet (11), a server (12) and a first media frame (13);

the server (12) and the first medium frame (13) are positioned inside the cabinet (11), and the server (12) is electrically connected with the first medium frame (13);

the first media box (13) is configured to interface with a hard disk-like storage medium.

3. A data storage system according to claim 1, wherein the media reading and writing cabinet (1) comprises a cabinet (11), a server (12) and a plurality of media frames;

the server (12) and the plurality of media frames are positioned inside the cabinet (11), and the server (12) is electrically connected with the plurality of media frames;

the plurality of media frames includes at least two of a first media frame (13), a second media frame (14), and a third media frame (15), the first media frame (13) is configured to interface with a hard disk type storage medium, the second media frame (14) is configured to drive a tape type storage medium, and the third media frame (15) is configured to drive an optical disk type storage medium.

4. A data storage system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the first media frame (13) comprises a first power supply unit (131), a first fan (132) and a first hard disk interface component (133);

the first power supply unit (131) is electrically connected with a power supply line in the cabinet (11), and the first power supply unit (131) supplies power to the first fan (132) and the first hard disk interface component (133);

the first hard disk interface component (133) is electrically connected with the server (12), and the first hard disk interface component (133) is configured to be connected with a hard disk storage medium.

5. A data storage system according to claim 1, wherein the media reading and writing cabinet (1) comprises a cabinet (11), a server (12) and a fourth media frame (16);

the server (12) and the fourth medium frame (16) are positioned inside the cabinet (11), and the server (12) is electrically connected with the fourth medium frame (16);

the fourth media frame (16) is configured to interface with a hard disk type storage medium, a drive tape type storage medium, and a drive optical disk type storage medium.

6. The data storage system of claim 5, wherein the fourth media frame (16) comprises a second power supply unit (161), a second fan (162), a second hard disk interface component (163), a tape drive (164), and an optical disk drive (165);

the second power supply unit (161) is electrically connected to a power supply line in the cabinet (11), and the second power supply unit (161) supplies power to the second fan (162), the second hard disk interface component (163), the tape drive (164), and the optical disk drive (165);

the second hard disk interface component (163), the tape drive (164), and the optical disk drive (165) are all electrically connected to the server (12), the second hard disk interface component (163) is configured to interface with a hard disk-like storage medium, the tape drive (164) is configured to drive a tape-like storage medium, and the optical disk drive (165) is configured to drive an optical disk-like storage medium.

7. The data storage system according to claim 1, wherein the media reading and writing cabinet (1) is plural, and the plural media reading and writing cabinets (1) include at least two of a first media reading and writing cabinet (1 a), a second media reading and writing cabinet (1 b), and a third media reading and writing cabinet (1 c);

the first medium read-write cabinet (1 a) is configured to operate a hard disk type storage medium, the second medium read-write cabinet (1 b) is configured to operate a tape type storage medium, and the third medium read-write cabinet (1 c) is configured to operate an optical disk type storage medium.

8. A data storage system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein an outer wall of the media reading cabinet (1) is provided with a first identifier (17), the first identifier (17) being adapted to assist the robotic system (3) in locating the location of the media reading cabinet (1).

9. A data storage system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the offline storage resource pool (2) comprises storage shelves (21);

the storage rack (21) comprises a support (211) and a plurality of partitions (212);

the plurality of partition plates (212) are arranged at intervals along the vertical direction and are fixedly connected with the support member (211), and the top surfaces of the partition plates (212) are used for storing the storage media.

10. The data storage system of claim 9, wherein a spacing between adjacent ones of the partitions (212) is adjustable.

11. The data storage system of claim 10, wherein the support (211) has a plurality of mounting locations (210) of different heights for each of the partitions (212), the mounting locations (210) being configured to secure the partitions (212);

the clapboard (212) is detachably connected with the support (211), and the clapboard (212) can be fixed in any corresponding installation position (210).

12. The data storage system of claim 10, wherein the support (211) has a plurality of mounting locations (210) of different heights, the mounting locations (210) being configured to secure the partitions (212), and the number of mounting locations (210) being greater than or equal to the number of partitions (212);

the clapboard (212) is detachably connected with the support (211), and the clapboard (212) can be fixed in any installation position (210).

13. A data storage system according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the off-line storage resource pool (2) further comprises a plurality of containers (22), the containers (22) being located on a top surface of the partition (212), the containers (22) being adapted to receive the storage media;

the robot system (3) is configured to carry the storage medium through the storage box (22).

14. The data storage system of claim 13, wherein the number of the supporting members (211) is two, and the two supporting members (211) are respectively fixedly connected with two sides of the partition (212) in the length direction;

the storage box (22) is arranged on the top surface of the partition plate (212), the storage box (22) comprises a plurality of storage boxes (22) arranged along the length direction of the partition plate (212), and the two storage racks (21) are arranged side by side along the width direction of the partition plate (212).

15. The data storage system of claim 13, wherein the number of the supporting members (211) is two, and the two supporting members (211) are respectively fixedly connected with two sides of the partition (212) in the length direction;

two rows of storage boxes (22) are arranged on the top surface of the partition plate (212), and each row of storage boxes (22) comprises a plurality of storage boxes (22) arranged along the length direction of the partition plate (212).

16. A data storage system according to any one of claims 9-15, wherein the offline storage resource pool (2) further comprises a second identifier (23);

the second identifier (23) is fixed on the storage rack (21), and the second identifier (23) is used for assisting the robot system (3) in positioning the storage medium.

17. The data storage system of claim 16, wherein the number of the supports (211) is two, and the two supports (211) are fixedly connected to a first side wall (2121) and a second side wall (2122) of the partition (212), respectively, the first side wall (2121) being opposite to the second side wall (2122);

the second marker (23) is multiple, the second marker (23) is fixed on a third side wall (2123) of the partition (212), and/or a fourth side wall (2124), the third side wall (2123) and the fourth side wall (2124) are opposite, and the position of each storage medium corresponds to the position of at least one second marker (23).

18. A data storage system according to any one of claims 1-17, characterized in that the robot system (3) comprises a handling robot (31) and a plugging robot (32);

the handling robot (31) is configured to take out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool (2) and transfer the storage medium to the plugging robot (32), and to receive the storage medium transferred by the plugging robot (32) and store the storage medium to the offline storage resource pool (2);

the plug-in robot (32) is configured to receive the storage medium transferred by the transfer robot (31) and insert the storage medium into the media reading/writing cabinet (1), and to take out the storage medium from the media reading/writing cabinet (1) and transfer the storage medium to the transfer robot (31).

19. The data storage system of claim 18, wherein the plugging robot (32) is located outside the media reading cabinet (1).

20. A data storage system according to claim 18, wherein the plugging robot (32) is located inside the media reading cabinet (1).

21. The data storage system of any of claims 18-20, wherein the data storage system further comprises a neutral bit (4);

the handling robot (31) is configured to take out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool (2) and deposit the storage medium to the middle index (4), and to take out the storage medium from the middle index (4) and deposit the storage medium to the offline storage resource pool (2);

the insertion/removal robot (32) is configured to take out the storage medium from the index (4) and insert the storage medium into the media reading/writing case (1), and to take out the storage medium from the media reading/writing case (1) and store the storage medium in the index (4).

22. A data storage system according to any one of claims 1-17, characterized in that the robot system (3) comprises an operating robot (33);

the handling robot (33) is configured to take out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool (2) and insert the storage medium into the media reading and writing cabinet (1), and to take out the storage medium from the media reading and writing cabinet (1) and deposit the storage medium to the offline storage resource pool (2).

23. A method of managing storage media, the method being applied to a data storage system according to any one of claims 1 to 22, the method comprising:

controlling a robot system (3) to take out a storage medium from an offline storage resource pool (2) and insert the storage medium into a medium reading and writing cabinet (1);

and after the medium reading and writing cabinet (1) finishes operating the storage medium, controlling the robot system (3) to take out the storage medium from the medium reading and writing cabinet (1) and storing the storage medium into the offline storage resource pool (2).

24. Method according to claim 23, wherein when the robot system (3) comprises a handling robot (31) and a plugging robot (32), the controlling robot system (3) takes out a storage medium from an offline storage resource pool (2) and inserts the storage medium into a media reading and writing cabinet (1), comprising:

controlling the carrying robot (31) to take out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool (2), transferring the storage medium to the plugging robot (32), and controlling the plugging robot (32) to insert the storage medium into the medium reading and writing cabinet (1);

the controlling the robot system (3) to take out the storage medium from the medium reading and writing cabinet (1) and store the storage medium into the offline storage resource pool (2) includes:

and controlling the plugging robot (32) to take out the storage medium from the medium reading and writing cabinet (1), transmitting the storage medium to the transfer robot (31), and controlling the transfer robot (31) to store the storage medium in the offline storage resource pool (2).

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein when the data storage system comprises a neutral position (4), the controlling the transfer robot (31) to take the storage medium out of the offline storage resource pool (2) and transfer the storage medium to the plugging robot (32), the controlling the plugging robot (32) to insert the storage medium into the media reading and writing cabinet (1) comprises:

controlling the carrying robot (31) to take out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool (2), storing the storage medium in the middle indexing position (4), controlling the plugging robot (32) to take out the storage medium from the middle indexing position (4), and inserting the storage medium into the medium reading and writing cabinet (1);

the controlling the plugging robot (32) to take out the storage medium from the medium reading and writing cabinet (1), and to transfer the storage medium to the transfer robot (31), and the controlling the transfer robot (31) to store the storage medium to the offline storage resource pool (2) includes:

and controlling the plugging robot (32) to take out the storage medium from the medium reading and writing cabinet (1), storing the storage medium to the middle index position (4), controlling the carrying robot (31) to take out the storage medium from the middle index position (4), and storing the storage medium to the offline storage resource pool (2).

26. A method according to claim 23, wherein when the robotic system (3) comprises an operating robot (33), the controlling robotic system (3) to retrieve a storage medium from an offline storage resource pool (2) and insert the storage medium into a media reading and writing cabinet (1) comprises:

controlling the operating robot (33) to take out the storage medium from the offline storage resource pool (2) and insert the storage medium into the medium reading and writing cabinet (1);

and controlling the operating robot (33) to take out the storage medium from the medium reading and writing cabinet (1) and store the storage medium into the offline storage resource pool (2).