CN117976007A

CN117976007A - Drive, tape device, and tape storage system

Info

Publication number: CN117976007A
Application number: CN202211321607.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 何昌军
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-10-26
Filing date: 2022-10-26
Publication date: 2024-05-03
Also published as: WO2024087820A1

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure provide a drive, a tape device, and a tape storage system. The driver includes: a first drive mechanism adapted to drive a tape in a tape apparatus to roll between two reels, the tape comprising a plurality of layers of tape rolled in parallel; and a plurality of groups of heads corresponding to the plurality of layers of magnetic tape, respectively, each group of heads being adapted to read or write data with respect to the corresponding layer of magnetic tape during a rolling of the magnetic tape. The scheme of the present disclosure can effectively reduce the time period for reading or writing magnetic tape data by a magnetic tape storage system, and can also reduce the positioning time period for reading files from the magnetic tape.

Description

Drive, tape device, and tape storage system

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of storage technology, and more particularly, to a tape drive, a tape device, and a tape storage system.

Background

Tape storage devices or memory may implement data storage through magnetic tape. Magnetic tape, which is a type of nonvolatile storage medium, is composed of a tape with a magnetizable cover material and is usually encapsulated by winding. Tape storage devices generally access data in a sequential manner, and the tape after storing the data can be stored separately and the data can be read by a tape drive. In addition, the tape storage has the characteristics of large storage capacity, low cost, low energy consumption, portability and the like, and is very suitable for traditional storage and backup.

With the rapid development of information technology, the requirement for storage capacity is increasing in order to store massive amounts of data and information. However, in order to increase the capacity of tape storage, the tape has become thinner and longer, and thus the time it takes to write or read the entire tape has become longer and longer. For example, the time to write full tape may be as long as ten hours or more. The lengthy read-write times during use of tape storage devices degrade the user experience and are unacceptable for many scenarios where data real-time requirements are high, severely limiting tape storage applications.

Disclosure of Invention

The present disclosure provides an improved tape storage system and drive and tape apparatus.

In a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a driver comprising: a first drive mechanism adapted to drive a tape in a tape apparatus to roll between two reels, the tape comprising a plurality of layers of tape rolled in parallel; and a plurality of groups of heads corresponding to the plurality of layers of magnetic tape, respectively, each group of heads being adapted to read or write data with respect to the corresponding layer of magnetic tape during a rolling of the magnetic tape.

By providing multiple sets of heads corresponding to multiple layers of tape, the length of time to read or write tape data can be reduced in multiple levels with unchanged storage capacity compared to conventional schemes of single layer tape and single set of heads, and also the length of time to locate a file read from the tape.

In an implementation manner of the first aspect, the driver further includes: and a plurality of sets of rotating shafts respectively corresponding to the plurality of sets of heads, each set of rotating shafts being adjacent to a corresponding set of heads and adapted to position a section to be read or written of a corresponding layer of tape between the two reels in proximity to the corresponding set of heads during tape rolling, wherein the plurality of sets of rotating shafts are arranged to eliminate a difference in travel between the plurality of layers of tape. By the implementation, the travel difference caused by the travel path difference of the multi-layer magnetic tape can be effectively eliminated, so that the read operation or the write operation of the magnetic head group is improved.

In one implementation of the first aspect, the plurality of sets of heads are arranged sequentially along a direction perpendicular to a direction of travel of the magnetic tape between the two reels, and are arranged to read or write data in parallel for the same offset address of the same track of the multi-layer magnetic tape. By this implementation, data read and write bandwidth may be improved at multiple levels in a tape storage system.

In one implementation of the first aspect, the drive is configured to write consecutive data to the same offset address of the same track of the multi-layer tape via the plurality of groups of heads. By this implementation, multiple groups of heads are facilitated to write data to the multi-layer tape in a parallel manner, thereby increasing the operational speed.

In one implementation of the first aspect, each layer of tape includes a plurality of tracks parallel to each other, and the drive further includes: a second drive mechanism is coupled to the plurality of sets of heads and is adapted to drive each set of heads to move over a different track of the corresponding layer of tape. By this implementation, the head can be accurately guided over the target track and the position of the head relative to the target track can be calibrated in real time to avoid data read or data write failures.

In an implementation manner of the first aspect, the plurality of groups of magnetic heads are driven by the second driving mechanism independently or uniformly from each other. By this implementation, it is facilitated to make position adjustments for each set of heads separately, thereby eliminating positional deviations of each layer of heads relative to the respective target track.

In one implementation of the first aspect, each set of heads includes at least one data head adapted to read or write to a data track of a corresponding layer of magnetic tape and at least one servo head adapted to read head position information from a servo track of the corresponding layer of magnetic tape for controlling the second drive mechanism. By this implementation, accurate positioning of the data head over the target track is facilitated.

In one implementation of the first aspect, the drive further includes one of two spools. In such an implementation, the drive may be adapted for use with a single reel tape device.

In a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a tape apparatus comprising: a reel; and a plurality of layers of magnetic tape wound in parallel on reels. By providing a multi-layer tape, the length of time to read or write tape data can be reduced in multiple levels with unchanged storage capacity compared to single layer tape schemes, and also the length of time to locate a file to read from the tape.

In one implementation of the second aspect, the tape apparatus further includes: and a plurality of sets of spindles respectively corresponding to the plurality of layers of magnetic tapes, each set of spindles being adapted to position a section to be read or written of a corresponding layer of magnetic tape in proximity to a set of heads corresponding to the corresponding layer of magnetic tape during a rolling of the magnetic tape, wherein the plurality of sets of spindles are arranged to eliminate a run length difference between the plurality of layers of magnetic tape. By the implementation, the travel difference caused by the travel path difference of the multi-layer magnetic tape between the two reels can be effectively eliminated, so that the data reading operation or the writing operation of the magnetic tape can be improved.

In one implementation of the second aspect, each layer of magnetic tape includes a plurality of tracks parallel to each other, the plurality of tracks including a plurality of data tracks and at least one servo track, the plurality of data tracks adapted to store data and the at least one servo track adapted to store information for assisting in head positioning. By this implementation, accurate positioning of the data head over the target track is facilitated.

In one implementation of the second aspect, the contiguous data is distributed at the same offset address of the same track of the multi-layer tape. By this implementation, parallel reading of data from multiple layers of tape is facilitated to shorten the read time.

In one implementation of the second aspect, the data distributed across the multi-layer tape has a redundant protection relationship. By this implementation, improved data storage reliability of a storage system having multiple layers of tape is facilitated.

In one implementation of the second aspect, the multi-layer tape has a parity relationship between them. By this implementation, the storage reliability of the data can be enhanced while avoiding the data for implementing redundancy protection from taking up excessive space.

In a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a tape storage system comprising: a driver according to the first aspect; and a tape device according to the second aspect.

The above-provided tape storage system according to the third aspect includes the drive according to the first aspect and the tape device according to the second aspect. Therefore, the explanation or explanation concerning the first aspect and the second aspect is equally applicable to the third aspect. Further, the advantages achieved by the third aspect may refer to the advantages related to the first aspect and the second aspect, and will not be described here again.

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiment(s) described hereinafter.

Drawings

The above and other features, advantages and aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, wherein like or similar reference numerals designate like or similar elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic of a conventional tape storage system.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a tape storage system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic configuration of a tape device of a tape storage system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a partial section of a multi-layer tape according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an enlarged top view of a partial section of a magnetic tape layer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a drive of a tape storage system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic structure of a multi-group magnetic head according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates a simplified schematic diagram of data distribution for a multi-layer tape according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While certain embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown in the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the present disclosure may be embodied in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein, but are provided to provide a more thorough and complete understanding of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the drawings and embodiments of the present disclosure are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

In describing embodiments of the present disclosure, the term "comprising" and its like should be taken to be open-ended, i.e., including, but not limited to. The term "based on" should be understood as "based at least in part on". The term "one embodiment" or "the embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment". The terms "first," "second," and the like, may refer to different or the same object. Other explicit and implicit definitions are also possible below.

As described above, tape storage has many advantages of low cost, low power consumption, and the like, and is thus widely used for storage and backup of data and data. FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a conventional tape storage system 1000'. As shown in FIG. 1, a tape storage system 1000 'includes a head 120' and a tape 220 'wound on a reel 210'. When it is desired to read and write data from the magnetic tape 220', the magnetic tape 220' is rolled between the reel 210 'and the other reel 140'. During the rolling of the magnetic tape 220 'from the reel 210' to the reel 140 'or from the reel 140' to the reel 210', the magnetic tape 220' moves back and forth under the magnetic head 120', so that data is sequentially written to the magnetic tape 220' by the magnetic head 120 'or data in the magnetic tape 220' is sequentially read. It can be seen that for a tape storage system 1000', if the head 120' writes or reads data to or from the entire tape 220', the head 120' needs to traverse at least the entire length of the entire tape. Therefore, the time actually required for data reading or writing of a magnetic tape has a strong correlation with the length of the magnetic tape. In the tape apparatus of fig. 1, the tape has only one layer (i.e., tape 220'), and thus fig. 1 illustrates a single layer tape apparatus.

With the increase in tape storage capacity, tapes are becoming thinner and longer, and thus the time taken to read and write an entire reel of tape is also becoming longer. Taking the linear tape open (LINEAR TAPE open, LTO) data storage technology in the form of a standard of Aoque (Ultrium) as an example, LTO Ultrium has released the first generation of LTO-1 in 2000 and has so far developed to the ninth generation of LTO-9. The following table lists some parameter comparisons from the first-generation LTO-1 to the ninth-generation LTO-9.

TABLE 1

As can be seen from Table 1, the tape capacity increased from 0.1TB up to 18TB from the first generation product LTO-1 to the ninth generation product LTO-9, but the tape length increased from 609 meters to 1035 meters. As the length of the tape increases, the length of time to write the entire tape increases from at least 1 hour 23 minutes to at least 12 hours 30 minutes. In addition, the average positioning time for reading files from the tape also increases to around 45 seconds. The lengthy read-write time and longer positioning time degrade the user experience and result in tape storage not being applicable in scenarios where data real-time requirements are high.

Embodiments of the present disclosure propose an improved tape storage scheme. In a modification, by changing the tape layer number from single layer to multiple layer and correspondingly arranging multiple groups of magnetic heads in the drive, parallel read-write operation can be performed on the multiple layer tape. Thus, for the same capacity of tape, the length of each layer of tape can be reduced in multiple steps, thus greatly shortening the time required to read or write data without increasing the read or write speed, and also reducing the positioning time required to read files in the tape.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a tape storage system 1000 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The tape storage system 1000 utilizes tape as a storage medium and is capable of accessing data in the tape. The tape storage system 1000 acts, for example, as a secondary or primary memory for a computing device or processing device, and is suitable for use in scenarios where large amounts of data are sequentially read and written, offline archival storage, etc. As shown in FIG. 2, tape storage system 1000 includes drive 100 and tape device 200. As an example, the tape device 200 is loaded in the drive 100 and can be separated from the drive 100 for separate storage. When the tape apparatus 200 is loaded in the drive 100, the drive 100 is capable of performing data read and write operations on the tape apparatus 200.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic structural diagram of a tape device 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the tape apparatus 200 includes a reel 210 and a tape 220. By way of example, the magnetic tape 220 includes a tape base and a magnetic surface layer overlying the surface of the tape base. The tape base is made of mylar or other suitable material and the magnetic surface layer includes magnetizable or magnetic media such as gamma-Fe ₂O₃ and CrO ₂. The magnetic tape 220 is held in the magnetic tape device 200 by fully winding the magnetic tape 220 on the reel 210. The tape device 200 is a single reel structure, i.e., there is only one reel 210. Alternatively, the tape device 200 is also a dual reel structure. It will be appreciated that other components not shown in the figures, such as a housing for protecting the magnetic tape 220, may also be provided in the tape device 200 as desired.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the magnetic tape 220 of the magnetic tape apparatus 200 comprises multiple layers of magnetic tape wound in parallel on the reel 210. As an example, 3 magnetic tape layers 220-1, 220-2, and 220-3 are wound in parallel on the reel 210. However, the number of layers of the tape is not limited thereto, and may be other suitable number of layers, such as 2 layers, 4 layers, or more. By providing multiple layers of tape, the length of each layer of tape is greatly reduced without changing the storage capacity. For example, the tape length of LTO-9 for a single tape layer is 1035 meters, whereas if the tape is constructed in multiple layers, each layer of the same capacity tape is reduced in length to 1/N of 1035 meters in length, where N is the number of layers of the multiple layers. For example, the length of each of the 2 layers of tape is reduced to 1035/2=517.5 meters, and the length of each of the 3 layers of tape is reduced to 1035/3=345 meters. Since the multi-layer magnetic tape is wound on the reel 210 in parallel and read/write operations are performed in parallel, the data read/write time length of the multi-layer magnetic tape is also reduced in multiple stages without changing the read/write speed. In addition, the reduced length of each layer of tape correspondingly reduces the length of time to locate the file read from the tape 220.

FIG. 4 illustrates an enlarged perspective view of a partial section of a multi-layer magnetic tape 220-1, 220-2, and 220-3 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 5 illustrates an enlarged top view of a partial section of a magnetic tape layer 220-1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, each layer of tape 220-1, 220-2, or 220-3 includes a plurality of tracks parallel to each other, the plurality of tracks including a plurality of data tracks 221 adapted to store data. By way of example, the data tracks 221 are tracks where data is recorded, and in order to maximize the use of the width of the tape, the number of data tracks 221 may be up to thousands, e.g., up to 8000 or more. These data tracks 221 may be formed, for example, to extend in a serpentine fashion, i.e., from the head end to the tail end of each layer of tape, and then from the tail end to the head end.

In addition, the plurality of tracks of each layer of tape 220-1, 220-2, or 220-3 may further include at least one servo track 222, with at least one servo track 222 adapted to store information for assisting in head positioning. As an example, the servo tracks 222 may be located on either or both sides of the data track 221 in the width direction of the magnetic tape, and a single servo track 222 may be composed of several straight line segment patterns with oblique angles, for example (see FIG. 5). Thus, the head of the drive 100 can determine the overall position of the head by reading the data on the servo track 222. It is to be appreciated that the implementation of the servo tracks 222 is not so limited, and for example, the servo tracks 222 may be disposed between data tracks without being disposed on either side of the data tracks, or the servo tracks 222 may include patterns of other shapes suitable for positioning.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic block diagram of a driver 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 2 and 6, the drive 100 of the tape storage system 1000 may include a first drive mechanism 110, the first drive mechanism 110 being adapted to drive a tape 220 in a tape device 200 to be rolled between two reels 150 and 210. By way of example, the first drive mechanism 110 may include, for example, a motor or other actuator adapted to drive rotation of the spool. After the tape device 200 is loaded into the drive 100, the end of the tape 220 may be adsorbed and pulled to another reel 150. Then, the motor or other actuator of the first drive mechanism 110 drives rotation of at least one of the reels 150 and 210 to thereby reel the magnetic tape 220 from the reel 210 to the other reel 150 or from the other reel 150 to the reel 210.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the drive 100 includes a spool 150 of two spools 150 and 210. In particular, for a single reel tape device 200, the drive 100 may provide another reel 150 for rolling the tape 220 to enable the tape 220 to be rolled between the reel 210 of the tape device 200 and the reel 150 of the drive 100. It will be appreciated that where the tape apparatus 200 includes two reels, the drive 100 may not be provided with reels, and only the first drive mechanism 110 for driving the reels may be provided, as may embodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, for single reel or dual reel tape devices 200, the first drive mechanism 110 of the drive 100 may provide one or two engagement elements, such as a hub, to engage with one or two reels of the tape device 200. For example, a reel of the tape device 200 may be sleeved and secured to an engagement element (e.g., a shaft) of the first drive mechanism 110. Thus, the engagement element may be driven by a motor or other actuator of the first drive mechanism 110 to rotate the reel of the tape device 200.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the drive 100 includes a space for receiving a magnetic tape, and a plurality of groups of magnetic heads corresponding to the multi-layered magnetic tape, for example, the head groups 120-1, 120-2, and 120-3 corresponding to the tape layers 220-1, 220-2, and 220-3. Each set of heads 120-1, 120-2, or 120-3 is adapted to read or write data with respect to a corresponding layer of tape 220-1, 220-2, 220-3 during the rolling of the tape 220. As an example, each set of heads 120-1, 120-2, or 120-3 includes at least a write head that records data by changing the magnetic field of the magnetic medium by magnetization and a read head that reads data on the magnetic medium by inducing the magnetic field of the magnetic medium. During the rolling of the magnetic tape 220 between the two reels, the heads in the head stack 120-1 perform reading or writing of data to the magnetic tape layer 220-1, the heads in the head stack 120-2 perform reading or writing of data to the magnetic tape layer 220-2, and the heads in the head stack 120-3 perform reading or writing of data to the magnetic tape layer 220-3. Since the plurality of groups of heads read or write to the multi-layer magnetic tape in parallel, the actual speed of data reading or writing is greatly increased, and thus the time required for reading or writing data is shortened in multiple stages compared to conventional schemes.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the drive 100 further comprises sets of spindles 130-1, 130-2, and 130-3 corresponding to the sets of heads, each set of spindles being adjacent to a corresponding set of heads and adapted to position a section of a corresponding layer of tape to be read or written between the two reels 150 and 210 in proximity to a corresponding set of heads during rolling of the tape 220, wherein the sets of spindles are arranged to eliminate a travel difference between the multiple layers of tape.

As an example, the spindle groups 130-1, 130-2, and 130-3 may correspond to the head groups 120-1, 120-2, and 120-3, respectively. For example, the spindle group 130-1 is adjacent to the head group 120-1 and two or more spindles on both sides of the head group 120-1 are provided along the direction in which the magnetic tape extends, whereby a partial section of the tape layer 130-1 can be positioned near the top of the head group 120-1 for the heads in the head group 120-1 to perform a read operation or a write operation on the partial section. Similarly, the spindle groups 130-2 and 130-3 may each include a plurality of spindles and be disposed adjacent to the head groups 120-2 and 120-3, respectively, for reading or writing the tape layers 220-2 and 220-3, respectively, by the head groups 120-2 and 120-3. Since the tape layers 220-1, 220-2 and 220-3 are rolled on different paths, there is inevitably a stroke difference between them. For example, because the head stack 120-1 is farther from the two reels 150 and 220 than the head stacks 120-2 and 120-3, the tape layer 220-1 corresponding to the head stack 120-1 may have a longer travel between the two reels than the tape layers 220-2 and 220-3. Similarly, the tape layer 220-2 has a longer travel between the two reels than the tape layer 220-3. Such a travel difference may affect parallel read or write operations of the head sets 120-1, 120-2, and 120-3. To this end, the spindle sets 130-1, 130-2, and 130-3 may be designed or arranged to eliminate the travel differences between the tape layers 220-1, 220-2, and 220-3. For example, the spindle set 130-2 may provide more spindles than the spindle set 130-1 and cause the tape layer 220-2 to travel between the plurality of spindles along a more tortuous path, thereby increasing the travel of the tape layer 220-2 between the two reels to eliminate the travel difference between the tape layer 220-2 and the tape layer 220-1. Similarly, the spindle set 130-3 may be designed and arranged to provide a longer travel of the tape layer 220-3 between the two spools, thereby eliminating the difference in travel of the tape layer 220-3 from the tape layers 220-1 and 220-2.

Alternatively, multiple sets of spindles 130-1, 130-2, and 130-3 may also be provided in tape device 200, with multiple sets of spindles 130-1, 130-2, and 130-3 corresponding to multiple layers of tape 220-1, 220-2, and 220-3, respectively, in tape device 200, and similarly helping to achieve positioning between each layer of tape and the corresponding head set, and to eliminate travel differences between the multiple layers of tape.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the drive 100 further includes a second drive mechanism 140, the second drive mechanism 140 being coupled to the plurality of sets of heads 120-1, 120-2, and 120-3 and adapted to drive each set of heads 120-1, 120-2, or 120-3 to move over a different track of a corresponding layer of tape 220-1, 220-2, or 220-3. By way of example, the second drive mechanism may include a Voice Coil Motor (VCM) or other actuator for driving the multiple sets of heads 120-1, 120-2, and 120-3 to move. Since each layer of tape may have up to thousands of parallel tracks, the number of heads per set of heads is typically only a few or tens (e.g., 8 or 32) and a single head can perform a write or read operation only for a single track. Thus, when reading data from or writing data to the magnetic tape, each set of heads may first perform a read or write operation along a portion of the tracks, and after the read or write operation for that portion of the tracks is completed, the set of heads is driven by the second drive mechanism 140 to move over another portion of the tracks to continue performing the read or write operation. For example, where the tracks of each layer of tape extend in a serpentine fashion, each set of heads may read data for a first portion of the tracks of each layer of tape as the tape 220 is rolled from the reel 210 to the reel 150, and after the tape 220 is fully rolled onto the reel 150, each set of heads may be moved over a second portion of the tracks by the second drive mechanism 140, and then each set of heads may continue to read data for the second portion of the tracks of each layer of tape as the tape 220 is rewound from the reel 150 to the reel 210. In this way, each set of heads can complete data reading or data writing for all tracks of each layer of tape as the tape is rolled back and forth between the two reels.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, groups of heads 120-1, 120-2, and 120-3 are driven independently of each other by second drive mechanism 140. Specifically, the number of tracks on a tape is large and the width of a single track is small, e.g., for a tape having a width of 12.65 mm and 8000 tracks, the width of a single track is only a few microns. Thus, small deviations in the position of the layers of tape may cause the heads to deviate from the corresponding tracks. By driving the sets of heads 120-1, 120-2, and 120-3 independently of each other, adjustments are facilitated for each set of heads, respectively, to eliminate positional deviations and accurately position each set of heads to a corresponding track, thereby reducing or eliminating the risk of a failure to read or write data. As an example, in the second driving mechanism 140, a plurality of VCMs may be provided to control the respective groups of heads individually, or a single VCM may be provided to sequentially drive the respective groups of heads to move. Alternatively, the second driving mechanism 140 may also uniformly drive the plurality of sets of magnetic heads 120-1, 120-2, and 120-3 to move. In this way, the drive control of the head stack can be realized in a simpler manner, thereby simplifying the control process.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of multiple sets of heads 120-1, 120-2, and 120-3 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Each set of heads 120-1, 120-2, or 120-3 includes at least one data head 121 and at least one servo head 122, the at least one data head 121 being adapted to read or write to a data track 221 of a corresponding layer of tape 220-1, 220-2, or 220-3, and the at least one servo head 122 being adapted to read head position information from a servo track 222 of the corresponding layer of tape 220-1, 220-2, or 220-3 for controlling the second drive mechanism 140. As an example, in each set of heads, 8 data heads 121 or any other suitable number of data heads (e.g., 32 data heads) may be provided, the data heads 121 being arranged in sequence along a direction parallel to the tape width direction. One or more servo heads 122 may be disposed on both sides of the data head 121, respectively, or one or more servo heads 122 may be disposed on one of both sides of the data head 121. In other words, the arrangement of the data head 121 and the servo head 122 may correspond to the arrangement direction of the data track 221 and the servo track 222 of the magnetic tape in order to align the data head 121 with the target data track and the servo head 122 with the servo track 222 when performing data reading or data writing. As previously described, the servo track 222 typically has a particular pattern that facilitates positioning, such as straight line segments having an oblique angle, whereby the servo head 122 of the head set will be aligned with different positions of the oblique straight line segments of the servo track 222 and read corresponding position information as the head set is moved over different data tracks, so that the position of the head set as a whole can be determined. In one embodiment, the drive 100 may also be provided with a support 125 for supporting and arranging the plurality of sets of heads 120-1, 120-2, and 120-3. It will be appreciated that the support 125 shown in fig. 7 is merely exemplary and not limiting, and that the support 125 may have any suitable shape and configuration, e.g., three supports separate from one another may be provided for three sets of heads, respectively.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the sets of heads 120-1, 120-2, and 120-3 are arranged sequentially along a direction perpendicular to the direction of travel of the magnetic tape between the two reels 150 and 210, and are arranged to read or write data in parallel to the same offset addresses of the same tracks of the multi-layer magnetic tape 220-1, 220-2, and 220-3. In this way, a multiple level boost of data read and write bandwidth can be achieved. For example, in the case of an N-layer tape, the tape storage system 1000 would have a bandwidth N times that of a conventional single layer tape system.

Returning to fig. 6, the drive 100 also includes data transmission and control logic 180. The data transfer and control logic 180 may be communicatively coupled to the plurality of sets of heads 120 and transfer data that the plurality of sets of heads 120 have read from the magnetic tape 220 or transfer data that is to be written to the magnetic tape 220 via the plurality of sets of heads 120. The data transmission and control logic 180 may be communicatively coupled to the first drive mechanism 110 and control the first drive mechanism 110 to drive reels according to external instructions or a predetermined program to cause the tape 220 to be rolled between the two reels. The data transmission and control logic 180 may also include a servo control processor 181 for controlling the second drive mechanism 140. The servo heads 122 in each set of heads generate servo signals indicative of the head positions, and the servo signals are decoded to obtain current position information for each set of heads and provided to the servo control processor 181. Based on the comparison of the target track information with the current position information, the servo control processor 181 issues a control signal to instruct the second drive mechanism 140 to drive each group of heads to move over the target track where data reading or data writing is required, whereby the data heads can be guided over the target track quickly and accurately, and also calibration can be performed in time when the positions of the heads or tracks deviate. The data transmission and control logic 180 may also coordinate the operation between the various drive mechanisms and head stack, for example, by means of a master control chip.

It will be appreciated that the data transmission and control logic 180 and the servo control processor 181 may be implemented in any suitable manner. For example, the data transfer and control logic 180 may include one or more processors or controllers that may implement the functions of reading or writing data transfer and controlling the first drive mechanism and simultaneously provide the functions of the servo control processor 181, or the data transfer and control logic 180 may additionally provide a processor or controller dedicated to implementing the functions of the servo control processor 181. Alternatively, the servo control processor 181 may be provided independently of the data transmission and control logic 180, as may be implemented in embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be appreciated that other components and peripheral structures may be provided in the drive in addition to those shown in fig. 2 and 6, as desired.

FIG. 8 illustrates a simplified schematic diagram of data distribution for multi-layer magnetic tapes 220-1, 220-2, and 220-3 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 8, the contiguous data is distributed over the same offset addresses of the same tracks of the multi-layer tapes 220-1, 220-2, and 220-3. In addition, the drive 100 may be configured to write consecutive data to the same offset address of the same track of the multi-layer magnetic tape 220-1, 220-2, and 220-3 via the multiple sets of heads 120-1, 120-2, 120-3.

In particular, storage spaces of the same tracks of the multi-layer magnetic tapes 220-1, 220-2, and 220-3 having the same offset positions may be defined as contiguous storage spaces, whereby a block of contiguous data may be written and stored in such contiguous storage spaces. For example, the target data may be distributed over the same offset addresses of the same numbered tracks of the multi-layer tape by a particular encoded slice. That is, the target data may be divided into several pieces to be stored at the same addresses of the same numbered tracks of the multi-layered magnetic tape, respectively, the pieces may be distributed on the multi-layered magnetic tape according to a certain rule or randomly, and the pieces obtained from the same addresses of the multi-layered magnetic tape, respectively, by the plurality of sets of magnetic heads can be immediately combined into the target data when the data is read. The storage mode can facilitate the multi-group magnetic head to read available data from the multi-layer magnetic tape in parallel in less time, and the subsequent processing of the data is simplified.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, data distributed across multiple layers of tape 220-1, 220-2, 220-3 has a redundant protection relationship. One implementation is: data at the same offset address of the same numbered tracks of different tapes form a redundancy protection group.

Specifically, in storing or writing data in the continuous storage space, the data may be preprocessed according to a redundancy algorithm such as an Erasure Coding (EC) algorithm to generate a set of data blocks with redundancy data or parity data, and the set of data blocks are stored in different layers of magnetic tapes in a scattered manner, and the set of data blocks conforms to the EC parity algorithm, or other parity algorithms. The redundant array of independent disks (redundant arrays of INDEPENDENT DISKS, RAID) algorithm may be considered one of the EC algorithms, for example: RAID-5 corresponds to the k+1 mode of EC, k data blocks+1 check blocks; RAID-6 corresponds to the k+2 mode of EC with k data blocks+2 parity blocks.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, different blocks of data of the same EC-group are distributed among different tapes, such that even if one or a few of the multi-layer tapes fail, all data can be recovered by the data of the other layers. The application of redundancy algorithms effectively improves the data storage reliability of storage system 1000 with multi-layered tape. For example: the EC check group of 3+2 is composed of 5 layers of magnetic tapes, and even if any one layer or two layers of magnetic tapes are damaged, the data lost due to the damage can be recovered by the data of other layers of magnetic tapes. In addition to data protection using the EC algorithm, redundancy protection of multiple copies may be supported, i.e., different copies of the same data are stored on different tapes of the same tape device. Data blocks belonging to the same check group are stored in a scattered manner on a plurality of layers of magnetic tapes, and the data protection mode is also called that the plurality of layers of magnetic tapes have a check relation.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, by providing multiple groups of heads corresponding to multiple layers of magnetic tape with multiple layers of magnetic tape scrolled in parallel, the length of time to read or write magnetic tape data can be reduced in multiple steps with unchanged disk capacity and unchanged read or write speed, and also the length of time to locate a file read from the magnetic tape can be reduced. The scheme of the present disclosure effectively improves the real-time performance of data reading and writing of the tape storage system.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the disclosure set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the embodiments of the disclosure are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure. Furthermore, while the foregoing description and related drawings describe example embodiments in the context of certain example combinations of components and/or functions, it should be appreciated that different combinations of components and/or functions may be provided by alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In this regard, for example, other combinations of different components and/or functions than those explicitly described above are also contemplated as being within the scope of the present disclosure. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

Claims

1. A driver (100), comprising:

A first drive mechanism (110) adapted to drive a magnetic tape (220) in a magnetic tape device (200) to be rolled between two reels (150, 210), the magnetic tape (220) comprising a plurality of layers of magnetic tape (220-1, 220-2, 220-3) rolled in parallel; and

A plurality of sets of heads (120-1, 120-2, 120-3) respectively correspond to the multi-layer magnetic tapes (220-1, 220-2, 220-3), each set of heads (120-1, 120-2, 120-3) being adapted to read or write data with respect to a corresponding layer of magnetic tape (220-1, 220-2, 220-3) during rolling of the magnetic tape (220).

2. The driver (100) of claim 1, further comprising:

A plurality of sets of spindles (130-1, 130-2, 130-3) corresponding to the plurality of sets of heads (120-1, 120-2, 120-3), respectively, each set of spindles (130-1, 130-2, 130-3) being adjacent to a corresponding set of heads (120-1, 120-2, 120-3) and being adapted to position a section of a corresponding layer of tape (220-1, 220-2, 220-3) to be read or written between the two reels (150, 210) in proximity to the corresponding set of heads (120-1, 120-2, 120-3) during rolling of the tape (220), wherein the plurality of sets of spindles (130-1, 130-2, 130-3) are arranged to eliminate a difference of travel between the plurality of layers of tape (220-1, 220-2, 220-3).

3. The drive (100) of claim 2, wherein the plurality of sets of heads (120-1, 120-2, 120-3) are sequentially arranged along a direction perpendicular to a direction of travel of the magnetic tape between the two reels (150, 210) and are arranged to read or write data in parallel for the same offset addresses of the same tracks of the multi-layer magnetic tape (220-1, 220-2, 220-3).

4. The drive (100) of claim 3, wherein the drive (100) is configured to write consecutive data to the same offset address of the same track of the multi-layer tape (220-1, 220-2, 220-3) via the plurality of sets of heads (120-1, 120-2, 120-3).

5. The drive (100) of claim 1, wherein each layer of tape comprises a plurality of tracks parallel to each other, and the drive further comprises:

A second drive mechanism (140) is coupled to the plurality of sets of heads (120-1, 120-2, 120-3) and is adapted to drive each set of heads (120-1, 120-2, 120-3) to move over a different track of a corresponding layer of tape (220-1, 220-2, 220-3).

6. The drive (100) of claim 5, wherein the plurality of sets of magnetic heads (120-1, 120-2, 120-3) are driven independently of each other or in unison by the second drive mechanism (140).

7. The drive (100) of claim 5, wherein each set of heads (120-1, 120-2, 120-3) includes at least one data head (121) and at least one servo head (122), the at least one data head (121) being adapted to read or write to a data track (221) of a corresponding layer of tape (220-1, 220-2, 220-3), and the at least one servo head (122) being adapted to read head position information from a servo track (222) of a corresponding layer of tape (220-1, 220-2, 220-3) for controlling the second drive mechanism (140).

8. The drive (100) of claim 1, further comprising one (150) of the two spools (150, 210).

9. A tape apparatus (200), comprising:

A reel (210); and

A plurality of layers of magnetic tape (220-1, 220-2, 220-3) are wound in parallel on the reel (210).

10. The tape device (200) of claim 9, further comprising:

A plurality of sets of spindles (130-1, 130-2, 130-3) corresponding to the multi-layer magnetic tape (220-1, 220-2, 220-3), respectively, each set of spindles (130-1, 130-2, 130-3) being adapted to position a section of the corresponding layer magnetic tape (220-1, 220-2, 220-3) to be read or written near a set of heads (120-1, 120-2, 120-3) corresponding to the corresponding layer magnetic tape during rolling of the magnetic tape (220), wherein the plurality of sets of spindles (130-1, 130-2, 130-3) are arranged to eliminate a run length difference between the multi-layer magnetic tape (220-1, 220-2, 220-3).

11. The magnetic tape apparatus (200) of claim 9, wherein each layer of magnetic tape (220-1, 220-2, 220-3) comprises a plurality of tracks parallel to each other, the plurality of tracks comprising a plurality of data tracks (221) and at least one servo track (222), the plurality of data tracks (221) adapted to store data, and the at least one servo track (222) adapted to store information for assisting in head positioning.

12. The tape device (200) of claim 9, wherein consecutive data is distributed at the same offset address of the same track of the multi-layer tape (220-1, 220-2, 220-3).

13. The tape device (200) of claim 9, wherein data distributed across the multi-layer tape (220-1, 220-2, 220-3) has a redundant protection relationship.

14. The tape device (200) of claim 13, wherein the multi-layered tape (220-1, 220-2, 220-3) has a parity relationship therebetween.

15. A tape storage system (1000), comprising:

The driver (100) of any one of claims 1 to 8; and

The tape device (200) according to any one of claims 9 to 14.