JP2008135124A - Magnetic tape drive - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a magnetic tape drive capable of recording error logs without completely losing the error logs by hierarchizing a nonvolatile memory as a recording method of the error logs. <P>SOLUTION: The magnetic tape drive is provided which can record the error logs into a hierarchized nonvolatile memory built in the magnetic tape drive and therefore can record all the error status at high speed in the occurrence of the errors and enables the error occurrence status to be quickly and easily analyzed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a magnetic tape drive used as a backup for a computer system, and in particular, an error log of a magnetic tape drive, which is important information for error analysis, is recorded by providing a hierarchical nonvolatile memory. The present invention relates to a magnetic tape drive that can perform analysis and the like quickly and easily.

  In recent years, with the digitization, the volume of data is rapidly increasing, and the demand for high reliability of computer systems is increasing. In order to improve the reliability of a computer system, it is important to back up a large amount of data. In the unlikely event that an error occurs, it is required to restore the current state in the shortest time and analyze the error. Conventionally, magnetic tape drives have been used as backups for computer systems. Magnetic tape media generally has a lower unit price per unit capacity and is larger than other media, so it is recorded on a medium such as a hard disk in case of an error such as a hard disk drive in a computer system. The data is widely used for backup and other purposes. As a data backup method, there are a case of backing up to a magnetic tape medium in units of files and a case of backing up to a magnetic tape medium in units of volumes in which a plurality of files are combined into one. A file is a block of data of several megabytes to several gigabytes, and a volume is a block of data of several tens of gigabytes.

  Magnetic tape media are classified into a type having only a supply reel and a type having a supply reel and a take-up reel. The former is used for a magnetic tape drive with a built-in take-up reel. Magnetic tape drives can load and unload magnetic tape media. It is a so-called removable media. Therefore, data recorded on the same magnetic tape medium can be read or recorded by another magnetic tape drive. Depending on the length of the magnetic tape, it is represented by tape standards such as LTO (Linear Tape Open), AIT (Advanced Intelligent Tape), and DDS (Digital Data Storage), which have a large recording capacity of several tens of gigabytes to several terabytes. The magnetic tape medium can be read or recorded.

  When the error occurs in the magnetic tape drive, an error log is recorded in a semiconductor memory built in the magnetic tape drive in order to be useful for error analysis.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the basic structure of a conventional magnetic tape drive is as follows: a magnetic head 5 for recording on a magnetic tape medium 2 or reading information recorded on the magnetic tape medium 2, and a position of the magnetic head 5 A magnetic head position control unit 6 that controls alignment, a write amplifier 7 that controls recording information, a read amplifier 8 that controls read information from the magnetic head 5, a mechanism drive unit 3 that runs the magnetic tape medium 2, and a travel Drive controller 4 for controlling the magnetic tape medium 2, an interface 12 for mediating input / output signals between the computer system and the magnetic tape drive 1, and an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) for controlling the operation of the entire magnetic tape drive 1. 9, a semiconductor memory 11 for storing programs and data executed by the MPU 9, and the MPU 9 and the interface 1 In order to make up for the difference in processing speed and transfer speed, a buffer 10 for temporarily storing data, a power supply 13 for supplying driving power to the magnetic tape drive 1, and an error message display lamp 14 are configured. . Error logs and access logs are recorded in the semiconductor memory 11.

JP 2000-235774 A JP 2004-213823 A

  If an error occurs while a magnetic tape drive is being used in a magnetic tape drive and maintenance is required, if the magnetic tape media is loaded in the magnetic tape drive, an error will occur. The correlation between the two at the time of occurrence is known, and error analysis and the like are relatively easy.

  However, since restoration of the current status is the top priority in practice, the magnetic tape medium is generally ejected from the magnetic tape drive after an error occurs. Since the magnetic tape medium is rewound, it is impossible to obtain information such as where the error has occurred on the magnetic tape medium, and it is difficult to grasp the correlation between the two when the error occurs. In addition, the situation before an error occurs in the magnetic tape drive and the response (retry, etc.) of the magnetic tape drive to the error are important for error analysis.

  The problem to be solved is that the error log is generally recorded in a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) that can operate at high speed. However, since the DRAM is volatile, the power of the magnetic tape drive is turned off. The recorded error log is deleted. In addition, there is a limit to the amount of error log data that can be recorded in the semiconductor memory. When errors occur frequently, the recording capacity becomes full, and the old error log is overwritten with the old error log. There was a problem that the log was erased.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic tape drive capable of recording without losing all error logs by hierarchizing a nonvolatile memory as a method for recording error logs.

  The magnetic tape drive of the present invention has the following configuration in order to solve the above problems.

  First-tier nonvolatile memory means capable of recording an error log generated by an error-generated magnetic tape drive at high speed whenever an error occurs at any time in an error log recording nonvolatile memory for storing, A structure having a large-capacity second-tier nonvolatile memory means capable of periodically recording information recorded in the nonvolatile memory is provided.

  According to the present invention, an error log can be recorded in a hierarchized nonvolatile memory built in a magnetic tape drive. Therefore, when an error occurs, all error conditions can be recorded at high speed. It is possible to provide a magnetic tape drive that can quickly and easily analyze an error occurrence state in the drive.

  As described above, the magnetic tape drive of the present invention can obtain the following effects.

  According to claim 1, in the magnetic tape drive in which an error has occurred, the generated error log can be recorded in a hierarchized nonvolatile memory. Accordingly, it is possible to analyze errors such as error occurrence status of the magnetic tape drive or usage status of the magnetic tape drive.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a magnetic tape drive 1 according to the present invention, and shows a configuration example of a magnetic tape drive in which error log recording nonvolatile memories 15 are hierarchized. The operation of the present invention will be described in the following order.
1. Normal operation 2. Operation when an error occurs Error log reading and analysis Normal Operation Normal operation will be described with reference to FIG. A magnetic tape medium 2 is loaded in the magnetic tape drive 1 and a recording operation and a reading operation are performed on the magnetic tape medium 2. The magnetic tape medium 2 includes a magnetic head 5 that records and reads information on the magnetic tape medium 2, a magnetic head position controller 6 that controls alignment of the magnetic head 5, a write amplifier 7 that controls recording information, A read amplifier 8 that controls information read from the magnetic head 5, a mechanism drive unit 3 that runs the magnetic tape medium 2, a drive control unit 4 that controls the operation of the mechanism drive unit 3, and between the computer system and the magnetic tape drive 1 Interface 12 for exchanging I / O signals, MPU 9 for controlling the whole, display lamp 14 for displaying the state of MPU 9, and data for compensating for differences in processing speed and transfer speed between MPU 9 and interface 12 Buffer 10 for temporary storage, power supply 13, first layer nonvolatile memory 16, second layer nonvolatile memory 17 It consists et al. The first layer nonvolatile memory 16 is a battery-backed high-speed semiconductor memory for the MPU 9, and the second layer nonvolatile memory 17 is a large-capacity nonvolatile semiconductor flash memory. An operation of recording information on the magnetic tape medium 2 by these mechanisms or reading information recorded on the magnetic tape medium 2 will be described below. For the sake of simplicity, the description of the operation for reading the control information recorded in the head portion of the magnetic tape medium 2 with the magnetic tape medium 2 loaded in the magnetic tape drive 1 is omitted. When recording information on the magnetic tape medium 2 in response to a command from the computer system, the magnetic tape medium 2 is caused to travel by operating the mechanism drive unit 3 and the drive control unit 4, and when the specified traveling speed is reached, the magnetic head The position control unit 6, the magnetic head 5, the write amplifier 7, and the magnetic head 5 are operated to record the recording information from the computer system on the magnetic tape medium 2. The access log of the MPU 9 is recorded in the area 16a provided in the first layer nonvolatile memory. The record in this area 16a is overwritten from the old access log.

2. Operation at the time of error The operation at the time of error will be described with reference to FIG. When an error occurs during operation of the magnetic tape drive 1 loaded with the magnetic tape medium 2, the serial number of the magnetic tape drive 1 used, the date and time (year / month / day / hour / minute / second) of the backup processing, and the magnetic tape The serial number of the magnetic tape medium 2 used in the drive 1, the mechanism drive unit 3, the drive control unit 4, the magnetic head 5, the operation information of the magnetic head position control unit 6, and the operation content of the magnetic tape drive 1 (for example, The MPU 9 generates, as an error log, an operation for starting the running of the magnetic tape medium 2, a data reading operation, a retry operation, and the like, and records the error log in the first layer nonvolatile memory 16 at high speed. Since the first tier nonvolatile memory 16 is a memory for the MPU 9, its access procedure is simple and high speed, so that an error log can be recorded in a short time when necessary. However, since the capacity is small, the access procedure is complicated and slow, but it is recorded again in the second-tier nonvolatile memory 17 having a large capacity. In addition to performing this data migration process periodically by checking the free time of the MPU 9, the magnetic tape drive 1 repeats retries, errors occur frequently in a short time, and the recording capacity of the first layer nonvolatile memory 16 is full. When this happens, run it as needed to avoid overwriting and erasing the old error log.

3. Error Log Reading and Analysis Error log reading and analysis will be described with reference to FIG. Reading of the error log recorded in the first hierarchy nonvolatile memory 16 and the second hierarchy nonvolatile memory 17 is performed by a dedicated command from the computer system, and is sent to the computer system from the interface 12 via the buffer 10. The Therefore, the computer system can issue a dedicated command when necessary to receive and analyze the error log.

  This is an embodiment of the magnetic tape drive 1 that can record all error logs without erasing them, and can read and analyze the error logs.

  According to the present invention, an error log generated from a magnetic tape drive in which an error has occurred can be recorded at high speed whenever an error occurs at any time in an error log data recording nonvolatile memory built in the magnetic tape drive. By providing a first-tier non-volatile memory and a large-capacity second-tier non-volatile memory that can periodically record the information recorded in the non-volatile memory, all detailed error logs are stored. It is possible to manufacture a magnetic tape drive capable of recording without disappearing.

It is a figure explaining the magnetic tape drive of this invention, and is a block diagram. It is a figure explaining the conventional magnetic tape drive, and is a block diagram.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Magnetic tape drive, 2 ... Magnetic tape medium, 3 ... Mechanism drive part, 4 ... Drive control part, 5 ... Magnetic head, 6 ... Magnetic head position control part, 7 ... Write amplifier, 8 ... Read amplifier, 9 ... MPU DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Buffer, 11 ... Semiconductor memory, 12 ... Interface, 13 ... Power supply, 14 ... Indicator lamp, 15 ... Non-volatile memory, 16 ... First layer non-volatile memory, 16a ... MPU execution program storage area, 17 ... First Two-tier nonvolatile memory.

Claims (1)

  An error log generated from a magnetic tape drive in which an error has occurred can be recorded at high speed whenever an error occurs at any time in an error log recording nonvolatile memory built in the magnetic tape drive in which the error has occurred. By providing the one-level nonvolatile memory means and the large-capacity second-level nonvolatile memory means capable of periodically recording information recorded in the nonvolatile memory, the error log is not lost. A magnetic tape drive characterized in that error analysis can be performed quickly and easily.

Images