JP2011068012A - Information processor, method and program for controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processor that determines an optimum transfer system for a supplied job, and to provide a method and a program for controlling the information processor. <P>SOLUTION: An MFP 101 includes a plurality of HD 220 and 221 for storing data, and uses the HD 220 and 221 as one virtual memory. On the basis of the type of a supplied job, a CPU 201 determines a transfer system (mirroring or striping) for data of the job to the HD 220 and 221. Then, a DMAC 218 transfers data to the HD 220 and 221 by the determined transfer system. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus including a plurality of storage devices, a control method thereof, and a program.

  In order to improve the performance and reliability of a storage device (hereinafter referred to as a disk), there is a disk system called RAID that combines a plurality of storage devices. This RAID has a plurality of levels such as RAID 0 and RAID 1. Among them, RAID0 is called striping, and is a method of dividing data into blocks, accessing a plurality of disks at the same time, and writing each of the divided data to a corresponding disk. Further, when reading data divided into each disk, access to each disk is performed simultaneously, and data is read from each disk in parallel. Thereby, the access speed to the disk can be improved. That is, the performance can be improved.

  RAID 1 is called mirroring, and is a method of copying data and writing the same data to a plurality of disks. Further, when reading data, data is read from only one normal disk among the disks. In the case of RAID1, when a failure occurs in any of a plurality of disks, data can be read from another normal disk, and data loss due to the failure can be avoided. That is, reliability can be improved.

  However, when striping and mirroring are used in combination, at least four disks are required, which increases costs and increases the size of the apparatus.

  In order to solve this problem, a technique has been proposed that realizes the combined use of striping and mirroring without increasing the number of disks.

  In addition, a control method has been proposed in which striping and mirroring are selected in accordance with the ratio of data writing frequency to each disk and reading frequency (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-143328

  However, when a configuration using a combination of striping and mirroring is employed in a multifunction peripheral called MFP having a plurality of functions such as a printer function and a copy function, there are the following problems.

  Normally, the MFP is used by an unspecified number of users, and the user uses the MFP without being aware of the format of data stored on the disk of the MFP. Therefore, when a configuration using both striping and mirroring is employed in the MFP, it is difficult for the user to determine and set which of striping and mirroring is selected.

  The image data stored on the disk in the MFP is data having a size larger than that handled by a normal personal computer (PC). Therefore, in the case of a print job, it is necessary to write and read image data on the disk at a high speed in accordance with the output speed of the printer. However, when the above-described control method for selecting striping and mirroring in accordance with the ratio between the writing frequency and the reading frequency is adopted for the MFP, it is not possible to perform optimum selection control considering the usage pattern of the MFP.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus capable of determining an optimum transfer method for a submitted job, a control method thereof, and a program.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an information processing apparatus including a plurality of storage devices for storing data, wherein the input to the plurality of storage devices is based on at least a type of input job. Determining means for determining the transfer method of the job data, and transfer means for transferring the input job data to the plurality of storage devices by the transfer method determined by the determining means. An information processing apparatus characterized by the above is provided.

  The present invention also provides an information processing apparatus control method and program.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to determine an optimal transfer method for a submitted job.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the information processing apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a disk area in HDs 220 and 221. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for determining a data transfer method for the HDs 220 and 221 and transferring data using the determined transfer method. It is a figure which shows an example of the table used for determination of the transfer system of step S101 of FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a procedure of DMA transfer by the DMAC 218. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing for determining a data transfer method for HDs 220 and 221 in the information processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the 2nd Embodiment of this invention, it is a figure which respectively shows the example of the two tables used for determination of the transfer method of data. It is a figure which shows an example of the hard disk use setting screen displayed on a display part in the information processing apparatus which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, an MFP will be described as an information processing apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the MFP 101 includes a CPU 201, ROM 202, RAM 203, scanner 212, printer 208, NIC (Network Interface Card) 214, and modem 215. The MFP 101 also includes a RIP (raster image processor) 217, a plurality of HD (hard disks) 220 and 221, an operation unit 222, and a card authentication unit 228.

  The CPU 201 activates an OS (Operating System) by a boot program stored in the ROM 202. The CPU 201 executes a control program and various application programs stored in the HD 220 or the HD 221 on the OS, and executes overall control of the MFP 101, various individual controls, and the like. When the CPU 201 performs control, the RAM 203 is used as a work area for the CPU 201. The RAM 203 is also used as a temporary storage area for image data.

  The scanner 201 reads a document and outputs the image data. The scanner 201 is controlled by the scanner control unit 211 based on an instruction from the CPU 201. The scanner control unit 211 acquires the image data output from the scanner and outputs it to the image processing unit 210.

  The image processing unit 210 performs image processing such as color space processing and filter processing on the image data from the scanner 212, and the image processed image data is output to the image compression unit 209. The image compression unit 209 compresses the image processed image data at a predetermined compression rate. The compressed image data is temporarily stored in the RAM 203 and then stored in the HDs 220 and 221 via a DMAC (Direct Access Memory Controller) 218 and an HD control unit 219.

  The printer 208 is a laser printer. In addition, an ink jet printer or the like can be used as the printer 208. The printer 208 is printed based on an instruction from the CPU 201 by the printer control unit 207, and performs printing based on image data input from the printer control unit 207.

  Here, the image data input to the printer 208 is image data read from the HDs 220 and 221, and this image data can be expanded by the image expansion unit 205 and processed by the printer 208 by the image processing unit 206. It is converted into the correct image data.

  The NIC 214 is connected to the LAN 105, and the modem 215 is connected to the public line 227. The NIC 214 and the modem 215 are controlled by the interface control unit 213 so as to transmit and receive data via the LAN 105 and the public line 227.

  The RIP 217 is a processor for expanding PDL data received via the LAN 105 into a bitmap image. The bitmap image expanded by the RIP 217 is compressed by the image compression unit 216. The compressed image data is temporarily stored in the RAM 203 and then stored in the HDs 220 and 21 via the DMAC 218 and the HD control unit 219.

  As described above, each of the HDs 220 and 221 is a storage device that stores a program for controlling the entire system, various application programs, image data, and the like. Each of the HDs 220 and 221 constitutes one virtual storage device (RAID) that realizes striping (RAID0) and mirroring (RAID1). Writing and reading of data with respect to each HD 220 and 221 is controlled by the HD control unit 219. Further, the HD control unit 219 controls to transfer data by a striping or mirroring transfer method determined based on the type of job. The HDs 220 and 221 can be accessed from other devices on the LAN 105 via the CPU 201 or the interface control unit 213. Further, the DMAC 218 can directly write the image data stored in the RAM 203 to the HDs 220 and 221, and conversely read the image data stored in the HDs 220 and 221 directly to the RAM 203.

  The operation unit 222 includes an input control unit 223, an input unit 224, a display control unit 225, and a table unit 226. The input unit 224 has a plurality of hard keys and soft keys operated according to an instruction input by the user, and inputs an instruction signal indicating an instruction according to the operated key to the input unit input control unit 223. The input control unit 223 sends the input instruction signal to the CPU 201 via the bus 204. The display control unit 225 controls the display unit 226 to display an operation screen for displaying an operation procedure, a message, and the like on the display unit 226 based on a signal from the CPU 201. The display unit 226 includes a liquid crystal display (LCD).

  The card authentication unit 228 reads user information recorded on the card from the inserted card. The read user information is input to the authentication control unit 227. The authentication control unit 227 sends the user information input from the card authentication unit 228 to the CPU 201 via the bus 204. The CPU 201 manages user information for identifying a user who is permitted in advance, and performs authentication processing such as granting permission to use the MFP 101 if the managed user information matches the user information read from the card. Do.

  The size of the image data compressed by the image compression units 209 and 216 is managed by the CPU 201 in units of jobs or pages, and the information is associated with the image data and stored in the RAM 203.

  The CPU 201 controls the image expansion unit 205, the image compression unit 209, the interface control unit 213, the image compression unit 216, the DMAC 218, the input control unit 223, the display control unit 225, and the authentication control unit 227 via the data bus 204. To do.

  Next, an operation when performing a copy job in the MFP 101 will be described.

  When the user gives an instruction to input a copy job from the operation unit 222, the CPU 201 instructs the scanner control unit 211 to read a document. Based on an instruction from the CPU 201, the scanner control unit 211 controls the scanner device 212 to read a document set on the document table, and acquires image data read by the scanner device 212. The image data acquired by the scanner control unit 211 is subjected to image processing by the image processing unit 210, and the image data subjected to the image processing is compressed by the image compression unit 209 at a predetermined compression rate.

  The compressed image data is sent to the RAM 203 and temporarily stored, and then stored in the corresponding HDs 220 and 221 via the DMAC 218 and the HD control unit 219. Details of the transfer of the image data to the HD will be described later.

  The image data stored in the corresponding HD 220 or 221 is sent to the RAM 203 via the DMAC 218 and the HD control unit 219 and stored therein. Details of the transfer of image data from the HD will be described later.

  The image data stored in the RAM 203 is read by an instruction from the CPU 201 and is expanded by the image expansion unit 205. The expanded image data is sent to the image processing unit 206, and the image processing unit 206 performs image processing on the expanded image data. The printer control unit 207 controls the printer 208 so as to print the image data subjected to the image processing. As a result, the printer 208 prints the image of the read original on the paper and outputs the paper.

  In addition to the copy job, the MFP 101 can process, for example, a transmission job, a print job, a box job, and the like. Here, the transmission job is to read a document by the scanner 212 and transmit the image data to a designated destination via the NIC 214 or the modem 215. The print job is to print out the PDL data received via the NIC 214 by the printer 208. The box job is to read a document by the scanner 212 and store the image data or the image data received via the NIC 214 in the HDs 220 and 221. In the box job, the image data stored in the HDs 220 and 221 is read out and sent to a designated destination via printing or the NIC 214 or the modem 215. In any of the above jobs, the image data is always stored in the HDs 220 and 221.

  Next, data transfer when storing image data of various jobs as described above in the HDs 220 and 221 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing disk areas in the HDs 220 and 221. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure for determining a data transfer method for the HDs 220 and 221 and transferring the data according to the determined transfer method. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a table used for determining the transfer method in step S101 of FIG. The procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3 is executed by the CPU 201 in accordance with a program stored in the ROM 202.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the HD 220 has a disk area divided into a system area 701, a striping area 702, and a mirroring area 703. The HD 221 has a disk area divided into a system area 704, a striping area 705, and a mirroring area 706, similar to the HD 220. Switching of areas when accessing each area of the HD 220 and 221 is controlled by the HD control unit 219.

  In the present embodiment, the data transfer method for the HDs 220 and 221 is determined based on the type of the input job. For this determination, a table 1301 shown in FIG. 4 held in the RAM 203 is used, and this table 1301 is a table that can be rewritten by the CPU 201. The rewriting of the contents of the table 1301 is performed in accordance with, for example, a change in performance such as a change in the output speed of the printer 208, writing in the HDs 220 and 221 and a reading speed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the table 1301 describes a transfer method (either striping or mirroring) associated with each job type (copy job, transmission job, PDL mode, box mode). is there.

  When transferring the data of the submitted job, as shown in FIG. 3, the CPU 201 determines the data transfer method for the HDs 220 and 221 based on the type of the submitted job and the table 1301 (steps). S101). Here, when the determined transfer method is mirroring, “0” is set to the flag STFLAG indicating the determined transfer method, and when it is striping, “1” is set to the flag STFLAG.

  Next, the CPU 301 determines whether or not the value of the flag STFLAG is “1” (step S102). If it is determined that the value of the flag STFLAG is “1”, the CPU 201 designates the address of the striping area of the HDs 220 and 221 as the address of data to be processed in the job (step S103). On the other hand, when it is determined that the value of the flag STFLAG is not “1”, that is, “0”, the CPU 201 designates the address of the mirroring area of the HDs 220 and 221 as the address of the data to be processed by the job. (Step S104).

  When the address of the data to be processed by the job is specified in this way, the CPU 201 determines whether or not the job data transfer is a write to the HD 220 or 221 (step S105). If it is determined that the job data transfer is writing to the HD 220 or 221, the CPU 201 designates a write command as a command for designating whether to write or read (step S 106). On the other hand, when it is determined that the job data transfer is not writing to the HD 220 or 221, that is, when reading from the HD 220 or 221 is performed, the CPU 201 designates a read command (step S 107).

  When the command is specified, the CPU 201 creates an HD transfer setting table and a RAM transfer setting table based on the specified address and command (step S108). Here, designated addresses and commands of the HDs 220 and 221 are set in the HD transfer setting table. Data write or read addresses are set in the RAM transfer setting table. The HD transfer setting table and the RAM transfer setting table are held in the RAM 203.

  Next, the CPU 201 instructs the DMAC 218 to start DMA transfer (step S109). Thereby, the DMAC 218 performs DMA transfer based on the RAM transfer setting table and the HD transfer setting table. Details of the DMA transfer performed by the DMAC 218 will be described later.

  Next, the CPU 201 determines whether there is an unprocessed job (step S110). If it is determined that there is an unprocessed job, the CPU 201 returns to step S101 and starts processing the next job. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no unprocessed job, the CPU 201 ends this process.

  Next, details of DMA transfer by the DMAC 218 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure of DMA transfer by the DMAC 218.

  When the DMAC 218 receives the DMA transfer start instruction from the CPU 201, the DMAC 218 acquires settings related to the transfer to the RAM 203 from the RAM transfer setting table held in the RAM 203 as shown in FIG. 5 (step S201). Then, the DMAC 218 acquires settings related to the transfer to the HDs 220 and 221 from the HD transfer setting table held in the RAM 203 (step S202).

  Next, the DMAC 218 determines whether or not the command set in the HD transfer setting table is a write command (step S203). If it is determined that the command is a write command, the DMAC 218 reads data of a predetermined transfer unit from the address position set in the RAM transfer setting table of the RAM 203 (step S204). Then, the DMAC 218 writes the data read from the RAM 203 via the HD control unit 219 at the address position set in the HD transfer setting table of the HDs 220 and 221 (step S205).

  The HD control unit 219 determines whether the address set in the HD transfer setting table is in the striping area or the mirroring area, and writes data by either striping or mirroring based on the determination result. To control. In the case of striping, data is distributed and written at the corresponding address positions in the striping areas of the HDs 220 and 221. On the other hand, in the case of mirroring, the same data is written to the corresponding address positions in the mirroring areas of the HDs 220 and 221, respectively.

  Next, the DMAC 218 determines whether or not the transfer of a predetermined number of data has been completed (step S206). Here, the transfer of a predetermined number of data refers to transferring the data of the transfer data size set in the RAM transfer setting table by the number of sectors set in the HD transfer setting table.

  If it is determined in step S206 that the transfer of the predetermined number of data has not been completed, the DMAC 218 repeats steps S204 to S206 until the transfer of the predetermined number of data is completed.

  If it is determined in step S206 that the transfer of the predetermined number of data has been completed, the DMAC 218 refers to the RAM transfer setting table and the HD transfer setting table to determine whether there is data to be transferred next. Determination is made (step S210). Here, if it is determined that there is data to be transferred next, the DMAC 218 repeats the above steps S201 to S210.

  If it is determined in step S210 that there is no data to be transferred next, the DMAC 218 ends this processing.

  If it is determined in step S203 that the command is not a write command, that is, if it is a read command, the DMAC 218 reads data from the HDs 220 and 221 via the HDHD control unit 219 (step S207). Here, data of a predetermined transfer unit is read from the address position set in the HD transfer setting table of the HDs 220 and 221. The HD control unit 219 determines whether the address set in the HD transfer setting table is in the striping area or the mirroring area, and reads data by either striping or mirroring based on the determination result. To control. In the case of striping, since the data is distributed and written in the striping areas of the HDs 220 and 221, the distributed data is alternately read from the striping areas of the HDs 220 and 221, respectively. On the other hand, in the case of mirroring, since the same data is written in the mirroring areas of the HDs 220 and 221, data is read from the mirroring area of one of the HDs 220 and 221 (normal HD).

  Next, the DMAC 218 writes the data read from the HDs 220 and 221 to the address position set in the RAM transfer setting table in the RAM 203 (step S208).

  Next, the DMAC 218 determines whether or not the transfer of a predetermined number of data has been completed (step S209). Here, the transfer of a predetermined number of data refers to transferring the data of the transfer data size set in the RAM transfer setting table by the number of sectors set in the HD transfer setting table.

  If it is determined in step S209 that the transfer of the predetermined number of data has not been completed, the DMAC 218 repeats steps S207 to S209 until the transfer of the predetermined number of data is completed.

  If it is determined in step S209 that the transfer of the predetermined number of data has been completed, the DMAC 218 refers to the RAM transfer setting table and the HD transfer setting table to determine whether there is data to be transferred next. Determination is made (step S210). If it is determined that there is data to be transferred next, the DMAC 218 returns to step S201. If it is determined in step S210 that there is no data to be transferred next, the DMAC 218 ends this processing.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, by determining the data transfer method for the HD according to the type of job, it is suitable for the output speed of the printer device and the HD performance without the user being particularly conscious. Data can be transferred.

  Here, in order to improve the reliability of data for a job for which striping has been determined as the data transfer method, data should be read during the idle period of the apparatus and the same data stored in a plurality of HDs. It is also possible to configure to perform re-transfer.

  In this embodiment, one DMAC 218 is used, but it is also possible to employ a configuration in which a plurality of DMACs are used and transfer by each DMAC is switched by an arbiter.

  In addition, a plurality of tables are prepared for each user or for each group, the user is identified by the card authentication unit 228, and the data transfer method is determined using the table associated with the identified user. It is also possible to do.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for determining a data transfer method for the HDs 220 and 221 in the information processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing examples of two tables used for determining the data transfer method in the second embodiment of the present invention. The procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 is executed by the CPU 201 in accordance with a program stored in the ROM 202. Here, the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment is the same as the MFP 101 according to the first embodiment, and will be described using the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the data transfer method (striping or mirroring) is determined based on the combination of the type of job and the resolution and compression rate of data processed by the job. It is different from the form.

  Specifically, in this embodiment, the table 1301 shown in FIG. 4 and the tables 1302 and 1303 shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B are used to determine the data transfer method.

  Since the table 1301 has already been described, the description thereof is omitted here. As shown in FIG. 7A, the table 1302 describes a transfer method (either striping or mirroring) according to the resolution of job data. As shown in FIG. 7B, the table 1303 describes a transfer method (either striping or mirroring) according to the compression rate of job data. Here, the compression rate of the job data is the compression rate when the image data of the job is compressed by each of the image compression unit 209 and the image compression unit 216 described above. Is stored and managed.

  In this embodiment, when determining the data transfer method, as shown in FIG. 6, the CPU 201 refers to the table 1301 to obtain the transfer method according to the type of the input job (step S401). ). Then, the CPU 201 determines whether or not the transfer method according to the job type is striping (step S402). Here, when it is determined that the transfer method corresponding to the type of job is not striping, that is, in the case of mirroring, the CPU 201 determines the transfer method to be mirroring, and sets “0” to the flag STFLAG indicating the determined transfer method. (Step S408). Then, the CPU 201 ends this process.

  When it is determined in step S402 that the transfer method according to the job type is striping, the CPU 201 refers to the table 1302 and obtains a transfer method according to the data resolution (step S403). Then, the CPU 201 determines whether or not the transfer method corresponding to the data resolution is striping (step S404). Here, when it is determined that the transfer method corresponding to the data resolution is not striping, that is, in the case of mirroring, the CPU 201 determines that the transfer method is mirroring, and sets “0” in the flag STFLAG (step S408). Then, the CPU 201 ends this process.

  When it is determined in step S404 that the transfer method according to the data resolution is striping, the CPU 201 refers to the table 1303 to obtain a transfer method according to the data compression rate (step S405). Then, the CPU 201 determines whether or not the transfer method according to the data compression rate is striping (step S406). If it is determined that the transfer method corresponding to the data compression rate is not striping, that is, in the case of mirroring, the CPU 201 determines that the transfer method is mirroring and sets “0” to the flag STFLAG (step S408). Then, the CPU 201 ends this process.

  When it is determined in step S406 that the transfer method corresponding to the data resolution is striping, the CPU 201 determines the transfer method to striping and sets “1” in the flag STFLAG (step S407). Then, the CPU 201 ends this process.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, the transfer method is determined based on the combination of the job type, the resolution of the job data, and the compression rate. Here, in determining the transfer method, mirroring is preferentially determined. For jobs where the transfer method obtained based on the job type is striping, the transfer method is determined to be striped with priority on speed only when the resolution and compression rate of the data is high. Become.

  When the transfer method is determined in this way, data is transferred according to the determined transfer method. This is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

  Also, instead of a combination of job type and job data resolution and compression ratio, transfer based on, for example, a combination of job type and data resolution, or a combination of job type and data compression ratio You may make it determine a system.

  Alternatively, the transfer method may be determined based on only the data resolution or the data compression rate.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a hard disk use setting screen displayed on the display unit in the information processing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Here, the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment is the same as the MFP 101 according to the first embodiment, and will be described using the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, one table can be selected from a plurality of tables in which a transfer method is associated with each job type in accordance with a user input operation. The selected table is set as a table for determining a transfer method according to the job type. In this respect, the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment.

  Specifically, when selecting the table, a hard disk setting screen 1501 as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed on the display unit 226 of the operation unit 222. The hard disk setting screen 1501 includes a slide bar 1502 for designating one of the stages from speed priority to reliability priority, a key 1503 for the user to confirm detailed settings, and OK to save the settings. A key 1504 is displayed.

  In this example, there are four stages from LV (level) 1 to LV (level 4) as stages from speed priority to reliability priority. The user designates a desired stage from among four stages from LV (level) 1 to LV (level) 4 by operating the slide bar 1502. The stage designated by the user is notified to the CPU 201 via the input control unit 223. The CPU 201 selects a table corresponding to the designated stage from a plurality of tables corresponding to each of the four stages from LV (level) 1 to LV (level 4). Then, the CPU 201 sets the selected table as a table for determining a transfer method according to the type of job. The setting of the selected table is performed after the user presses the OK key 1504.

  Further, when confirming the contents of the table corresponding to the stage designated by the user, the key 1503 is pressed. Thereby, a detailed screen showing the contents of the table corresponding to the stage designated by the user is displayed on the display unit 226, and the contents of the table corresponding to the stage designated by the user can be easily confirmed.

  Here, the contents of the table can be changed by the user on the detailed screen.

  As each of the LV1 to LV4 tables, for example, those shown in Tables 1 to 4 below are used.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, a table corresponding to a designated stage can be selected and set from a plurality of tables by a simple operation of the user. That is, the conditions for determining the transfer method can be easily changed.

  Similarly, the user may be able to select and set a table for obtaining a transfer method according to the data resolution and a table for obtaining a transfer method according to the data compression rate.

  The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, or the like) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

101 MFP
201 CPU
202 ROM
218 DMAC
219 HD controller 220, 221 HD
222 Operation unit

Claims (6)

An information processing apparatus comprising a plurality of storage devices for storing data and using the plurality of storage devices as one virtual storage device,
Determining means for determining a method of transferring data of the submitted job to the plurality of storage devices based on at least a type of the submitted job;
Transfer means for transferring the data of the submitted job to the plurality of storage devices by the transfer method determined by the determination means;
An information processing apparatus comprising:   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines one of striping and mirroring as the transfer method.   3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines the transfer method based on a combination of the type of the input job and at least one of a resolution and a compression rate of data of the job. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. A setting means for setting a condition in which a transfer method is associated with each type of job by a user input operation;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines the transfer method with reference to a condition set by the setting unit. A control method for an information processing apparatus comprising a plurality of storage devices for storing data and using the plurality of storage devices as one virtual storage device,
Determining a method of transferring data of the submitted job to the plurality of storage devices based on at least a type of the submitted job;
Transferring the data of the submitted job to the plurality of storage devices by the determined transfer method;
A method for controlling an information processing apparatus, comprising: A program for controlling an information processing apparatus comprising a plurality of storage devices for storing data and using the plurality of storage devices as one virtual storage device,
Determining a method of transferring data of the submitted job to the plurality of storage devices based on at least a type of the submitted job;
Transferring the data of the submitted job to the plurality of storage devices according to the determined transfer method;
A program that causes a computer to execute.