JP3771410B2 - Data recording system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a data recording system, and in particular, when a processing device such as a personal computer receives a large amount of data from another device for a long time, it is suitable for recording the received long continuous data at high speed on an external storage device. Data recording system.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In the prior art, for example, in order to record data received through a communication line at high speed, it is usually recorded in an internal memory of a computer.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of a conventional technique for receiving data from another apparatus through a communication line.
[0003]
In FIG. 5, analog data received from another device is input to the A / D converter 3 via a buffer (not shown). The A / D converter 3 converts the received analog data into digital data and outputs it to the CPU bus B1.
The control device 1 including the CPU stores the received data in the memory 2 when the received data is short data. Since the memory 2 is an internal memory composed of a semiconductor memory, high-speed recording is possible.
[0004]
In addition, when the received data is long data, the control device 1 including the CPU sequentially records the received data on an external recording device such as a hard disk device.
In the example shown in FIG. 5, the A / D converter 3 converts the received analog data into digital data based on a command from the control device 1, outputs the digital data to the CPU bus B 1, and further sends the digital data to the SCSI controller 4. Output data. The SCSI controller 4 records the input digital data in the order of the SCSI hard disks HDD1 and HDD2 through the SCSI bus B2. Here, the number of SCSI hard disks is not limited to two.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The prior art described above has the following problems.
First, in the recording to the memory 2 shown in FIG. 5, it is impossible to record a large amount of continuous data sent from another device over a long time because the capacity of the memory 2 is small.
[0006]
Second, as shown in FIG. 5, when a large amount of continuous data sent from another device is recorded over a long period of time on the SCSI hard disks HDD1 and HDD2, the recording speed of the data is SCSI hard disks HDD1 and HDD2 ( The recording speed of the external recording device is not exceeded. That is, even if the data bus transfer speed is faster than the data recording speed of an external recording device such as a hard disk, the data recording speed is determined by the recording speed of the external recording device.
[0007]
For example, when a SCSI bus hard disk or the like is used, data cannot be recorded faster than the recording speed determined by the rotational speed of the hard disk (for example, 7200 rpm). The speed is greatly reduced.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art. When a processing device such as a personal computer receives a large amount of data from another device over a long period of time, the flexibility of system design is ensured. Another object of the present invention is to provide a data recording system that enables high-speed recording of received long continuous data in an external storage device.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  Claim1The data recording system described is a data recording system for recording data in a plurality of external recording devices connected in a daisy chain through a bus, and the capacity of a buffer memory provided in the external recording device for continuous data A data dividing means for dividing the data block into units and adding a block number to the divided data block; and at the time intervals suitable for the data transfer speed of the bus and the recording speed of the plurality of external recording devices. A data transmission means for transmitting the data block to the bus, a plurality of external recording devices connected in a daisy chain to the bus, and each bus, and the external recording device is transmitted from the data transmission means. The data block can be recorded, and if it can be recorded, the data block is received. It is recorded Te, characterized in that it comprises a recording / supply execution means for sending the data block to the next external recording device connected to the daisy chain form when the recording impossible.
[0013]
  Claim1According to the described invention, a block number is added to the divided data block. Therefore, when data blocks are read from a plurality of external recording devices, the original data can be easily obtained. Further, since the recording / sending means determines whether or not the data block sent through the bus can be written to the external recording device, the data block can be recorded in an appropriate external recording device. Furthermore, it becomes possible to record the divided data blocks on a plurality of external recording devices at high speed.
[0014]
  Claim2The data recording system described is claimed1In the data recording system described above, a plurality of the buses are provided.
  Claim2According to the described invention, since a plurality of buses are provided, the divided data blocks are transferred at the highest speed of each bus and can be recorded at a high speed on a plurality of external recording devices.
[0015]
  Claim3The data recording system described is claimed2In the described data recording system, the plurality of buses include different types of buses.
  Claim3According to the described invention, since the plurality of buses include different types of buses, the flexibility of system design can be ensured, and the data blocks are transferred at the maximum speed of each bus and recorded at high speed on an external recording device. be able to.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
  Embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings will be described below.
  FIG. 1 shows the present invention.Related first technologyFIG. In FIG. 1, the same parts as those in the prior art shown in FIG..
[0017]
  In FIG. 1, buffer memories BM11 and BM12 (semiconductor memories) provided in the SCSI hard disks HDD11 and HDD12 are also provided in the conventional hard disks HDD1 and HDD2 shown in FIG. BM11 and BM12 are actively used.
[0018]
In FIG. 1, a control device (including a CPU) 5 receives long data over a long period of time and controls sequentially recording the received data on the hard disk devices HDD11 and HDD12. The recording procedure will be described below.
In FIG. 1, an A / D converter 3 converts received analog data into digital data and outputs it to the CPU bus B1. The data dividing unit 51 of the control device 5 divides the received digital data into capacity units of the buffer memories BM11 and BM12 of the hard disks HDD11 and HDD12. Here, the data dividing unit 51 of the control device 5 adds a block number to the created data block. This block number is used to restore the original data by arranging the data blocks in the correct order when the data blocks are read from the hard disks HDD11 and HDD12.
[0019]
Next, the data sending unit 52 of the control device 5 sends the divided first data block to the SCSI controller 4.
Here, in order to simplify the description, it is assumed that the capacities of the buffer memories BM11 and BM12 of the hard disks HDD11 and HDD12 are the same. Further, it is assumed that the writing speeds when the data stored in the buffer memories BM11 and BM12 are written to the hard disks HDD11 and HDD12 are also the same.
[0020]
The SCSI controller 4 outputs the input first data block to the SCSI hard disk HDD 11 through the SCSI bus B2. The SCSI hard disk HDD 11 temporarily stores the received first data block in the buffer memory BM11 and then records the stored data in the hard disk HDD 11 sequentially.
[0021]
Subsequently, the data sending unit 52 of the control device 5 outputs the second data block to the SCSI controller 4. The SCSI controller 4 outputs the input second data block to the SCSI hard disk HDD 12 through the SCSI bus B2. The SCSI hard disk HDD 12 temporarily stores the received second data block in the buffer memory BM 12, and then records the stored data in the hard disk HDD 12 sequentially.
[0022]
Subsequently, the data sending unit 52 of the control device 5 calculates the timing at which all the data stored in the buffer memory BM11 of the SCSI hard disk HDD11 is stored in the HDD11, and outputs the third data block to the SCSI controller 4. . The SCSI controller 4 outputs the input third data block to the SCSI hard disk HDD 11 through the SCSI bus B2. The SCSI hard disk HDD 11 temporarily stores the received third data block in the buffer memory BM 11 and then records the stored data in the hard disk HDD 11 at a high speed.
[0023]
Subsequently, the data sending unit 52 of the control device 5 calculates the timing at which all the data stored in the buffer memory BM12 of the SCSI hard disk HDD 12 is stored in the HDD 12, and outputs the fourth data block to the SCSI controller 4. . The SCSI controller 4 outputs the input fourth data block to the SCSI hard disk HDD 12 through the SCSI bus B2. The SCSI hard disk HDD 12 temporarily stores the received fourth data block in the buffer memory BM 12 at a high speed, and then records the stored data in the hard disk HDD 12 sequentially.
[0024]
  Thereafter, the control device 5 alternately repeats the same operation as described above for the SCSI hard disks HDD11 and HDD12, and records long data received over a long period of time on the hard disk HDD11 and HDD12.
  The firstTechnologyIn the above description, the capacity of the buffer memories BM11 and BM12 is the same, and the writing speed when the data stored in the buffer memories BM11 and BM12 is written to the hard disks HDD11 and HDD12 is the same. However, if these values are different, the control device 5 takes these differences into account and divides the data to create two types of data blocks, and further sets the data block transfer timing to each hard disk HDD 11, This can be realized by calculating for each HDD 12.
[0025]
  SaidFirst technique related to the present inventionAccording to the control device 5, the data blocks divided into the capacity units of the buffer memories BM11 and BM12 of the hard disks HDD11 and HDD12 are sequentially sent out at the timing when the writing to the SCSI hard disk is completed. As a result, the control device 5 can transfer the data at a timing when the busy signal is not output from the hard disks HDD11 and HDD12 as compared with the case of sequentially transferring the received data, and therefore the CPU bus B1 and the SCSI bus B2. The data block can be transferred at the highest bus transfer speed. For example, in the case of a SCSI bus, a transfer rate of 90% or more of the maximum bus transfer rate can be obtained.
[0026]
Further, as described above, since the data block is transmitted in consideration of the timing when the writing to each of the SCSI hard disks HDD11 and HDD12 is completed, the SCSI hard disks HDD11 and HDD12 do not become busy. Therefore, a large amount of continuous data can be recorded at high speed on the SCSI hard disks HDD11 and HDD12.
[0027]
  In addition, the aboveIn the first technique related to the present inventionIn the above description, two SCSI hard disks are used.But SThe number of CSI hard disks may be arbitrary.
  FIG. 2 shows the present invention.Second related technologyIt is a brick figure to show. In FIG. 2, shown in FIG.First technique related to the present inventionThe same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted..
[0028]
  In FIG. 2, in FIG.First technology to showThe difference is that two SCSI controllers are provided. Specifically, the first SCSI bus Ba and the second SCSI bus Bb are provided in each of the SCSI controllers 4-1 and 4-2. It is connected.
[0029]
  In FIG. 2, the control device 5 including the CPU receives long data over a long period of time, and sequentially records the received data on the hard disk devices HDD11, HDD12, HDD21, and HDD22.
  The recording procedure is as follows.TechnologyRecorded in the hard disk drives HDD11 and HDD12 using a single SCSI controller,Technology1 differs in that recording is performed on four hard disk devices HDD11, HDD12, HDD21, and HDD22 using two SCSI controllers 4-1 and 4-2. The procedure for recording data on the hard disks HDD11, HDD12, HDD21, and HDD22 is as follows.TechnologyIt is the same as the case of.
[0030]
  That is, the data dividing unit 51 of the control device 5 divides the received digital data into capacity units of the buffer memories BM11, BM12, BM21, and BM22 of the hard disks HDD11, HDD12, HDD21, and HDD22. Subsequently, the data transmission unit 52 of the control device 5 sends the divided data blocks to the SCSI controllers 4-1, 4-2.First technologyIn the same way as in the case of, the timing is sequentially output at the expected timing.
[0031]
  Here, the control device 5 assigns and outputs a block number to the created data block. This block number is used to restore the original data by arranging the data blocks in the correct order when the data blocks are read from the hard disks HDD11 and HDD12.
  Here, the second shown in FIG.TechnologyIn FIG. 2, two SCSI controllers (4-1, 4-2) are provided, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the number of SCSI controllers may be arbitrary.
[0032]
  In addition, the secondTechnologyIn FIG. 2, each of the SCSI controllers 4-1 and 4-2 is provided with two hard disks HDD11 and HDD12, and HDD21 and HDD22. However, the present invention is not limited to this and is connected to each SCSI controller. Any number of hard disks can be used.
  Furthermore, the secondTechnologyHowever, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, one SCSI controller and one IDE controller may be used. That is, different types of buses (SCSI bus, IDE (ATAPI) bus, etc.) may be mixed..
[0033]
In the case of the above example, the bus transfer speed may be different between the SCSI bus and the IDE bus, and the hard disk writing speed may be different between the SCSI hard disk and the IDE hard disk. Also, the capacity of the buffer memory of each hard disk may be different. However, this can be realized by the control device 5 taking these differences into account and dividing the data to create a plurality of types of data blocks and further calculating the transfer timing of the data blocks for each controller. Note that the present invention can also be used when a network is formed by a LAN or the like using a plurality of personal computers and long received data is distributed and recorded in each computer.
[0034]
  Second shown in FIG.TechnologyAccordingly, it is possible to record a large amount of continuous data on a plurality of hard disks at high speed using a plurality of buses.
  In addition, when data blocks are read from a plurality of external recording devices, since the block number is added in advance, the original data can be easily obtained.
  FIG. 3 shows the first aspect of the present invention.1FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the embodiment of the present invention, and shows a bus adapter 11 that determines which external recording device records data blocks when a plurality of external recording devices are connected in a daisy chain to one bus. is there. This is the claim1It corresponds to the invention described in the above. Claims1The data dividing means described in the above corresponds to the data dividing unit 51 in the control device 5 described in FIGS.1The data sending means described in the above corresponds to the data sending unit 52 in the control device 5 shown in FIGS. Claims1The recording / transmission executing means described in FIG. 4 corresponds to the bus adapter 11 shown in FIG.
[0035]
Normally, when a plurality of external recording devices are connected to one bus, the bus controller 10 assigns data (address, etc.) indicating which external recording device the received data is recorded to and outputs to the bus B11. .
However, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the bus controller 10 outputs a data block without giving data (address or the like) indicating which external recording device is recorded to the bus B11, and forms a daisy chain. Out of the connected external recording devices (HDD), a recordable external recording device receives and records.
[0036]
  The following is shown in FIG.1The operation of the embodiment will be described.
  The bus controller 10 does not give data indicating which external recording device (hard disk or the like) is to be recorded.First or second technique related to the present inventionThe data block created in the controller 5 is output to the bus B11. Data indicating a block number is added to this data block (First and second techniques related to the present inventionreference). The data block is input to the bus switching control unit 110 of the bus adapter 11.
[0037]
The bus switching control unit 110 is connected to the buffer memory BM10 of the hard disk HDD 10 which is an external recording device, and is configured to receive a busy signal when the HDD 10 is writing.
If the hard disk HDD 10 is neither writing nor reading and no busy signal is output, the bus switching control unit 110 holds the switch SW in the OFF state. As a result, the data block transmitted from the bus controller 10 is recorded in the hard disk HDD 10 via the bus switching control unit 110 and the buffer memory BM 10 in the hard disk HDD 10.
[0038]
When the hard disk HDD 10 is writing or reading, a busy signal is output. Therefore, the bus switching control unit 110 holds the switch SW in the on state. As a result, the data block transmitted from the bus controller 10 is input to the next bus adapter (not shown) via the bus switching control unit 110 and the bus B12, and the same processing as the processing in the bus adapter 11 is performed. Receive.
[0039]
  In the last bus adapter, if a busy signal is input and data block recording is impossible, error processing is performed.
  First mentioned1According to the embodiment, the recordable external recording device receives and records the data block without designating the external recording device that records the data block. Therefore, it becomes possible to record a large amount of continuous data at high speed.
[0040]
  The first1In the above embodiment, the case where a plurality of external recording devices are connected to one bus controller in a daisy chain shape has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can also be applied to a case where a plurality of external recording devices are connected in a daisy chain for each of a plurality of bus controllers. This makes it possible to record a large amount of continuous data at high speed. This corresponds to the invention described in claim 2.
[0041]
In addition, when data blocks are read from a plurality of external recording devices, since the block number is added in advance, the original data can be easily obtained.
Note that the type of bus is not limited to one type, and various types of buses currently used such as a SCSI bus and an IDE bus (ATPI bus) can be used in combination.
[0042]
  In that case,Related to the present inventionSecondTechnologyAs described in the above, the data is divided by taking into account differences in bus transfer speed, data writing speed, buffer memory capacity, etc., and a plurality of types of data blocks are created. This can be realized by calculating the block transfer timing for each type of bus. Therefore, the second1According to the embodiment, it becomes easy to use the external recording apparatuses having different recording speeds in combination. This is the claim3It corresponds to the invention described in the above. Note that the present invention can also be used when a network is formed by a LAN or the like using a plurality of personal computers and long received data is distributed and recorded in each computer. At this time, without specifying the personal computer to be recorded and the external recording device, the external recording device of the recordable personal computer receives the data and records it on the external recording device, thereby enabling a larger capacity and higher speed recording. Become.
[0043]
  FIG. 4 shows the first aspect of the present invention.2It is a block diagram which shows this embodiment. Said1As in the first embodiment, when a plurality of external recording devices are connected in a daisy chain to a single SCSI bus, the bus adapter 21 that determines which external recording device records data blocks is shown. This corresponds to the invention described in the claims. Claims1The data dividing means and the data sending means described in the above correspond to the control circuit 1 shown in FIGS.1The recording / sending execution means described in the above corresponds to the bus adapter 21 shown in FIG.
[0044]
  Usually, when a plurality of external recording devices are connected to one bus, the SCSI controller 20 gives data (address etc.) indicating which received data block is recorded in which external recording device, and outputs it to the SCSI bus B21. To do.
  However, as shown in FIG.2In this embodiment, the SCSI controller 20 outputs a data block without assigning data (address etc.) to which external recording device to record to the SCSI bus B21, and external recording connected in a daisy chain. Of the devices (such as a hard disk), a recordable external recording device receives and records.
[0045]
  Hereinafter, the first shown in FIG.2The operation of the embodiment will be described.
  As described above, the SCSI controller 20 outputs the data block to the SCSI bus B21 without adding data indicating which external recording device (hard disk or the like) is to be recorded to the data block. Data indicating a block number is added to this data block (First and second techniques related to the present inventionreference). The data block is input to the bus switch 210 of the bus adapter 21.
[0046]
Further, the bus adapter 21 is provided with a busy check circuit 212 as shown in the figure, and the busy check circuit 212 checks whether or not a busy signal is output from the hard disk HDD 20 through the SCSI bus B22. When the busy check circuit 212 detects a busy signal, the busy check circuit 212 outputs to the bus switch 210 an instruction to connect the SCSI bus B21 and the SCSI bus B23. When the hard disk HDD 20 is writing or reading, a busy signal is detected, and the bus switch 210 connects the SCSI bus B21 and the SCSI bus B23. As a result, the data block input from the SCSI bus B21 is input to the next bus adapter (not shown) through the SCSI bus B23. If a busy signal is detected in the last bus adapter connected in a daisy chain, and data block recording is impossible, error processing is performed.
[0047]
When the busy check circuit 212 does not detect a busy signal, the busy check circuit 212 outputs an instruction to connect the SCSI bus B 21 and the address generation circuit 211 to the bus switch 210. As a result, the data block input from the SCSI bus B 21 is input to the address generation circuit 211.
The address generation circuit 211 adds the address number of the SCSI device (HDD 20) output from the address number circuit 213 to the data block. In this case, “1” is added as the address number of the SCSI device.
[0048]
  Thereafter, the address generation circuit 211 outputs the data block to the HDD 20 through the SCSI bus B22. As a result, the data block is stored in the buffer memory BM20 of the HDD 20 and then written in the hard disk HDD20.
  First mentioned2According to the embodiment, the recordable external recording device receives and records the data block without designating the external recording device that records the data block. Therefore, it becomes possible to record a large amount of continuous data at high speed.
[0049]
  In addition, when data blocks are read from a plurality of external recording devices, since the block number is added in advance, the original data can be easily obtained.
  The first2In the embodiment, the case where a plurality of external recording apparatuses are connected in a daisy chain using one SCSI controller has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can also be applied to a case where a plurality of external recording devices are connected in a daisy chain for each of a plurality of SCSI controllers. This makes it possible to record a large amount of continuous data at high speed. This is the claim2It corresponds to the invention described in the above.
[0050]
  Also, the type of bus is not limited to one type, and various buses currently used such as a SCSI bus, an IDE bus (ATPI bus) and the like can be used in combination.
  In that case,Related to the present inventionSecondTechnologyAs described in the above, the data is divided by taking into account differences in bus transfer speed, data writing speed, buffer memory capacity, etc., and a plurality of types of data blocks are created. This can be realized by calculating the block transfer timing for each type of bus. Therefore, the second2According to the embodiment, it becomes easy to use the external recording apparatuses having different recording speeds in combination. This is the claim3It corresponds to the invention described in the above. It is also possible to use a plurality of personal computers when a network is formed by a LAN or the like and received long data is distributed and recorded in each personal computer. At this time, without specifying the personal computer to be recorded and the external recording device, the external recording device of the recordable personal computer receives the data and records it on the external recording device, thereby enabling a larger capacity and higher speed recording. Become.
[0051]
As a technique similar to the present invention, there is a disk array device (RAID: Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks).
However, the present invention is different from the RAID technique in the following points. That is, RAID divides data and records it on a plurality of hard disks, but its purpose is mainly for data backup (duplication), restoration using the parity of destroyed data, and the like.
[0052]
However, as described above, the main object of the present invention is how to record a large amount of data transmitted from another device over a long period of time on an external recording device, such as a hard disk. The long data received from other devices is divided into blocks in units of the capacity of the buffer memory provided in the block, and the block data is transferred to the external recording device by the bus transfer speed and the data stored in the buffer memory. In consideration of the writing time, etc., the data is sequentially sent to the bus and recorded at a plurality of external recording devices at a high speed.
[0054]
【The invention's effect】
  Claim1According to the invention described in the above, when data blocks are read from a plurality of external recording devices, the original data can be easily obtained.
[0055]
  In addition, the data block can be recorded on an appropriate external recording device.
  Furthermore, it becomes possible to record the divided data blocks on a plurality of external recording devices at high speed.
  Claim2Since the plurality of buses are provided, the divided data blocks can be recorded on a plurality of external recording devices at a high speed.
  Claim3According to the described invention, the flexibility of system design can be ensured, and the divided data blocks can be recorded on a plurality of external recording devices at high speed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 shows the present invention.The first technology related toFIG.
FIG. 2Second technology related toFIG.
FIG. 3 shows the first aspect of the present invention.1It is a block diagram which shows this embodiment.
FIG. 4 shows the first aspect of the present invention.2It is a block diagram which shows embodiment of
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of receiving data from another device through a communication line in the prior art.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Control device
2 memory
3 A / D converter
4,4-1,4-2,20 SCSI controller
5 Control device
10 Bus controller
11, 21 Bus adapter
51 Data division part
52 Data sending part
110 Bus switching control unit
210 Bus switch
211 Address generation circuit
212 Busy check circuit
213 Address number circuit
B1 CPU bus
B2, Ba, Bb, B21, B22, B23 SCSI bus
B11, B12 bus
HDD1, HDD2, HDD10, HDD11, HDD12, HDD20, HDD21, HDD22 Hard disk
BM10, BM11, BM12, BM20, BM21, BM22 Buffer memory
SW switch

Claims (3)

In a data recording system for recording data on a plurality of external recording devices connected in a daisy chain through a bus,
Data dividing means for dividing continuous data into data blocks in units of the capacity of a buffer memory provided in the external recording device , and adding a block number to the divided data blocks ;
Data sending means for sending the divided data blocks to the bus at a time interval matching the data transfer speed of the bus and the recording speed of the plurality of external recording devices ;
It is provided between each bus and a plurality of external recording devices connected in a daisy chain to the bus, and it is determined whether or not the external recording device can record the data block sent from the data sending means. A recording / transmission executing means for receiving and recording the data block if recording is possible and sending the data block to the next external recording device connected in a daisy chain when recording is impossible ; A data recording system comprising: The data recording system according to claim 1, wherein
A data recording system comprising a plurality of the buses. The data recording system according to claim 2, wherein
The data recording system, wherein the plurality of buses include different types of buses.

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