JPH07175601A - Library device and control method for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shorten demount processing time by issuing a move command by raising a pseudo unload completion report corresponding to an unload command from a host device. CONSTITUTION:Concerning mount processing, a storage medium is conveyed from a medium preserving box 10 or an inserting/ejecting device 15 to a recording and reproducing device 34 by a medium conveying device 25 based on a first move instruction received from a host device 20 to an input/output controller 26 and corresponding to the next load instruction, the medium is loaded to the recording and reproducing device 34 and read or written. Concerning the demount processing, after the read or write operation is finished, the storage medium is ejected from the recording and reproducing device 34 based on the unload instruction and conveyed to the medium preserving box 10 or the inserting/ejecting device 15 by the medium conveying device 25 based on the second move instruction. In this case, the end report of the pseudo unload operation is raised to the host vice 20 from the start of the medium ejecting operation to the end of the unload operation, and a first pseudo status reporting means 216 is provided to issue the second move instruction from the host device.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a library device used as a removable storage medium such as a magnetic tape cartridge, and more particularly to a medium stored in a cell selected by a transport robot mechanism and transported to a recording device. The present invention relates to a library device for reading and writing. 2. Description of the Related Art In recent computer systems, as the number of external storage devices such as magnetic tapes and optical discs has increased, there has been a demand for more efficient operation, improved maintainability, and improved reliability. For this reason, there is provided a library device which automatically stores a medium and transports it to a recording / reproducing device by using a robot mechanism.

In the library apparatus, the access request per unit time increases as the number of operating jobs and the number of host computer connections increase. FIG. 20 shows an outline of a conventional library device. The library device 400 is used as an information storage for the host computers 20-1 to 20-4, and has two directors 402 as input / output control units. The director 402 is, for example, A ~
It has four channels D and E to F, and in this case, channels A and B and channels E and F are used.

Inside the library device 400, a cell block 410 is provided as a medium storage for accommodating a medium such as a magnetic tape cartridge.
Two accessors 408 are provided as a medium carrying robot mechanism that travels on a rail 414 along the track. The accessor 408 is controlled by the machine controller 406. An accessor controller 404 is provided above the machine controller 406.

Normally, one of the accessors 408 is operating to execute the transportation control, and the other accessor 408 is not operating. This is because two accessors 408 operate on one rail 414, so they cannot operate at the same time.
This is because one control unit performs centralized management so that they operate separately by the exclusive control method.

A plurality of magnetic tape units (MTUs) are connected to the director 402, the medium carried by the accessor 408 is loaded to perform a read operation or a write operation, and after the completion, the accessor 408 again. Return to cell block 410. In such a library device, how quickly the mounting (mounting) and the removal (demounting) of the magnetic tape cassette to the magnetic tape device 416 can be processed quickly is an important factor.

That is, at the start of the read process or the write process, the designated magnetic tape cassette is transported from the cell block 410 as soon as possible, and the magnetic tape cartridge discharged after the read or write is completed is returned to the original cell as soon as possible. Are required to improve the performance of the library device. The mount and demount processing of the medium in the conventional library device is as follows.

First, in the mounting process, the host OS, which is a library support program provided in the host computer, sets the cell address of the cell block 410 to the source address (From Address) and the logical unit number of the magnetic tape device 416 to be used. Move to address (To Address)
Issue a move command with command data

The director 4 who has received this move command
02 instructs the accessor controller 404 to operate, takes out the magnetic tape cassette from the cell block 410 by the accessor 408, transports it to the designated magnetic tape device 416, and inserts it in the insertion slot. When the device end is obtained at the end of transportation, the host OS issues a load command to transfer the transported magnetic tape cassette to the magnetic tape device 4
Load 16 When the device end for which loading is completed is obtained, the host OS issues a read command or a write command to perform a read operation or a write operation.

When the read operation or the write operation is completed,
The host OS performs demount processing. In the demount process, first, an unload command is issued, and an unload operation for ejecting the magnetic tape cassette from the magnetic tape device 416 that has completed the read or write operation is performed. When the unload command ends at the device end, the host OS issues a move command for returning the magnetic cassette tape to the cell block. That is, a move command having command data in which the machine number of the magnetic tape device that has completed the unloading operation is the source address and the position of the original cell block is the destination address is issued.

When the accessor 408 becomes empty, the accessor controller 404 controls the ejected magnetic tape cartridge based on the command data from the director 402 so that the ejected magnetic tape cartridge is blocked.
Return it to its original position. This completes a series of processes. FIG. 21 is a time chart showing details of the demount process in the conventional library apparatus. In FIG. 20, the host OS, the director 402, and the magnetic tape device 4 are arranged in the horizontal direction.
16, the accessor 408 is shown, and the vertical direction is the time axis, and the states of commands, instructions, and responses between the units are shown.

In FIG. 20, first, the host computer (host OS) 20 specifies the logical unit number of the magnetic tape device and issues an unload command to the director 402. When the director 402 normally receives the unload command, the director 402 returns an initial status 602 of "00" and sets it as a channel end. Further, the director 402 issues an unload instruction 604 to the magnetic tape device 416 of the logical machine number designated based on the unload command 600.

Upon receiving the unload instruction 604, the magnetic tape device 416 first rewinds the cassette of the magnetic tape, performs an eject operation after the rewind is completed, and reports the unload completion 614 to the director 402. The operation time from the start to the end of the unloading is about 10 to 60 seconds. On the other hand, the director 412 is the magnetic tape device 4
When the unload instruction 604 is issued to the control unit 16, the control end, unit end, and unit check statuses are returned as the end status 606 for the unload command 600, and the host computer 20 recognizes the normal end of command issuance.

Subsequently, the host computer 20 performs a sense process during the unload operation. First, sense command 6
08 is issued, and in response thereto, the initial status as the channel end based on the command reception and the sense data of a predetermined number of bytes are returned from the director 402. Next, the final status 612 of the device end is returned, and the state of the library device is recognized. This sense process is performed at a constant timer cycle.

The director 402 which has received the unload completion 614 at the end of the unload operation of the magnetic tape device 416.
Reports the attention status 616 having the logical unit number # 8 assigned to the accessor 408 to the host computer 20. Upon receiving the attention status 616 of # 8, the host computer 20 recognizes the unload operation and issues the move command 618. When the move command 618 is normally received by the director 402, the initial status of "00" is returned to become the channel end, and subsequently, the move source address and the move destination address data 622 are issued as command data.

If the accessor 408 is free at this time, the director 402 gives a move instruction 624 based on the source address and the destination address, and the accessor 408.
The transportation operation of is started. This carrying operation takes about 10 seconds on average, depending on the cell position. Accessor 408
When the operation completion 628 is reported from the director 402 to the director 402, the minimum status 63
A 0 is reported, and the device end indicating the normal end of the move command is obtained.

[0016]

However, the demount process after the completion of the read or write process in such a conventional library device is unloaded from the host.
When a command is issued and the operation is completed, a special attention status is reported to the host, and the move command is issued by the host OS to return the medium to the original cell when triggered by this, and the unload and transport operations are performed. It is a serialized process of sequentially performing.

Therefore, only after the unload operation is completed, the accessor starts the operation toward the position of the magnetic tape device that ejected the magnetic tape cassette. Therefore, there is a problem that at least the processing time of adding the unloading operation time to the transportation time is required until the end of the demounting, and the processing time is excessive. Behind the background of this problem is the huge amount of database storage for users, and to speed up the processing of these data is essential for using library devices. It became the condition of. Further, the improvement of the processing performance of the library device has been more strongly demanded than the user needs with the advent of other competing devices.

In order to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a library apparatus and a control method thereof for improving the processing performance by shortening the processing time required for demounting a medium that has been read or written. I will provide a.

[0019]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the present invention. First, the library device of the present invention includes a recording / reproducing device 34 for reading / writing a removable storage medium, a loading / unloading device 15 for loading / unloading a storage medium, a media storage 10 for storing a plurality of storage media, and a storage medium. Media storage 1
0 and the recording / reproducing device 34 or the medium carrying device 25 for carrying between the medium storage 10 and the loading / unloading device 15. These devices operate according to an instruction from the input / output control device (director) 26 that receives a command from the host device 20.

The input / output control device 26 sequentially receives a first move instruction, a load instruction, a read or write instruction, an unload instruction, and a second move instruction from the host device 20, and performs a series of mount processing and demount processing. First, the mounting process is based on the first move command, and the medium carrying device 2
5, the storage medium is transported from the medium storage 10 or the loading / unloading device 15 to the recording / reproducing device 34, and then the storage medium transported by the load command is loaded into the recording / reproducing device 34, and based on the read or write command. Read or write operation is performed.

The demount process is performed by the recording / reproducing device 34 based on the unload command after the end of the read or write operation.
The storage medium is discharged from the storage medium, and finally the storage medium discharged based on the second move command is transported by the medium transporting device 25 to the medium storage 10 or the loading / unloading device 15. With respect to such a library device, the present invention allows the input / output control device 26 to simulate the host device 20 from the start of the medium discharging operation to the end of the unload operation from the recording / reproducing device 34 based on the unload command. A first pseudo status reporting unit 216 for issuing a second move command by reporting the end of the unload operation is provided.

For example, the first pseudo status reporting means 21
6 issues an unload operation instruction to the recording / reproducing device 34 based on the unload command, and at the same time, issues a pseudo unload operation end report to the upper level device 20 to issue a second move command. When a magnetic tape cartridge is used in the recording / reproducing device 34, the first pseudo-stator reporting means 216 receives the tape rewinding completion report from the recording / reproducing device 34 at the same time as receiving the unload command from the recording / reproducing device 34. Alternatively, the upper level device 20 may be notified of the end of the pseudo unload operation and the second move command may be issued.

In this case, the second move instruction is issued in advance during the unload operation from the higher-level device 20 based on the pseudo unload completion report from the first pseudo status report control means 216. When the received second move command is suspended and the unload operation completion report is received from the recording / reproducing device 34, the medium transport device 25 is instructed to perform the transport operation based on the suspended second move command.

As a modification of the present invention, in addition to the first pseudo status reporting means 216, a second pseudo status reporting means and a machine number conversion means are further provided. The second pseudo status reporting means is in accordance with the pseudo end report of the unload operation by the first pseudo status reporting means 216.
When the second move command is received from 0, a pseudo end report of the transport operation of returning the storage medium ejected from the recording / reproducing device 34 to the original position is issued, and the upper device 20 is commanded based on a new input / output request. To issue.

The machine number converting means is arranged so that the same recording / reproducing device 34 is operated by the host device 20 in response to the end report of the pseudo transportation operation.
When receiving an instruction having a logical machine number # 0 for specifying, the logical machine number # 0 specified by this instruction is converted to, for example, the logical machine number # 1 of another recording / reproducing apparatus 12 in the empty state. Then, the operation according to the instruction is instructed. Here, the machine number conversion means is the first of the same machine number # 0 that accompanies the new input / output request received until the completion of the unloading operation of the recording / reproducing apparatus 12 of the machine number # 0 that has issued the pseudo completion report. About move instructions,
For each of the load instruction, the read or write instruction, the unload instruction, and the second move instruction of the same machine number # 0 following the first move instruction, the operation instruction is given by the conversion from the logical machine number # 0 to # 1. .

[0026]

In the library apparatus of the present invention, the unload operation is instructed to the recording / reproducing apparatus, and at the same time, a pseudo unload operation completion report is issued, and the first unloading operation is performed to restore the medium. A two-move command is issued from the host device to start the transportation operation.

Therefore, at the start point where the medium is ejected upon completion of the unload operation, the medium carrying device has already completed the movement to the position of the recording / reproducing device designated by the movement source address, or
It's coming up close. Therefore, the medium is immediately picked up and transported to the original position upon completion of unloading, and the processing time can be shortened by the amount that the unloading operation and the carrying operation overlap.

Also, the completion of the pseudo transport operation is reported to the second move command issued along with the pseudo completion report during the unload operation, and the same with the new I / O request. Issue a command to the recording / playback device of the machine number. When a new move command is issued that specifies the logical unit number of the recording / playback device that is being unloaded, this move command is normally received without ending with a busy response from the recording / playback device, and the logical device number is set to an empty device. By changing to the logical machine number and instructing the instruction operation, the input / output request of the host device can be efficiently processed.

[0029]

【Example】

<Contents> 1. System configuration and mechanism structure 2. Library device hardware and functions 3. 3. First embodiment of the present invention 2. Second embodiment of the present invention Third embodiment of the present invention 1. System Configuration and Mechanism Structure FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the library device of the present invention. The library device is divided into a plurality of frames, and the device can be configured by combining these frames.

The library device is provided with a cell block 10 as a medium storage. The cell block 10 houses a large number of medium cartridges containing recording media such as magnetic tapes, magnetic disks, and optical disks. In the following embodiments, the case where a magnetic tape cartridge is used as a recording medium will be taken as an example.

Further, rails 14 are laid across the left and right sides of the frame in the library device, and accessors 12-1 and 12- that operate as medium carrying robots are installed on the rails 14.
2 is movably provided. On the opposite side of the cell block 10 with the rail 14 sandwiched, a deck unit 16-
1, 16-2 and control unit 18-1, 1
8-2 is installed.

A plurality of magnetic tape devices are provided on the deck units 16-1 and 16-2, and accessors 12-1 and
From 12-2, the cartridge carried from the cell block 10 is loaded to read / write data. Furthermore,
A medium input / output port 15 is provided on the front of the frame of the library device.
Is provided for loading and unloading the cartridge.

FIG. 3 shows the accessor of FIG. 2 taken out. Accessors 12-1 and 12-2 are two rails 14
It is possible to travel on the above by driving a traveling motor 44 provided in the traveling unit 40. A column 42 is erected on the traveling unit 40, a lift unit 46 that can move up and down along the column 42 is provided, and a robot hand 48 is mounted on the lift unit 46. The details of the robot hand 48 are shown in FIGS.
Shown in.

The lift portion 46 carrying the robot hand is moved up and down along the support column 42 by the rotation of the screw shaft 50. Further, the lift portion 46 is provided with a turning pulley 56, and the rotation of the turning motor 52 is transmitted by the wire belt 54 to rotate the robot hand 48 horizontally. At the turning portion of the robot hand 48, a medium holding portion 62 having a fixing plate 64 that is visible with the upper lid of FIG. 5 removed is provided.

The medium holding portion 62 can be horizontally moved from the position shown in FIG. 4 to the front position shown in FIG. 5 by driving the wire belt 60 by the slide motor 58. In this manner, with the medium holding portion 62 being fed out in the horizontal direction, the cartridge housed in the cell block or the like can be sandwiched between the fixed plate 64 and the lower movable plate (not shown). 2. Hardware and Function of Library Device FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the system configuration of the library device of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the library device 2 of the present invention is shown.
In contrast to this, in this embodiment, 4 is set as the upper device.
The host computers 20-1 to 20-4 are provided. Each of the host computers 20-1 to 20-4 is connected to the library device 24 by channel interface buses 22-1 to 22-4. For example, block multiplexer channel interfaces (BMC interfaces) are used as the channel interface buses 22-1 to 22-4.

In the library device 24, for example, four directors 26-1 to 26-4 are installed as input / output control devices. The directors 26-1 to 26-4 have eight channels A to H, respectively. In addition, director 2
The number of channels 6-1 to 26-4 can be set to 6 in the maximum configuration. The channel interface bus 22-1 from the host computer 20-1 is connected to the channels A of the directors 26-1 and 26-3, and the channel A from the host computer 20-2 is connected to the channel B.
The interface bus 22-2 is connected.

A channel interface bus 22-3 from the host computer 20-3 is connected to the channel E of the directors 26-2 and 26-4, and the channel F is connected to the channel F.
A channel interface bus 22-4 from the host computer 20-4 is connected to the. The channels C and D of the directors 26-1 and 26-3 and the channels G and H of the directors 26-2 and 26-4 are not used in this embodiment.

Two channels a and b are provided on the terminal side of the directors 26-1 to 26-4. Channel a is for the recording / reproducing apparatus, and channel b is for controlling the accessor. The directors 26-1 and 26-2 share the six magnetic tape devices 34-1 to 34-6 provided on the left side,
Device interface bus 36 from channel a
-1, 36-2 are connected.

Therefore, the directors 26-1 and 26-2 have recording / reproducing devices 34-1 to 34-34 on the left side of the channel a.
A write access or a read access can be executed for the data. These six magnetic tape units 34-1
To 34-6 to host computers 20-1 to 20-6
The -4 side assigns logical machine numbers # 0 to # 5 in advance, and specifies the logical machine number when issuing a command.

The directors 26-3 and 26-4 share the same six magnetic tape devices 34-7 to 34-12 shown on the right side, and the device interface from the channel a.
The buses 36-3 and 36-4 are connected. Therefore, the directors 26-3 and 26-4 have the right side recording / reproducing device 34-.
A write access or a read access is executed for 1 to 34-12. This right magnetic tape device 34-7
Similarly, the logical machine numbers # 0 to # 5 are pre-assigned to .about.34-12.

In an actual device, a maximum of eight magnetic tape devices can be mounted on each side, and the logical machine number is # 0.
~ # 7 are assigned respectively. Directors 26-1, 2
A medium carrying mechanism 25-1 is provided under 6-2, and a medium carrying mechanism 25-2 is also provided under directors 26-3 and 26-4. Here, the medium carrying mechanism 25-1
Is always used, and the medium carrying mechanism 25-2 is used as a spare.

To explain the medium transport mechanism 25-1 which is commonly used, the device interface bus 38-2 drawn from the directors 26-1 and 26-2 is connected to the channel a of the accessor controller 28. Similarly, the device interface bus 38-2 drawn from the directors 6-3 and 26-4 is connected to the channel b of the accessor controller 30 on the spare side.

Channels a and b of accessor controllers 28 and 30 are connected together. Therefore, the accessor controllers 28 and 30 are connected to the directors 26-1 to 26-1.
26-4 receives an instruction from any one of them and executes a transportation process. Machine controllers 32-1 and 32-2 for controlling the accessors 12-1 and 12-2 are provided under the accessor controllers 28 and 30, respectively. The accessor controllers 28 and 30 and the machine controllers 32-1 and 32-2 are cross-connected.

In the following description, the medium carrying mechanism 25-1 which is normally used will be explained, and the medium carrying mechanism 25 which serves as a spare.
-2 is omitted. Each of the host computers 20-1 to 20-4, which are provided as host devices of the library device 24, receives a logical machine number address (hereinafter, simply “machine No. address ") #i is designated to carry the magnetic tape cartridge and carry out read and write operations.

Here, the magnetic tape devices 34-1 to 34-
6 and 34-7 to 34-12 are assigned machine number addresses # 0 to # 5, and up to eight units can be mounted on one side. Therefore, the machine number addresses # 0 to # 7 can be used in the magnetic tape device. used. On the other hand, the medium transport mechanism 25-
For 1, the machine number address # 8 is set. Specifically, the machine number address # 8 is assigned to the accessor controller 28.

Further, a cell address is defined in advance in the place where the magnetic tape cartridge exists in the library device 24. FIG. 7 shows the cell address assigned to the library device, and the accessor hand, the loading / unloading port 15, the cell block 10 and the magnetic tape devices 34-1 to 34-12 each have a cell shown in hexadecimal notation. The address is assigned in advance. 3. Command Issuing Function of Host Computer FIG. 8 shows the input / output command processing function for the library device on the host computer side shown in FIG. When an arbitrary job 66 is executed by the host computer 20, the job 66 starts a job control program 70 of an operating system (hereinafter referred to as “OS”).

When an input / output request is issued to the library device 24 in this state, a read command or a write command is created by the data management program 72, and a library support / operation that operates as an OS for the library device via the data conversion program 74. Access program 76. Data conversion program 7
In No. 6, since the initial library device was constructed on the premise of operator's operation, it is converted into a data format for displaying data on the CRT display provided on the console panel 80.
The program 76 can be accepted as it is.

The request command to the library support program 76 from the OS 68 specifies at least the medium number such as the read or write command type volume number and the sector address data block length.

A control disk device 78 is provided for the library support program 76 and stores a control data set. The library support program 76 reads the control data set from the control disk device 78, generates the medium transportation information corresponding to the input / output request from the OS 68, and the command necessary for the library device 24 through the input / output subsystem processing unit 82. To issue.

The normal processing from the host computer 20 to the library device 24 is divided into mount processing and demount processing. Mount process is cell block 10
Is a process for carrying out a read or write operation after the magnetic tape cartridge in FIG. The demounting process is a process in which the magnetic tape cartridge is unloaded from the magnetic tape device after the read operation or the write operation is completed, and the unloaded magnetic tape cartridge is transported to the original cell block.

To execute the mount process, the host computer 20 moves the magnetic tape cartridge from the cell block to the magnetic tape device (first move command).
Move command), loading command, and read command or write command are sequentially issued. Further, in the demount process, the host computer 20 sequentially issues an unload command and a move command (second move command) for returning the medium to the original position of the cell block.

When issuing each command in such mount processing and demount processing, the machine number address #i of the magnetic tape devices 34-1 to 34-12 (however,
i = 0 to 7) is designated. A machine number address # 8 is designated for the medium transportation command. The library device 24 in FIG. 8 shows the execution state of the command specifying the machine number address # 0 of the magnetic tape device 34-4. That is, the library support program 76 of the host computer 20 first issues a move command specifying the machine number address # 8.

With respect to this move command, the cell address of the cell block in which the magnetic tape cartridge to be input / output in the cell block is stored is set as the source address, and the magnetic tape cartridge is mounted, for example, the magnetic tape device 34- Source / destination address data is issued with the cell address of 1 as the destination cell address.

The accessor controller 28 moves the accessor 12-1 to the position of the cell block designated by the move source address issued in accordance with the move command, picks up the magnetic tape cartridge, and is designated by the move destination address. The magnetic tape cartridge is transported to the tape insertion port of the magnetic tape device 34-1 and the magnetic tape cartridge is inserted. When the transportation operation by the accessor 12-1 is completed, the host computer 20 issues a loading command specifying the machine number address # 0, receives the load instruction from the director 26-1, and is transported by the magnetic tape device 34-1. Loading of the magnetic tape cartridge is performed.

When the magnetic tape cartridge is loaded, the library support program 76 issues a read command or a write command, and the director 26
According to the read instruction or the write instruction from -1, data is read from and written to the magnetic tape cartridge in the magnetic tape device 34-1. When the read operation or the write operation ends, the unload command is sent from the library support program 76 as the machine number address # 0.
Is issued by the designation. Therefore, the director 26-1 uses the magnetic tape device 34-1 designated by the machine number address # 0.
To unload.

Magnetic tape device 3 that received an unload instruction
4-1 first performs rewinding of the tape of the magnetic tape cartridge, and when the rewinding is completed, an eject operation of ejecting the tape is performed. In the library device 24 of the present invention, upon receipt of the unload command from the host computer 20, the magnetic tape device 34-1 is instructed to unload, and at the same time, the pseudo unload operation for the host computer 20 ends. Is reported, specifically, the attention status indicating the machine number address # 8 to the accessor controller 28 is reported.

That is, a pseudo unload completion report is made before the unload operation is completed on the library device 24 side, and in response to this, the library support program 76 of the host computer 20 recognizes the completion of the unload operation. Then, a move command for returning the ejected magnetic tape cartridge to the cell block is issued. The move command issued during the unload operation of the magnetic tape device 34-1 is held by the director 26-1.

When the actual unload completion report is received from the magnetic tape device 34-1, the accessor controller 2
8 to cause the accessor 12-1 to start a carrying operation of supplying command data to the cell block 10 and returning the command data to the cell block 10. 3. First Embodiment of the Present Invention FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of a director 26-1 represented by the library device 24 of FIG.

In FIG. 9, the director 26-1 has M
The PU unit 90 is provided. The MPU unit 90 is provided with a host processing unit 92, an MTU processing unit 94, and an accessor processing unit 96 which are realized by program control.
The director 26-1 includes a host interface circuit section 98, a data transfer circuit section 100, and a buffer circuit section 10.
2, a read / write circuit unit 104, an MTU interface circuit unit 106, and an accessor interface circuit unit 108 are provided and are connected by a data bus shown by a solid line.

The MPU 90 is connected to the MPU 90 by a control bus 110 indicated by a broken line, and each circuit unit operates under the control of the MPU 90. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing details of the host processing unit 92 provided in the MPU unit 90 of FIG. In FIG. 10, the host processing unit 92 is the overall control unit 2.
00, start acceptance processing unit 202, command acquisition unit 204, selected I / O availability check unit 206, initial status processing unit 208, final status processing unit 210,
Idle processing unit 212 and status interrupt processing unit 2
It is composed of 14.

The activation acceptance processing section 202 accepts an activation request from the host computer 20 and activates the processing after the command fetching section 204. The command capturing unit 204 captures and decodes the command issued from the host computer. Selectable I / O availability check unit 2
Reference numeral 06 indicates whether or not the input / output device specified by the machine number address #i specified by the command analyzed by the command fetching unit 204, specifically, the magnetic tape device and the accessor controller are available. If it is in the usable state, the process is passed to the initial status processing unit 208.

The initial status processing unit 208 reports to the host computer 20 that the command has been normally received because there is an available input / output device. If the selected I / O availability check unit 206 cannot use the input / output device designated by the machine number address, it returns a busy response to the host computer. After returning the busy response,
When the corresponding input / output device returns to the usable state, a busy cancellation response is issued to the host computer to prompt the issuance of another command.

When the initial status processing unit 208 reports the normal receipt of the command to the host computer, the MTU
The processing is handed over to the processing unit 94 or the accessor processing unit 96. That is, in the case of load command, read command, write command and unload command, MT
The processing is handed over to the U processing unit 94. On the other hand, in the case of the move command, the processing is handed over to the accessor processing unit 96.

When the processing is delivered to the accessor processing unit 96, the address data of the source address and the destination address obtained as command data is delivered. MTU processing unit 94 and accessor processing unit 96
Executes instructions based on the respective commands to the magnetic tape device and the accessor controller.

When the operation instruction to the magnetic tape device by the MTU processing unit 94 or the operation instruction to the accessor controller by the accessor processing unit 96 is completed, the process is handed over to the final status processing unit 210. The final status processing unit 210 sends the device end to the host computer 20 when the instruction operation to the input / output device ends normally.
Report the final status for recognition in.

When the status report to the host computer by the final status processing section 210 is completed, a series of commands become the device end, and the processing is handed over to the idle processing section 212. Idle processing unit 212
In this case, the process is exited by either the activation request from the host computer or the interrupt request from the input / output device side, and the process is handed over to the activation acceptance processing unit 202 or the status interrupt processing unit 214.

The status interrupt processing unit 214 issues an operation instruction to the magnetic tape device by the MTU processing unit 94 or an operation instruction to the accessor controller side by the accessor processing unit 96, and separates them, and then the magnetic tape device or the accessor controller side. It receives the obtained operation end report as an interrupt activation request and operates to issue a necessary status report to the host computer 20.

The status interrupt processing section 214 includes
First pseudo status reporting unit 2 according to the first embodiment of the present invention
16 is newly provided. First pseudo status report section 2
Reference numeral 16 denotes a status report indicating a pseudo unload completion to the host computer without waiting for an actual unload completion report when the MTU processing unit 94 issues an unload instruction based on the unload command from the host computer. To execute.

The status indicating the pseudo unload completion by the first pseudo status reporting unit 216 is as follows.
Attention status specifying the machine number address # 8 of the accessor controller 28 is used. The host computer 20, which has received the pseudo unload operation completion attention status report from the first pseudo status reporting unit 216, determines that the unload operation has already been completed, and loads the magnetic tape cartridge that has been unloaded into a cell. It will issue a move command to return to the position below the block.

Therefore, in the library apparatus of the present invention having the first pseudo status reporting section 216 shown in FIG. 10, the magnetic tape apparatus during the unload operation is used as the source address during the unload operation. The carrying operation by the move command will be started in parallel. FIG. 11 is a time chart showing details of the demount process in the library apparatus of the present invention when the director 26-1 includes the host processing unit 92 shown in FIG. Note that the demount process of FIG. 11 shows a case where the magnetic tape device 34-1 having the machine number address # 0 completes the read or write operation and performs the demount process.

In FIG. 11, the library support program 76 (hereinafter referred to as "host OS") issues an unload command 300 specifying the machine number address # 0 of the magnetic tape device 34-1 to the director 26-1. When the unload command 300 is normally received by the director 26-1, the initial status 302 of "00" is reported, and the channel end is reached. The director 26-1 receiving the unload command 300 receives the machine number address #
An unload instruction 304 is issued to the magnetic tape device 34 designated by 0, whereby the magnetic tape device 34-1 starts the unload operation.

The unload operation is an operation in which the magnetic tape is first rewound and the cartridge is ejected when the rewinding is completed. At the same time as the unload instruction 304 to the magnetic tape device 34-1, the director 26-1 reports the control end, unit end and unit check as the end status 306 to the host OS 76.

Simultaneously with the unload instruction 304, the attention status 308 designating the machine number address # 8 of the accessor controller 28 is pseudo-issued and the completion of the unload operation is pseudo-reported to the host OS 76. The host OS 76 that has received the attention status 308 of # 8 can recognize the completion of unloading of the magnetic tape device 34-1.

Subsequently, a process of issuing a sense command is performed. In the process of issuing the sense command, the host OS 76 first issues the sense command 310 and reports the initial status of "00" and the sense data 312 of a predetermined byte from the director 26-1 as a command normal reception.
When this is done, the final status 3 for the device end
Report 14.

This sense processing is performed at regular intervals in the command issuing idle time. Then host O
As a result of recognizing the pseudo unload completion report based on the report of the attention status 308 of # 8 from the director 26-1 from S76, an accessor for returning the unloaded magnetic tape cartridge to the original position of the cell block. A move command 316 designating the machine number address # 8 of the controller 28 is issued.

At this time, if the accessor 12-1 controlled by the accessor controller 28 is in an empty state, the channel end initial status 318 indicating the normal reception of the command is returned. In response to this initial status 318, the host OS 76 moves the source / destination address data 320.
Is issued to the director 26-1. Director 26-1
Is a move instruction 322 to the accessor controller 28 based on the move source address and the move destination address as the command data issued along with the move command 316.
I do.

By this move instruction 322, the accessor
The controller 28 sets the accessor 12-1 to the magnetic tape device 3 in the unloading operation designated by the source address.
The carrying operation of moving to the cartridge discharge position of 4-1 is started. At this time, the unloading operation of the magnetic tape device 34-1 and the transporting operation of the accessor 12-1 by the accessor controller 28 are simultaneously performed in parallel.

When the magnetic tape device 34-1 completes the tape rewinding and ejects the magnetic tape cartridge, the director 26-1 is notified of the completion of unloading 326. At this time, the accessor 12-1 is the magnetic tape device 34.
If the robot hand has moved before -1 and is waiting for the medium to be taken out by the robot hand, the accessor controller 28 is notified of the unload completion 326 via the director 26-1.

Therefore, the robot hand of the accessor 12-1 picks up the magnetic tape cartridge, and after picking up, the magnetic tape cartridge is transported and returned to the position of the cell block designated by the destination address. This accessor controller 28
When the transportation operation of the accessor 12-1 by the above is completed, the operation completion 328 is reported to the director 26-1.
In response to this, the director 26-1 reports the final status 330 of the device end for normally ending the move command 316 to the host OS 76, and ends a series of demount processing.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a series of processing operations for mounting and demounting the library device in the library support program of the host computer 20 shown in FIG. In FIG. 12, first, in step S1, the input / output request from the host OS is checked, and if there is no input / output request, it is in the idle processing of step S13. Top OS
When the input / output request is further received, the process proceeds to step S2, and the load command process is first executed.

That is, a move command is issued to the library device with the cell address of the medium to be input / output obtained from the control data set as the movement source and the cell address of the specific magnetic tape device as the movement destination. In response to a move command process based on such a move command, when a status report indicating device end is obtained from the library device side in step S3, the process proceeds to the read / write command process in step S4.

For this read / write command processing,
When the device end is made in step S5 by the status report indicating the normal end from the library device side, the process proceeds to step S6, and an unload command designating the machine number address of the magnetic tape device that has been read or written is issued. Step S7 for issuing the unload command
When it is determined that the initial status indicating the normal command reception is received from the library device, the process proceeds to step S8, and the end status is received.

When the end status is normally received, the process proceeds to step S9, and the reception of the attention status designating the machine number address # 8, which is a pseudo completion report of the unload operation, is awaited. When this attention status is received, the sense command issuance processing is performed in step S10, and then the cell address of the magnetic tape device for which the unload operation has been completed is set as the movement source address and the original storage position of the cell block in step S11. Move command processing is performed by issuing a move command with the move destination address.

In response to this move command processing, if the device end is obtained from the library device in step S12, the move command is normally terminated, and step S1 is executed again.
Return to. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the overall processing operation of the director 26-1 provided in the library apparatus of the present invention shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

In FIG. 13, when the library device is activated, first, initialization processing is performed in step S0, and command reception from the host computer is checked in step S1. If no command is received, the idle process of step S2 is repeated. When the command is received in step S1, it is checked in step S3 whether or not it is a load command. If the command is a load command, in step S4, a loading process for loading the magnetic tape cartridge into the magnetic tape device designated by the machine number address is performed.

If the command received in step S5 is an unload command, the unload process in step S6 is performed. In step S7, if the received command is a move command, the process proceeds to step S8, and the medium transportation process by the accessor is performed. If the received command is a read command or a write command, a step S9 proceeds to a step S10 to perform a read / write process.

Further, if the command received in step S11 is a sense command, sense processing is performed in step S12. Furthermore, if the received command is any other command, processing corresponding to that command is performed. FIG. 14 shows the unload process shown in step S6 of FIG. In FIG. 14, in the unload process, first, in step S1, the magnetic tape device of the machine number address designated by the unload command is instructed to rewind the tape.
Then, in step S2, the attention status of the machine number address # 8 of the accessor controller is returned to the OS of the host computer, and the completion of the pseudo unload operation is reported.

Subsequently, in step S3, it is checked whether or not the tape rewinding is completed. When the tape rewinding is completed, an instruction to eject the magnetic tape cassette is issued in step S4.
When the ejection completion is determined in step S5, the process proceeds to step S6, and it is checked whether the move command corresponding to the attention status issued by the host OS in step S2 has been received.

If the move command has been received, the process advances to step S7 to instruct the accessor controller to execute the received move command. Then, in step S8, the transportation end report from the accessor controller side is monitored, and when the transportation end report is received, step S
The termination process is performed at 9, and the process returns to the main routine of FIG.

Incidentally, steps S3, S5 and S6 of FIG.
The process of waiting for the report of S8 and S8 is actually performed by the interrupt process of the status interrupt processing unit 214 shown in FIG. 10, and during this period, the director is placed in the idle state. The attention status report for reporting the pseudo completion of the unload operation shown in step S2 is performed by the first pseudo status reporting unit 216 provided in the status interrupt processing unit 214 of FIG. 4. Second Embodiment of the Present Invention FIG. 15 is a time chart showing a second embodiment of the demount process in the library apparatus of the present invention.

In the first embodiment shown in the time chart of FIG. 11, the director 26-1 issues the unload instruction 304 to the magnetic tape device 34-1 based on the unload command 300, and at the same time, the unload command is issued. The attention status 308 indicating the pseudo completion of the load operation is returned to the host OS 76. On the other hand, in the second embodiment of FIG. 15, based on the unload command 400 from the host OS 76, the director 26-1 issues the unload instruction 404 to the magnetic tape device 34-1 to start the unload operation. When the tape rewinding which is started at the beginning of the unloading operation is completed and the tape rewinding completion 414 is reported to the director 26-1, the machine number address # 8 of the accessor controller 28 is triggered by this. The attention status 416 is returned to the host OS 76.

The procedure is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 11 except that the pseudo unload completion report of the magnetic tape device 34-1 is sent when the tape rewind is completed. This second
Also in the embodiment, the completion of the pseudo unload operation is reported to the host OS at the time when the tape rewinding is completed during the unload operation of the magnetic tape device, and the move operation is performed during the eject operation of the next magnetic tape cassette. Since the command is issued and the accessor can be moved to the magnetic tape device during the unloading operation, it is possible to shorten the medium transporting operation time after the unloading is actually completed.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart showing details of the unload process in the third embodiment of FIG. Figure 1
In the third embodiment of No. 6, when the tape rewind completion in step S2 is determined and the process proceeds to step S3, the attention status of the machine number address # 8 is reported to the host OS as a pseudo unload operation completion report. Fig. 14
This is different from the flowchart of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
The other processes are the same as those in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 5. Third Embodiment of the Present Invention FIG. 17 shows details of the MPU section of FIG. 9 in a third embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment of FIG. 19, in addition to the status interrupt processing unit 214 of the host processing unit 92, a second pseudo status reporting unit 218 is newly provided.

Further, the selection I / O availability check unit 206
And the initial status processing unit 208 between the machine number conversion processing unit 2
20 is newly provided. The other points are the first in FIG.
The same as the embodiment. Second pseudo status reporting unit 218
Reports the end status of the device end in a pseudo manner to the move command issued from the host OS based on the # 8 attention status (pseudo report of unload completion) by the first pseudo status reporting unit 216.

The address data of the received move command is held in the accessor processing section 96, and the actual move instruction is given upon receipt of the unload completion report from the magnetic tape device. When the second pseudo status reporting unit 218 reports a pseudo end status to the moom command, the host OS issues a command associated with the next I / O request to the magnetic tape device currently being unloaded. Become.

In the third embodiment, a new input / output request command designating the magnetic tape device being unloaded from the host OS can be directly received and processed. When the host processing unit 92 receives a command issued from the host OS by designating the machine number address of the magnetic tape device currently being unloaded, the selected I / O availability check unit 206 is currently in an empty state. , A machine number conversion processing unit 220 converts the machine number address specified by the command into a machine number address of another magnetic tape apparatus in the empty state, and issues a new I / O request command. To process.

FIG. 18 is a time chart showing the processing operation of the third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 18, first, the host OS 76 issues an unload command 50 designating the machine number address # 0 of the magnetic tape device 34-1, thereby issuing an unload instruction 504 to the magnetic tape device 34-1 and unloading. The operation is started. In response to this unload instruction 504, the director 26-1 reports the attention status 514 of the machine number address # 8 of the accessor controller 28 to the host OS 76, and simulates that the unload operation of the magnetic tape device 34-1 is completed. Report.

Upon receiving the attention status 514 of # 8, the host OS 76 issues a move command 516 designating the machine number address # 0 of the magnetic tape device 34-1, and following the initial status 518 of the channel end, the move source / The destination address data 520 is issued. The source / destination address data 520 associated with this move command 516 is reserved in the director 26-1 as indicated by 522.

Further, the director 26-1 issues a channel end secondary status 524 and a device end final status 526 indicating that the move command 516 for returning the medium to the cell block is pseudo normally completed. Upon receiving the secondary status 524 and the final status 526, the host OS 76 makes the magnetic tape device 34
It is determined that the move command 516 for -1 has been normally completed.

However, in the magnetic tape device 34-1, the unloading operation is actually in progress, and the unloading is not completed and the medium carrying operation is not completed. Subsequently, the host OS 76 is the magnetic tape device 3
Since it was recognized in the pseudo report in 4-1 that the unloading operation and the medium carrying operation were completed, the machine number address of the magnetic tape device 34-1 for the mount processing based on the next new I / O request. A move command 528 specifying # 0 is issued.

In response to this move command 528, the director 26-1 sets the channel end initial status 530.
Then, the host OS 76 normally receives the data, and then the host OS 76 sends the source / destination address data 532 for mounting the new I / O request. Because of the move operation based on this new input / output request, the director 26-1 refers to the management table indicating the states of the plurality of magnetic tape devices, and the magnetic tape device in the empty state, for example, the magnetic tape device 34-2.
Select.

The machine number address # 0 designated by the move command 528 is converted into the machine number address # 1 of the selected free magnetic tape device 34-2, and the move instruction 534 is changed to another free magnetic tape device. The accessor controller 28 is instructed to use 34-2 as the destination address. Therefore, in the move command from the host OS 76, the moving destination is the magnetic tape device 34-1, but in the actual carrying operation, the carrying operation is performed with the moving destination being the magnetic tape device 34-2.

Magnetic tape device 34 with machine number address # 1-
When the operation completion 536 is reported to the director 26-1 due to the completion of the transportation of the magnetic tape cartridge for 2, the final status 538 of the device end is reported to the host OS 76, and the normal end of the move command 528 of the machine number address # 0 is recognized. To do. When the host OS 76 recognizes the final status 538 of the device end, it recognizes the end of the mount processing in the new input / output request, and then issues the read / write command 540 designating the machine number address # 0.

Upon receiving this read / write command 540, the director 26-1 converts the machine number address # 0 designated by the command into # 1 and issues a read / write instruction 542 to the magnetic tape device 34-2. The read operation or the write operation is performed by another magnetic tape device 34-2 different from the magnetic tape device 34-1 recognized by the host OS 76.

When the operation of the magnetic tape device 34-2 is completed and the read / write completion 544 is reported, the director 26-1 sends the final status 546 of the device end to the host OS 76, and the read / write command is normally completed. Recognize. At this time point, when the unload operation of the magnetic tape device 34-1 is completed and the unload completion 548 is reported to the director 26-1, the director 26-1 is assigned the device number for the subsequent new I / O request. A conversion cancel operation 550 for canceling the conversion process is performed.

The conversion operation from the machine number address # 0 to # 1 which is currently being performed is valid until the unload command and the move command for the remaining demount processing are completed. Subsequently, the move instruction 552 is issued to the accessor controller 28 based on the move source / destination address data 520 accompanying the move command 516 held in the move instruction holding operation 522 for the machine address # 0 of the director 26-1. The carrying operation for carrying the magnetic tape cartridge to the original position of the cell block is performed from the magnetic tape device 34-1 which has completed the unloading operation.

When the carrying operation is completed and the operation completion 554 is reported to the director 26-1, at this point, the series of demount processing started from the unload command 500 of the address machine number # 0 ends. Become. FIG. 19 is a director 26-1 in the third embodiment shown in FIG.
5 is a flowchart showing details of the unload process of FIG.

In FIG. 19, a tape rewinding instruction is issued to the magnetic tape device having the machine number address #i designated by the unload command received in step S1, and triggered by this instruction to the host OS in step S2. The attention status of No. 8 is simulated and used as a completion report of the pseudo unload operation. Then in step S3,
Whether or not the move command for the machine number address #i has been received is checked. If the move command has been received, a holding operation for holding the move instruction based on the move command is performed in step S4.

Subsequently, in step S5, the device end of the machine number address #i is notified to the host OS in a pseudo manner, and thereby it is pseudoly reported that the series of demounting processes have been completed. Therefore, the host OS receives the pseudo report of the device end in step S5 and proceeds to the next new input / output request, and issues the move command for the mount process specifying the same machine number address #i.

At step S6, when a move command designating the same machine number address #i as the magnetic tape device currently being unloaded is received, at step S7 empty magnetic tape units other than the designated machine number address #i are received. For example, the magnetic tape device having the machine number address #j is selected. Then, in step S8, load processing is performed in which the machine number address #i designated by the move command is converted into the machine number address #j of the selected free magnetic tape device.

When the loading process of step S8 is completed, in step S9, the receipt of the read command or the write command designating the machine number address #i is converted into the machine number address #j selected in step S7. Performs reader / write processing. Then, in step S10, the completion of unloading of the magnetic tape device of the machine number address #i which is currently being unloaded is checked.

When the end of unloading is recognized, step S
At 11, the conversion function of the machine number address #i to the machine number address #j given by each command of the mount process and the demount process accompanying the subsequent new input / output request is reset. Of course, regarding the unload command and the move command in the remaining demount processing of the I / O request which is being executed, which is already in the read processing or the write processing, the machine number address #i to the machine number address #j
The conversion function to is valid as it is and processing is continued.

Then, in step S12, the mover operation is instructed to the accessor side in response to the completion of the unload operation of the machine number address #i currently held, which was held in step S4, and the unloading is completed. Machine address # 1
The medium is picked up from the magnetic tape device and moved to the original position of the cell block for carrying operation. When the end of the carrying operation is recognized in step S3, the process proceeds to step S4, necessary end processing is performed, and the process returns to the main routine shown in FIG.

In the third embodiment, the library device promptly accepts the input / output request from the host computer by issuing a pseudo completion report for both the unload command and the move command in the demount process. Therefore, the processing efficiency of the input / output request to the library device can be improved. In the above embodiment, the magnetic tape cartridge is used as the recording medium. However, when the optical disk device is used as the input / output device, the optical disk cartridge may be used as the storage medium. It can be applied to a library device using an appropriate recording medium that is detachable.

Of course, the present invention is not limited by the numerical values shown in the above embodiments.

[0117]

As described above, according to the present invention, in response to an unload command from a host device, a pseudo unload completion report is issued from the time the unload operation is instructed until the operation is completed. By raising it, a move command for media transportation after unloading is completed is issued, and as a result, the unloading operation and the media transportation operation can be performed in parallel, and the recording / recording medium is converted into a cell block from the playback / recording device. It is possible to shorten the processing time of the demount processing for returning. Specifically, it has been confirmed that the time is shortened by about 5 seconds as compared with the conventional device.

At the same time as giving a pseudo completion report to the unload command, it also gives a pseudo completion report to the next move command, from the pseudo unload to medium return transportation completion to the host computer side. It is possible to start the mount processing associated with a new input / output request to the same recording / reproducing device by pretending that all the demount processing has been completed. Therefore, it is possible to improve the efficiency of accepting the input / output request to the host device of the library device,
The processing performance can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of the device configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the accessor of FIG. 2 taken out and shown.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing details of the robot hand of FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the details of the robot hand with the upper lid of FIG. 4 removed.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of cell addresses assigned to the library device.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing functions of a host computer of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing details of the director of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram showing details of the MPU section in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a time chart showing a demount processing operation according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

12 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the library support program of FIG.

13 is a flowchart showing the main routine of the director shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of the first embodiment of the unload process of FIG.

FIG. 15 is a time chart showing a demount processing operation according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a second embodiment of the demount processing of FIG. 15 as a subroutine.

FIG. 17 is a functional block diagram showing details of the MPU section of FIG. 9 in the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a time chart showing a demount processing operation according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a third embodiment of the demount processing of FIG. 18 as a subroutine.

FIG. 20 is a schematic explanatory view of a conventional device.

FIG. 21 is a time chart showing the demount processing operation of the conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: Cell block (medium storage) 12, 12-1, 12-2: Accessor (medium carrying mechanism) 14: Rail 15: Medium loading / unloading port 16-1, 16-2: Deck unit 18-1, 18- 2: Control unit 20-1 to 20-4: Host computer (upper device) 22-1 to 22-4: Channel interface bus 24: Library device 26, 26-1 to 26-4: Director (input / output control device ) 28: Accessor controller 30: Accessor controller (spare) 32-1, 32-2: Machine controller 34: Recording / reproducing device 34-1 to 34-12: Magnetic tape unit (MTU) 36-1, 36- 2, 38-1, 38-2: device
Interface bus 40: Traveling unit 42: Struts 44: Traveling motor 46: Lifting unit 48: Robot hand 50: Screw shaft 52: Turning motor 54, 60: Pulley belt 56: Pulley 58: Motor 62: Medium holding unit 64 : Fixed plate 66: Job 68: OS 70: Job control program 72: Data management program 74: Data conversion program 76: Library support program 78: Control disk unit 80: Console panel 82: Input / output subsystem processing unit 90: MPU unit 92: Host processing unit 94: MTU processing unit 96: Accessor processing unit 98: Host interface circuit unit 100: Data transfer circuit unit 102: Buffer circuit unit 104: Read / write circuit unit 106: MTU interface Interface circuit unit 108: accessor interface circuit unit 110: control bus 200: overall control unit 202: activation acceptance processing unit 204: command acquisition unit 206: selected I / O availability check unit 208: initial status processing unit 210: final status Processing unit 212: Idle processing unit 214: Status interrupt processing unit 216: First pseudo status reporting unit 218: Second pseudo status reporting unit 220: Machine number conversion processing unit

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A recording / reproducing device (34) for reading and writing a removable storage medium, and a loading / unloading device (15) for loading and unloading the storage medium.
A medium storage (10) for storing a plurality of the storage media, a storage (10) for the storage media, and a recording / reproducing apparatus (3).
4) or the medium transport device (25) that transports between the medium storage (10) and the loading / unloading device (15), and the first move command, load command, read or write command, and the command from the host device (20). A load command and a second move command are sequentially received, and the recording medium is transferred from the medium storage (10) or the loading / unloading device (15) to the recording / reproducing device by a medium carrying device (25) based on the first move command. (34) and then the storage medium carried by the load command is loaded into the recording / reproducing device (34) to perform a read or write operation based on the read or write command. After the operation is completed, the storage medium is ejected from the recording / reproducing device (34) based on the unload command, and finally the memory ejected based on the second move command. An input / output control device (26) for transporting a medium to the medium storage (10) or the loading / unloading device by the medium transport device (25), comprising the input / output control device (26). ), A pseudo unload operation end report is sent to the host device (20) between the start of the medium ejection operation of the recording / reproducing apparatus (34) based on the unload command and the end of the unload operation. A library device comprising a first pseudo status reporting unit (216) for issuing the second move command. 2. The library device according to claim 1, wherein
The first pseudo status reporting means (216) instructs the recording / reproducing device (34) to perform an unload operation based on the unload command, and at the same time, the upper device (2).
0) The end of the pseudo unload operation is reported to 0) and the second move command is issued. 3. The library device according to claim 1, wherein
The recording / reproducing apparatus (34) uses a magnetic tape cartridge as a storage medium, and the first pseudo-status reporting means (216) receives the tape rewinding completion report from the recording / reproducing apparatus (34) and at the same time. Host device (2
0) The end of the pseudo unload operation is reported to 0) and the second move command is issued. 4. The library device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the input / output control device (26) is responsive to the pseudo unload completion report of the first pseudo status reporting means (216). When the second move command issued from the host device (20) is suspended, and when the end of the unload operation is received from the recording / reproducing device (34), it is transported based on the suspended second move command. A library device characterized by instructing an operation to said medium carrying device (25). 5. The library device according to claim 1, wherein:
Furthermore, when the second move command is received from the host device (20) in response to the pseudo end report of the unload operation, the storage medium ejected from the recording / reproducing device (34) is returned to its original position. Second pseudo status reporting means for issuing a pseudo end report of the carrying operation to be returned and issuing an instruction based on a new input / output request to the host device (20), and in response to the end report of the pseudo carrying operation. When a command having the logical machine number (#i) designating the same recording / reproducing apparatus (34) is received from the host device (20), the logical machine number (#i) designated by the command is free. And a machine number conversion means for converting into a logical machine number (#j) of the other recording / reproducing apparatus (34) and instructing an operation according to the command. 6. The library device according to claim 1, wherein
The machine number conversion means, with respect to the first move instruction accompanying the new input / output request received until the completion of the unloading operation of the recording / reproducing device (34) that has issued the pseudo completion report, performs the first move. An instruction and a series of subsequent load instructions, a read or write instruction, an unload instruction, and a second
A library device characterized by instructing an operation by conversion of a logical machine number for each move instruction. 7. The recording medium is transferred from the medium storage (10) or the loading / unloading device (15) to the recording / reproducing device (34) by the medium carrying device (25) based on the first move command from the host device (20). Based on a first transportation process for transporting and a load command from the host device (20) following the first move command, the storage medium transported in the first transportation process is loaded into the recording / reproducing device (34). A loading process for causing the recording / reproducing device (34) to perform a read or write operation based on a read command or a write command from the host device (20) following the first move command; Command or write command followed by the host device (2
0), the recording / reproducing apparatus (34) ejecting the storage medium from the recording / reproducing apparatus (34), and the recording / reproducing apparatus (34) in the unloading step.
During the unloading operation from the start to the ejection of the storage medium from the first to the second device, the first pseudo command is issued to the upper-level device (20) to end the pseudo unloading operation and issue the second move command. Based on the status report process and the second move command from the upper device (20) following the unload command, the storage medium ejected in the unload process is transferred to the media storage device by the media transport device (25). (10) or a second transportation step of transporting to the loading / unloading device, the method for controlling a library device. 8. The method of controlling a library device according to claim 7, wherein the first pseudo status reporting step simultaneously instructs the recording / reproducing apparatus (34) to perform an unload operation in the unloading step. A method of controlling a library device, comprising: issuing a second move command by issuing a pseudo unload operation end report to the host device (20). 9. The library device control method according to claim 7, wherein the recording / reproducing device (34) uses a magnetic tape cartridge as a storage medium, and the first pseudo status reporting process is the unloading process. At the same time as receiving the completion report of the tape rewinding of the magnetic tape cartridge from the recording / reproducing device (34), the second move command is sent to the upper device (20) to report the end of the pseudo unload operation. A method for controlling a library device, wherein: 10. The library device control method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the second transportation process is based on a pseudo unload completion report by the first pseudo status reporting process. ) Said second issued by
When the move command is suspended and the end of the unload operation is received from the recording / reproducing device (34), the carrying operation is instructed to the medium carrying device (25) based on the suspended second move command. A method for controlling a library device, comprising: 11. The library device control method according to claim 7, further comprising the step of receiving the second move command from the host device (20) in response to a pseudo end report of the unload operation. A second completion report of a transport operation for returning the storage medium discharged from the recording / reproducing device (34) to the original position, and causing the host device (20) to issue a command based on a new input / output request. When a command having a logical unit number (#i) designating the same recording / reproducing device (34) is received from the host device (20) in response to the pseudo status reporting process and the pseudo transportation operation end report. In addition, the logical machine number (#i) designated by the command is converted into the logical machine number (#j) of the other recording / reproducing device (34) in the idle state, and the machine number conversion for instructing the operation by the command is performed. Characterized by having a process Method of controlling the library system. 12. The method of controlling a library device according to claim 7, wherein the machine number conversion process is received before the completion of the unload operation of the recording / reproducing device (34) which has issued the pseudo end report. With respect to the first move instruction associated with the new input / output request, a logical unit number is assigned to each of the first move instruction and the subsequent series of load instruction, read or write instruction, unload instruction, and second move instruction. A method of controlling a library device, wherein an operation instruction is given by conversion of the library.