JPH10334565A - Signal supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quickly restore a state of emergency to the recovery state even in case of destruction of one set of hard disk drive in a server of constitution of RAID(redundant array of inexpensive disks). SOLUTION: This device has a hard disk drive(HDD) array 24 consisting of plural sets of hard disk drive equipped with hard disks capable of recording and reproducing respectively, an optical disk drive array 25 consisting of one set or plural sets of optical disk drive equipped with an optical disk or optical disks capable of recording and reproducing and a computer 26 for performing operation and file management. In this constitution, a data indispensable to the operation and the file management is filed in both the hard disks and the optical disk(s) respectively, and in case of destruction of the hard disk drive, the whole operation is restored to the recovery state by using the data recorded on the optical disk under management of the computer 26.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a signal supply device for supplying, for example, video and audio signals.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, so-called data servers and audio / visual videos (hereinafter, referred to as A / V servers) often include a hard disk drive (HDD) as a recording / reproducing device.

An A / V server for a broadcasting station has recently used a hard disk drive (HDD) instead of a video cassette recorder (VCR) as a recording / reproducing device, and some commercial (CM) banks have optical video The system uses only disks.

Here, in the case of an A / V server employing the hard disk drive as a recording / reproducing device, a so-called RAID using a hard disk drive array is used.
(Redundant arrays of inexpensive disk). The RAID is a magnetic disk device configured to decompose data into several-byte units and read / write data from / to a plurality of disk drives in parallel. The number of drives is usually about 10 to 20 and has advantages such as high speed access and low price because a general-purpose small disk is used, as compared with a normal magnetic disk drive.

[0005] As a recording / reproducing device, there is also a server constituted only by an optical disk.
It is more disadvantageous than a server using the hard disk drive in terms of capacity, cost, access time, and the like.

[0006]

By the way, the above RAI
In an A / V server having a D configuration, for example, when one hard disk drive is destroyed (crashed), depending on the content of data stored in the destroyed hard disk drive, the A / V server itself may be damaged. Operation recovery may be difficult. As the state of destruction of the hard disk drive, for example, destruction of file information of each disk, a failure in reporting of defect information, and the like are considered.

[0007] In such an A / V server having a RAID configuration, for example, when one hard disk drive is destroyed, it appears as, for example, a disturbance in a reproduced image, and it takes a long time to recover from a failure found. Need.
For this reason, usually, another set of A / V servers performing the same operation as the mirror system is prepared, and
In the event that one of the devices breaks down, the device is switched to the other device for operation, and the emergency state is shortened as much as possible during broadcasting.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and, for example, in a server having a RAID configuration, even if, for example, one hard disk drive is destroyed, it is possible to quickly start from an emergency state. It is an object of the present invention to provide a signal supply device capable of returning to a state.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided a signal supply apparatus comprising: a hard disk drive array including a plurality of hard disk drives; an optical disk drive array including one or a plurality of optical disk drives; and control means for performing operations and file management. Data that is indispensable for operation and file management is filed on both the hard disk and the optical disk, and when the hard disk drive is destroyed, the entire operation is restored using the data recorded on the optical disk managed by the control means. By doing
The above-mentioned problem is solved.

That is, according to the present invention, data indispensable for operation and file management, that is, data whose operation is difficult to recover when destroyed, is recorded not only on a hard disk but also on an optical disk on which data remains even if a drive fails. By doing so, even if the hard disk drive crashes, the operation of the system is guaranteed.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The signal supply device of the present invention is applicable to a so-called data server and audio / video server (A / V server).
A / V server for broadcast station 1 as shown in the system configuration of FIG.
Is given as an example. A / V server 1 of the present embodiment
Is a so-called RAID (redundant arrays of) using a hard disk drive array 3 as the recording / reproducing device 2.
Inexpensive disk) In addition to the configuration, the optical disk array 4
Is partly incorporated. The recording and playback of the recording and playback device 2 is controlled by the computer 5.

Here, the optical disk array 4 is responsible for a part of the system, and the data contents stored or handled by the optical disk array 4 are limited to only necessary ones. The necessary data includes, for example, RAID file management information (directory information described later) configured in the hard disk drive array 3, operation history information (drive control information described later) of each hard disk drive, and the like. If, for example, commercial (CM) video data for the day is also stored, it can be used as a backup.

A specific example of the file management information and the operation history information will be described later.

As a specific example, FIG. 2 shows a block configuration of an A / V server 1 for a broadcasting station according to the present embodiment.

In FIG. 2, an audio / video digital signal supplied to an input terminal 21 is encoded by an encoder / decoder (ENDEC) processor 23 and then encoded by a computer (for example, a workstation or personal computer) 26 (see FIG. 2). In accordance with an instruction from the first computer 5), files are stored in the hard disk drive array 24 (the hard disk drive array 3 in FIG. 1) and the optical disk array 25 (the optical disk array 4 in FIG. 1).

The computer 26 receives file information, hard disk drive control information,
Optical disk drive control information is output. These pieces of information are sent to the hard disk drive array 24 and the optical disk array 25 and stored.

The flow of data recording on the hard disk drive array 24 and the optical disk array 25 has been described above, but is reversed during reproduction. That is, the encoded audio / video data and the file information and the drive control information reproduced from the hard disk drive array 24 or the optical disk array 25 are transmitted to the encoder / decoder (ENDEC) processor 23 in accordance with the instruction of the computer 26. Can be The encoder / decoder processor 23 decodes the encoded audio / video data, and outputs the obtained audio / video digital signal from the output terminal 22.

FIG. 3 shows a specific block configuration of the encoder / decoder processor 23 of FIG. The encoder / decoder processor 23 has an input system (that is, an encoding processing system) as shown in FIG. 2A and an output system (that is, a decoding processing system) as shown in FIG.
And two circuit systems.

First, in FIG. 3A showing an input system, an audio / video digital signal input to an input terminal 21 shown in FIG. 2 is supplied to a terminal 30, and this signal is applied to an input interface. The digital interface 31 captures the data. As this interface, for example, a so-called SDI (Serial Digital Int)
erface: serial digital interface).

The data fetched by the digital interface 31 is digitally compressed by a bit rate reduction encoder 43, for example, a so-called MPE.
G (Moving Picture Image Coding Experts Group) and JPEG (Joint Photographic Coding Experts Group
p). The compressed digital signal is temporarily stored in the buffer memory 33 in order to file it on a hard disk drive or an optical disk.

The data read from the buffer memory 33 is further transmitted to a digital interface 34 for an interface of a hard disk drive or an optical disk drive, for example, a so-called SCSI (Small Co
The output signal is output from the terminal 35 as recording data in conformity with the signal format of the mputer system interface-2.

Next, in FIG. 3B showing the output system,
Reproduction data reproduced from a hard disk drive or an optical disk is input via a terminal 40 to a digital interface 41 which is an interface with the hard disk drive or the optical disk drive.

The reproduced data via the digital interface 41 is prepared by a buffer memory 42 and demodulated by a bit rate reduction decoder 43. That is, the compressed A / V digital data is restored from the compression format such as MPEG or JPEG.

The restored data is converted into a signal suitable for an external A / V device by the digital interface 44 and output from the terminal 45.

Here, in FIG. 2, the hard disk drive array 24 is, for example, a RAID-3 or a RAID-5.
The A / V digital data is distributed to the hard disk drive and recorded by the respective systems. At this time, for example, certain A / V digital data (for example, content A) is stored in the hard disk drive array 24.
The file management information such as the number of the sector and the number of the sector on which hard disk of which hard disk drive is recorded in the computer 26
Control with. This information is referred to as directory information. Please explain the details of the relationship between this directory information and file management information. It will be described later.

Normally, this directory information is stored in the RAID of each hard disk drive or in a fixed area of the hard disk drive array. The A / V server of this embodiment stores this directory information in the optical disk array 25. File on the optical disk in the same time. In this way, even if the hard disk drive having the directory information crashes, for example, it can be easily restored from the information stored on the optical disk.

Further, for example, a commercial (C
M) If data such as video is filed on an optical disk, even if the hard disk drive crashes and the video playback is destroyed, the optical disk can be transferred to a new hard disk drive, for example, while being played back using a conventional backup mirror system. By inputting or transferring data from, quick response is possible. Further, by utilizing the characteristics of the optical disk, an optical disk on which data such as a temporary commercial (CM) video is recorded is replaced with one drive of the optical disk array, so that a quick commercial (CM) video suitable for the client's desire can be obtained. Can also be played.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing such an operation. The flowchart of FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 4, when a hard disk drive is destroyed, for example, in step ST1, the computer 26 stops using the destroyed hard disk drive in step ST2, and issues an instruction for the optical disk array 25 in step ST3. Thus, the above-described data stored in the optical disk of the optical disk array 25 is reproduced.

At the same time, the computer 26 executes step S
As T4, a new hard disk drive in the hard disk drive array 24 is designated, and data reproduced from the optical disk is recorded on the hard disk of the hard disk drive.

Further, for example, a commercial (C
M) When data such as video is filed on an optical disc, and when data such as commercial (CM) video is used, as shown in step ST5, the data such as the commercial (CM) video is read from the optical disc. Play the data.

Thereafter, the computer 26 proceeds to step S
At T6, the same data as that recorded on the destroyed hard disk is interpolated into the new hard disk drive during the idle time of the broadcast, and the system is restored in step ST7. Further, operation history information of the hard disk drive such as the use of a damaged hard disk drive or the use of a new hard disk drive is also stored on the optical disk. If this operation history information is stored in the optical disk, the computer 26 can use this information, and it is useful for investigating the cause of the failure when the system is repaired.

Next, the above-described file management information and operation history information will be specifically described.

As an example, one hard disk drive array currently being commercialized is composed of eight 9 G (giga) byte hard disk drives. At this time, the capacity is 72 GB per array.

If, for example, a 2.6 GB single-sided magneto-optical disk array is used as the optical disk array, the array becomes 80.8 GB as one array with eight units. Therefore, information that can be filed on the optical disk array is limited.

A description will be given of the case where only necessary information for promptly recovering as a RAID when a hard disk drive crashes is filed in the magneto-optical disk array.

FIG. 5 shows a structural diagram in the array.

In FIG. 5, a terminal 51 receives a SCSI signal from a system controller (computer 26 in FIG. 2).
File data (content ID, video data, audio data, etc.) according to the interface is input.
In the hard disk drive array, the data of the terminal 51 is received by the SCSI interface 52,
The data is distributed to the hard disk drives HDD-1 to HDD-8 by the array controller 53. At this time, the data is transferred to the hard disk drives HDD-1 to HD-1.
Hard disk drive HDD striped to D-7
The general method is to file parity data at -8.

Each hard disk drive HDD-1 to HDD-H
The DD-8 separately files, along with each data, information indicating the format in which data from which sector the data is filed, as directory information in a part of the recording area.

Here, this information is defined as the file management information. The file management information is filed on the magneto-optical disks MO-1 to MO-8 via the array controller 53 and the SCSI interface 52, and further via the SCSI interface 54 for the optical disk array and the optical disk array controller 55. SCSI is
This is possible because of the two-way communication. At this time, the file may be stored on any one of the magneto-optical disks MO-1 to MO-8. However, since the magneto-optical disk is removable, the data is collectively stored on one magneto-optical disk rather than distributed and filed. It is better to file.

By doing so, if any hard disk drive crashes, the file management information of the crashed hard disk drive is backed up on the magneto-optical disk, so that recovery after replacing the hard disk drive becomes easier.

Next, a command and status information for exchanging data passing through the terminal 51 are defined as the operation history information.

This operation history information is filed on a magneto-optical disk. When a hard disk drive crashes, the operation information immediately before the crash is stored, so that failure diagnosis or the like becomes very easy.

In the present embodiment, a hard disk drive and an optical disk are combined. The reasons are as follows.

It is said that, for example, when a hard disk drive crashes, its data cannot be restored. On the other hand, in the case of an optical disk, even if the drive crashes, the data remains on the disk,
By using this data, the data at the time of the crash of the hard disk drive can be complemented.

Further, by combining the hard disk drive array and the optical disk array, even if the array fails, the key information is stored in the optical disk, so that the optical disk can be taken out and the information of the array can be examined offline. This is very effective in actual operation and can reduce time.

Further, for example, in a commercial hard disk drive RAID or the like, emergency commercial switching can be easily performed by replacing the optical disk.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, A /
According to the V server, the system can be quickly recovered by utilizing the advantages of the optical disk in which data remains even if the drive fails. Also, a backup function can be realized, and for example, all commercial videos for the day can be backed up. Further, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to manually add a commercial video or the like manually, and it is possible to respond to a sudden change of a commercial video or the like, and to meet a customer's request.

[0050]

As apparent from the above description, in the signal supply device of the present invention, a hard disk drive array including a plurality of hard disk drives, an optical disk drive array including one or a plurality of optical disk drives, an operation and a file Control means for performing management, file data essential for operation and file management on both the hard disk and the optical disk, and use the data recorded on the optical disk managed by the control means when the hard disk drive is destroyed. By restoring the entire operation, even if, for example, one hard disk drive is destroyed in a server having a RAID configuration, for example, it is possible to quickly return from the emergency state.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an A / V server system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block circuit diagram showing a specific configuration of the A / V server system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block circuit diagram showing a specific configuration of the encoder / decoder processor of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation flow from destruction to restoration of a hard disk drive.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a structure in an array.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 A / V server, 2 recording / reproducing device, 3, 24
Hard disk drive array, 4,25 Optical disk drive array, 5,26 Computer, 2
3 encoder / decoder processor, 31, 34,
41,44 digital interface, 32 bit rate reduction encoder, 33,42 buffer memory, 43 bit rate reduction decoder

Claims (2)

[Claims] A hard disk drive array including a plurality of hard disk drives each including a recordable / reproducible hard disk; an optical disk drive array including one or a plurality of optical disk drives including a recordable / reproducible optical disk; Control means for performing operations, file data essential for operation and file management on both the hard disk and the optical disk, and when the hard disk drive is destroyed, copy data recorded on the optical disk managed by the control means. A signal supply device, which is used to restore the entire operation. 2. The signal supply device according to claim 1, wherein the data indispensable for the operation and the file management are file management information of a hard disk drive array and operation history information of each hard disk drive.