| Patent Number |
Title Of Patent |
Date Issued |
| 6754897 |
Operation prioritization and selection in a probability-based job scheduler |
June 22, 2004 |
| A hierarchical, probability-based look-up method and apparatus for selection of an operation for job generation. Bitmaps are set based on the priority class of pending operation requests. The bitmap values are used to select a priority class and an operation for the selected priority |
| 6754718 |
Pushing attribute information to storage devices for network topology access |
June 22, 2004 |
| A method apparatus and computer program product for providing access to host attribute information in a storage area network is disclosed. The storage area network is composed of a plurality of hosts coupled to at least one initiator. Each initiator is coupled to one or more targets and |
| 6754682 |
Method and apparatus for enabling consistent ancillary disk array storage device operations with |
June 22, 2004 |
| A method and apparatus for enhancing data recovery in data processing systems in which applications span multiple logical devices. A data processing system includes multiple standard devices for storing data and corresponding BCV devices for, in one mode, operating as mirrors of those |
| 6751758 |
Method and system for handling errors in a data storage environment |
June 15, 2004 |
| The present invention is a system and method for providing clarity and simplicity to the task of screening for errors occurring in a data storage system and improving the effectiveness of the response to these errors. The system and method includes and employs a graphical user interface |
| 6751703 |
Data storage systems and methods which utilize an on-board cache |
June 15, 2004 |
| The invention is directed to data storage and retrieval techniques that utilize a cache which is preferred to a consumer of a data element stored within that cache. Since the cache is preferred to the consumer, the consumer has less contention for access to the preferred cache vis-a-vis |
| 6748581 |
Apparatus and method for implementing an existing object-oriented class in an object management |
June 8, 2004 |
| An apparatus and method for implementing one or more existing object-oriented program classes as component objects in an object management system, each class including one or more member functions, each class being defined in a header file, builds an information list, the information |
| 6742146 |
Techniques for providing data within a data storage system |
May 25, 2004 |
| The invention is directed to techniques that include an error detection code (e.g., a CRC code) and cleared bytes (e.g., zeroes) with data (e.g., CKD data). The use of cleared bytes with CKD data enables detection of corrupt CKD data by simply generating a CRC code based on an entire dat |
| 6742138 |
Data recovery method and apparatus |
May 25, 2004 |
| A method and apparatus for data recovery in a system involving a first data store acting as a standard device and a physical moving mirror data store that operates as moving mirror with a first mode to be synchronized and in a second, isolated mode. In response to a command to establish |
| 6742068 |
Data server with hot replaceable processing unit modules |
May 25, 2004 |
| A data server having a plurality of hot replaceable processing unit modules. Each module includes a motherboard having plugged therein: a CPU; a main memory; an I/O adapter card, and an interconnect printed board, electrically connected to the motherboard. A backplane has a first con |
| 6742059 |
Primary and secondary management commands for a peripheral connected to multiple agents |
May 25, 2004 |
| There is disclosed a client-server configuration including a peripheral device wherein multiple servers interface with both the client and the peripheral. Management software for determining the operating state of the peripheral, known as server agent software, is employed in the multipl |
| 6742017 |
Data storage system having separate data transfer section and message network with pointer or co |
May 25, 2004 |
| A system interface includes a plurality of first directors, a plurality of second directors, a data transfer section and a message network. The data transfer section includes a cache memory. The cache memory is coupled to the plurality of first and second directors. The messaging network |
| 6738842 |
System having plural processors and a uni-cast/broadcast communication arrangement |
May 18, 2004 |
| A system having a plurality of processors, each one of the processors being adapted to issue a control signal and a processor ID code. Each one of the processors has: a unique, pre-assigned processor ID code, and a common software program. The software program operates to: receive the co |
| 6738268 |
Method and apparatus for providing power signals to operating circuitry mounted on circuit board |
May 18, 2004 |
| A technique involves providing a set of soft start power signals to operating circuitry mounted on a circuit board. In particular, the technique involves enabling (i) a first converter to provide a first soft start power signal to the operating circuitry and (ii) a second converter t |
| 6735655 |
Interrupt request controller |
May 11, 2004 |
| An interrupt request controller for processing a plurality of interrupt logic signals. The controller includes: a programmable bit masking section fed by the interrupt logic signals, adapted to mask selected ones of the interrupt signals; a interrupt priority section fed by the programma |
| 6732231 |
System and method for management of mirrored storage devices storing device serial numbers |
May 4, 2004 |
| This invention is configured to create and use a special data structure containing a data storage device's identification information for a storage device that will be duplicated. Upon such duplication, the special data is stored in a predetermined location on another device receiving th |
| 6732194 |
Method and apparatus for multi-sequential data operations |
May 4, 2004 |
| Described are techniques for performing multi-sequential I/O operations in connection with data requests involving a data storage device. An single data request may involve more than a one portion of data associated with a single job record, such as a single request may involve more than |
| 6732117 |
Techniques for handling client-oriented requests within a data storage system |
May 4, 2004 |
| The invention is directed to techniques for handling a client-oriented request within a data-storage system. Handling of a client-oriented request enables direct communication between a client and the system thus offloading any servers' burden of handling client requests. Furthermore, |
| 6728962 |
Context swapping in multitasking kernel |
April 27, 2004 |
| Disclosed is context swapping in a multitasking operating system for a processor that includes providing a plurality of context blocks for storing context information for a plurality of processes, providing an array of pointers to the context blocks, providing an index to the array o |
| 6728840 |
Methods and apparatus for providing host controlled caching of data in a storage system |
April 27, 2004 |
| Mechanisms and techniques allow a host computer system to control caching operations within a data storage system. In a typical implementation, the system of the invention operates within a host computer system to intercept requests for access to data stored within a data storage system |
| 6728836 |
Segmenting cache to provide varying service levels |
April 27, 2004 |
| Storing data in a cache memory of a storage device includes providing access to a first segment of the cache memory on behalf of a first group of external host systems coupled to the storage device and providing access to a second segment of the cache memory on behalf of a second group |
| 6725331 |
Method and apparatus for managing the dynamic assignment resources in a data storage system |
April 20, 2004 |
| A method and apparatus for managing a dynamic assignment of resources in a storage system. In one aspect, a storage system includes a plurality of storage devices, a plurality of controllers that each is coupled to at least one of the plurality of storage devices and controls access to t |
| 6721870 |
Prefetch algorithm for short sequences |
April 13, 2004 |
| A prefetch process that generates prefetch tasks for short sequences that are no longer than n tracks in length. The value of n is selected as 8. The prefetch process maintains a history of short sequences, uses that history to predict an expected length of a current sequence and generat |
| 6721814 |
System and method of improving host performance characteristics by intelligent shift of data cac |
April 13, 2004 |
| An arrangement is disclosed for use in connection with a host computer connected to a mass storage subsystem, the mass storage subsystem storing information for use in connection with processing of at least one program by the host computer. The arrangement comprises a program input/outpu |
| 6721812 |
Method and system for adaptive resource management |
April 13, 2004 |
| A method and system for managing I/O resources for communications between a host and a target device through at least one adapter, involves setting a local resource associated with each adapter. If a target device cannot accept an I/O request, the local resource associated with each adap |
| 6721766 |
Restoring multiple work items simultaneously from backup and data restore |
April 13, 2004 |
| A backup and restore system includes a work item server for restoring multiple work times simultaneously. The work item server assigns each work item to a respective trail queue based upon the commonality of the volumes on which the work items are stored. The work item server allocates d |
| 6718481 |
Multiple hierarichal/peer domain file server with domain based, cross domain cooperative fault h |
April 6, 2004 |
| A shared system resoure such as a file server includes an integrated, cooperative cluster of domains that include hierarchically related domains and peer related domains, each performing functions supporting the services provided by the system resource. Hierarchically related domains |
| 6718448 |
Queued locking of a shared resource using multimodal lock types |
April 6, 2004 |
| A lock for managing shared resources in a data processing system enables a requesting processor, in a signal atomic transaction, to validate the main lock data structure, request a lock, take the lock and establish a lock mode if successful, or establish its place in a queue of requester |
| 6718437 |
Method and apparatus for reconfiguring striped logical devices in a disk array storage |
April 6, 2004 |
| A method and apparatus for enabling an on-line reconfiguration of striped data in a disk array storage device. A replicated copy of the striped logical device is made in parallel with host operations. A logical device with a new configuration is then substituted for access by the host |
| 6718372 |
Methods and apparatus for providing access by a first computing system to data stored in a share |
April 6, 2004 |
| The system of the invention is a data server that can provide access to data, such as mainframe data, by open systems platforms. The system includes a shared storage interface coupling a first computing system to a shared storage device in which the shared data is maintained by a second |
| 6718352 |
Methods and apparatus for managing a data set stored on a data storage device |
April 6, 2004 |
| The invention is directed to techniques for managing a data set stored on a host computer that is in communication with a data storage assembly. A data manager on a host computer copies the data set to a synchronous copy of the data set stored on the data storage assembly and establishes |
| 6718347 |
Method and apparatus for maintaining coherence among copies of a database shared by multiple com |
April 6, 2004 |
| A method for use in a computer system including first and second computers and first and second storage systems, wherein the first storage system is coupled to the first computer to store data transferred from the first computer to the first storage system and the second storage system i |
| 6716072 |
Systems and methods for disposing a circuit board component on a circuit board using a soldering |
April 6, 2004 |
| A pin solders to a circuit board. The pin includes a soldering portion which is configured to solder to a via of the circuit board and an engagement portion which is configured to engage with a circuit board component. The soldering portion has a circular cross-section and a solderin |
| 6715048 |
System and method for efficiently performing a restore operation in a data storage environment |
March 30, 2004 |
| This invention is a system and method for efficiently carrying out a restore operation in a data storage environment. The present invention is a system and method for restoring data in a manner that reduces wait time of associated resources. Logic, which is part of the invention, determi |
| 6715039 |
Cache slot promotion in a replacement queue cache using determinations of probabilities and cost |
March 30, 2004 |
| Techniques and criteria are used in connection with promoting a slot within a cache in the form of a replacement queue. A cache slot may be promoted based on an inequality that considers the following criteria: probability of losing a cache hit, gaining a cache hit, and the price or cost |
| 6714952 |
Method for backup and restore of a multi-lingual network file server |
March 30, 2004 |
| Described is a technique for a backup and restoration of data in a network that includes a multi-lingual file system and a multi-lingual network file server. Multiple meta data files are associated with a single data file in the network. Provided are services for packaging the metadata a |
| 6711649 |
Load balancing on disk array storage device |
March 23, 2004 |
| Load balancing of activities on physical disk storage devices is accomplished by monitoring reading and writing operations to blocks of contiguous storage locations on the physical disk storage devices. A list of exchangeable pairs of blocks is developed based on size and function. S |
| 6711612 |
System for facilitating the transfer of management information from a remote mass storage subsys |
March 23, 2004 |
| A management information transfer system is disclosed for use in connection with a network including one or more host computers and a mass storage subsystem interconnected by a plurality of switching nodes, the management information transfer system being configured to transfer processed |
| 6711574 |
Retrieval of management information |
March 23, 2004 |
| A system and method of retrieving management information in a protocol environment having a maximum retrieval byte size is provided. An example of such a protocol environment is SCSI environment. A retrieval command is sent from an initiator to a target where the retrieval command is cap |
| 6708297 |
Method and system for monitoring errors on field replaceable units |
March 16, 2004 |
| A method and system of monitoring errors occurring on field replaceable units is described. At predetermined intervals, storage processors connected to a host system are identified and for each connected storage processor previous information about the storage processor and its corre |
| 6708265 |
Method and apparatus for moving accesses to logical entities from one storage element to another |
March 16, 2004 |
| Methods and apparatus are disclosed for moving logical entities from one storage element to another storage element. Movement of the logical entity may be accomplished by using a logical volume identifier, which is unique to the logical volume with respect to other logical volumes stored |
| 6704886 |
Data backup system having independent data restore execution |
March 9, 2004 |
| A backup and restore system forms a persistent submit object from objects marked for restoration by a user. The submit object encapsulates the information needed to restore the work items contained in the submit object. The submit object enables restore execution to be independent from |
| 6701451 |
Selective correction of data errors |
March 2, 2004 |
| A method for scanning a mass-storage device in communication with a global memory includes allocating a scan buffer in the global memory for placement of information descriptive of any errors found during the scan. When a scanning utility identifies a data error on the mass-storage d |
| 6701393 |
Systems and methods for managing storage location descriptors |
March 2, 2004 |
| A device (e.g., a secondary cache device) manages descriptors which correspond to storage locations (e.g., cache blocks). The device includes memory and a control circuit coupled to the memory. The control circuit is configured to arrange the descriptors, which correspond to the storage |
| 6701392 |
Hierarchical approach to indentifying changing device characteristics |
March 2, 2004 |
| Determining device characteristics includes obtaining a first globally accessible value, if the first globally accessible value corresponds to a stored first value, obtaining device characteristics data from a relatively fast memory, if the first globally accessible value does not co |
| 6697367 |
Multihop system calls |
February 24, 2004 |
| A computer system may include one or more hosts and a plurality of data storage devices for providing multihop system calls. The data storage devices are interconnected and also connected to the one or more hosts. The connections may be direct or indirect. Each data storage device cl |
| 6695149 |
Techniques for fastening a panel to an electronic cabinet frame |
February 24, 2004 |
| A technique for fastening a panel to an electronic cabinet frame involves inserting portions of rigid support members (e.g., rails) of the electronic cabinet frame into grooves defined by fasteners to attach the fasteners to the portions of the rigid support members of the electronic |
| 6694405 |
Method for analyzing disk seek times in a disk array storage device |
February 17, 2004 |
| Load balancing of activities on physical disk storage devices is accomplished by monitoring reading and writing operations to blocks of contiguous storage locations on the physical disk storage devices. Statistics accumulated over an interval are then used to obtain access activity v |
| 6691209 |
Topological data categorization and formatting for a mass storage system |
February 10, 2004 |
| A method and apparatus for storing data in a mass storage system implementing striped RAID technology by topological categorization and ordering of the data according to the topology of the storage areas. A mass storage system includes a mass storage space for storing data items of a |
| 6691194 |
Selective association of lock override procedures with queued multimodal lock |
February 10, 2004 |
| A queued, multimodal, fault-tolerant lock mechanism for managing shared resources in a data processing system is provided. Lock override procedures are selectively associated with certain lock modes. |
| 6687903 |
Inhibiting starvation in a multitasking operating system |
February 3, 2004 |
| Disclosed is inhibiting process starvation in a multitasking operating system by providing a first type of scheduling event at periodic timer intervals, providing a second type of second scheduling event in response to a running processes voluntarily relinquishing the processor, and, in |
