Grouping of storage media based on parameters associated with the storage media
View Patent ↗Storage media of a storage system are grouped into one or more groups based upon parameters associated with the storage media. Various parameters may be taken into consideration depending upon the criteria selected for the grouping. At least one grouping criterion is selected, and based on the grouping criterion, one or more parameters are measured. Then, using the measured data, a plurality of storage media are placed into one or more groups. The groups may then be used to form Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) arrays employed in the storage system.
1. A method of grouping storage media, said method comprising:
obtaining parameter information for one or more parameters associated with a plurality of storage media;
choosing at least one parameter of the one or more parameters as desired criteria to be used in grouping storage media, said at least one parameter being associated with at least one of performance of a storage medium and reliability of a storage medium; and
selecting one or more storage medium of the plurality of storage media to be included in a storage media group, said one or more selected storage medium having the desired criteria.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the storage media group comprises an array to be used in creating a logical array of media.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more parameters comprise at least one of:
at least one parameter associated with residence time of a storage medium head as a function of storage medium cylinder;
at least one parameter associated with one or more servo errors of a storage medium;
at least one parameter associated with one or more environmental conditions of a storage medium; and
at least one parameter associated with a state of one or more internal components of a storage medium.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more parameters comprise at least one parameter associated with one or more functions of a storage medium.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said choosing further comprises choosing a parameter of at least one of manufacture information and date of manufacture.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising reconfiguring the storage media group.
7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising periodically obtaining parameter information for one or more parameters associated with the storage media group to be reconfigured, and wherein the reconfiguring is based on the periodically obtained parameter information.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of storage media comprise a plurality of storage devices.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of storage media comprise a plurality of surfaces of a plurality of storage devices.
10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
determining that at least one parameter of the one or more parameters is within a specified range; and
eliminating use of a surface of the plurality of surfaces, in response to the determining.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein said performance of the storage medium comprises an amount of time to access data of the storage medium.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the storage media group excludes storage media not satisfying the desired criteria.
13. A system of grouping storage media, said system comprising:
means for obtaining parameter information for one or more parameters associated with a plurality of storage media;
means for choosing at least one parameter of the one or more parameters as desired criteria to be used in grouping storage media, said at least one parameter being associated with at least one of performance of a storage medium and reliability of a storage medium; and
means for selecting one or more storage medium of the plurality of storage media to be included in a storage media group, said one or more selected storage medium having the desired criteria.
14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the storage media group comprises an array to be used in creating a logical array of media.
15. The system of claim 13 , wherein the one or more parameters comprise at least one parameter associated with one or more of the following:
residence time of a storage medium head as a function of storage medium cylinder;
one or more servo errors of a storage medium;
one or more functions of a storage medium;
one or more environmental conditions of a storage medium; and
a state of one or more internal components of a storage medium.
16. The system of claim 13 , further comprising means for reconfiguring the storage media group.
17. The system of claim 13 , wherein the plurality of storage media comprise a plurality of surfaces of a plurality of storage devices, and wherein the system further comprises:
means for determining that at least one parameter of the one or more parameters is within a specified range; and
means for eliminating use of a surface of the plurality of surfaces, in response to the determining.
18. The system of claim 13 , wherein one or more storage media groups is provided, and the system further comprises:
means for selecting a storage media group of the one or more storage media groups that satisfies a chosen criterion; and
means for writing data having a selected attribute to the storage media of the selected storage media group.
19. A system of grouping storage media, said system comprising:
parameter information for one or more parameters associated with a plurality of storage media;
at least one parameter of the one or more parameters chosen as desired criteria to be used in grouping storage media, said at least one parameter being associated with at least one of performance of a storage medium and reliability of a storage medium; and
a component to select one or more storage medium of the plurality of storage media to be included in a storage media group, said one or more selected storage medium having the desired criteria.
20. An article of manufacture comprising:
at least one computer usable medium having computer readable program code logic to manage grouping of storage media, the computer readable program code logic comprising:
obtain logic to obtain parameter information for one or more parameters associated with a plurality of storage media;
choose logic to choose at least one parameter of the one or more parameters as desired criteria to be used in grouping storage media, said at least one parameter being associated with at least one of performance of a storage medium and reliability of a storage medium; and
select logic to select one or more storage medium of the plurality of storage media to be included in a storage media group, said one or more selected storage medium having the desired criteria.
21. The article of manufacture of claim 20 , wherein the storage media group comprises an array to be used in creating a logical array of media.
22. The article of manufacture of claim 20 , wherein the one or more parameters comprise at least one parameter associated with one or more of the following:
residence time of a storage medium head as a function of storage medium cylinder;
one or more servo errors of a storage medium;
one or more functions of a storage medium;
one or more environmental conditions of a storage medium; and
a state of one or more internal components of a storage medium.
23. The article of manufacture of claim 20 , further comprising reconfigure logic to reconfigure the storage media group.
24. The article of manufacture of claim 20 , wherein the plurality of storage media comprise a plurality of surfaces of a plurality of storage devices, and further comprising:
determine logic to determine that at least one parameter of the one or more parameters is within a specified range; and
eliminate logic to eliminate use of a surface of the plurality of surfaces, in response to the determining.
25. The article of manufacture of claim 20 , wherein one or more storage media groups is provided, and further comprising:
select logic to select a storage media group of the one or more storage media groups that satisfies a chosen criterion; and
write logic to write data having a selected attribute to the storage media of the selected storage media group.
26. A method of grouping storage media, said method comprising:
obtaining parameter information for one or more parameters associated with a plurality of storage media; and
grouping at least a portion of storage media of the plurality of storage media into one or more groups of storage media based on at least one parameter of the one or more parameters, wherein said at least one parameter is associated with performance of a storage medium, said performance comprising an amount of time to access data of the storage medium.
27. The method of claim 26 , further comprising:
selecting a group of storage media of the one or more groups that satisfies a chosen criterion; and
writing data having a selected attribute to the storage media of the selected group.
28. The method of claim 27 , wherein the chosen criteria is performance and the selected attribute is access frequency of a certain value.