Retention of functionality and operational configuration for a portable data storage drive
View Patent ↗Various aspects of the invention provide a system and method of operating a data storage drive using any one of one or more data storage devices. In a representative embodiment, a data storage device may be used in a data network and may be referred to as a network attached storage device. Aspects of the invention insure that a data storage drive that that is transferred from a first data storage device to a second data storage device retains the same operational functionality it had when its was operated from the first data storage device.
1. A method for retaining access to one or more data pools after a data storage drive resident within a first data storage device is communicatively decoupled from said first data storage device and communicatively coupled into a second data storage device, said method comprising using metadata stored within said data storage drive when said second data storage device is operated, wherein said metadata comprises:
data located within:
dual partition tables of said data storage drive, said dual partition tables comprising a first partition table and a second partition table, said first partition table being a mirror image of said second partition table, said dual partition tables used to specify partitions in said data storage drive, wherein either said first partition table or said second partition table is made active by way of a flag located in a disk header of said data storage drive; and
dual pool information data blocks within each of said partitions, said dual pool information data blocks comprising a first pool information data block and a second pool information data block, said first pool information data block being a mirror image of said second pool information block, said dual pool information data blocks used for identifying and concatenating said partitions to construct each of said one or more data pools, wherein access to said one or more data pools is provided by one or more share access mechanisms based on values of one or more variables of a text file stored within its corresponding data pool.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein said values determine whether said one or more share access mechanisms are enabled or disabled.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein said one or more share access mechanisms employs the use of a network file system protocol.
4. The method of claim 2 wherein said share access mechanism employs the use of a file transfer protocol.
5. The method of claim 2 wherein said partitions are located in said data storage drive and one or more additional data storage drives, said one or more additional data storage drives located in said second data storage device.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein said data storage drive and said one or more additional data storage drives comprise hard disk drives.
7. A system for retaining operational functionality, said system comprising:
a memory in said first data storage device;
a software resident in said memory; and
a processor used for executing said software, said operational functionality comprising providing access to one or more data pools after a data storage drive resident within a first data storage device is communicatively decoupled from said first data storage device and communicatively coupled into a second data storage device, wherein executing said software generates each of said one or more data pools by way of concatenating a plurality of partitions using:
dual partition tables of said data storage drive, said dual partition tables comprising a first partition table and a second partition table, said first partition table being a mirror image of said second partition table, said dual partition tables used to specify each of said partitions in said data storage drive, wherein either said first partition table or said second partition table is made active by way of a flag located in a disk header of said data storage drive; and
dual pool information data blocks within each of said partitions, said dual pool information data blocks comprising a first pool information data block and a second pool information data block, said first pool information data block being a mirror image of said second pool information block, said dual pool information data blocks used for identifying and concatenating said partitions to construct said each of said one or more data pools.
8. The system of claim 7 wherein said operational functionality further comprises using one or more parameters stored within said memory, said one or more parameters used to assign data storage space to a data pool of said one or more data pools.
9. The system of claim 8 wherein said data storage space comprises space from said data storage drive and one or more additional data storage drives.
10. The system of claim 9 wherein said data storage drive and said one or more additional data storage drives comprises hard disk drives.
11. The system of claim 7 wherein said operational functionality further comprises using a database stored within a data storage drive, wherein said database is used after said data storage drive is transferred from a first data storage device into a second data storage device, said database used for enabling or disabling one or more mechanisms by which share access occurs, said database stored as a text file within its corresponding data pool.
12. The system of claim 11 wherein said one or more mechanisms utilizes a network file system protocol.
13. The system of claim 11 wherein said one or more mechanisms utilizes an internal file system protocol.
14. The system of claim 11 wherein said one or more mechanisms utilizes a file transfer protocol.
15. The system of claim 7 wherein updating said dual pool information data blocks comprises modifying said first pool information data block while said second pool information data block is left intact such that said second pool information data block may be accessed.