Tape emulating disk based storage system and method with automatically resized emulated tape capacity
View Patent ↗A data protection and storage system includes an array of disk drives for data storage. Data is received for storage on the disk drive via an interface that is configured to emulate a tape drive interface. A virtual tape data structure is created and stored on the disk drives. The allocated capacity of the virtual tape is dynamically and transparently alterable in response to data storage demand within the virtual tape.
1. A data storage device comprising:
at least one hard disk drive having a storage capacity;
a tape drive emulator;
at least one emulated magnetic tape having a defined apparent storage capacity provided by at least some of the storage capacity of said hard disk drive;
means for automatically changing the defined apparent storage capacity of said emulated magnetic tape during execution of write commands received by said tape drive emulator; and
wherein defined apparent storage capacity comprises both unused for data storage portions of the defined apparent storage capacity and used portions of the defined apparent storage capacity wherein said means for automatically changing the apparent storage capacity of said emulated magnetic tape comprises a stored value indicating an end of data sector and an early warning sector, and a storage controller configured to compare said end of data sector and early warning sector, said means for automatically changing the apparent storage capacity configured to change the apparent storage capacity based on said comparing.
2. The data storage device of claim 1 , wherein said emulated magnetic tape is defined by entries in a stored tape header file that includes values for a beginning of media sector and an end of media sector.
3. The data storage device of claim 2 , wherein said tape header file additionally defines a value for an early warning sector.
4. A method of data storage comprising:
emulating a magnetic tape using a portion of data storage capacity of one or more disk drives, wherein the portion of data storage capacity comprises an amount of data capacity;
defining an end of data sector value that indicates a used portion of the amount of data capacity and an end of media sector value that indicates an unused for data storage portion and the used portion of the amount of data capacity for said emulated magnetic tape;
increasing said end of data sector value during a write command; and
increasing said end of media sector value if said end of data sector exceeds a selected value defining an early warning sector value;
comparing said end of data sector value with said early warning sector value; and
increasing both said early warning sector value and said end of media sector value if said end of data sector value equals or exceeds said warning sector value.
5. The method of data storage of claim 4 , further comprising emulating a second magnetic tape using a second portion of data storage capacity of said one or more disk drives, wherein at least a portion of the first portion of data storage capacity and at least a portion of the second portion of data storage capacity are located on a single disk drive.