Data location management in high density packaging

1. A disk array adapter, comprising:

a plurality of device adapters for interconnecting with a like plurality of hard disk drives positioned in an enclosure within a cooling airflow from an airflow source;

a host adapter through which data is received to be stored on a hard disk drive;

a processor configured to:

determine the expected usage of the received data relative to other data stored on disk drives in the enclosure; and

direct that the received data be stored in a disk drive having a position within the airflow relative to the source of the airflow in direct relationship to the relative expected usage of the received data, whereby data having a higher expected usage is stored in a disk drive closer to the airflow source relative to other data having a lower expected usage and data having a lower expected usage is stored in a disk drive farther from the airflow source relative to other data having a higher expected usage.

2. The disk array adapter of claim 1 , the processor further configured to:

following a period of high usage and before a period of low usage, direct that the stored data be moved from a disk drive having a position close to the airflow source to a disk drive having a position farther from the source of the airflow source; and

following a period of low usage and before a period of high usage, direct that the stored data be moved from a disk drive having a position farther from the airflow source to a disk drive having a position closer to the source of the airflow source.

3. The disk array adapter of claim 2 , further comprising:

an interface coupled to an environmental sensor; and

the processor further configured to:

receive an environmental parameter from the sensor; and

initiate a move of the stored data if a value of the environmental parameter exceeds a predefined value.

4. The disk array adapter of claim 3 , wherein the environmental parameter comprises at least one of ambient temperature and humidity.

5. The disk array adapter of claim 1 , wherein:

the disk drives are configured as a plurality of RAID arrays, including a first array positioned closer to the airflow source than a second array; and

in response to the determination of expected usage, the received data comprises a logical volume to be stored in a selected one of the plurality of RAID arrays.

6. A method for managing the location of data in a high density disk drive enclosure, comprising:

receiving data to be stored to a disk drive in a high density drive enclosure having a plurality of disk drives positioned within a cooling airflow from an airflow source;

determining the expected usage of the received data relative to other data stored on disk drives in the enclosure; and

directing that the received data be stored in a disk drive having a position within the airflow relative to the source of the airflow in direct relationship to the relative expected usage of the received data, whereby data having a higher expected usage is stored in a disk drive closer to the airflow source relative to other data having a lower expected usage and data having a lower expected usage is stored in a disk drive farther from the airflow source relative to other data having a higher expected usage.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

following a period of high usage and before a period of low usage, directing that the stored data be moved from a disk drive having a position close to the airflow source to a disk drive having a position farther from the source of the airflow source; and

following a period of low usage and before a period of high usage, directing that the stored data be moved from a disk drive having a position farther from the airflow source to a disk drive having a position closer to the source of the airflow source.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

receiving an environmental parameter for the enclosure; and

initiating a move of the stored data if a value of the environmental parameter exceeds a predefined value.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the environmental parameter comprises at least one of ambient temperature and humidity.

10. The method of claim 6 , wherein:

the disk drives are configured as a plurality of RAID arrays, including a first array positioned closer to the airflow source than a second array; and

in response to the determination of expected usage, the received data comprises a logical volume to be stored in a selected one of the plurality of RAID arrays.

11. The method of claim 6 , wherein determining the expected usage comprises a user determination of a workload pattern for the received data.

12. A computer program product of a computer readable storage medium usable with a programmable computer, the computer program product having computer-readable storage code embodied therein for managing the location of data in a high density disk drive enclosure, the computer-readable storage code comprising instructions for:

receiving data to be stored to a disk drive in a high density drive enclosure having a plurality of disk drives positioned within a cooling airflow from an airflow source;

determining the expected usage of the received data relative to other data stored on disk drives in the enclosure; and

directing that the received data be stored in a disk drive having a position within the airflow relative to the source of the airflow in direct relationship to the relative expected usage of the received data, whereby data having a higher expected usage is stored in a disk drive closer to the airflow source relative to other data having a lower expected usage and data having a lower expected usage is stored in a disk drive farther from the airflow source relative to other data having a higher expected usage.

13. The computer program product of claim 12 , the computer-readable code further comprising instructions for:

following a period of high usage and before a period of low usage, directing that the stored data be moved from a disk drive having a position close to the airflow source to a disk drive having a position farther from the source of the airflow source; and

following a period of low usage and before a period of high usage, directing that the stored data be moved from a disk drive having a position farther from the airflow source to a disk drive having a position closer to the source of the airflow source.

14. The computer program product of claim 13 , the computer-readable code further comprising instructions for:

receiving an environmental parameter for the enclosure; and

initiating a move of the stored data if a value of the environmental parameter exceeds a predefined value.

15. The computer program product of claim 14 , wherein the environmental parameter comprises at least one of ambient temperature and humidity.

16. The computer program product of claim 12 , wherein:

the disk drives are configured as a plurality of RAID arrays, including a first array positioned closer to the airflow source than a second array; and

in response to the determination of expected usage, the received data comprises a logical volume to be stored in a selected one of the plurality of RAID arrays.

17. A method for deploying computing infrastructure, comprising integrating computer readable code into a computing system, wherein the code, for managing the location of data in a high density disk drive enclosure, in combination with the computing system, is capable of performing the following:

receiving data to be stored to a disk drive in a high density drive enclosure having a plurality of disk drives positioned within a cooling airflow from an airflow source;

determining the expected usage of the received data relative to other data stored on disk drives in the enclosure; and

directing that the received data be stored in a disk drive having a position within the airflow relative to the source of the airflow in direct relationship to the relative expected usage of the received data, whereby data having a higher expected usage is stored in a disk drive closer to the airflow source relative to other data having a lower expected usage and data having a lower expected usage is stored in a disk drive farther from the airflow source relative to other data having a higher expected usage.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:

following a period of high usage and before a period of low usage, directing that the stored data be moved from a disk drive having a position close to the airflow source to a disk drive having a position farther from the source of the airflow source; and

following a period of low usage and before a period of high usage, directing that the stored data be moved from a disk drive having a position farther from the airflow source to a disk drive having a position closer to the source of the airflow source.

19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising:

receiving an environmental parameter for the enclosure; and

initiating a move of the stored data if a value of the environmental parameter exceeds a predefined value.

20. The method of claim 17 , wherein:

the disk drives are configured as a plurality of RAID arrays, including a first array positioned closer to the airflow source than a second array; and

in response to the determination of expected usage, the received data comprises a logical volume to be stored in a selected one of the plurality of RAID arrays.