Patent ID: 11972138
Assignee: nan
Field: Computer technology (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 28:
29. A data handling device comprising:
a plurality of data storage units that:
are adapted for long term redundant storage of data; and
generate heat when the data storage units are in operation; and

data accessing circuitry configured to:
receive data to be stored;
determine a number of information chunks relating to the data to be stored such that the data to be stored is reproducible based on a subset of, without requiring all of, the information chunks;
select several of the data storage units for storing the information chunks such that the data can be reproduced even when more than one of the selected data storage units fail;
write the information chunks onto the selected data storage units;
based on (a) respective temperatures of the selected data storage units onto which the information chunks were written and (b) which of the data storage units are currently in an idle state, determine a subset of the selected data storage units from which respective ones of the information chunks, on the basis of which the data is reproducible, can be retrieved without overheating, such that a heat capacity of the data storage units is used in a manner that allows the data storage units to heat up over an extended period of use and to then slowly cool; and
reproduce the data by retrieving respective ones of the information chunks from the determined subset of the selected data storage units;

wherein:
at least some of the subset of the selected data storage units can be subject to the slow cooling by a common vertical air flow due to the at least some of the subset of the selected data storage units being mounted in rows in a manner by which those of the at least some of the subset of the selected data storage units that are arranged in one of the rows:
are spaced apart from one another by a distance between 1 mm and 10 mm; and
face one another with their respective largest planar faces such that air flow paths between adjacent ones of those of the at least some of the subset of the selected data storage units that are arranged in the one of the rows conform to air flow paths in an adjacent row above or below the one of the rows; and

the data accessing circuitry is configured to perform the determination of the subset at least one of (a) such that the determination of the subset is further based on a thermal load that is determined will be induced by at least one of queued writing and queued reading, and (b) in a manner by which to minimize a gradient at which the data storage units are cooled.