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

Claim 20:
21. A data handling device comprising:
at least 10 hard disks that:
are adapted for long term redundant storage of data; and
generate heat when the hard disks 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 at least 10 hard disks for storing the information chunks such that the data can be reproduced even when more than one of the selected hard disks fail;
write the information chunks onto the selected hard disks;
based on respective temperatures of the selected hard disks onto which the information chunks were written, determine a subset of the selected hard disks from which respective ones of the information chunks, on the basis of which the data is reproducible, can be retrieved without overheating, in a manner that minimizes use of currently non-spinning disks, and such that a heat capacity of the hard disks is used in a manner that allows the hard disks 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 hard disks;

wherein:
at least some of the subset of the selected hard disks 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 hard disks being mounted in rows in a manner by which those of the at least some of the subset of the selected hard disks 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 hard disks 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 at least one of:
(a) perform the determination of the subset in a manner by which to minimize a gradient at which the hard disks are cooled; and
(b) perform at least one access in a manner that is based on a thermal load that will be induced by the at least one access, the at least one access being a queued writing and/or a scheduled reading.