Patent ID: 8015439
Filing Date: 2011-09-06
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method for handling disk drives in a Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks (RAID) configuration, comprising: detecting a disk drive received via insertion of the disk drive in a disk drive slot of an enclosure of the RAID configuration; when the insertion is a cold insertion into an empty disk drive slot, and when prior to the disk drive being received in the disk drive slot, fewer than a maximum number of supported disk drives are configured and, when after the disk drive is received in the disk drive slot, no more than the maximum number of supported drives are in-place, marking the disk drive received in the disk drive slot as Un-configured good alias Ready; when the insertion is a cold insertion into a missing disk drive slot, and when prior to the disk drive being received in the disk drive slot, fewer than a maximum number of supported disk drives are configured and, when after the disk drive is received in the disk drive slot, no more than the maximum number of supported drives are in-place, and when the inserted disk drive is smaller storage capacity than a storage capacity of a replaced disk drive which was previously in-place within the missing disk drive slot, marking the inserted disk drive as FAIL; and when the insertion is a cold insertion into a missing disk drive slot, and when prior to the disk drive being received in the disk drive slot, fewer than a maximum number of supported disk drives are configured and, when after the disk drive is received in the disk drive slot, no more than the maximum number of supported drives are in-place, and when the inserted disk drive has a same storage capacity or larger storage capacity than a replaced disk drive which was previously in-place within the missing disk drive slot, marking the inserted disk drive as FAIL or RBLD based on an Auto Rebuild flag.