Patent ID: 7904651
Filing Date: 2011-03-08
Classification: G11B

Abstract:
1. A storage device, comprising: a plurality of magnetic disk devices; a rotational state control unit which transmits, to the magnetic disk devices, a signal for controlling a rotational state of motors of the magnetic disk devices; and a disk control unit which provides a host computer with a logical storage area comprising storage areas of the plurality of magnetic disk devices, wherein a management device is connected to the storage device, and for each of a plurality of logical storage areas, the management device transmits, to the disk control unit, an instruction to change the rotational state of the magnetic disk devices that correspond to the logical storage area of the plurality of logical storage areas, wherein the instruction to change the rotational state of the magnetic devices comprises an instruction to change to a power conservation state or an instruction to change to a power OFF state, wherein the disk control unit comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the memory comprises: wherein the processor executes and processes the disk control program, wherein when the disk control unit receives from the management device the instruction to change to a power conservation state or the instruction to change to a power OFF state, and the access information indicates that the host computer is accessing the first logical storage area, the instruction information corresponding to the first logical storage area is not changed to indicate the instruction to change to the power conservation state or the instruction to change to the power OFF state, wherein when the disk control unit receives from the management device the instruction to change to a power conservation state or the instruction to change to a power OFF state, and the access information indicates that the host computer is not accessing the first logical storage area, the instruction information corresponding to the first logical storage area is changed to indicate the instruction to change to the power conservation state or the instruction to change to the power OFF state, respectively, wherein when the instruction information is changed to indicate the instruction to change to the power conservation state, and the host computer has not accessed the first logical storage area for a predetermined amount of time, the disk control unit changes the instruction information from indicating the instruction to change to the power conservation state to indicating the instruction to change to a power OFF state, wherein the disk control program reads, from the instruction information, the instruction to change to the power conservation state or the instruction to change to the power OFF state, wherein the disk control program reads, from the management information, the correspondence between the first logical storage area and a first magnetic disk device of the plurality of magnetic disk devices, wherein the disk control program references the management information and performs a first determination as to whether the logical storage areas other than the first logical storage area correspond to the first magnetic disk device, and wherein the disk control program performs a second determination as to whether to change the rotational state of the first magnetic disk device in accordance with the instruction information which corresponds to the logical storage areas other than the first logical storage area contained in the first magnetic disk device.