Patent ID: 7234023
Filing Date: 2007-06-19
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A disk array system comprising: a controller enclosure; one or more serial disk drive enclosures; and a plurality of fibre channel loops respectively connecting the controller enclosure and the plurality of serial disk drive enclosures, wherein the controller enclosure comprises: a communication controller connected to a higher-level device and receives a data from the higher-level device, a cache memory which is connected to the communication controller and which holds the data communicated between the communication controller and the higher-level device, and a plurality of system controllers each being connected to the higher-level device and the cache memory and which controls to transfer or receive the data communicated between the higher-level device and the communication controller to and from the communication controller, wherein each of the one or more serial disk drive enclosures comprises: a plurality of port bypass circuits each of which is connected to the fiber channel loops and used to switch a connection of the serial disk drive enclosures of its own to the controller enclosure, a plurality of interface connectors which are connected to the plurality of system controllers through the plurality of fibre channel loops, and each of which connects a fiber channel interface which is used by the plurality of fibre channel loops and an interface for serial disk drives, a plurality of dual port circuits which are connected to the plurality of interface connectors, respectively, and controls to switch a path to the serial disk drive from the plurality of interface connectors, a plurality of serial disk drives which are connected to the plurality of port bypass circuits, receives and stores the data transferred from the system controllers via the fibre channel loops, the port bypass circuits, the interface connectors, and the dual port circuits, and an enclosure management processor which is connected to the plurality of interface connectors via the port bypass circuits, and monitors operation of the interface connectors, wherein when one of said system controllers receives information concerning a fault occurring in one of said serial disk enclosures, said one of said system controllers bypasses the one of the serial disk enclosures in which the fault occurred by use of one of the port bypass circuits included in the one of the serial disk enclosures, and wherein said bypassing the one of the serial disk enclosures in which the fault occurred by use of one of the port bypass circuits included in the one of the serial disk enclosures includes: issuing by said one of said system controllers a RECEIVE DIAG command to each of the one or more serial disk drive enclosures to collect a log of the enclosure management processor of each serial disk drive enclosure, thereby monitoring whether any fault occurs, receiving by the port bypass circuit, included in the one of the serial disk enclosures in which the fault occurred, the RECEIVE DIAG command and upon detection of an occurrence of a fault, transmitting fault information to said one of said system controllers, upon receiving the fault information by said one of said system controllers, switching a path from the one of the serial disk enclosures in which the fault occurred by use of the port bypass circuit to another one of the serial disk enclosures in which a failure has not occurred, issuing a reset/poweroff instruction to the one of the serial disk enclosures in which the fault occurred to stop or shut down the one of the serial disk enclosures in which the fault occurred, and receiving, by the one of the serial disk enclosures in which the fault occurred, the reset/poweroff instruction and shutting down the one of the serial disk enclosures in which the fault occurred.