Patent ID: 8225135

Claim:
A processor-implemented method for automatically providing information about a flawed data storage device, the method comprising: automatically storing, in a computerized database, information about a plurality of data storage devices having respective flaws, the information including information usable to automatically identify one or more flawed data storage devices installed in an external data storage system and information about each of the flaws; automatically fetching, from the database, information about at least one of the plurality of data storage devices having a respective flaw and information about the respective flaw; automatically providing the fetched information, via a computer network port, to an external data storage system configured such that one or more data storage devices can be user-swappably installed in the external data storage system; automatically obtaining, by the external data storage system, the provided information; automatically fetching information from a data storage device installed in the external data storage system, the fetched information comprising information about the installed data storage device; and using the provided information obtained by the external data storage system and the fetched information about the installed data storage device to automatically identify the installed data storage device as being flawed.