Patent ID: 7428622

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of managing storage media, the method comprising: presenting a common static namespace, the common static namespace providing access to all files in a disk pool via a header corresponding to each file, the disk pool comprising one or more low activity storage disks and one or more high activity storage disks that are strategically distributed through the disk pool to reduce overall ambient temperature of the disk pool and reduce locations of elevated temperature, the one or more low activity storage disks being maintained in a default sleep state and the one or more high activity storage disks being maintained in a default active state, each header retaining a static presented value even as the file to which the header corresponds is moved within the disk pool between the two or more storage disks; collecting statistics on the files to which access is provided by the common static namespace, the statistics comprising a number of times each file is accessed and the time between each such access, migrating one or more files within the disk pool such that files with lower frequency access statistics are stored on the one or more low activity storage disks and files with higher frequency access statistics are stored on the one or more high activity storage disks, thereby minimizing access times for more active files within the disk pool and maximizing an amount of time that the one or more low activity disks can be left in the sleep state; analyzing one or more operational parameters of each disk in the disk pool to dynamically calculate when each disk will fail, the operational parameters comprising a frequency with which each disk is awakened from a sleep state; and initiating a migration of all files stored on a failing disk to a more stable disk within the disk pool, the failing disk being predicted to fail within less than an acceptable period of time based on the analysis of the one or more operational parameters.