Patent ID: 7085958

Claim:
A method for testing and operating a plurality of storage devices, each of said storage devices being connected to and accessible from a respective switch, the switches being connected in a sequence, each of said switches having a bypass mode where a test signal sent to the switch effectively bypasses the respective storage device and proceeds to a next switch in the sequence, each of said switches having a non bypass mode where the test signal proceeds to the respective storage device and elicits a response, said response being passed to a next switch in the sequence, said method comprising the steps of: a storage controller setting all of said switches, except one, in the bypass mode, setting said one switch in the non bypass mode, and sending a test signal to an initial switch in said sequence, said test signal proceeding through the bypassed switches, if any, upstream of said one switch, to the storage device of said one switch, and if said storage device of said one switch is functioning properly, said storage device of said one switch returning said test signal to proceed through all other of the bypassed switches, if any, downstream of said one switch and back to said storage controller, and if said storage device of said one switch is not functioning properly, said storage device of said one switch not returning said test signal back to said storage controller, and said storage controller subsequently setting said one switch into the bypass mode during normal operation such that the storage devices connected to the other switches can be accessed despite improper function of the storage device connected to said one switch; and if said storage device of said one switch is functioning properly, repeating the foregoing steps with a different one of said switches being set in a non bypass mode and the other switches being set in the bypass mode.