Patent ID: 8291260

Claim:
A system for maximizing availability of data, the system comprising: a set of disks comprising a plurality of hard disks; a processor in communication with each of the plurality of hard disks; and a computer readable medium in communication with the processor, the computer comprising a set of instructions executable by the processor, the set of instructions comprising: instructions to identify a set of operating characteristics for each of the plurality of hard disks, the set of operating characteristics affecting the availability of data of the plurality of hard disks, wherein the instructions to identify the set of operating characteristics comprise interrogating the plurality of disks, testing the plurality of disks, searching a database, and receiving the set of operating characteristics; instructions to calculate, based at least in part on the operating characteristics of the plurality of hard disks, a first estimated mean time to data loss for the set of disks, the first estimated mean time to data loss corresponding to a first configuration of the set of disks, the first configuration defined based at least in part on a first selection of configurable options; instructions to calculate, based at least in part on the operating characteristics of the plurality of hard disks, a second estimated mean time to data loss for the set of disks, the second estimated mean time to data loss corresponding to a second configuration of the set of disks, the second configuration defined based at least in part on a second selection of configurable options; instructions to select, from among at least the first configuration and the second configuration, a configuration with a greatest estimated mean time to data loss; and instructions to configure, according to the selected configuration, a disk group from the set of disks.