Patent ID: 6948102

Claim:
A method of monitoring a plurality of data storage devices in a storage network, the method comprising: (a) gathering status information from the plurality of data storage devices in the storage network during operation of the storage network, the status information including a plurality of birth records and a plurality of health records associated with the plurality of data storage devices; (b) processing the status information to classify at least one data storage device as being unhealthy, wherein processing the status information includes scaling and normalizing the status information from the plurality of birth records and health records and classifying each data storage device into one of a plurality of classes by arranging the scaled and normalized status information from the plurality of birth records and plurality of health records into clusters in a multidimensional space using a probabilistic neural network, and wherein the plurality of classes includes at least three classes representing different relative degrees of health; and, (c) performing a preventative maintenance action associated with the unhealthy device in response to such classification.