Patent ID: 7612467

Claim:
A power device for supplying power to a plurality of storage devices comprising a first direct-current power input port and a second direct-current power input port to which direct-current power is respectively inputted, comprising: a plurality of first direct-current power units for supplying direct-current power to the first direct-current power input ports of the respective storage devices; a plurality of second direct-current power units for supplying the same direct-current power as the direct-current power outputted from the first direct-current power units to the second direct-current power input ports of the respective storage devices; and a power controller for respectively controlling the first direct-current power units and the second direct-current power units, wherein the storage devices are grouped into a plurality of subgroups each comprising a plurality of the storage devices, the first direct-current power units and the second direct-current power units are respectively provided in the same numbers as the number of the subgroups, the first direct-current power units are respectively made correspondent to any one subgroup of the subgroups, and respectively supply the direct-current power to the first direct-current power input ports of the storage devices inside the corresponding subgroups, and the second direct-current power units are respectively made correspondent to all of the subgroups, and respectively supply, with respect to each of the subgroups, the direct-current power to the direct-current power input port of any one storage device of the storage devices inside the subgroups; wherein the power controller: (1) respectively acquires states of the first direct-current power units and the second direct-current power units; (2) upon detecting a failure only in any one of the first direct-current power units or the second direct-current power units, outputs a warning regarding the direct-current power unit in which the failure has been detected; (3) upon detecting failures respectively in the first direct-current power unit and the second direct-current power unit, which, of the respective first direct-current power units and the respective second direct-current power units, respectively supply the direct-current power to the same storage device, acquires the state of the storage device connected respectively to the first direct-current power unit and the second direct-current power unit in which the failures have been detected, and, based on the acquired state, determines whether or not a failure occurred in the storage device; (4) upon determining that a failure occurred in the storage device, outputs a warning regarding the storage device; and upon determining that a failure has not occurred in the storage device, outputs warnings regarding the first direct-current power unit and the second direct-current power unit in which the failures have been respectively detected.