Patent ID: 7080167

Claim:
A disk array system comprising: a storage device having a logical unit; and a control device connected to a host which requests data input/output and inputting/outputting the data into/from the storage device according to the request from the host, the storage device including: a plurality of disk devices having an ATA interface; and an interface converter for converting between ATA interface signals adapted for the disk devices and Fibre Channel signals interface adapted for the control device, the interface converter including: a response time monitor portion for monitoring whether a response to the data input/output request is received from the disk devices within a first predetermined time and a second predetermined time longer than the first predetermined time; and a notification portion for issuing a first notification to the control device by judging the disk devices to be under a reassignment operation when the response is received from the disk devices after the first predetermined time and for issuing a second notification to the control device so that the control device produces a response to the host without waiting the response from the disk devices when no response is received from the disk devices within the second predetermined time, the control device including: a drive management portion for managing an operation state of the disk devices; a threshold management table for managing a state of the reassignment executed in the disk devices; a RAID control portion for controlling operation of redundantly-disposed disk devices; and the drive management portion updates the number of the reassignments of the disk devices when the first notification is received, the number being recorded in the threshold management table, for managing the operative state of the disk devices by judging whether symptom that the disk devices are failed has become high according to results of comparison between the number of the reassignments and a predetermined threshold recorded in the threshold management table, and for transmitting data reconstructed with data which is read from other redundantly-disposed disk devices to the host without waiting for the response from the disk devices when the second notification is received.