Patent Document

[0001]     This application claims the benefit of and is a non-provisional of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/586,080 filed on Jul. 6, 2004, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.  
         [0002]     This application incorporates by reference U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/586,087, filed on Jul. 6, 2004, in its entirety for all purposes. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE  
       [0003]     This disclosure relates in general to storage systems and, more specifically, but not by way of limitation, to data storage cartridge systems.  
         [0004]     Conventional tape backup systems have software already adapted to operate the tape backup systems. As new tape backup systems are developed, there can be a delay before the software is updated to properly interact with the new tape backup system. In some cases, the manufacturer of the new tape backup system will develop a driver or customized software to allow use of their new system.  
         [0005]     There are standard command sets used to interface with classes of tape backup systems. Developers can make a new tape backup system that use the standard command set. Most legacy software can operate with the new tape backup system if the interface is done properly. Conventional command sets do not accommodate many new types of storage media. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]     The present disclosure is described in conjunction with the appended figures:  
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an embodiment of a conventional tape drive system;  
         [0008]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of an embodiment of a conventional software/hardware stack;  
         [0009]      FIG. 3A  is a block diagram of an embodiment of a hardware-controlled removable cartridge device removably coupled to a data cartridge;  
         [0010]      FIG. 3B  is a block diagram of an embodiment of a software/hardware stack for the embodiment of  FIG. 3A ;  
         [0011]      FIG. 4A  is a block diagram of an embodiment of the data cartridge;  
         [0012]      FIG. 4B  is a block diagram of an embodiment of the data cartridge coupled to a cartridge holder;  
         [0013]      FIG. 5A  is a block diagram of an embodiment of a backup system that includes a software-controlled removable cartridge device removably coupled to a data cartridge;  
         [0014]      FIG. 5B  is a block diagram of an embodiment of the software/hardware stack for the embodiment of  FIG. 5A ;  
         [0015]      FIG. 6A  is a block diagram of an embodiment of portions of the removable cartridge device of  FIGS. 3A and 3B ;  
         [0016]      FIG. 6B  is a block diagram of an embodiment of the architecture of the system controller software, which implements the control and formatting functions removable cartridge device shown in  FIG. 3A ; and  
         [0017]      FIG. 7  is a block diagram of an embodiment of the architecture of the host system components interacting with a data cartridge for the embodiment of  FIG. 5A and 5B . 
     
    
       [0018]     In the appended figures, similar components and/or features may have the same reference label. Where the same reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same reference label.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0019]     The ensuing description provides preferred exemplary embodiment(s) only, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention. Rather, the ensuing description of the preferred exemplary embodiment(s) will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing a preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention. It being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.  
         [0020]     Specific details are given in the following description to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. For example, circuits may be shown in block diagrams in order not to obscure the embodiments in unnecessary detail. In other instances, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques may be shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring the embodiments.  
         [0021]     Also, it is noted that the embodiments may be described as a process which is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process is terminated when its operations are completed, but could have additional steps not included in the figure. A process may correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function, its termination corresponds to a return of the function to the calling function or the main function.  
         [0022]     Moreover, as disclosed herein, the term “storage medium” may represent one or more devices for storing data, including read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory, magnetic disk storage mediums, optical storage mediums, flash memory devices and/or other machine readable mediums for storing information. The term “computer-readable medium” includes, but is not limited to portable or fixed storage devices, optical storage devices, wireless channels and various other mediums capable of storing, containing or carrying instruction(s) and/or data.  
         [0023]     Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware or microcode, the program code or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in a machine readable medium such as storage medium. A processor(s) may perform the necessary tasks. A code segment or computer-executable instructions may represent a procedure, a function, a subprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a software package, a class, or any combination of instructions, data structures, or program statements. A code segment may be coupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via any suitable means including memory sharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc.  
         [0024]     The invention relates to computer data storage systems used for data backup, restore and archive applications. It specifically relates to a new generation of removable data cartridges housing a hard disk drive (HDD) as the storage medium and whose interface to the system is an electrical connection having no mechanical interface to the data cartridge during operation (e.g., drive head actuators, tape drive mechanics, etc.). Other embodiments can use any type of storage medium in the data cartridge (e.g. flash memory) so long as there is no mechanical interface. Some embodiments may use autoloaders to mechanically insert, remove and lock the data cartridge in a cartridge holder.  
         [0025]     Referring first to  FIG. 1 , a conventional tape drive peripheral  100  connected to a host computer  106  by means of a peripheral interface is shown. The conventional tape drive system is has three parts: a system controller and peripheral interface  102  having both electronics and software; a tape recording mechanism  104  including a tape transport, motors, heads, a cartridge loader, etc.; and the tape cartridge  106  including a magnetic tape media on one or two reels.  
         [0026]     The operation of the conventional tape drive system  100  also involves software and hardware stack inside the host computer  106  as depicted in  FIG. 2 . At the top of the stack in  FIG. 2  is the data storage application  202  which interfaces through the computer operating system (OS) to the interface driver software that operates the hardware (HW) interface port or adapter (e.g., SCSI, PATA, SATA, SAS, Firewire™, ethernet, UWB, Bluetooth™, WiFi, USB, wireless USB, etc.), which communicates across a cable or port to the tape drive  100 . Inside the tape drive  100 , the system controller and peripheral interface (SCPI)  102  consists of hardware and software the control the peripheral interface, receive the data, format the data, and control a tape mechanism  104 . The general flow of data through the entire stack is top-to-bottom for the recording process in  FIG. 2  and bottom-to-top for the restore or read process.  
         [0027]      FIG. 3A  shows an embodiment of the system diagram for a hardware-controlled removable cartridge device or drive  300  that generally includes four parts: a system controller  302 , a peripheral interface  301 , a cartridge interface circuit  304 , and a cartridge holder or socket  308 . The functions of the removable cartridge device  300  of  FIG. 3A  are similar to the tape drive  100  of  FIG. 1 , except that there is no tape mechanism as this embodiment of the removable cartridge device  300  has no moving parts required to read, write, format, or erase a data cartridge  310 . Instead, all of the mechanics are enclosed inside the data cartridge  310 .  
         [0028]     The cartridge holder  308  and/or data cartridge  310  may have moving parts associated with locking the data cartridge  310  into the cartridge holder  308  or with loading or unloading the data cartridge  310 . Normal data operations (e.g., read, write, format, or erase) do not require the removable cartridge device  300  to perform any mechanical actions. The cartridge holder defines a cavity or socket in which the data cartridge is placed to engage the data cartridge  310  to the removable cartridge device  300 . The data cartridge  310  could partially extend from the socket 80% or less. In some embodiments, the data cartridge  310  is completely inserted into the socket, but any degree of insertion is possible. Some embodiments have a locking mechanism to keep the data cartridge  310  engaged with the removable cartridge device  300 . An eject button and/or software command would disengage the lock for these embodiments.  
         [0029]     The cartridge holder  308  has an electrical, optical and/or wireless interface to exchange data and commands with the data cartridge  310 . The interface between the cartridge holder  308  and the data cartridge  310  could use a standard (e.g., SCSI, PATA, SATA, SAS, Firewire™, ethernet, UWB, USB, wireless USB, Bluetooth™, WiFi, etc.) or proprietary interface. In some embodiment, the protocol for this interface is a standard one, but the connector is proprietary.  
         [0030]      FIG. 3B  shows an embodiment of the software/hardware layer stack in both host computer  106  and the hardware-controlled removable cartridge device  300 . To the host computer  106 , the removable cartridge device  300  appears as any other tape drive  100  and/or autoloader. In one embodiment, the host computer  106  uses a SCSI protocol with a tape drive command set (e.g., SCSI Stream Commands) to control the removable cartridge device  300  and may use an autoloader command set (e.g., SCSI Media Changer). Without knowing, the data storage application  202  controls the data cartridge  310  that uses a different command set. The system controller  302  provides the translation between the two command sets. In this way, conventional data storage applications  202  can be used without modifications or special drivers and still operate with the data cartridge  310  normally.  
         [0031]      FIGS. 4A &amp; 4B  show detail of one embodiment of the data cartridge  310 , the cartridge holder  308  and their connectors  402 , 404 . The connectors  402 ,  404  of this embodiment mate to provide the electrical interconnection, but other embodiments could use an optical or radio frequency (RF) connection. In this embodiment, the connectors  402 ,  404  and cartridge interface  304  comply with a serial-ATA (SATA) or serial-SCSI standard, although other embodiments could use another serial or parallel interface. Some embodiments could have an optical connector coupled to a waveguide on the data cartridge  310  to allow passing a status light from the cartridge holder  308  to the data cartridge  310 .  
         [0032]     The cartridge holder  308  in this embodiment wires the electrical connector  402  to one on the host computer and provides a socket to accommodate the data cartridge  310 . In some embodiments, the cartridge holder  308  is merely a cable from the host computer to the electrical connector  402  that can engage another connector  404  on the data cartridge. Other embodiments could couple the cartridge holder to the host computer  106  with any standard (e.g., SCSI, PATA, SATA, SAS, Firewire™, ethernet, UWB, USB, wireless USB, Bluetooth™, WiFi, etc.) or proprietary interface  
         [0033]      FIGS. 5A and 5B  show another embodiment of a backup system. One basic idea of this embodiment relates to removing the peripheral interface  301 , system controller  302  and cartridge interface  304  of  FIG. 3A  and replacing them with functions within the host computer  506 . In addition to the functions performed by a device driver, the system controller software  502  also performs the data formatting/de-formatting and writing/reading operations performed by the system controller  302  in the hardware-controlled removable cartridge device  300  of the embodiment in  FIG. 3A .  
         [0034]     To the data storage application  202 , the system controller software  502  appears like any other port driver that has a magnetic tape cartridge  106  attached. Translation is performed in the system controller software  502  to the actual interface driver (e.g., SATA driver) used to interface to the data cartridge  310 . In this embodiment, the data storage application  202  communicates with a virtual SCSI driver using a tape drive command set (e.g., SCSI Stream Commands). This virtual SCSI driver is emulated by the system controller software  502 . The virtual SCSI driver can sense when a data cartridge  310  is coupled to the peripheral interface port  204  of the host computer  506  and indicate to the data storage application  202  that a “tape” is available for storage or retrieval of information.  
         [0035]     The hardware peripheral interface for this embodiment is directly the host computer  506  and the data cartridge  310  by way of a removable cartridge device  500 . In this embodiment, the peripheral interface port  204  is a native SATA or SAS interface, but other embodiments could use other interfaces. This embodiment removes substantial cost from the removable cartridge device  300  by replacing some of the hardware and software in the removable cartridge device  300  with system controller software  502  that is run on the host computer  506 . The data cartridge  310  has a native SATA or SAS interface that attaches to the SATA or SAS peripheral interface port  204  of the host computer  506 .  
         [0036]      FIG. 6A  shows a first embodiment of portions of the removable cartridge device  300  of  FIGS. 3A and 3B . The processor  604  communicates with a data buffer  606 , the cartridge interface  304  and the peripheral interface  301 . Software or firmware running on the processor  604  manages this operation to allow translation of a first command set (e.g., SCSI Stream Commands) of the data storage application  202  to a second command set for the data cartridge  310  (e.g., SATA hard drive commands).  
         [0037]      FIG. 6B  shows an embodiment of the architecture of the system controller software  502 , which implements the control and formatting functions that the hardware-controlled removable cartridge device  300  shown in  FIG. 3A  performs with hardware. The data buffer  606  has an input and output sections  620 ,  622 . Under management of the virtual driver emulator  610 , the input section  620  stores the commands and data of the host computer  506 . Translation, reading/writing, formatting/deformatting, and compression/decompression is performed by the data formatting/deformatting process  612 . The cartridge interface process  614  uses the output section buffer  622  when interacting with the data cartridge  310 . The responses expected by the data storage application  202  are produced by the virtual driver emulator process  610 .  
         [0038]      FIG. 7  shows an embodiment of the architecture of the host system components interacting with a data cartridge  310 . In order to make the installed-based of legacy software applications  202  that expect the data storage peripheral to be connected to the host computer system  506  by a conventional interface such as SCSI, the system controller software  502  is designed to emulate the functions of a conventional peripheral interface driver at the driver&#39;s application programming interface (API). In this way, the backup or other application  202  can operate as it normally would without modification to support the data cartridge  310 . But, the system controller software  502  adds the data formatting/de-formatting features used to write/read the data in the format or command set of the data cartridge  310 . These features include data buffering of the data stream from the backup application, data compression, data packing, data structure formatting, error correction coding, CRC generation, and error recovery procedures. The system controller software  502  executes on the host computer  506  and uses its system memory resources  702  (e.g., DRAM) for the data buffering operations. The output of the system controller software  502  is to a conventional port driver in this embodiment, such as SATA, which in turn controls the hardware interface (e.g., SATA) to the data cartridge  310 . It should be appreciated that such an architecture is not limited to removable storage media and will also work with permanently installed devices such as HDDs as long as the entire interface to the medium is non-mechanically actuated during data transfer.  
         [0039]     In one embodiment, the system control software  502  and the system controller  302  appear the same from the perspective of the data storage application  202 . Both embodiments could also have interchangeable data cartridges  310 . A user may have access to both a hardware-controlled removable cartridge device  300  (e.g., the embodiment of  FIG. 3A ) and a software-controlled removable cartridge device  500  (e.g., the embodiment of  FIG. 5A ). The same cartridge  310  could be used in either the hardware- or software-controlled versions  300 ,  500  without any format difference in the cartridge  310 . If there were format differences between the two devices  300 ,  500 , translation could be done such that they were compatible.  
         [0040]     One of the drawbacks of the SATA interface specification is that it does not provide all of the commands normally associated with a tape drive typically used in a backup restore/operation. One of the benefits of one embodiment of this architecture is that the SCSI interface is used by the backup application  202  without recoding the backup application for the native interface for the data cartridge  310 . The system controller software  502  provides for SCSI command set emulation to translate traditional SCSI commands into SATA command sequences that are used by the data cartridge  310 . Other embodiments could use different interface specifications.  
         [0041]     While the principles of the invention have been described above in connection with specific apparatuses and methods, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as limitation on the scope of the invention.

Technology Category: 3