Abstract: A multi-cabinet mass storage system with unified management features. The system includes a first reporting group and a second reporting group each having enclosure with processors, such as an environmental monitoring units (EMUs), for generating and transmitting environmental messages pertaining to the particular enclosures. The enclosures are positioned on shelves within cabinets. A bus or cabinet cable links each enclosure to facilitate broadcasting the environmental messages. The environmental messages identify the sending device's reporting group and its physical location within the system. Additional enclosures are included in this reporting group with enclosures of each reporting group located all in one cabinet, in two or more cabinets, and each cabinet may house one, two, or more reporting groups. A network links all of the cabinets to concurrently broadcast the environmental messages throughout the system and allows enclosures in a single reporting group to be positioned in differing cabinets.

Abstract: A controller for positioning on a shelf of a cabinet within a mass storage system for controlling communication among device enclosures in a reporting group. The controller includes an interface to a data communication loop linking device enclosures each including disk drives positioned on one or more cabinets. The interface is used to transmit control commands. A cabinet bus interface controller is provided and linked to a cabinet bus in the cabinet to receive enclosure reporting messages from the device enclosures to collect environment information. The cabinet bus interface transmits reporting messages onto the cabinet bus to provide environmental information. The interface controller determines the shelf location of the controller within the cabinet from signals on the cabinet bus and receives the cabinet identifier over the cabinet bus. A processor is linked to the interface controller and functions to create and issue the control commands to the loop interface.

Abstract: A mass storage cabinet having passive device position sensing and including shelves for racking device enclosures. A cabinet bus is linked to the shelves and adapted to provide a unique shelf identifier signal to each of the shelves. The cabinet includes a device providing a cabinet identifier to the shelves. The cabinet bus includes junction boxes having first and second sets of sensing wires and a side connectors linked to the shelves for providing the shelf identifier signal from the first and second sets of sensing wires. To provide a different signal at each junction box, the sensing wires in the first set are moved one position and the sensing wires in the second set are moved one position prior to the connection to an adjacent junction box. An additional sensing wire is linked to the side connectors and grounded and ungrounded at each side connector to alter the signal.

Abstract: A system and method for identifying a failed storage device in a storage system comprising a plurality of storage devices connected by a ring-type network is disclosed. In one embodiment, when a storage device fails, all storage devices on the ring-type network are disconnected to re-establish communication on the ring-type network. An iterative process of connecting a subset of storage devices to the ring-type network and testing communication on the ring-type network is performed until communication on the ring-type network is re-established. Then, individual storage devices are connected to the ring-type communication until the connection of a storage device causes communication on the ring-type network to fail, thereby identifying the failed storage device. In another embodiment, devices in a reporting group are tested on a shelf-by-shelf basis.

Abstract: A multi-cabinet mass storage system with unified management features. The system includes a first reporting group and a second reporting group each having enclosure with processors, such as an environmental monitoring units (EMUs), for generating and transmitting environmental messages pertaining to the particular enclosures. The enclosures are positioned on shelves within cabinets. A bus or cabinet cable links each enclosure to facilitate broadcasting the environmental messages. The environmental messages identify the sending device's reporting group and its physical location within the system. Additional enclosures are included in this reporting group with enclosures of each reporting group located all in one cabinet, in two or more cabinets, and each cabinet may house one, two, or more reporting groups. A network links all of the cabinets to concurrently broadcast the environmental messages throughout the system and allows enclosures in a single reporting group to be positioned in differing cabinets.

Abstract: A system and method for identifying a failed storage device in a storage system comprising a plurality of storage devices connected by a ring-type network is disclosed. In one embodiment, when a storage device fails, all storage devices on the ring-type network are disconnected to re-establish communication on the ring-type network. An iterative process of connecting a subset of storage devices to the ring-type network and testing communication on the ring-type network is performed until communication on the ring-type network is re-established. Then, individual storage devices are connected to the ring-type communication until the connection of a storage device causes communication on the ring-type network to fail, thereby identifying the failed storage device. In another embodiment, devices in a reporting group are tested on a shelf-by-shelf basis.

Abstract: A mass storage cabinet having passive device position sensing and including shelves for racking device enclosures. A cabinet bus is linked to the shelves and adapted to provide a unique shelf identifier signal to each of the shelves. The cabinet includes a device providing a cabinet identifier to the shelves. The cabinet bus includes junction boxes having first and second sets of sensing wires and a side connectors linked to the shelves for providing the shelf identifier signal from the first and second sets of sensing wires. To provide a different signal at each junction box, the sensing wires in the first set are moved one position and the sensing wires in the second set are moved one position prior to the connection to an adjacent junction box. An additional sensing wire is linked to the side connectors and grounded and ungrounded at each side connector to alter the signal.

Abstract: A controller for positioning on a shelf of a cabinet within a mass storage system for controlling communication among device enclosures in a reporting group. The controller includes an interface to a data communication loop linking device enclosures each including disk drives positioned on one or more cabinets. The interface is used to transmit control commands. A cabinet bus interface controller is provided and linked to a cabinet bus in the cabinet to receive enclosure reporting messages from the device enclosures to collect environment information. The cabinet bus interface transmits reporting messages onto the cabinet bus to provide environmental information. The interface controller determines the shelf location of the controller within the cabinet from signals on the cabinet bus and receives the cabinet identifier over the cabinet bus. A processor is linked to the interface controller and functions to create and issue the control commands to the loop interface.

Abstract: In a SCSI subsystem having mixed wide and narrow SCSI devices installed, a method and apparatus is provided for detecting a narrow SCSI device illegally installed at a slot assigned to a wide SCSI device. To detect the narrow SCSI device installed at an illegal location, high ID and low ID SCSI bus address pairs are set as test pairs for the SCSI subsystem. The low ID is the alias of the high ID if a narrow SCSI device is installed at the high ID slot. To detect a conflict with a controller ID, a non-responsive ID bus address corresponding to a slot known to be unused is called. A response to this call indicates a narrow SCSI device is installed at the high ID of the test pair and the narrow SCSI device at the high ID has configured to an alias bus address matching the controller ID. To detect a present conflict between SCSI devices, the low ID bus address in the test pair is called.

Abstract: A method of testing a memory containing data being used by a processor uses a dedicated diagnostic test page (DTP) and diagnostic status page (DSP) in the memory under test to carry out the testing. The DTP is address-tested and pattern-tested first. Then, each page of the memory is in turn copied to the DTP, tested, and then restored from the DTP. During the test, the address of the page being tested is stored in the DSP along with a valid flag and an error detection code (EDC). A recovery procedure uses the information on the DSP to restore memory pages if the test is interrupted.