Patents by Inventor Takeki Okamoto

Takeki Okamoto has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 8935537
    Abstract: A storage device partitions data from a host into multiple partitioned data and distributes, encrypts and stores them together with a parity in multiple memory mediums. This storage device executes processing of restoring the partitioned data or the parity stored in a memory medium subjectable to encryption re-key based on decrypted data of the partitioned data or the parity stored in each memory medium other than the memory medium subjectable to encryption re-key among the multiple memory mediums, storing the restored partitioned data or the parity in a backup memory medium while encrypting the restored partitioned data or the parity with a new encryption key, and thereafter interchanging the backup memory medium and the memory medium subjectable to encryption re-key so that the backup memory medium will be a memory medium configuring the parity group and the memory medium subjectable to encryption re-key will be the backup memory medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2015
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hirotaka Nakagawa, Masayasu Asano, Takeki Okamoto, Nobuyuki Osaki
  • Patent number: 8874829
    Abstract: The device controller (a) executes a data I/O process with respect to a physical storage area in accordance with an I/O command, and (b) sends to the storage controller an I/O command-related response comprising status information subsequent to being changed in accordance with the I/O process. The storage controller (A) receives the response from the target physical storage device, and (B) based on the status information included in the response received in (A), makes a determination as to whether or not to execute internal processing, and in a case where the result of the determination is to execute internal processing, sends to the target physical storage device an internal processing execution command instructing the execution of internal processing. The device controller in the target physical storage device (c), upon receiving the internal processing execution command, executes internal processing in accordance with the internal processing execution command.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuta Yamasaki, Takeki Okamoto, Mikio Fukuoka
  • Patent number: 8868878
    Abstract: Even if an arbitrary hard disk drive is added, the hard disk drive is operated in a specific operation mode suited for that hard disk drive. As triggered by attachment of a hard disk drive to a disk adapter, a processor operates the hard disk drive in a predetermined operation mode based on predetermined parameter information that has been prepared in advance. The hard disk drive stores, in advance, particular parameter information including information about the specific operation mode suited for operation. The processor reads the particular parameter information from the hard disk drive in the predetermined operation mode and operates the hard disk drive in the specific operation mode based on the particular parameter information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tetsuya Inoue, Hiroshi Suzuki, Satoru Yamaura, Takeki Okamoto, Yosuke Nakayama
  • Publication number: 20130262750
    Abstract: The device controller (a) executes a data I/O process with respect to a physical storage area in accordance with an I/O command, and (b) sends to the storage controller an I/O command-related response comprising status information subsequent to being changed in accordance with the I/O process. The storage controller (A) receives the response from the target physical storage device, and (B) based on the status information included in the response received in (A), makes a determination as to whether or not to execute internal processing, and in a case where the result of the determination is to execute internal processing, sends to the target physical storage device an internal processing execution command instructing the execution of internal processing. The device controller in the target physical storage device (c), upon receiving the internal processing execution command, executes internal processing in accordance with the internal processing execution command.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2012
    Publication date: October 3, 2013
    Inventors: Yuta Yamasaki, Takeki Okamoto, Mikio Fukuoka
  • Publication number: 20130132666
    Abstract: Even if an arbitrary hard disk drive is added, the hard disk drive is operated in a specific operation mode suited for that hard disk drive. As triggered by attachment of a hard disk drive to a disk adapter, a processor operates the hard disk drive in a predetermined operation mode based on predetermined parameter information that has been prepared in advance. The hard disk drive stores, in advance, particular parameter information including information about the specific operation mode suited for operation. The processor reads the particular parameter information from the hard disk drive in the predetermined operation mode and operates the hard disk drive in the specific operation mode based on the particular parameter information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 14, 2013
    Publication date: May 23, 2013
    Applicant: HITACHI, LTD.
    Inventors: Tetsuya INOUE, Hiroshi SUZUKI, Satoru YAMAURA, Takeki OKAMOTO, Yosuke NAKAYAMA
  • Patent number: 8364927
    Abstract: In the case of adding an arbitrary hard disk drive, the hard disk drive is operated in a specific operation mode suited for that hard disk drive. As triggered by the attachment of a hard disk drive to a disk adapter, a processor operates the hard disk drive in a predetermined operation mode based on predetermined parameter information that has been prepared in advance. The hard disk drive stores, in advance, particular parameter information including information about the specific operation mode suited for operation. The processor reads the particular parameter information from the hard disk drive in the predetermined operation mode and operates the hard disk drive in the specific operation mode based on the particular parameter information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2013
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tetsuya Inoue, Hiroshi Suzuki, Satoru Yamaura, Takeki Okamoto, Yosuke Nakayama
  • Patent number: 8341425
    Abstract: Provided is a storage device which partitions data from a host into multiple partitioned data and distributes, encrypts and stores them together with a parity to and in multiple memory mediums. This storage device executes processing of restoring the partitioned data or the parity stored in a memory medium to be subject to encryption re-key based on decrypted data of the partitioned data or the parity stored in each memory medium other than the memory medium to be subject to encryption re-key among the multiple memory mediums, storing the restored partitioned data or the parity in a backup memory medium while encrypting the restored partitioned data or the parity with a new encryption key, and thereafter interchanging the backup memory medium and the memory medium to be subject to encryption re-key so that the backup memory medium will be a memory medium configuring the parity group and the memory medium to be subject to encryption re-key will be the backup memory medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2012
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hirotaka Nakagawa, Masayasu Asano, Takeki Okamoto, Nobuyuki Osaki
  • Publication number: 20110296195
    Abstract: Provided is a storage device which partitions data from a host into multiple partitioned data and distributes, encrypts and stores them together with a parity to and in multiple memory mediums. This storage device executes processing of restoring the partitioned data or the parity stored in a memory medium to be subject to encryption re-key based on decrypted data of the partitioned data or the parity stored in each memory medium other than the memory medium to be subject to encryption re-key among the multiple memory mediums, storing the restored partitioned data or the parity in a backup memory medium while encrypting the restored partitioned data or the parity with a new encryption key, and thereafter interchanging the backup memory medium and the memory medium to be subject to encryption re-key so that the backup memory medium will be a memory medium configuring the parity group and the memory medium to be subject to encryption re-key will be the backup memory medium.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 25, 2009
    Publication date: December 1, 2011
    Inventors: Hirotaka Nakagawa, Masayasu Asano, Takeki Okamoto, Nobuyuki Osaki
  • Publication number: 20110252195
    Abstract: Even if an arbitrary hard disk drive is added, the hard disk drive is operated in a specific operation mode suited for that hard disk drive. As triggered by attachment of a hard disk drive to a disk adapter, a processor operates the hard disk drive in a predetermined operation mode based on predetermined parameter information that has been prepared in advance. The hard disk drive stores, in advance, particular parameter information including information about the specific operation mode suited for operation. The processor reads the particular parameter information from the hard disk drive in the predetermined operation mode and operates the hard disk drive in the specific operation mode based on the particular parameter information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 12, 2009
    Publication date: October 13, 2011
    Applicant: HITACHI, LTD.
    Inventors: Tetsuya Inoue, Hiroshi Suzuki, Satoru Yamaura, Takeki Okamoto, Yosuke Nakayama
  • Patent number: 7913039
    Abstract: A storage system includes a plurality of disk apparatuses configuring a plurality of RAID groups, a spare disk apparatus, and a controller. The controller is adapted to copy data stored in a disk apparatus, whose error count exceeds a first threshold, to the spare disk apparatus. If an error count of a disk apparatus included in a RAID group exceeds a second threshold which is lower than the first threshold, the controller is adapted to check error counts of other disk apparatuses included in the same RAID group. If any of the error counts of the other disk apparatuses included in the same RAID group exceeds the second threshold, the controller is adapted to change the first value of the first disk apparatus and the other disk apparatuses included in the same RAID group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2011
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Ikuya Yagisawa, Takeki Okamoto, Naoto Matsunami, Mikio Fukuoka, Toshio Nakano, Kenichi Takamoto, Akira Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20100241898
    Abstract: Disclosed is storage system, that is, an array-type disk apparatus which is provided with an error monitor section which monitors the status of error occurrence in a disk drive and instructs initiation of mirroring between the disk drive and a spare disk drive when the number of errors occurred of the disk drive exceeds a specified value, and a mirror section which performs mirroring between the disk drive and spare disk drive. Storage system, that is, the array-type disk apparatus may be provided with an error monitor section which monitors the status of error occurrence in a disk drive and gives such an instruction as to set the status of the disk drive in a temporary blocked state, and a data restoring section which executes data restoration by reading data from the temporary blocked disk drive when reading from another disk drive constituting a disk array group is not possible during data restoration.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 4, 2010
    Publication date: September 23, 2010
    Applicant: HITACHI, LTD.
    Inventors: Ikuya Yagisawa, Takeki Okamoto, Naoto Matsunami, Mikio Fukuoka, Toshio Nakano, Kenichi Takamoto, Akira Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 7757042
    Abstract: Disclosed is storage system, that is, an array-type disk apparatus which is provided with an error monitor section which monitors the status of error occurrence in a disk drive and instructs initiation of mirroring between the disk drive and a spare disk drive when the number of errors occurred of the disk drive exceeds a specified value, and a mirror section which performs mirroring between the disk drive and spare disk drive. Storage system, that is, the array-type disk apparatus may be provided with an error monitor section which monitors the status of error occurrence in a disk drive and gives such an instruction as to set the status of the disk drive in a temporary blocked state, and a data restoring section which executes data restoration by reading data from the temporary blocked disk drive when reading from another disk drive constituting a disk array group is not possible during data restoration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2010
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Ikuya Yagisawa, Takeki Okamoto, Naoto Matsunami, Mikio Fukuoka, Toshio Nakano, Kenichi Takamoto, Akira Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20100057988
    Abstract: In a storage system having a plurality of storage devices, erasing frequencies of the storage devices with a limit of the number of erasures are made uniform. In a storage system for storing data, comprising a plurality of storage devices for storing the data, the plurality of storage devices comprising spare storage devices, and the storage system comprises an identifier of each of the storage devices and storage device configuration information having a number of erasures of data that data stored in each storage device is erased, and copies data stored in a storage device whose number of erasures of data exceeds a predetermined first threshold value to the spare storage device in a case where the number of erasures of data exceeds the predetermined first threshold value, and allocates an identifier of the storage device number of erasures of data exceeds the predetermined first threshold value to an identifier of the spare storage device which the data has been copied to.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 17, 2008
    Publication date: March 4, 2010
    Inventors: Takeki Okamoto, Mikio Fukuoka
  • Patent number: 7653831
    Abstract: Proposed is a storage system and a data guarantee method capable of guaranteeing and verifying the reliability of data in a short period of time even with the heavy usage of inexpensive hard disk drives. This storage system having a storage apparatus that provides a storage extent for reading and writing data from and in a host system, and a storage controller for controlling the storage apparatus includes a first generation unit for generating a guarantee number in data from a host system to be stored in the storage apparatus showing the guarantee of the data, a second generation unit for generating a guarantee number showing the guarantee of parity data corresponding to data from the host system, and a verification unit for verifying the guarantee number showing the guarantee of data from the host system and the guarantee number showing the guarantee of the parity data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2010
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takeki Okamoto, Takao Sato, Mikio Fukuoka
  • Patent number: 7418622
    Abstract: A storage system enabling effective use of storage resources by immediately releasing a storage device provided as a spare from data recovery processing for a faulty storage device. Even before the completion of the collection copy, the faulty disk drive may be replaced with a new disk drive and a relevant control unit in the storage system recognizes this replacement and has data in the spare disk drive automatically copied back to the new disk drive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2008
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takeki Okamoto, Mikio Fukuoka, Eiju Katsuragi
  • Publication number: 20080162826
    Abstract: Proposed is a storage system and a data guarantee method capable of guaranteeing and verifying the reliability of data in a short period of time even with the heavy usage of inexpensive hard disk drives. This storage system having a storage apparatus that provides a storage extent for reading and writing data from and in a host system, and a storage controller for controlling the storage apparatus includes a first generation unit for generating a guarantee number in data from a host system to be stored in the storage apparatus showing the guarantee of the data, a second generation unit for generating a guarantee number showing the guarantee of parity data corresponding to data from the host system, and a verification unit for verifying the guarantee number showing the guarantee of data from the host system and the guarantee number showing the guarantee of the parity data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2007
    Publication date: July 3, 2008
    Inventors: Takeki OKAMOTO, Takao Sato, Mikio Fukuoka
  • Patent number: 7383380
    Abstract: Disclosed is storage system, that is, an array-type disk apparatus which is provided with an error monitor section which monitors the status of error occurrence in a disk drive and instructs initiation of mirroring between the disk drive and a spare disk drive when the number of errors occurred of the disk drive exceeds a specified value, and a mirror section which performs mirroring between the disk drive and spare disk drive. Storage system, that is, the array-type disk apparatus may be provided with an error monitor section which monitors the status of error occurrence in a disk drive and gives such an instruction as to set the status of the disk drive in a temporary blocked state, and a data restoring section which executes data restoration by reading data from the temporary blocked disk drive when reading from another disk drive constituting a disk array group is not possible during data restoration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2008
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Ikuya Yagisawa, Takeki Okamoto, Naoto Matsunami, Mikio Fukuoka, Toshio Nakano, Kenichi Takamoto, Akira Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20060212747
    Abstract: A storage system enabling effective use of storage resources by immediately releasing a storage device provided as a spare from data recovery processing for a faulty storage device. Even before the completion of the collection copy, the faulty disk drive may be replaced with a new disk drive and a relevant control unit in the storage system recognizes this replacement and has data in the spare disk drive automatically copied back to the new disk drive.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 7, 2005
    Publication date: September 21, 2006
    Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takeki Okamoto, Mikio Fukuoka, Eiju Katsuragi
  • Patent number: 7073025
    Abstract: The present invention relates to provide a technology which can detect a disk drive with degradation in the performance even if the disk drive itself does not comprise a function to detect degradation in the performance and which can realize a disk array apparatus which meets a request of a customer by changing a detection level of the degradation in the performance. In the apparatus, a disk controller: generates logical storage areas used for writing or reading data and having redundancy to store data, using the storage areas in the plurality of disk drive; monitors the storing areas in which a request for writing/reading data into/from the plurality of disk drives forming the logical storage areas is stored; and specifies, among the plurality of disk drives forming the logical storage areas, a disk drive having a large number of repeated times and block the specified disk drive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2006
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takeki Okamoto, Mikio Fukuoka
  • Patent number: 7028216
    Abstract: The invention is intended to reduce disk access during data transfer from a disk in which occurrence of failure is anticipated to a spare disk as much as possible so that occurrence of double-failure is prevented in advance. When occurrence of failure in a disk which configures a RAID group, contents stored in the disk is copied to the spared disk. Simultaneously, another RAID group is paired with the above described RAID group and a secondary volume is provided therein. A write request is directed to the secondary volume. A differential bitmap controls a update data. Data which is not updated is read out from the primary volume, and data which is already updated is read from the secondary volume. When data transfer is completed, contents stored in the secondary volume are copied to the primary volume.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2006
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masaki Aizawa, Eiju Katsuragi, Mikio Fukuoka, Takeki Okamoto