Abstract: A method for reconfiguration of a disk drive array is provided. For the method of the present invention, an array controller in a disk drive array examines the original configuration of the disk drive array (the source configuration) and the desired configuration (the destination configuration). Based on this examination, the array controller determines if the reconfiguration process may be optimized. To optimize the reconfiguration process, the array controller determines if a combination of changes to system parameters and possible rebuilding operations can replace the migration process. If this is possible, the reconfiguration process is modified to eliminate data migration. Otherwise, data migration is performed. In this way, the present invention provides a method that dramatically increases the speed of reconfiguration for some source and destination configurations.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for a mass storage subsystem such as a RAID array. The invention includes a housing which defines first and second cavities with the first cavity housing an array controller such as a RAID controller. The second cavity houses a plurality of substantially conventional IDE drives conforming to the 3.5″ form factor. The array is configured to maximize cooling of the array controller and the drives within the extremely small space defined by the housing.