Abstract: Disclosed are ways of providing a highly flexible high availability storage system. Disk drive carriers for insertion into enclosures in a storage system include several disk drives. The enclosures accept carriers that include drives of different sizes, and drives compatible with different storage technologies, for instance Fibre Channel, SATA, or SAS. Drives oriented in their carriers in a manner that allows them to be connected to a common medium via identical flex circuits that are configured based on the orientation of the drives. Redundant controllers include redundant serial buses for transferring management information to the carriers. The carriers include a controller for monitoring the multiple serial buses and producing storage technology specific management commands for the disk drives.

Abstract: Communications settings are managed. System characteristics are determined that affect communications on a high speed transmission link between nodes. The system characteristics includes system hardware information and physical characteristics of a cable. Tuning information is derived from the system characteristics. At least some of the tuning information is communicated between the nodes.

Abstract: An apparatus for setting an enclosure address in a computer system having a plurality of enclosures includes at least one enclosure address control device including input means for changing the enclosure address of an associated enclosure of the plurality of enclosures, a display device for indicating the enclosure address assigned to the associated enclosure, a controller for receiving an enclosure address change input from the input means and a logic device for resetting devices within the associated enclosure. The apparatus further includes a register device for receiving the enclosure address from the controller a predetermined period of time after the controller receives the enclosure address change input from the input means. After the predetermined period of time expires, the controller issues a command to the logic device for resetting the devices within the associated enclosure, to assign the changed enclosure address to the devices.

Abstract: In a highly available storage system, an enclosure includes first and second power supplies, and first and second controller boards. Each of the first and second controller boards includes first and second serial bus controllers. First and second serial buses are coupled to both of the first and second serial bus controllers on each of the first and second controller boards. The first serial bus is coupled to the first power supply, while the second serial bus coupled to the second power supply. The first and second serial buses are used for exchanging enclosure management and environmental information between the first and second power supplies and the first and second controller boards. The first and second serial buses are coupled to isolation switches so that redundant modules can operate if a serial bus controller fails.

Abstract: In a highly available storage system, an enclosure includes first and second power supplies, and first and second controller boards. Each of the first and second controller boards includes first and second serial bus controllers. First and second serial buses are coupled to both of the first and second serial bus controllers on each of the first and second controller boards. The first serial bus is coupled to the first power supply, while the second serial bus coupled to the second power supply. The first and second serial buses are used for exchanging enclosure management and environmental information between the first and second power supplies and the first and second controller boards. The first and second serial buses are coupled to isolation switches so that redundant modules can operate if a serial bus controller fails.

Abstract: A configurable fibre channel (FC) loop system is provided that may be used to couple mass storage devices to input/output (I/O) controllers in a data storage system. The system may include first and second port bypass systems (PBPS). Each PBPS may include FC protocol network sections having nodes that may be configured into different numbers of loops that may be used to couple the devices to the controllers.

Abstract: A module for a storage system is capable of accessing disk drives in a particular order regardless of its orientation. The module accesses the drives in the same order whether it is installed in a first orientation or in a second, inverted orientation. The module includes a plurality of disk controllers. Each disk controller is coupled to one or more disk drives. The disk controllers are mounted on the module so that when the module is coupled to the disk drives in a first orientation, the disk controllers are coupled to the disk drives in a particular order. When the module is coupled to the disk drives in a second orientation inverted relative to the first orientation, the disk controllers are coupled to the disk drives is the same particular order.

Abstract: Disclosed are ways of providing a highly flexible high availability storage system. Disk drive carriers for insertion into enclosures in a storage system include several disk drives. The enclosures accept carriers that include drives of different sizes, and drives compatible with different storage technologies, for instance Fibre Channel, SATA, or SAS. Drives oriented in their carriers in a manner that allows them to be connected to a common medium via identical flex circuits that are configured based on the orientation of the drives. Redundant controllers include redundant serial buses for transferring management information to the carriers. The carriers include a controller for monitoring the multiple serial buses and producing storage technology specific management commands for the disk drives.

Abstract: Disk drives in a storage system are spun up in sequential stages. During each sequential stage a number of disk drives is spun up based on parameters related to the power requirements of the system. The parameters include the maximum current for the storage system, the number of disk drives currently in steady state, the steady state current required for a disk drive, and the spin up current required for a disk drive. High availability features are provided as further aspects of the spin up mechanism.

Abstract: In a highly available storage system, an enclosure includes first and second power supplies, and first and second controller boards. Each of the first and second controller boards includes first and second serial bus controllers. First and second serial buses are coupled to both of the first and second serial bus controllers on each of the first and second controller boards. The first serial bus is coupled to the first power supply, while the second serial bus coupled to the second power supply. The first and second serial buses are used for exchanging enclosure management and environmental information between the first and second power supplies and the first and second controller boards. The first and second serial buses are coupled to isolation switches so that redundant modules can operate if a serial bus controller fails.

Abstract: A system is provided that may be used to mount mass storage devices so that they may be used in a mass storage system. The mass storage devices may include respective disk storage devices. Each of the disk storage devices may have a respective form factor that may be a respective one of two possible form factors (e.g., low profile or half-height form factor).