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: Described is an adaptable EMI/RFI shielding for a panel. The shield includes an electrically conductive shield having first and second sides and a gasket attached on the first side at a periphery of the shield. The shield has a slot formed therein. A panel portion has a front wall and side walls defining an interior region. The panel portion also includes a spring receptacle and a snap that each extends substantially perpendicular from the front wall within the interior region. The spring receptacle has a spring inserted therein with a portion of the spring extending out of the spring receptacle. The snap has a hook at one end of the snap. The spring urges against the second side of the shield and the hook enters the slot and catches onto the first side of the shield when the shield is attached to the panel portion.

Abstract: An electronic cabinet having a set of vertically-oriented frame members, a set of fasteners attached to the set of vertically-oriented frame members, and a panel. The panel includes a cover, a set of latches coupled to the cover, and a set of buttons. When the set of latches engages the set of fasteners to secure the panel to the set of vertically-oriented frame members and when the set of buttons is depressed, the set of buttons disengages the set of latches from the set of fasteners to release the panel from the set of vertically-oriented frame members. Such a configuration enables a user to fully remove the panel from the cabinet without having to disconnect a hinge as for conventional hinged panels. Furthermore, such a configuration is well-suited for employing a locking mechanism that controls depression of the set of buttons to provide secure equipment access.

Abstract: Described is a storage system comprising a communication bus, a disk drive, a control board having a processing unit connected to the communication bus, and an adapter board in electrical communication with the disk drive. The adapter board has a controller connected to the communication bus. The controller receives instructions over the communication bus from the processing unit and communicates with the disk drive in response to the instructions. Optionally, the storage system has a midplane having a first connector connected to an electrical connector of the control board and a second connector connected to an electrical connector of the adapter board. Attached to opposite sides of the midplane, the first and second connectors are aligned with and electrically connected to each other through the midplane. An electrical signal transmitted between the control board and the adapter board passes directly through the midplane through the first and second midplane connectors.

Abstract: A disk drive module is adapted to be slidably disposed within the chassis of a data storage system. The disk drive module includes a fiber channel disk drive for storing data, an upper carrier sled mounted onto the disk drive and a lower carrier sled mounted onto the disk drive. A bezel assembly is snap mounted onto the upper and lower carrier sleds. The bezel assembly includes a bezel which is capable of lateral displacement relative to the upper carrier sled, an ejector pivotally mounted onto the bezel for releasably locking the disk drive module within the chassis, and a latch for releasably locking the position of the ejector. An adaptive spring includes a first end which is mounted onto the upper carrier sled and a second end which abuts against the bezel, the adaptive spring resiliently urging the bezel away from the upper carrier sled.