Abstract: Described is a system (and technique) to determine an appropriate path to a storage device and scheduling a data transfer by taking into consideration bandwidth, device performance, and the nature of the transfer. The system may use an efficient implementation to reduce overhead when making such a determination by utilizing a reservation table and selecting a dispatch that is efficient for a particular data transfer. For example, the system may determine a first-fit and a future-fit scheduling for an I/O request for each path to a storage device. The system may determine completion times for each of the types of scheduling for each of the paths, and accordingly, select the path and schedule with the earliest completion time.

Abstract: One embodiment is related to a method for implementing a staggered solid-state drive (SSD) replacement schedule, comprising: determining whether more than a first threshold number of SSDs within an array are expected to reach End of Life (EOL) at approximately a same time; determining that the staggered SSD replacement schedule is to be engaged in response to determining that more than the first threshold number of SSDs within the array are expected to reach EOL at approximately the same time; determining the staggered SSD replacement schedule for the SSDs that are expected to reach EOL at approximately the same time; and raising replacement alerts according to the determined staggered SSD replacement schedule to prompt a user to replace the SSDs.

Abstract: Described is a system (and technique) to determine an appropriate path to a storage device and scheduling a data transfer by taking into consideration bandwidth, device performance, and the nature of the transfer. The system may use an efficient implementation to reduce overhead when making such a determination by utilizing a reservation table and selecting a dispatch that is efficient for a particular data transfer. For example, the system may determine a first-fit and a future-fit scheduling for an I/O request for each path to a storage device. The system may determine completion times for each of the types of scheduling for each of the paths, and accordingly, select the path and schedule with the earliest completion time.

Abstract: One embodiment is related to a method for determining a faulty hardware component within a data storage system, comprising: collecting data relating to a plurality of input/output (IO) errors associated with a first storage processor within the data storage system; compiling IO error statistics based on the data relating to the plurality of IO errors; and determining a faulty hardware component based on the IO error statistics, wherein the determining of the faulty hardware component comprises utilizing a second storage processor of the data storage system independent from the first storage processor.

Abstract: Described is a system (and technique) to determine an appropriate path to a storage device and scheduling a data transfer by taking into consideration bandwidth, device performance, and the nature of the transfer. The system may use an efficient implementation to reduce overhead when making such a determination by utilizing a reservation table and selecting a dispatch that is efficient for a particular data transfer. For example, the system may determine a first-fit and a future-fit scheduling for an I/O request for each path to a storage device. The system may determine completion times for each of the types of scheduling for each of the paths, and accordingly, select the path and schedule with the earliest completion time.

Abstract: Embodiments are directed to a method of optimizing disk striping input/output (I/O) operations to an array of storage devices, by identifying an I/O request as a full stripe write request that stripes data across a plurality of storage devices of the array, converting the full stripe write request to a SCSI command block (CDB), and putting the SCSI command block in one of a stripe cache or a non-stripe cache that comprises a sorted linked list where each node of the linked list is a link to one of the plurality of storage devices.

Abstract: Embodiments are directed to a method of optimizing input/output (I/O) operations to a storage device having mixed read and write operations by determining a current queue state for the read and write operations with respect to defined optimum values of I/O operations per second (IOPS) and latency for the I/O operations, determining device characteristics of the storage device by determining read/write response times, queue depths and dispatch time intervals for an initial read/write operation, and modifying at least one of a wait time or batch size for subsequent read/write operations to meet the defined optimum values of IOPS and latency.

Abstract: A system for handling errors during interfacing with storage devices comprises a communications interface and an error handler. The error handler is for: indicating to provide a first instruction to the first storage device using the first path; determining whether an error or time out message is received; in the event the error handler determines that either message is received: indicating to provide a second instruction to the first storage device using a second path; determining whether a second error or second time out message is received; in the event the error handler determines that either message is received, indicating to provide a likely first storage device error message; and in the event the error handler determines that either message is not received, indicating to provide a likely first path error message and indicating to communicate using the second path.