Abstract: An elastic body approximately throughout a holding region of a semiconductor wafer is provided in a recess at a center of a holding table that holds the semiconductor wafer. An adhesive tape is joined over a rear face of the semiconductor wafer and a ring frame by rolling a joining roller while the elastic body receives and supports a surface of the semiconductor wafer as a circuit surface.

Abstract: Two or more pads having through holes formed therein concentrically at given pitches are provided on a U-shaped holding arm. Compressed air is sprayed from the pad to a protection sheet to generate negative pressure between a holding surface of the holding arm and the protection sheet for suspendingly holding a wafer with the protection sheet floating, or the pad suction-holds and transports a rear face of the wafer having an exposed circuit surface.

Abstract: The storage system comprises a plurality of flash packages configuring one or more RAID groups, and a controller coupled to the plurality of flash packages. Each flash package comprises a plurality of flash chips configured from a plurality of physical blocks. The controller identifies a target area related to an unnecessary area, unmaps a physical block allocated to a logical block belonging to this target area from this logical block, and manages the unmapped physical block as a free block.

Abstract: There is provided a computer system comprising a first storage system and a second storage system coupled to the first storage system. The first storage system provides a first storage area. The second storage system provides a second storage area. The second storage system reads and writes the requested data from and to the first storage area associated with the second storage area; specifies the first storage area associated with the second storage area from which the data is to be erased upon reception of a request for erasing the data stored in the second storage area; and transmits the request for erasing the data to the first storage system providing the specified first storage area. The first storage system erases the data stored in the specified first storage area, based on a data erasure condition included in the request for erasing the data.

Abstract: A separator separating/collecting operation is controlled in correspondence with an adhesive tape supplying operation such that a separating point of a separator on an adhesive tape when supply of the adhesive tape and separation of the separator are stopped is deviated from a surface of a semiconductor wafer in a subsequent adhesive tape affixing operation.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a storage system and storage management method, which prevent a problem in the operation of stored data from being caused by unknown states of volume information and life information, when flash memories are placed in off-line mode and again placed in on-line mode.

Abstract: A management computer monitors an allocated capacity of a source virtual volume and an allocated capacity of a virtual pool having a storage area allocated to a destination virtual volume in a storage, judges whether the allocated capacity of the source virtual volume can be covered in the virtual pool or not, and informs the user of a result that data migration fails when the allocated capacity of the source virtual volume cannot be covered. When the allocated capacity of the source virtual volume cannot be covered, the management computer uses another storage area to increase the capacity of the virtual pool. Accordingly, when data migration is performed between the virtual volumes, capacities of physical areas allocated to the source virtual volume and the destination virtual volume can be grasped so that the data migration can be performed accurately between the source virtual volume and the destination virtual volume.

Abstract: Provided is an environment that storage device configuration management can be efficiently done in a data center having a virtualization device. A SAN manager acquires configuration information from a device constituting a SAN and prepares a correspondence relationship between a host computer and a virtual volume in the SAN, and a corresponding relationship between the host computer and a real volume, depending upon the acquired information. Based on the corresponding relationship, the SAN manager outputs a correspondence relationship of between virtual and real volumes. Meanwhile, by interpreting a failure-notification message received from the devices of the SAN, detected and outputted is an influence upon an access to a real or virtual volume as to the failure.

Abstract: It is made possible to update information registered in a database of iSNS, SLP and the like in response to a configurational change in a storage device, and for a host computer to discover a disk volume. In response to changes in contents of operation to alter a storage configuration such as in creating or deleting a volume or LUN, contents of the alteration are reflected in the database of iSNS or SLP. Also, in response to a change in setting of LUN masking, a discovery domain of iSNS or attribute values of SLP are updated so that the host computer can discover the disk volume. Also, objects and services are reregistered periodically according to a registration period of iSNS or lifetime of SLP to prevent registered contents from expiring.

Abstract: A storage system comprises a virtual volume configured of multiple virtual areas and a pool configured of multiple actual area groups of different performances. The controller of the storage system manages which actual areas are assigned to which virtual areas and the access load on the actual areas assigned to the virtual areas. The controller, if the access load of a first actual area assigned to a first virtual area is inappropriate for a first actual area group comprising the first actual area, migrates data to a second actual area in a second actual area group which is appropriate for the access load of the first actual area from the first actual area. The controller performs data migration between actual areas for achieving data allocation at a certain point of time based on history information which is the information related to a virtual area at a point of time in the past and an actual area assigned to the virtual area.

Abstract: Provided are a backup data management system and a backup data management method capable of facilitating the management of backup data that is multiplexed between different storage apparatuses. The backup data management system includes a storage apparatus having a volume to be used by a host computer, at least one storage apparatus having volumes, and a management computer. The management computer creates a copy pair so that a snapshot of the volume included in a backup group is stored in all the volumes included in the backup group, and sets all copy pairs included in the designated backup group to a PAIR status when there is a creation request of the snapshot of the volume.

Abstract: A computer system having a plurality of controllers for data input/output control is provided, wherein even if a control authority of a processor is transferred to another processor and the computer system migrates control information necessary for a controller to execute data input/output processing, from a shared memory to a local memory for the relevant controller, the computer system prevents the occurrence of unbalanced allocation of a control function necessary for data input/output control between the plurality of controllers; and a load equalization method for such a computer system is also provided.

Abstract: A controller in a flash memory device manages erase count of each physical block and manages the erase frequency of each logical block. The controller allocates a logical block whose erase frequency is high to one or more physical blocks whose erase count is low.

Abstract: The amount of data to be stored in a semiconductor nonvolatile memory can be reduced and overhead associated with data processing can be reduced. When a microprocessor 112 receives a write request from a host computer 300 and data D1 to D3 exist in a cache slot 117, the microprocessor 112 reads the LBA of each piece of the data, manages each piece of the data D1 to D3 using a bitmap table 118 by associating them with their LBAs, generates a specific command CMD based on the LBAs of the data D1 to D3, adds the data D1 to D3 and addresses ADD1 to ADD3 indicating where the data D1 to D3 are to be stored, to the specific command CMD, and sends it to an FMPK 30. The FMPK 130 stores each piece of update data in a specified block in the flash memory 135 based on the specific command CMD.

Abstract: In a method for releasing a work having an adhesive tape from a holding member which sucks and holds the work having the adhesive tape, the work having the adhesive tape is released from the holding member while supplying a gas which reduces a holding force of the holding member between the holding member and the work having the adhesive tape.

Abstract: A chuck table is configured with a table main body having a wafer placement part holding a wafer placed thereon, and an annular tape support frame provided outside the wafer placement part with a cutter blade traveling groove being interposed therebetween. The tape support frame has, at a top face thereof, a plurality of linear grooves arranged in parallel in a tape joining direction, a large number of linear tape support parts each located between the linear grooves, and an annular tape support part supporting the protective tape at an outer side of the cutter blade traveling groove.

Abstract: In a state that a reference plane of a cutter holder, to which a cutter blade is attached, is brought into contact with a surface of a base of a supporting adhesive tape, the cutter blade cuts the supporting adhesive tape while the reference plane of the cutter holder follows the surface of the base. Herein, a cutting edge of the cutter blade passes by a joining interface between the supporting adhesive tape and a ring frame without penetrating through an adhesive layer of the supporting adhesive tape.

Abstract: A SAN manager acquires configuration information from devices constituting a SAN and produces a corresponding relationship between a host computer and a virtual volume (virtual volume mapping) and a corresponding relationship between the host computer and a real volume (real volume mapping). Based on those pieces of mapping information, the SAN manager outputs a corresponding relationship between virtual and real volumes. Meanwhile, the failure notification messages received from the in-SAN devices are construed to detect and output an influence of the failure upon the access to a real or virtual volume. Furthermore, when receiving a plurality of failure notifications from the devices connected to the SAN, the plurality of failure notifications are outputted with an association based on the corresponding relationship between real and virtual volumes.

Abstract: There is provided a logical volume management method for storage system. When a logical volume is created on a flash memory drive, a management computer allocates logical volume while flash memory chip border of flash memory drive is taken into account. Specifically, a table for managing a correlation between each parity group and the flash memory chip of the flash memory drive is obtained and the logical volume is allocated in such a manner that a flash memory chip is not shared by a plurality of logical volumes. When complete erasing of logical volume data is performed, the management computer specifies a flash memory chip on which complete data erasing is to be performed, and the storage system completely erases data exclusively on the chip of interest with a use of a function of completely erasing data at a time by chip unit of the flash memory chip (chip erasing).

Abstract: A pool that is a storage area group composed of a plurality of real pages based on a plurality of RAID groups is managed. The storage system carries out the rebuild processing that includes the steps of copying each of data that has been stored into all allocated real pages among all real pages based on a specific RAID group to an unallocated real page based on at least one RAID group separate from the specific RAID group, allocating a real page of each copy destination to each virtual page of an allocated destination of an allocated real page of each copy source, and canceling an allocation of an allocated real page of each copy source to a virtual page.