Abstract: A tension balancer which includes an axis body including a latch part, a column shaped main body including a bottom part which has at least two first through holes arranged at equal intervals in a concentric circle from the center, and an open upper part, a spring base housed within the Main body and having an aperture for joining an end of the axis body to the center, and at least two second holes arranged at equal intervals in a concentric circle from the center, an upper lid having an aperture for pushing through the main body of the axis body to the center, and at last two second through holes arranged at equal intervals in a concentric circle from the center, the upper lid being screwed to the main body by a bold and nut which passes through the first, second and third through holes, and at least two or more spring unit groups sandwiched between the spring base which is housed within the main body and the upper lid.

Abstract: A device management apparatus that executes an initialization processing to a device that stores user data includes a first initialization processing section for executing a first initialization processing in which a progress status of an initialization is notified to another device management apparatus every time when the initialization equivalent to a processing unit of the initialization processing is executed to the device, a second initialization processing section for executing a second initialization processing in which a progress status of an initialization is notified to the another device management apparatus every time when the initialization for the predetermined number of processing units is executed to the device, a monitoring unit for monitoring a status of access to the device and an operation state of the device, and a changeover section for changing over the first initialization processing and the second initialization processing based on a monitoring result.

Abstract: A storage system includes data storage devices, spare storage devices used when a failure occurs in a data storage devices, a group management unit that divides the data storage devices into groups and implements a redundancy, a data storage device restoration unit that assigns the spare storage device as a replacement when a failure occurs, and a configuration change unit changing configuration of the group to which the data storage devices belong. The configuration change unit includes, a spare storage device securing unit that secures the spare storage device, a change processor that writes data concerning the group into the spare storage device, and a change restoration unit that performs continuation of the configuration change, or restoration of the group to a state in a start, using the data written into the spare storage device when the configuration change of the group is interrupted.

Abstract: A storage control device for managing data in a storage while maintaining redundancy of the data includes a formatting management table, a formatting processing section, a recovery management table and a recovery processing section. The formatting management table manages a formatted region and an unformatted region in a management target volume. The formatting processing section executes formatting of the unformatted region in the management target volume on the basis of the formatting management table. The recovery management table retains a content of the formatting management table at a point of occurrence of a redundancy restoration event when a redundancy restoration event has occurred during formatting. The recovery processing section executes recovery of a formatted region, which had been formatted at the point of occurrence of the redundancy restoration event, on the basis of the recovery management table in parallel with the formatting.

Abstract: A disk array control apparatus controls a disk array having a redundant configuration with two or more disk devices and a spare disk provided for lack of redundancy in the disk array. And the disk array control apparatus includes a failure detecting unit for detecting the lack of redundancy in the disk array, and a rebuilding control unit for performing rebuilding processing on a dedicated spare disk device assigned to the disk array with the lack of redundancy, the dedicated spare disk being the spare disk dedicatedly assigned to the two or more disk arrays including the disk devices having a same characteristic as that of the spare disk.

Abstract: A system creates a configuration definition table to be used for accessing a physical disk according to a host I/O request, to decrease a memory size of the configuration definition table even if common firmware is used for models with different scales. For this, a model correspondence table to show the definition of each model is provided in a configuration setup processing module, the maximum values of this model are recorded in a memory based on this content, and a memory area for each item is secured. And the actual content of the configuration definition is developed on the secured memory. Therefore even for a diversity of models, the memory size of the configuration definition table can be decreased to a size matching the model, with common firmware regardless the model.

Abstract: A RAID-group converting apparatus converts two RAID groups into one RAID group. The RAID-group converting apparatus includes: a data-reading unit that reads at least non-parity data from data including the non-parity data and parity data, for each stripe from a plurality of recording media belonging to the two RAID groups; a parity-generating unit that generates two parities using the data belonging to a same stripe read by the data-reading unit; and a parity-writing unit that writes the two parities generated by the parity-generating unit into a parity storage area belonging to the same stripe.

Abstract: Even if failure, or the like, occurs during the encryption process, the encryption process is surely resumed. A flag changing unit changes an encryption flag of one disk to being encrypted after an encryption request is received and before the encryption of the data stored on the one disk is started. The flag changing unit changes the encryption flag of the one disk to having been encrypted and changes the encryption flag of the other disk to being encrypted before copying the encrypted data from the one disk to the other disk is started. The flag changing unit changes the encryption flag of the other disk to having been encrypted after copying to the other disk is completed.

Abstract: A plurality of music apparatus 10 to 30 such as an electronic musical instrument and a microphone apparatus are connected by wireless to a mixer apparatus 40. A Bluetooth module is adopted as wireless communication means to construct a piconet with mixer apparatus 40 functioning as a master and music apparatus 10 to 30 functioning as slaves. Audio signals and MIDI data from music apparatus 10 to 30 are transmitted by wireless to mixer apparatus 40 through isosynchronous communication procedure using Bluetooth modules 11, 21, 31, 41. In mixer apparatus 40, with regard to the MIDI data, music tone signals based on the MIDI data are produced, whereafter the produced music tone signals and the aforesaid audio signals transmitted by wireless are mixed. Wiring by means of cables between a plurality of music apparatus and a mixer apparatus is abolished, thereby eliminating the cumbersomeness of wiring and the restrictions accompanying the wiring.

Abstract: In a disk array system, when a failure occurs in a disk unit under control, a disk controller performs a rebuild process for rebuilding data stored on the faulty disk unit on a spare disk unit (HS). When a rebuild control section accepts an I/O request from a host before completing the rebuild process in all target areas, the rebuild control section specifies a management unit area including a target area of the I/O request and determines whether the rebuild process is completed in the management unit area. If the rebuild process is not completed in the management unit area, the rebuild control section performs the rebuild process in the management unit area by a rebuild process section and rebuilds data on the HS. After that, an I/O request handling section handles the I/O request.

Abstract: A disk array apparatus includes a first converting unit that performs first conversion on storing object data received in a first control unit from a controller to convert the storing object data into data in a second control unit, the controller including a selecting section that selects, on the basis of the access state monitored by a monitoring section, one from the controller and said first converting unit, and a second converting unit that performs, if the controller is selected by the selecting section, a second conversion, different from the first conversion, on the object data to convert the object data managed in the first control unit into the data in the second control unit. With this configuration, the disk array apparatus accomplishes the object to improve the accessibility to different types of storage units that manage data storing in different control units.

Abstract: A RAID system access a physical disk according to a host I/O request, and perform Rebuild/Copy back processing, for implementing high-speed Rebuild/Copy back processing without interrupting the processing of a normal I/O. When one disk device out of a plurality of disk devices constituting the RAID configuration fails, the processing size for one time of Rebuild/Copy back to reconstruct the RAID is changed according to the presence of a normal I/O managed in RAID control. When a normal I/O is present, Rebuild/Copy back can be executed without interrupting the processing of the normal I/O, and in a static state where a normal I/O is absent, a processing size larger than the size in that state can be specified so as to implement Rebuild/Copy back processing at high-speed.

Abstract: In a RAID apparatus, an error determining processing unit determines whether an HDD is normal based on an error determining condition obtained from an amount of increase of NON MEDIUM ERROR COUNT and the number of accesses memorized on a control table, and detects the HDD with abnormal performance.

Abstract: A failure-data register unit receives failure data from a failure detecting module. Based on the failure data, a test-execution instructing unit instructs each module to execute access tests for the module accessed when the failure detecting module detected the failure. When a test-result receiving unit receives results of the access tests, a failure-location identifying unit identifies the failed module based on the results. A server-request control unit suspends server I/O while the access tests are performed.

Abstract: A mobile wireless communication system includes: a wireless base station that controls, for each timing, a transmission state of a radio wave repeatedly transmitted at timings that respectively differ; and a plurality of wireless mobile devices that are respectively allocated one of the timings, receive the radio wave at the timing allocated, and based on the radio wave received, respectively detect a connection destination. The wireless base station controls the transmission state of the radio wave transmitted at an arbitrary timing to be any one of a complete suspension state of continuously suspending transmission, a discontinuous suspension state of discontinuously suspending transmission, and an invalid information transmission state of transmitting invalid information.

Abstract: A RAID apparatus that at least duplicates identical data to store thus duplicated data, which, when an instruction of writing data is given, writes data to a local cache and to a mirror cache, and writes data of the local cache to a primary disk and writes data of the mirror cache to a secondary disk. When an instruction of reading out data is given, and specified data is retained in the caches, the RAID apparatus outputs valid data of the local cache or the mirror cache, while when specified data is not retained in the caches, the RAID apparatus outputs valid data of the primary disk or the secondary disk.

Abstract: In a storage system, a disk device performs recovery and transfers read data to a control device, and the control device judges the validity of the recovery to prevent a transfer of erroneous data. A control device read-accesses a disk device, and the disk device returns read data and a recovered read error response. A control device, at the time of an initial recovered read error, performs a retry of a similar command, and if an error does not occur for read commands including the retry read command, judges the data to be valid. Uncertain data (suspect data) upon occurrence of a recovered read error is restored through disk retry, and accurate read data can be transferred to the host.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for enhancing performance of parity check in computer readable media is provided. For example, in a RAID (N+1) configuration, a virtual data strip is added for a calculation of parity. Data of the virtual data strip is set so that a predetermined portion of a data area in the virtual data strip has a predetermined value. Consequently, performance of parity check performed in a data processing system having a RAID configuration can be enhanced.

Abstract: A RAID system access a physical disk and perform Rebuild/Copy back processing according to a host I/O request, so as to implement high-speed Rebuild/Copy back processing without interfering with the processing of a normal I/O. When one disk device fails, out of a plurality of disk devices constituting a RAID configuration, the controller performs Rebuild/Copy back processing to reconstruct the RAID. In Rebuild/Copy back, the controller reads the data from one disk and writes the data to another disk, so the presence of a normal I/O is judged, and when a normal I/O is absent, read and write of these different disk drives are executed simultaneously. By this, the Rebuild/Copy back time can be decreased.

Abstract: In case an error statistics of one of the disk drives exceeds a predetermined threshold, the disk is determined as a suspect disk drive. A recovery mode is set successively. During the time when a setting of the recovery mode is in progress and no access is made from a host 16 in this time, the address range of the suspect disk drive is specified. At the same time, a processing is started in that the data of the suspect disk is copied to a spare disk 34 sequentially to recover the data. The data of the suspect disk drive is copied to the spare disk drive 34 to recover the data when the address range of the suspect disk drive does not correspond to the write failure address range of a management table 48. The data of a normal disk drive is copied to the spare disk drive 34 to recover the data when the address range of the suspect disk drive corresponds to the write failure address range of the management table 48.