Patents by Inventor Norman Apperley
Norman Apperley has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 6996642Abstract: An adapter for converting an interface of a data storage device is provided. The adapter has a first interface for connection to the interface of the data storage device and a second interface for connection to one or more host systems. The adapter includes a processor for converting commands and data between the first and second interfaces. The adapter transforms the data storage device to emulate physically and logically a higher availability and higher performance native data storage device. The adapter has a first connector compatible with the first interface for attachment to the data storage device and a second connector compatible with the second interface for attachment to the one or more host systems. The first and second connectors are disposed in the adapter in a back to back arrangement. The adapter logically separates commands for the data storage device from commands for the adapter.Type: GrantFiled: April 2, 2002Date of Patent: February 7, 2006Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Norman Apperley, Stephen Peter Legg, Vinay V. Shah
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Patent number: 6859896Abstract: An adapter for converting an interface of a data storage device is provided. The adapter includes a first interface for connection to the interface of the data storage device and a second interface for connection to a plurality of host systems. The first interface may be an ATA or SCSI interface and the second interface may be a SSA or FC-AL interface suitable for attachment to multiple host systems. Conversion means are provided by the adapter for converting commands and data between the first and second interfaces. The adapter also has means for sorting commands and data to and from the plurality of host systems. The adapter acts as a single host system for the data storage device and includes means for retrieving error information from the data storage device in the event of a command terminating in an error.Type: GrantFiled: April 2, 2002Date of Patent: February 22, 2005Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Norman Apperley, Stephen Peter Legg, Richard Rolls
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Patent number: 6789165Abstract: A method and system for reading data from a redundant array of computer data storage media elements without having to wait for a timeout in a drive in the redundant array. If the requested data is from a drive that is temporarily in a timeout, the requested data is reconstructed using other drives in the redundant array, and the reconstructed data is sent to the requester via an array controller. When the drive holding the originally requested data comes back from the timeout and responds to the original request by transmitting the original data, the array controller ignores the original data since the request has already been fulfilled by the reconstructed data.Type: GrantFiled: May 10, 2002Date of Patent: September 7, 2004Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Norman Apperley, Matthew John Fairhurst, Carlos Francisco Fuente, William James Scales
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Publication number: 20040078707Abstract: An adapter for converting an interface of a data storage device is provided. The adapter includes a first interface for connection to the interface of the data storage device and a second interface for connection to a plurality of host systems. The first interface may be an ATA or SCSI interface and the second interface may be a SSA or FC-AL interface suitable for attachment to multiple host systems. Conversion means are provided by the adapter for converting commands and data between the first and second interfaces. The adapter also has means for sorting commands and data to and from the plurality of host systems. The adapter acts as a single host system for the data storage device and includes means for retrieving error information from the data storage device in the event of a command terminating in an error.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 2, 2002Publication date: April 22, 2004Inventors: Norman Apperley, Stephen Peter Legg, Richard Rolls
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Publication number: 20030212858Abstract: A method and system for reading data from a redundant array of computer data storage media elements without having to wait for a timeout in a drive in the redundant array. If the requested data is from a drive that is temporarily in a timeout, the requested data is reconstructed using other drives in the redundant array, and the reconstructed data is sent to the requester via an array controller. When the drive holding the originally requested data comes back from the timeout and responds to the original request by transmitting the original data, the array controller ignores the original data since the request has already been fulfilled by the reconstructed data.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 10, 2002Publication date: November 13, 2003Applicant: International Business Machines Corp.Inventors: Norman Apperley, Matthew John Fairhurst, Carlos Francisco Fuente, William James Scales
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Publication number: 20030188084Abstract: An adapter for converting an interface of a data storage device is provided. The adapter has a first interface for connection to the interface of the data storage device and a second interface for connection to one or more host systems. The adapter includes a processor including conversion means for converting commands and data between the first and second interfaces. The adapter transforms the data storage device to emulate physically and logically a higher availability and higher performance native data storage device. The adapter has a first connector compatible with the first interface for attachment to the data storage device and a second connector compatible with the second interface for attachment to the one or more host systems. The first and second connectors are disposed in the adapter in a back to back arrangement. The adapter logically separates commands for the data storage device from commands for the adapter.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 2, 2002Publication date: October 2, 2003Inventors: Norman Apperley, Stephen Peter Legg, Vinay V. Shah
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Patent number: 6118612Abstract: A spindle synchronization technique is described which is useful in a disk array subsystem comprising a plurality of disk drives (40,41,42,43) connected by means of serial links (25,26,27,28) to a disk drive controller (20). Data and command information is transmitted over the link in the form of multi-character frames, the flow of which is regulated by special ten bit protocol characters. A SYNC protocol character is defined which is used to synchronize the spindles of the disk drives. This SYNC character is issued by controller to selected ones of the drives over the same link used for the transmission of the command and data information. The SYNC character may be interleaved between the characters of frames being transmitted over the link.Type: GrantFiled: September 22, 1997Date of Patent: September 12, 2000Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Ian David Judd, Norman Apperley
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Patent number: 5832199Abstract: Predictive failure analysis of a storage subsystem is efficiently conducted and data quickly recovered from a failed Read operation. This may be implemented in a storage system including a host coupled to a supervising processor that couples to a parity-equipped RAID storage subsystem having multiple HDAs each including an HDA controller and at least one storage medium. In one embodiment, when an HDA experiences an error during a Read attempt, the HDA transmits a recovery alert signal to the supervising processor; then, the processor and HDA begin remote and local recovery processes in parallel. The first process to complete provides the data to the host, and the second process is aborted. In another embodiment, an HDA's PFA operations are restricted to idle times of the HDA. A different embodiment limits HDA performance of PFA to times when the processor is conducting data reconstruction.Type: GrantFiled: June 23, 1997Date of Patent: November 3, 1998Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Norman Apperley, James Thomas Brady, Steven Gerdt, Alden B. Johnson
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Patent number: 5832204Abstract: Predictive failure analysis of a storage subsystem is efficiently conducted and data quickly recovered from a failed Read operation. This may be implemented in a storage system including a host coupled to a supervising processor that couples to a parity-equipped RAID storage subsystem having multiple HDAs each including an HDA controller and at least one storage medium. In one embodiment, when an HDA experiences an error during a Read attempt, the HDA transmits a recovery alert signal to the supervising processor; then, the processor and HDA begin remote and local recovery processes in parallel. The first process to complete provides the data to the host, and the second process is aborted. In another embodiment, an HDA's PFA operations are restricted to idle times of the HDA. A different embodiment limits HDA performance of PFA to times when the processor is conducting data reconstruction.Type: GrantFiled: June 23, 1997Date of Patent: November 3, 1998Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Norman Apperley, James Thomas Brady, Steven Gerdt, Alden B. Johnson
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Patent number: 5815650Abstract: Predictive failure analysis of a storage subsystem is efficiently conducted and data quickly recovered from a failed Read operation. This may be implemented in a storage system including a host coupled to a supervising processor that couples to a parity-equipped RAID storage subsystem having multiple HDAs each including an HDA controller and at least one storage medium. In one embodiment, when an HDA experiences an error during a Read attempt, the HDA transmits a recovery alert signal to the supervising processor; then, the processor and HDA begin remote and local recovery processes in parallel. The first process to complete provides the data to the host, and the second process is aborted. In another embodiment, an HDA's PFA operations are restricted to idle times of the HDA. A different embodiment limits HDA performance of PFA to times when the processor is conducting data reconstruction.Type: GrantFiled: June 23, 1997Date of Patent: September 29, 1998Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Norman Apperley, James Thomas Brady, Steven Gerdt, Alden B. Johnson
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Patent number: 5717850Abstract: Predictive failure analysis of a storage subsystem is efficiently conducted and data quickly recovered from a failed Read operation. This may be implemented in a storage system including a host coupled to a supervising processor that couples to a parity-equipped RAID storage subsystem having multiple HDAs each including an HDA controller and at least one storage medium. In one embodiment, when an HDA experiences an error during a Read attempt, the HDA transmits a recovery alert signal to the supervising processor; then, the processor and HDA begin remote and local recovery processes in parallel. The first process to complete provides the data to the host, and the second process is aborted. In another embodiment, an HDA's PFA operations are restricted to idle times of the HDA. A different embodiment limits HDA performance of PFA to times when the processor is conducting data reconstruction.Type: GrantFiled: March 12, 1996Date of Patent: February 10, 1998Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Norman Apperley, James Thomas Brady, Steven Gerdt, Alden B. Johnson
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Patent number: 5664145Abstract: Described is a technique for transferring data between a device controller and a device in a data storage subsystem. The controller has a data buffer through which passes data being transferred to and from the device. The controller communicates with the device by means of low level multi sector Read/Write orders and the data requested by the controller is transferred between device and controller in the form of 32, 64 or 128 byte packets. The device has a relatively small data buffer which can store one packet of data at a time. While one order is executing on the device, the controller is able to issue subsequent orders. One of these orders is an EXTEND order which orders the device to continue reading beyond the data specified in the read order currently executing on the device. The EXTEND order also allows implementation of `back to back` writes.Type: GrantFiled: April 2, 1993Date of Patent: September 2, 1997Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Norman Apperley, Patrick Allen Buckland
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Patent number: 4566005Abstract: A display management system for one or more large plasma gas panel displays (11) is organized to split the display management operations between a host processor (20), a system microprocessor (21) and a picoprocessor (27). The picoprocessor (27) is the heart of a common internal bus (31) plasma display adapter (22). The program for the display is downloaded from the host processor (20) to the system microprocessor (21). The microprocessor generates op codes and initializes display parameters. The plasma display adapter provides control for the plasma panel interface, serialization of character generator data, translates display position addresses for absolute cartesian coordinates to panel address, and computes the boundaries of display panel write and erase operations. Interaction between the system microprocessor and the plasma display adapter is minimized by a code list contained in the microprocessor memory and fetched by direct memory access.Type: GrantFiled: March 7, 1983Date of Patent: January 21, 1986Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Norman Apperley, Roger J. Edwards, Raymond L. J. Foster, David C. Haigh, Michael Haslam, Peter Verey