Abstract: A self-contained data storage subsystem is provided for a distributed storage system having a plurality of rotatable spindles, each supporting a storage medium adjacent a respective independently moveable actuator in a data storing and retrieving relationship therewith. A subsystem processor is adapted and integrated with the plurality of spindles, for mapping a virtual storage volume to the plurality of mediums for use by a remote device of the distributed storage system. The combination of the plurality of spindles into a common pool of reliable, provisionable, storage capacity is described. A method to increase the overall reliability, performance, while reducing cost with the combination is also described. By reducing cost, while increasing reliability and performance of the solution, a lower total cost of ownership is realized by users of the intelligent data system.

Abstract: A system is configured to provide an efficient management or control of a buffer memory system. The system can also be used to transmit data between communicating components of a computer system. A first-in-first-out memory stores a list of buffer pointers, and control logic returns buffer pointers from the transmit registers, and moves buffer pointers to the bottom of the FIFO memory.

Abstract: A partitioned memory is divided into a number of large buffers, and one or more of the large buffers is divided to create an equal number of small buffers. Each remaining large buffer is associated with one small buffer, and the paired buffers may be addressed by a single pointer. The pointers are stored in a first-in-first-out unit to create a pool of available buffer pairs.