STORAGE

Innovation Described in Company's 91st Patent Protects Data and Preserves Cache in the Event of Power Loss

Dot Hill Systems has patented a method for safeguarding data and preserving cache in the event of main power loss.

Critical information stored in volatile memory, including cached write data and metadata, must be preserved in the event of main power loss. Volatile memory stores this data as long as the memory is powered, but does not retain the data if main power is lost for any reason. When main power loss occurs, valuable data is transferred from volatile memory to the non-volatile memory of the computer memory system. This transfer of data is referred to as a memory flush operation.

Dot Hill's 91st U.S. patent, numbered 8,510,598, provides a method to reduce power usage in computer memory systems during volatile memory flush operations. This innovation reduces power required for a memory flush operation by selectively providing power to certain computer components at certain times, and not to others. By reducing this power requirement, a smaller power source such as a supercapacitor may be used by the computer memory system.

"Dot Hill AssuredSAN and AssuredSAN Pro systems are engineered to deliver exceptional reliability and 99.999 percent data availability," said Ken Day, chief technology officer, Dot Hill. "IT managers are concerned with the preservation of all data within the storage system, including the state of the cache memory in the event of a failure. This latest innovation allows recovery of all stored data if the main power is lost. As Dot Hill grows closer to the 100-patent mark, we continue to deliver innovation that truly matters to users."

Dot Hill AssuredSAN and AssuredSAN Pro storage arrays are equipped with a number of energy-saving features including Dot Hill's patented EcoStor "green" battery-free alternative for cache memory, drive spin-down and DC power options. The intellectual property behind AssuredSAN and AssuredSAN Pro solutions stands on three pillars of innovation which, when combined, provide a complete platform for addressing customers' storage needs. These pillars include software, platforms and systems, which combine to create advanced SAN storage.