摘要 |
Operating a composite array of data storage devices, such as hard disk drives, to conserve power includes storing data in block-level stripes with parity on a composite array including a controller and at least three data storage devices. The composite array includes a hot spare distributed across the data storage devices. The method further comprises placing one of the data storage devices in a standby state, operating the rest of the data storage devices in an active state, and controlling logical operations of the controller and the read and write operations of the active data storage devices to substitute for read and write operations on the standby device. For example, the controller can read redundant data on the active drives and compute data identical to the data on the standby drive to substitute for reading the standby drive. Furthermore, the controller can write a modified version of data on the standby drive to a spare block to substitute for writing to the standby drive.
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