DATA STORAGE SYSTEM WITH SELECTIVELY TRIGGERED TRANSPARENT SWAPPING OF CONTINUOUSLY MOUNTED REMOVABLE DATA STORAGE MEDIA

摘要

Continuously mounted backup storage media are managed to decrease the otherwise lengthy period of vulnerability to data loss while data gradually accumulates pending eventual media saturation and demounting. Responsive to operator-specified switch-media events, all continuously mounted storage media are examined. Without terminating their respective ongoing backup operations, idle storage media are demounted and substituted with replacement media. Busy storage media are scheduled for later demounting and replacement.