JPH1145497A - Optical disc library apparatus, data recording / reproducing method, and recording medium recording data recording / reproducing program - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] (Corrected) [PROBLEMS] To provide a large-capacity optical disk library device capable of greatly shortening an access time for an access request to a file stored on an offline medium in the optical disk library device. Kind Code: A1 Abstract: M (M = 1, 2,...) Optical disk media, one or more optical disk drives for recording and reproducing information on and from the media, ... N (N = 2, 3,...) Optical disk library modules each having a medium transporting means (accessor) for attaching and detaching the optical disk library modules, and linking the modules, and transferring a plurality of file data transferred from a host computer. A library having a function of dividing data blocks, distributing and storing the divided data blocks in the N library modules, re-combining a series of the divided and stored data blocks, restoring the original file data, and transferring the original file data to the host computer. And a controller.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of storing a large number of optical disk media in a cell, transporting a required optical disk medium by an accessor and mounting the optical disk medium on a required optical disk drive, and performing communication between the optical disk medium and a host computer. The present invention relates to a large-capacity optical disk library device having a mechanism for recording and reproducing data to be transferred, and in particular, to reduce the time required to mount each optical disk medium in an optical disk drive and to record and reproduce large-capacity information at high speed. The present invention relates to an optical disc library device, a data recording / reproducing method, and a recording medium on which a data recording / reproducing program is recorded.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the advancement of the performance of personal computers and the development of computer networks, files such as high-definition still images and moving images, each of which has an extremely large capacity per file compared to text data, have been developed. There is an increasing need for a mass storage system that can efficiently accumulate a large number of files, or can access any one of the large number of large files at high speed on demand.

Conventionally, when backing up large-capacity data such as CAD (Computer Aided Design) data and storing archival data such as high-definition still images and various document files, the capacity per file is several tens of M ( In many cases, it is larger than mega) bytes.

Since a storage device for storing a large number of these large-capacity files is required to have a large capacity of several hundred gigabytes or more and a low bit cost, an optical disk library device is mainly used. I have.

A conventional optical disc library apparatus records and reproduces digital information on and from a plurality of rewritable optical disc media individually housed in storage shelves (cells) in one housing. It has a configuration containing a plurality of optical disk drives and an accessor for transporting / removing the optical disk medium to / from the optical disk drive. The required optical disk medium is transported / mounted on the optical disk drive in response to an access request from the host computer, and the digital information is stored. Is recorded and reproduced on an optical disk medium.

However, in the case of such a conventional optical disk library apparatus, the amount of data that can be recorded and reproduced online from a host computer (online capacity)
Is limited by the product of the capacity of the optical disk medium and the number of drives installed in the library. Therefore, files stored on optical disk media (offline media) other than the optical disk media loaded on each optical disk drive are When an access request is issued from the host computer, the optical disk medium is exchanged, and this exchange time causes a problem that a long delay occurs for the access request from the host computer.

In a conventional optical disk library apparatus, in order to speed up data transfer from an optical disk drive to a host computer, a plurality of optical disk drives in the library are arrayed, and data transferred from the host computer is converted into bits, In some cases, an optical disk array configuration is adopted in which data blocks such as bytes are divided (striped) and dispersed and stored in a plurality of optical disk media.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a basic configuration of a conventional optical disk library apparatus having such an optical disk array configuration. In FIG. 1, N (N = 1, 2,...) Optical disk drives 131, 132,... 13n and the disk array controller 12 are connected by the internal bus 11, and the disk array controller 12 and the host computer 17 are connected by the external bus 18. Have been.

At the time of data recording, the host computer 1
7 are striped by the disk array controller 12 into data blocks of an appropriate data length such as bits and bytes, and each striped block is divided into N optical disk drives 131, 132,. Sequentially.

As a result, a series of data transferred from the host computer 17 is stored in N optical disc drives 1
Since the data is written in parallel by 31, 132... 13n, the speed of data transfer can be increased.

Also, since the N optical disk media 16 are equivalent to a single optical disk medium having N times the capacity, the online capacity can be increased. At this time, even if one of the N optical disk drives 131, 132,... 13n in the array fails, the parity data is divided into a group of divided data so that the failed optical disk drive can restore the data to be recorded. May be employed to adopt a redundant configuration.

On the other hand, an accessor 15 via an accessor controller 14 connected to a host computer 17 via an external bus 18 causes an N number of optical disk media to be stored in a cell (not shown in FIG. 1). , 132... 13n and one file data transferred from the host computer 17 are distributed and recorded on the N optical disk media 16.

Therefore, when reading file data dispersedly recorded on the N optical disk media 16, it is possible to read the file data after mounting all of the optical disk media 16 on the N optical disk drives 131, 132... 13n. Become.

FIG. 2 shows a time chart when the file data transferred from the host computer 17 is recorded in a required optical disk medium group in the optical disk library apparatus using the disk array configuration shown in FIG.

In FIG. 2, T indicates that the rotation of the optical disk medium 16 already mounted on the optical disk drives 131, 132...
Returns the optical disk medium 16 to the cell, and then transfers the required optical disk medium 16 to the optical disk drives 131 and 1.
32 shows a series of times (called a disk exchange time) until mounting on 13n.

Further, t indicates the time from when the required optical disk medium 16 is mounted on the optical disk drives 131, 132... 13n to when the recording can be started (called a ready state).

Strictly speaking, the disk exchange time T varies depending on the distance between the storage position of each optical disk medium 16 and the corresponding optical disk drive 131, 132... 13n. Since it is sufficiently small and can be neglected as compared with the above, the disk exchange time is T for all the optical disk media 16.

As shown in FIG. 2, the host computer 1
The time (total access time) from when the disk exchange request is issued from 7 to the required optical disk medium group becomes ready state is T × N + t, and the access when recording the required file data on only one optical disk medium 16 is performed. It becomes longer than the time T + t by an amount corresponding to a plurality of disk replacement times.

[0019]

When the optical disk array configuration is employed as described above, it is possible to increase the online capacity and to speed up data transfer between the host computer 17 and the optical disk array within the online capacity.

However, when an access request is made to a file that is not stored in all of the arrayed optical disk media, all of the optical disk drives 131,
All of the optical disk media 16 loaded in 132... 13n must be replaced, and the total access time becomes longer than when a single file is recorded on the same optical disk media 16.

As described above, in the conventional optical disk library apparatus, when an access request is made to a file stored on an offline medium, high-speed access is impossible due to disk exchange, and in the case of a disk array configuration, However, although high-speed data transfer within the online capacity is possible, there is a problem that high-speed access becomes more difficult for an access request to offline data.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to greatly reduce an access time for a request for access to a file stored on an offline medium in an optical disk library device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a large-capacity optical disk library device, a data recording / reproducing method, and a recording medium on which a data recording / reproducing program is recorded.

[0023]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a plurality of optical disk media, a plurality of optical disk drives for recording / reproducing information on / from the optical disk medium, and an optical disk drive are provided. An optical disc library module is a device having a medium transport unit (accessor) for transporting / removing a file from / to the optical disc library module, and the file data transferred from the host computer is divided into appropriate data blocks and divided into a plurality of library modules. A plurality of library modules are connected by a library controller having a function of coupling a series of data blocks stored and divided and stored in a plurality of library modules to original file data and transferring them to the host computer, and equivalently. High-capacity optical disk Optical disk library apparatus designed to build slurry apparatus is provided.

According to the optical disk library apparatus according to the present invention, file data is divided into a plurality of data blocks, each data block is stored in a different library module, and a plurality of accessors are used at the same time to exchange a disk. The time can be significantly reduced.

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the above-described optical disc library apparatus, file data is divided into a plurality of data blocks,
There is provided an optical disc library apparatus which records each data block on a different optical disc medium group in the same library module.

According to the optical disk library apparatus of the present invention, the recording / reproducing time of a specific data block and the disk exchange time for recording / reproducing other data blocks can be multiplexed. In response to a request for access to a large-capacity file stored on an offline medium from a computer, the total access time can be significantly reduced.

That is, according to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, specifically, M (M = 1, 2,...) Optical disk media and recording / reproducing of information with respect to the optical disk media are performed. One or more optical disk drives to perform;
N (N = 2, 3,...) Optical disk library modules each including a medium transport unit (accessor) for transporting / removing the optical disk medium to / from the optical disk drive, and the N libraries Modules are linked, file data transferred from the host computer is divided into a plurality of data blocks, and these data blocks are distributed and stored in the N library modules, and divided into the N library modules. And a library controller having a function of recombining a series of data blocks stored and restoring to original file data and transferring it to the host computer. Is done.

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, specifically, the library module includes J '(M' = 1, 2,...) Optical disc media J (J '). = 2,3, ...) optical disc media group and J
Optical disk drive and medium transport means (accessor)
Each of the optical disc media constituting the j-th (j = 1, 2,..., J) optical disc media group is recorded and reproduced by the j-th optical disc drive, and the file data transferred from the host computer is stored. The J-th data block is divided into J data blocks on the time axis, and the j-th data block is divided and transferred to each of the j-th optical disk drives in the N library modules. An optical disk library device characterized by being configured to be recorded in a group is provided.

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above problems, specifically, the step of recording data includes a step of dividing file data transferred from the host computer into a plurality of data blocks. , N (N = 2, 3,
...) Parallelly for each of the optical disk library modules, a desired optical disk medium is selected and transported from the M (M = 1, 2,...) Optical disk media stored in each optical disk library module. The step of mounting the optical disk drive of the library module and the step of transferring the divided data blocks to each library module in parallel and distributing and recording the data blocks on the N optical disk media are performed. In parallel with each of the N optical disk library modules, a desired optical disk medium is selected and transported from the M optical disk media stored in each optical disk library module, and transferred to the optical disk drive of each optical disk library module. Mounting, and the N optical devices. Reading in parallel the desired data block from the disk medium, the data recording and reproducing method characterized by comprising a step of said host computer f transferred to restore the original file data is provided.

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, specifically, in the step of recording data, the file data transferred from the host computer is written in J (J
= 2, 3,...) Data groups, and further dividing each data group into N (N = 2, 3,...) Data blocks; M ′ (M ′ = 1, 2,...) Stored in parallel by each optical disk library module
Selecting and transporting a desired optical disk medium from each of the J optical disk medium groups including the plurality of optical disk media, and mounting the selected optical disk medium on the corresponding J optical disk drives; J
The N data blocks of the (j = 1, 2,..., J) th data group are transferred in parallel to the N optical disk library modules, and distributed and recorded on the jth optical disk medium of each optical disk library module. Repeating the process sequentially from I to J for j.
The process of reproducing data is performed in parallel with each of the N optical disk library modules in parallel with a desired one of the J optical disk medium groups including the M ′ optical disk media housed in each optical disk library module. The steps of selecting and transporting a plurality of optical disk media and mounting them on the corresponding J optical disk drives, and reading a desired data block in parallel from the j-th optical disk medium of each of the N optical disk library modules are described in j. A process of sequentially repeating steps 1 to J to restore the original file data and transfer it to the host computer.
A playback method is provided.

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above problems, specifically, the step of recording data includes a step of dividing file data transferred from the host computer into a plurality of data blocks. , N (N = 2, 3,
..) Parallel optical disc library modules, a desired optical disc medium is selected from the M (M = 1, 2,...) Optical disc media stored in each optical disc library module and transported. Loading the optical disk drive of the optical disk library module into the optical disk drive; and transferring the divided data blocks to the respective library modules in parallel and distributing and recording the data blocks on the N optical disk media. Selects and transports a desired optical disk medium from the M optical disk media stored in each optical disk library module in parallel for each of the N optical disk library modules, and transfers the selected optical disk medium to the optical disk drive of each optical disk library module. Mounting, and the N optical devices. Reading a desired data block from a disk medium in parallel, restoring the original file data, and transferring the data to the host computer. A recording medium is provided.

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the data recording step is a process in which the file data transferred from the host computer is J (J = 2, 3, 3).
..) Data groups, and further dividing each data group into N (N = 2, 3,...) Data blocks; A desired optical disk medium is selected and conveyed from each of the J optical disk medium groups including M ′ (M ′ = 1, 2,...) Optical disk media housed in the module, and the corresponding J is selected. Mounting on two optical disc drives; and j (j = 1, j = 1) of the J data groups.
The steps of transferring the N data blocks of the (2,... J) -th data group in parallel to the N optical disk library modules and distributing and recording the data on the j-th optical disk medium of each optical disk library module are as follows. The process of reproducing data is performed in parallel with each of the N optical disk library modules, and is performed in parallel with each of the N optical disk library modules. A step of selecting a desired optical disk medium from each group of the medium groups, transporting the selected optical disk medium, and mounting the selected optical disk medium in the corresponding J optical disk drives; The step of reading blocks in parallel is from 1 for j A data recording / reproducing program for executing a data recording / reproducing process comprising the steps of successively repeating until the original file data is restored and transferred to the host computer. Provided.

[0033]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of the optical disc library device according to the first embodiment to which the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 3, N optical disk library modules 31a, 31b,.
2 and 33 are connected to the library controller 34 in parallel.

Each of the library modules 31a, 31b,
.., Each of which has one optical disk drive 31
a1, 31b1,... 31N1, one accessor 31a
, 31N2, one accessor controller 31a3, 31b3,... 31N3, and M (M = 1, 2,...) Optical disk media (not shown).

The N accessor controllers 31a3,
31b3 are connected to a library controller 34 by an external bus 33. The host computer 35 connected to the library controller 34
Transfers (writes and reads) file data to and from the library controller 34, and also manages optical disk medium positions and file management in all the library modules 31a, 31b,... 31N.

Here, each library module 31a,
31b,... 31N each of the M optical disc media
(K) (k = 1, 2,... M), and each library module 31a, 31b,
31N are simultaneously mounted on the optical disk drives 31a1, 31b1,... 31N1.

In the library controller 34, the file data transferred from the host computer 35 is striped into data blocks of an appropriate data length such as bits and bytes, and each of the striped data blocks is divided into N library modules 31a. ,
.. 31N.

Each optical disk drive 31a1, 31b
The data block transferred to 1,... 31N1 is recorded in an unrecorded area on the optical disk medium M (k). When the data length recorded in the library controller 34 from the host computer 35 is X, the total capacity (X / N) is stored in each of the library modules 31a, 31b,.
, The host computer 35 first stores the k-th optical disk medium M (k) in which there is enough free space to write the data of (X / N).
And the optical disk medium M (k) is sent to the library controller 34 by the optical disk drives 31a1, 31a3.
1b1,... 31N1.

In response to this command, the library controller 34 sets the N accessor controllers 31a.
, 31b3,.
(K) is replaced with each of the optical disk drives 31a1, 31b1,.
Issue a command to mount to 31N1.

At this time, each optical disk drive 31a has already been
, 31N1, the optical disk medium M (k ′) other than M (k) is mounted, the N accessors 31a2, 31b2,. After storing the data in a predetermined cell (not shown), the optical disk media M (k) are simultaneously mounted on the optical disk drives 31a1, 31b1,... 31N1.

Next, in the library controller 34,
The file data having a data length of X bytes transferred from the host computer 35 is striped into data blocks having an appropriate data length such as bits and bytes, and the optical disk drives 31a1 and 31b1 in the N library modules 31a, 31b,. ,... 31N1.

Thus, data of the total capacity (X / N) bytes is recorded in the unrecorded area of the optical disk medium M (k). As shown in FIG. 4, the total disk exchange time in this case is simply the time T until the optical disk medium M (k) is mounted on each of the optical disk drives 31a1, 31b1,... 31N1, and the optical disk medium M (k). ) Is the sum T + t of the time t from when it is mounted on the optical disk drives 31a1, 31b1,... 31N1 until the recording can be started, so that the disk exchange time is shorter than the conventional optical disk library configuration shown in FIG. Be shortened.

In the above, as shown in FIG. 3, the recording medium 36 such as a hard disk or a magneto-optical disk on which a data recording / reproducing program for recording / reproducing data by the optical disk library device is recorded. Alternatively, the optical disk library device may be controlled through the host computer 35, the library controller 34, and the external buses 32 and 33.

That is, according to the above-described first embodiment, M (M = 1, 2,...) Optical disk media and one or more optical disk media for recording and reproducing information on and from the optical disk media. Optical disk drives 31a1, 31b
, 31N1 and medium transport means (accessor) 31a2 for transporting / removing the optical disk medium to / from the optical disk drives 31a1, 31b1,.
31b2,... 31N2 as constituent units (N = 2,
3, ...) optical disk library modules 31a,
31N and the N library modules 31a, 31b,... 31N are connected, the file data transferred from the host computer 35 is divided into a plurality of data blocks, and these data blocks are divided into the N library modules. 31N are distributed and stored in the modules 31a, 31b,... 31N, and a series of data blocks divided and stored in the N library modules 31a, 31b,. And a library controller 34 having a function of transferring the data to the host computer 35.

According to the first embodiment as described above, the process of recording data is performed by the host computer 3.
5 is divided into a plurality of data blocks, and each of the N (N = 2, 3,...) Optical disc library modules 31a, 31b,. M stored in the modules 31a, 31b,... 31N (M = 1,
..) Optical disc media, and transports the selected optical disc media. The optical disc drive 3 of each of the optical disc library modules 31a, 31b,.
1a1, 31b1,..., 31N1;
.. 31N in parallel, and recording the data in a distributed manner on the N optical disk media. The process of reproducing data is performed by the N optical disk library modules 31a, 31b,. In parallel with each other, each optical disk library module 31a, 31
b, 31N select and transport a desired optical disk medium from among the M optical disk media housed in the optical disk drives of the respective optical disk library modules 31a, 31b,... 31N; Reading the desired data block from the medium in parallel,
Restore the original file data to the host computer 35
Transferring the data to a data recording / reproducing method.

Further, according to the above-described first embodiment, the process of recording data includes the steps of dividing the file data transferred from the host computer 35 into a plurality of data blocks, ..) Optical disc library modules 31a, 31b,.
.. 31N are stored in parallel (M = 1, M = 1,...) In each of the optical disk library modules 31a, 31b,.
.., 31N), a desired optical disk medium is selected from the optical disk mediums, transported, and mounted on the optical disk drives of the respective optical disk library modules 31a, 31b,. , And transferring the data in parallel to the N optical disk media and recording the data in a distributed manner on the N optical disk media. The process of reproducing data is performed in parallel for each of the N optical disk library modules 31a, 31b,. Each optical disk library module 31a, 31
31N, a desired optical disk medium is selected and transported from the M optical disk media stored in the optical disk drives 31a1, 31b1,... 31N1 of each of the optical disk library modules 31a, 31b,. And reading a desired data block from the N optical disk media in parallel, restoring the original file data, and transferring the data to the host computer 35. There is provided a recording medium on which a reproduction program is recorded.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of an optical disk library device according to a second embodiment to which the present invention is applied.

As shown in FIG. 5, each of N library modules 51a, 51b... 51N includes two optical disk drives 51a1, 51a2, 51b.
51N1, 51N2, one accessor 51a5, 51b5 ... 51N5, one accessor controller 51a6, 51b6 ... 51N6, M '(M' =
Two optical disk medium groups 51a3, 51a4, 51 each including (1, 2,...) Optical disk media.
b3, 51b4... 51N3, 51N4.
N optical disk drives 51a1, 51a2, 51b
1, 51b2... 51N1, 51N2 are connected to the library controller 54 in parallel by an external bus 52.

Here, the optical disk drives in the n-th (n = 1, 2,... N) library module are identified as drives n1 and n2, and the two optical disk medium groups are identified as optical disk groups n1 and n2. The optical disk medium in the optical disk group n1 is drive n1.
And the optical disk medium in the optical disk group n2 is recorded and reproduced by the drive n2.

The N accessor controllers 51a6, 51a6
51N6 are connected to the library controller 54 via the external bus 53. The host computer 55 connected to the library controller 54
Transfers (writes and reads) the file data to and from the library controller 54, and also manages the position of the optical disk medium in all the library modules 51a, 51b...

Next, a recording sequence of file data in the optical disk library device shown in FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIG. The data length of the file data transferred from the host computer 55 to the library controller 54 is Y, and (Y / N) is the optical disk group n
It is assumed that it is larger than the free space of any optical disk medium in the optical disk group 1 and smaller than the free space of any optical disk medium in the optical disk group n2.

Therefore, the data having the data length of (Y / N) is stored in each of the library modules (sub-libraries) 51a and 51b.
1b... Two optical disk groups n1 and n2 in 51N
It will be recorded over the optical disk medium in the inside.

In the host computer 55, first, the capacity Y
Is divided into a data block 1 having a capacity Y1 and a data block 2 having a capacity Y2. However, the k-th optical disk medium M in the optical disk group n1
1 '(k) has enough free space to store (Y1 / N) bytes and has m in the optical disk group n2.
It is assumed that the second optical disk medium M2 '(m) has enough free space to store (Y2 / N) bytes.

To record the data block 1, the host computer 55 selects the k-th optical disk medium M1 '(k) in the optical disk group n1, and
Optical disk medium M for library controller 54
1 ′ (k) is replaced by an optical disk drive n1 (n = 1, 2,...)
Issue a command to mount on N).

Upon receiving this command, the library controller 54 sets the N accessor controllers 51a6 and 51a6.
51b6... 51N6 to the optical disk medium M1 '
(K) is issued to each of the optical disk drives n1 and n2.

At this time, each optical disk drive nl
When the optical disk medium M1 (k ') other than M1' (k) is mounted on (n = 1, 2,... N), the N accessors 51a5, 51b5. After returning k ') to the specified cell,
The optical disk medium M1 '(k) is transferred to the optical disk drive n1.
(N = 1, 2,..., N).

Subsequently, the library controller 54
The data block 1 is striped into data blocks of appropriate data length, such as bits and bytes, and sequentially transferred to the optical disk drives nl (n = 1, 2,... N) in the N library modules 51a, 51b. .

In this manner, the data block 1 having the capacity Y1 is recorded in the free area of the optical disk medium Ml '(k). On the other hand, during the recording of the data block 1, the host computer 55 sets the m in the optical disk group n2.
The second optical disk medium M2 '(m) is selected, and the optical disk medium M2' is sent to the library controller 54.
(M) is replaced by an optical disk drive n2 (n = 1, 2,... N)
Issue a command to mount on.

Upon receiving this command, the library controller 54 sets the N accessor controllers 51a6 and 51a6.
51b6... 51N6 for the optical disk medium M
2 ′ (m) is replaced by an optical disk drive n2 (n = 1, 2,...)
Issue a command to mount on N).

At this time, each optical disk drive n2
If an optical disk medium M2 '(m') other than M2 '(m) is mounted on (n = 1, 2,... N), N
Accessors are simultaneously in the optical disk medium M2 '(m')
Is returned to a predetermined cell, and then the optical disk medium M2 '(m
′) Are mounted simultaneously on the optical disk drive n2 (n = 1, 2,... N), and the optical disk drive n2 (n = 1, 2) is mounted.
2,... N) are ready for recording data block 2.

The optical disk drive n2 (n = 1, 2,...)
If the recording of the data block 1 is completed at the time when N) becomes ready, the library controller 54 subsequently strips the data block 2 into a data block having an appropriate data length such as a bit or a byte.
.. 51N are sequentially transferred to the optical disk drive n2 (n = 1, 2,... N) in the library modules 51a, 51b.

In this manner, the data block 2 having the capacity Y2 is recorded in the free area of the optical disk medium M2 '(m). As shown in FIG. 7, the optical disk medium M2 '(m)
The time T2 for mounting the optical disk drive n2 (n = 1, 2,... N) on the optical disk drive n2 (n = 1, 2,...
(K) Sum t of time t from mounting to recording start enabled state and recording time TO of data block 1
Since it is possible to multiplex with + To, when recording large-capacity file data that must be recorded over two optical disc media, the recording time of the file data can be reduced. Become.

In the above, as shown in FIG. 5, a recording medium 56 such as a hard disk or a magneto-optical disk on which a data recording / reproducing program for executing data recording / reproduction by an optical disk library device is recorded. Alternatively, the optical disk library device may be controlled through the host computer 55, the library controller 54, and the external buses 52 and 53.

That is, according to the second embodiment as described above, each of the library modules 51a, 51a
b,... 51N and J (J = 2, 3,...) optical disc medium groups each including M ′ (M ′ = 1, 2,...) optical disc media and J optical disc drives 51a1, 5
1a2, 51b1, 51b2,... 51N1, 51N2 and medium transporting means (accessors) 51a5, 51b5,.
1N5, and each optical disk medium constituting a j-th (j = 1, 2,..., J) -th optical disk medium group is j
Record and play by the second optical disc drive,
The file data transferred from the host computer 55 is divided into J data blocks on the time axis, and the j-th data block is divided into j-th optical disc drives in the N library modules 51a, 51b,. The optical disk library device according to the first embodiment is configured so that the j-th data block is recorded on the j-th optical disk medium group.

According to the second embodiment as described above, the process of recording data is performed by the host computer 5.
5 is transferred to J (J = 2, 3,
..) Data groups, and further dividing each data group into N (N = 2, 3,...) Data blocks; and each of the N optical disk library modules 51a, 51b,. , 5 in parallel with the optical disk library modules 51a, 51b,.
A desired optical disk medium is selected and transported from each of the J optical disk medium groups including M ′ (M ′ = 1, 2,...) Optical disk media housed by 1N, and the corresponding J is selected. Mounting on two optical disc drives; and j (j = 1, j = 1) of the J data groups.
The N data blocks of the (2,... J) -th data group are stored in the N optical disc library modules 51.
a, 51b,... 51N are transferred in parallel to each other, and the step of distributing and recording on the j-th optical disk medium of each optical disk library module 51a, 51b,. Are reproduced in parallel for each of the N optical disk library modules 51a, 51b,.
Each of the optical disk library modules 51a, 51b,...
A desired optical disk medium is selected and transported from each of the J sets of optical disk medium groups including the M ′ optical disk media accommodated in 51N, and the corresponding J is selected.
Mounting the optical disk drives on the N optical disk drives, and the N optical disk library modules 51a, 51b,.
1N, sequentially reading a desired data block from each j-th optical disk medium of 1N sequentially from 1 to J for j, restoring the original file data and transferring it to the host computer 55. A featured data recording / reproducing method is provided.

Further, according to the second embodiment as described above, the process of recording data is performed by converting the file data transferred from the host computer to J (J = 2, 3,...)
Dividing each data group into N (N = 2, 3,...) Data blocks; and further, in parallel with each of the N optical disc library modules, Select and transport a desired optical disk medium from each of the J optical disk medium groups including M ′ (M ′ = 1, 2,...) Optical disk mediums stored therein, And j of the J data groups (j = 1, 2, 2).
.. J) data blocks of the J-th data group are stored in the N optical disk library modules 51a, 51
.. 51N, and the step of sequentially recording the data on the j-th optical disk medium of each optical disk library module 51a, 51b,. The process to be performed is performed by the N optical disk library modules 5 described above.
51N in parallel with each of the optical disk library modules 51a, 51b,.
Said J comprising said M 'optical disk media to be stored
A step of selecting and transporting a desired optical disk medium from each group of the optical disk medium groups, and mounting the optical disk medium on the corresponding J optical disk drives; and each of the N optical disk library modules 51a, 51b,. A step of sequentially reading desired data blocks from the j-th optical disc medium in order from 1 to J for j, restoring the original file data and transferring it to the host computer 55.
A recording medium characterized by recording a data recording / reproducing program for executing a reproducing process is provided.

[0068]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When dividing file data into multiple data blocks and storing each data block in a different library module, by using multiple accessors simultaneously,
Disk replacement time can be greatly reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, the file data is divided into a plurality of data blocks, and each data block is recorded on a different optical disk group in the same library module. And the disk exchange time for recording and reproducing other data blocks can be multiplexed, so that the access time is greatly reduced in response to a request for access to a file stored on an offline medium from a host computer. It becomes possible.

On the other hand, according to the present invention, even when an array configuration is not adopted, one large-capacity file data is divided into N data blocks, and N library modules are sequentially arranged from the first data block. Is stored in n (n = 1, n = 1) of the N data blocks.
(N) within the time for reproducing the (N) th data block
It becomes possible to load an optical disk medium on which data blocks other than the third data block are recorded into a drive.

Therefore, as described above, according to the present invention, in response to a request for access to a file stored on an off-line medium in an optical disk library device, the access time can be greatly reduced. An optical disk library device having a large capacity, a data recording / reproducing method, and a recording medium on which a data recording / reproducing program is recorded can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional library having an optical disk array configuration.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of the optical disk library device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an optical disk library device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a time chart of data recording by the library configuration of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of the optical disc library device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a sequence at the time of data recording by the library configuration of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a time chart according to the library configuration of FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

31a, 31b,... 31N: N library modules, 32, 33: external bus, 34: library controller, 31a1, 31b1,... 31N1: optical disk drive, 31a2, 31b2, ... 31N2: accessor, 31a3, 31b3,. ... Accessor controller, 35 ... Host computer, 36 ... Recording medium, 51a, 51b ... 51N ... N library modules, 51a1, 51a2, 51b1, 51b2 ... 51N1,
51N2 ... optical disk drive, 51a5, 51b5 ... 51N5 ... accessor, 51a6, 51b6 ... 51N6 ... accessor controller, 51a3, 51a4, 51b3, 51b4 ... 51N3
51N4: two groups of optical disk medium groups, 52, 53: external bus, 54: library controller, 55: host computer, 56: recording medium.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An M (M = 1, 2,...) Optical disk medium, one or more optical disk drives for recording and reproducing information on and from the optical disk medium, and the optical disk medium in the optical disk drive. And medium transport means (accessor) for transporting and attaching / detaching to / from N
(N = 2, 3,...) Optical disc library modules
And the N library modules, and divides the file data transferred from the host computer into a plurality of data blocks.
A function of distributing and storing the data in a library module and re-combining a series of data blocks divided and stored in the N library modules, restoring the original file data, and transferring the file data to the host computer An optical disk library device comprising: a library controller having a library controller. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein M ′ is included in the library module.
J consisting of (M '= 1, 2,...) Optical disk media
(J = 2, 3,...) Sets of optical disk medium groups, J optical disk drives, and medium transport means (accessors) are accommodated, and the j-th (j = 1, 2,. Each of the constituting optical disc media is recorded and reproduced by a j-th optical disc drive, and the file data transferred from the host computer is divided into J data blocks on a time axis and the j-th data block is divided into the N data blocks. 2. The optical disk library according to claim 1, wherein the data is divided and transferred to each j-th optical disk drive in the library module, and the j-th data block is recorded on the j-th optical disk medium group. apparatus. 3. The data recording process includes the steps of dividing file data transferred from a host computer into a plurality of data blocks, and each of N (N = 2, 3,...) Optical disc library modules. In parallel with each other, a step of selecting a desired optical disk medium from among M (M = 1, 2,...) Optical disk media stored in each optical disk library module, transporting the selected optical disk medium, and mounting the optical disk medium in the optical disk drive of each optical disk library module And transferring the divided data blocks to each library module in parallel and recording the data blocks in a distributed manner on the N optical disc media. The process of reproducing data is performed by the N optical disc library modules. Each of the M optical disk library modules accommodates the M optical disks in parallel with each other. Selecting and transporting a desired optical disk medium from the disk media, mounting the optical disk drive on each optical disk library module, reading the desired data blocks from the N optical disk media in parallel, and restoring the original file data. Restoring and transferring the data to a host computer. 4. The process of recording data includes the steps of: transferring file data transferred from a host computer to a computer;
(J = 2, 3,...) Data groups, and further dividing each data group into N (N = 2, 3,...) Data blocks; In parallel with each of the optical disk library modules, a desired optical disk medium is selected from each of the J optical disk medium groups including M ′ (M ′ = 1, 2,...) Optical disk media housed in each optical disk library module. And transport it,
Loading the corresponding J optical disc drives with the N data blocks of the j-th (j = 1, 2,... J) data group of the J data groups; And repeating the step of transferring the data in parallel to the j-th optical disk medium of each optical disk library module and sequentially recording the data from j to 1 to J. In parallel with each of the modules, a desired optical disk medium is selected and transported from each of the J sets of optical disk medium groups including the M ′ optical disk media stored in each optical disk library module, and the corresponding J is selected. Mounting the optical disk drive on a plurality of optical disk drives; Each of the j-Jules
Reading a desired data block in parallel from the second optical disk medium in order from 1 to J for j, restoring the original file data and transferring it to the host computer. Playback method. 5. The data recording step includes: dividing file data transferred from a host computer into a plurality of data blocks; and each of N (N = 2, 3,...) Optical disk library modules. In parallel with each other, a step of selecting a desired optical disk medium from among M (M = 1, 2,...) Optical disk media stored in each optical disk library module, transporting the selected optical disk medium, and mounting the optical disk medium in the optical disk drive of each optical disk library module And transferring the divided data blocks to each library module in parallel and recording the data blocks in a distributed manner on the N optical disc media. The process of reproducing data is performed by the N optical disc library modules. Each of the M optical disk library modules accommodates the M optical disks in parallel with each other. Selecting and transporting a desired optical disk medium from the disk media, mounting the optical disk drive on each optical disk library module, reading the desired data blocks from the N optical disk media in parallel, and restoring the original file data. A data recording / reproducing program for executing a data recording / reproducing process comprising the steps of restoring and transferring the data to the host computer. 6. The process of recording data includes the steps of: copying file data transferred from a host computer;
(J = 2, 3,...) Data groups, and further dividing each data group into N (N = 2, 3,...) Data blocks; In parallel with each of the optical disk library modules, a desired optical disk medium is selected from each of the J optical disk medium groups including M ′ (M ′ = 1, 2,...) Optical disk media housed in each optical disk library module. And transport it,
Loading the corresponding J optical disk drives with N data blocks of the j-th (j = 1, 2,... J) data group of the J data groups to the N optical disk library modules; Transferring the data in parallel and distributing and recording the data on the j-th optical disk medium of each optical disk library module sequentially from j to 1 to j. In parallel, for each of the optical disc library modules, a desired optical disc medium is selected and transported from each of the J sets of optical disc media groups composed of the M ′ optical disc media stored in each optical disc library module, and the corresponding J Loading the optical disk drive into the N optical disk library modules; Each of the j of Lumpur
A step of sequentially reading desired data blocks from the second optical disk medium in order from j to 1 to j for j, restoring the original file data and transferring it to the host computer, thereby executing a data recording / reproducing process. Recording medium for recording a data recording / reproducing program for recording.