CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority of Taiwanese Invention Patent Application No. 109130874, filed on Sep. 9, 2020.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to a storage apparatus, and more particularly to a control system for the storage apparatus.

BACKGROUND

A conventional enterprise storage system is a high availability (HA) system that includes a power unit, a fan unit, two main boards, at least one hard disk drive (HDD), and two input/output modules (IOMs) for monitoring and managing the at least one HDD, the power unit and the fan unit. The two IOMs are disposed on the two main boards, respectively. One of the two IOMs is adapted to operate in an active mode, and the other is adapted to operate in a passive mode so as to serve as a backup. After being powered on, each of the two IOMs performs an initialization procedure to execute a firmware by reading a firmware code (which may be an image file) from a non-volatile memory device. Errors that might occur in the IOM operating in the active mode are often caused by an error of the firmware.

In order to address the problem in IOM operation caused by a defective firmware, a conventional solution is to dispose, on each of the two main boards, two non-volatile memory devices that include a default memory device and a backup memory device and that both store a firmware code. The firmware codes respectively stored in the two non-volatile memory devices may be the same, or of different versions (e.g., one is of an original or default version corresponding to factory settings, and the other is of a newer version). The IOM disposed on the main board is preset to read the firmware code stored in the default memory device that is disposed on the same main board after being powered on, in order to execute the firmware corresponding to the firmware code. When the IOM that is operating in the active mode and that is executing the firmware that comes from the default memory device encounters an error caused by the firmware, the IOM may read the firmware code stored in the backup memory device to execute the firmware corresponding to the firmware code in the backup memory device, in order to resume normal operation. However, disposing two non-volatile memory devices on each main board not only occupies more valuable space on the main board, but also incurs additional cost.

Another conventional solution is to switch the IOM originally operating in the passive mode to operate in the active mode in order to urgently resume normal operation of the system, and then manually repair the system by replacing an associated main board with a new main board, or replacing the defective firmware code with a new firmware code (e.g., by burning a functional firmware code into the non-volatile memory device). However, this solution would require much human labor and time, thereby increasing the overall operation and maintenance cost. In addition, the new main board or the new firmware code does not in fact provide one hundred percent guarantee of normal operation of the system.

SUMMARY

Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a storage apparatus and a control system for the storage apparatus that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art. In particular, the storage apparatus with the control system thus provided is capable of automatic recovery and self-repair by utilizing a backup mechanism.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, a control system for a storage apparatus that includes a power unit, a fan unit and a storage unit including at least one hard disk drive (HDD) includes two main boards, two input/output modules (IOMs) and two non-volatile memory (NVM) devices. The two IOMs are respectively installed on the main boards and are electrically connected to each other. Each of the IOMs is electrically connected to the power unit, the fan unit and the storage unit in order to monitor and manage the power unit, the fan unit and the storage unit. The IOMs are adapted to operate in an active mode and a passive mode, respectively. The two NVM devices are respectively installed on the main boards and are electrically connected to the IOMs, respectively. Each of the NVM devices stores a firmware code. Each of the IOMs is configured to perform an initialization procedure to read the firmware code stored in one of the NVM devices that is electrically connected to the IOM, in order to execute a firmware corresponding to the firmware code and to enter one of the active mode and the passive mode in which the IOM is adapted to operate. The IOMs are configured such that when one IOM of the IOMs that is operating in the passive mode detects abnormal operation of the other IOM of the IOMs that is operating in the active mode, the one IOM enters the active mode, triggers the other IOM to enter a recovery mode, and sends, to the other IOM, the firmware code stored in one of the NVM devices that is electrically connected to the one IOM, in order for the other IOM to store the firmware code in the other of the NVM devices that is electrically connected to the other IOM so as to replace the firmware code that is originally stored in the other of the NVM devices.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, a storage apparatus includes the control system, and further includes a fan unit for dissipating heat inside the storage apparatus, a storage unit for storing data, and a power unit that is electrically connected to the fan unit, the storage unit and the control system for providing electrical power thereto. The storage unit includes at least one hard disk drive (HDD).

