Data processing: measuring – calibrating – or testing – Measurement system – Performance or efficiency evaluation
Patent
1998-04-16
1999-08-24
Shah, Kamini
Data processing: measuring, calibrating, or testing
Measurement system
Performance or efficiency evaluation
702185, 714704, 714723, G11C 2900
Patent
active
059436409
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to testing of digital storage devices and, in particular, changing the weighting of an array of test parameters to increase the probability of errors.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Digital storage devices, in particular disk storage devices, are typically tested through the use of scripted tests which cause the device to perform according to predetermined test parameters, command sequences and command conditions. Errors generated as a result of the test are normally logged. As it is usually not practical to test all possible permutations of commands and conditions, scripted tests generally contain a set of selected test parameters. As a result, many infrequently occurring errors may be overlooked in testing. Scripted tests have failed to identify a significant number of errors that are experienced by the end users of the disk storage devices. It would, therefore, be advantageous to cause the testing of the device to identify errors that a conventional scripted test typically fails to identify, so that, if possible, the cause of such errors can be corrected before the errors are experienced by end users of the devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, an apparatus is provided for testing an electro-mechanical digital storage device by providing selected test parameters to the device in a manner that addresses the deficiencies associated with the use of scripted tests. The apparatus includes a digital computer, a first interface for transferring information between the apparatus and a test operator or another device, an array of test parameters, a device for selecting a test parameter from the array and a second interface for transferring information that is related to the selected test parameter between the apparatus and the device under test.
Conventional scripted tests generally use a fixed set of test parameters and follow the same sequence each time the test is run. While this type of test is useful for testing known problem areas and for establishing a reference baseline for multiple tests, it has been found that a conventional scripted test is unlikely to disclose problems which are not contemplated by the test designer. The structure of the test and the selection of test parameters are often influenced by the experiences or biases of the person creating the test with respect to the importance of certain test parameters and the likelihood of certain error conditions. Furthermore, it has been found that while a scripted test may be effective for a particular device or device type, subsequent device changes and developments may render the test ineffective. In addition, it has been found that when a scripted test is used during the development of a device to identify and diagnose errors and the device is modified to decrease or eliminate errors identified by the test, the original test may not identify new errors which result from the modifications. This problem is of particular importance in the case where an individual parameter may not cause an error, but certain sequences of parameters or conditions cause errors.
In diagnosing problems with a storage device, one factor is the existence of a group of errors which seem to be related. In testing a given command, repeated errors that are associated with a related group of command variables indicates that the problem is associated with the values of the variables. For example, the execution of a sequence of read commands that cause information to be read from several closely associated locations on the storage medium may result in a number of errors. However, since most scripted tests do not test every possible combination of test parameters, it is unlikely that the scripted test would identify the group of errors unless the test designer considered that command-location combination likely to present a particular problem.
The present invention addresses these problems by dynamically modifying the testing process to adjust to each device being tested to hunt out suc
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Bui Bryan
Maxtor Corporation
Shah Kamini
Sigmond David M.
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