Patent attributes
Method, apparatus and program product are provided for rebuilding faulty metadata in a storage controller coupled to a host device. Faulty metadata may include metadata which no longer matches the associated customer data tracks stored on a DASD or other storage device. When an error in metadata is describing a first customer track is detected, a range of other customer tracks in which the error is also likely to have occurred is identified. The metadata tracks associated with the first customer track and the other customer tracks are selected to be invalidated. A command is received through a host interface, and the specified metadata tracks are invalidated while the controller remains on-line with the host and continues to process other host I/O operations. Subsequently, the invalidated metadata tracks are rebuilt. The disclosed method, apparatus and program product invalidate the faulty metadata with reduced impact on normal host/controller I/O operations.