Emc Corporation

Dell Products Inc.

Emc IP Holding Company LLC

Denis J Burt

Paul A Linstead

Douglas Eric LeCrone

Brett A Quinn

Doug Lecrone

Bruce Alan Pocock

Jeffrey L Jones

Roger A Ouellete

Douglas LeCrone

One or more aspects of the present disclosure relate to protecting the integrity of datasets stored by a storage array. In embodiments, an input/output (IO) workload is received at a storage array. A restricted access policy is also established for at least one target of one or more IO requests corresponding to the IO workload. Further, access to the at least one target is restricted based on the restricted access policy.

Dataset integrity protection

One or more aspects of the present disclosure relate to protecting the integrity of datasets stored by a storage array. In embodiments, one or more IO write requests from an input/output (IO) workload are intercepted. Additionally, a likely cyber-attack event is identified based on a bit density of write data corresponding to the one or more IO requests. Further, the cyber-attack event is mitigated.

Encryption detection

Real Time Intrusion Detection (RTID) is implemented on a host computer by defining an Atypical Access Rate Detection (AARD) policy specifying storage volume access parameters configured to protect particular storage volumes maintained by a storage system for the host computer. An AARD application on the storage system monitors storage volume accesses based on the AARD policy. If a storage volume access is detected that is in violation of the AARD policy, the RTID application on the host computer is notified of the storage volume access. The RTID application on the host determines if the storage volume access was authorized or malicious. If the storage volume access was authorized, the RTID application re-issues the storage volume access and instructs the AARD application that the storage volume access is authorized. If the storage volume access was not authorized, the RTID application prevents the storage volume access to protect the storage volume.

Real time intrusion detection

Copying data from a source storage system to a target storage system includes resetting a write tracker on the source storage system to track writes to the source storage system by one or more host computing systems, copying data from the source storage system to the target storage system after resetting the write tracker, suspending writes to the source storage system after copying the data, and copying data portions of the source storage system to the target storage system that are indicated as being written by the write tracker after suspending writes to the source storage system. Applications that write data to the source storage system may be quiesced in connection with suspending writes to the source storage system. Data portions may be repeatedly copied from the source storage system to the target storage system until an end condition is reached.

Copying data between storage systems

Changing operational backup parameters on a storage system includes a first actor generating a request to change operational backup parameters, providing the request from the first actor to a second actor, the second actor authorizing the request, and modifying the operational backup parameters in response to the second actor authorizing the request. The first actor may be assigned a role that allows the first actor to generate the request to change operational backup parameters of the storage system and the second actor may be assigned a role that allows the second actor to authorize the request to change operational backup parameters of the storage system. The request may include a time window provided by the first actor. Authorizing a request to change operational backup parameters of the storage system may create a token and an authorization key. The token may be indicative of the request provided by the first actor.

Protecting storage backup configuration

Migrating data from a first storage device to a second storage device includes causing all data of the first storage device to be copied from the first storage device to the second storage device and causing the host computer to transition from performing I/O operations with the first storage device to performing I/O operations with the second storage device by modifying metadata used for I/O operations to change a mapping of logical devices to physical devices only after causing all data of the first storage device to be copied from the first storage device to the second storage device. Migrating data from the first storage device to the second storage device is independent of any I/O operations by the host. A data write operation from the host is acknowledged only after the data has been successfully written to both the first storage device and the second storage device.

Data migration with write back to source with data pre-copy

A system for injecting I/O faults into a closed system, for example, the injection of link level I/O faults, involves the use of a simulated computing environment. In an embodiment, the system provides for fault injection using an emulated IBM System z environment and including the use of FICON and/or other suitable communication channel protocols. The emulated System z environment may include a simulated z/OS and/or emulated System z hardware and software components.

I/O fault injection using simulated computing environments

Transferring storage device functionality includes providing a device coupled to the storage device, where the device is separate from the storage device, having the device handle I/O requests between an application and the storage device, and, in response to the application issuing an I/O request, having the device determine if the request corresponds to functionality being transferred and, if so, having the device provide the functionality. The device may be a host computer. The application may run on the host computer. A driver on the host computer may provide the functionality. The functionality may include read only functionality, data compression, data encryption, mirroring, and/or status reporting.

Transfer of data storage device features

Described are techniques for providing access to storage devices. An I/O request directed to a storage device is sent over a network connection from a first computer system to a second computer system. The second computer system includes a simulated computing environment simulating aspects of the first computer system. The I/O request is received at the second computer system. The data storage system is connected to the second computer system over a first connection operating in accordance with a first protocol thereby providing the second computer system access to the storage device of the data storage system. The simulated computing environment of the second computer system may, for example, include emulation capabilities in accordance with the first protocol thereby allowing the second computer system to issue the first I/O request to the first storage device on behalf of the first computer system.

Techniques for providing a first computer system access to storage devices indirectly through a second computer system

A method and apparatus for migrating one or more data sets each having one or more extents from one or more source logical devices to one or more target logical devices concurrently with interaction between the application and the data being migrated. A background operation copies each extent from the source logical device to the target logical device in a copy state. When a certain level of data has been copied, the extent is locked to assure synchronization of the data in the target logical device to the corresponding data in the source logical device. The status is changed to a mirrored state. When the extents for a data set in a source logical device or in a group of data sets have been mirrored, all the extents are changed to a diverted state. I/O requests to the diverted extents thereafter are intercepted and processed according to whether they access an extent that is in the copy, mirrored, or diverted state.

Method and apparatus for data set migration

Determining when to migrate a data set includes providing performance criteria for the data set, measuring performance of the data set to provide a measured performance of the data set, and, if the measured performance indicates that the data set is not performing according to the performance criteria, choosing a new location for migrating the data set and migrating the data set to the new location. Migrating the data set may include moving the data set to a new location irrespective of whether other applications are accessing the data set. Choosing a new location may include analyzing each of a plurality of locations to determine if a projected performance thereof is according to the performance criteria. Determining when to migrate a data set may include adjusting the performance criteria after the data set has been made operational.

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Plymouth, MA, United States of America

Denis J Burt