Emc IP Holding Company LLC

Dell Products Inc.

Emc Corporation

Motorola Mobility LLC

Emp IP Holding Company LLC

Dmitry Nikolayevich Tylik

Alexey Vladimirovich Shusharin

Sergey Alexandrovich Alexeev

Nagasimha G Haravu

David Meiri

Girish Sheelvant

Mukesh Gupta

Marina Shem Tov

Matthew H Long

David Lionel Black

William C Whitney

Anil Kumar Koluguri

Carole Ann Gelotti

Vasudevan Subramanian

Vitaly Stanislavovitch Kozlovsky

Yuri Alexandrovich Stotski

Chen Reichbach

Michael Zeldich

Vinod Rajasekaran

Alan Lee Taylor

Daniel E Cummins

Karl M Owen

Aharon Blitzer

Eldad Zinger

Sathya Krishna Murthy

Kenneth Hu

Alexey Alexandrovich Polkovnikov

Dave J Lindner

Ekaterina Konstantinovna Sigalova

Eugeny Alexeevich Novozhilov

Stanislav Gorshkov

Jean-Pierre Bono

Mark J Halstead

Charles W Kaufman

Gregory William Lazar

Michael E Specht

Yuval Harduf

Andrew K Wells

Prakash Venkatanarayanan

Thirumale N Niranjan

Qi Jin

Matthew P Jean

Jingyan Zhao

Jean Marie Schiff

Yakov Stanislavovich Belikov

Patricia B Campbell

Matthew Eaton

Alexey Martynov

Wadah Sayyed

Binbin Liu Lin

Alexander Nickolaevich Alexeev

Sergey Chernov

Alexey Valeryevich Martynov

Alexander Georgievich Akopyan

Alexander Vladimirovich Sorotsky

Kitae Kim

Alexander Izikson

Fedor Kusov

Marco Abela

Lalitha Natarajan

Techniques can include: establishing synchronous replication configurations between first and second sites for a group of stretched resources and a stretched resource; and performing processing that adds the stretched resource to the group. While both the group and stretched resource are in an active-active state and replicating data, existing replication session objects associated with stretched resource on both sites can be deleted while retaining remaining portions of layered services stacks corresponding to the stretched resource on both sites. A first remaining portion can be added to a first replication session object corresponding to the group on the first site. A second remaining portion can be added to a second replication session object corresponding to the group on the second site. Even though the existing replication session objects associated with the stretched resource may be deleted, the existing configuration corresponding to the stretched object can be retained.

Techniques for adding and removing storage objects from groups

A technique is disclosed for ending metro-clustering on metro volumes. The technique includes collecting a plurality of metrics that indicate respective characteristics associated with a metro volume. In response to receiving a request to end metro on the metro volume, the technique includes comparing the plurality of metrics with a database that associates multiple permutations of metrics with respective procedures for ending metro. The technique further includes identifying, based on the comparison, a target procedure having a permutation of metrics that matches the plurality of metrics and implementing the target procedure.

Managing transitions from metro-cluster to standalone objects

A clustered pair of storage systems configured for active-active bidirectional synchronous replication expose a stretched volume over paths to both storage systems. Writes to the stretched volume received at each system are replicated to the peer system. The cluster can use a time-to-live (TTL) mechanism by which a non-preferred system continuously requests a TTL grant from the preferred system to remain in the cluster. Algorithms that reduce or avoid data unavailability are described and can include assessing the health of the systems in the cluster. An unhealthy system can trigger a one-sided polarization algorithm to notify the peer system that it is polarization winner. An improved polarization technique using a witness to decide the polarization winner includes a system adding a time delay before contacting the witness if the system is unhealthy. A control component can detect an unhealthy system and disable the active-active bidirectional synchronous replication.

Techniques for avoiding and reducing data unavailability

A method of creating a clone, on a second data storage appliance of a federation, of a source storage object stored on a first data storage appliance of the federation, includes creating a snapshot (point-in-time copy) of the source storage object at the first appliance, and then performing a full copy of the snapshot from the first appliance to the second appliance to produce a copy snapshot on the second appliance. At the second appliance, the clone is created from the copy snapshot and incorporated into a federation-wide family association of the source storage object. Specific use cases include (1) creating a clone on a different appliance from a base volume, (2) migrating a clone to a different appliance from a base volume, (3) refreshing a clone from a base volume, and a base volume from a clone, across appliances.

Data storage object cloning in a multi-appliance federation

Techniques can include: establishing a synchronous replication configuration for a group of stretched resources configured for bi-directional synchronous replication between a first site and a second site; and performing processing to implement a change or modification operation of the group of one or more existing stretched resources. The processing can include performing a three phase workflow comprising: a preparation phase that prepares the group for the change or modification operation of the group; a commitment phase that commits the change or modification operation to the group; and a synchronization phase that synchronizes content of the group in accordance with the change or modification operation to the group. Each stretched resource of the group can be configured from local resources of the first and second sites where such local resources have the same identity when exposed to an external host over paths from the first and second sites.

Techniques for implementing modifications to a stretched resource group

A technique for deploying virtual volumes in a metro cluster across first and second arrays includes impersonating a third array that purports to host single-site virtual volumes. The technique further includes mapping the single-site virtual volumes purportedly hosted by the third array to respective pairs of actual virtual volumes. Each pair includes a first virtual volume in the first array and a second virtual volume in the second array and realizes a stretched virtual volume, with writes being mirrored between the virtual volumes of each pair.

Metro cluster for virtual volumes

A technique of providing access to a namespace via multiple storage arrays involves providing access to the namespace from a nonvolatile memory (NVM) subsystem while the NVM subsystem is hosted on a first storage array. The technique further involves, after providing access to the namespace from the NVM subsystem while the NVM subsystem is hosted on the first storage array, performing a stretch operation to concurrently host the NVM subsystem on the first storage array and a second storage array. The technique further involves, after performing the stretch operation, providing access to the namespace from the NVM subsystem while the NVM subsystem is concurrently hosted on the first storage array and the second storage array. Accordingly, the namespace is now accessibly via either storage array.

Providing access to a namespace via multiple storage arrays

A technique for managing communications between a server and multiple clients includes configuring the server to support multiple sets of certificates for respective clients having respective root certificates. The technique further includes determining an indicator associated with a client root certificate during an initial handshake between a client and the server and providing the client with a server certificate associated with the indicator.

Managing trusted communications between server and clients

Configuring systems to provide host access may include: configuring a stretched volume; and performing processing that allows the host access to the stretched volume. The processing may include: receiving a first command to create a first host object for access control for the host in the first data storage system; in response to receiving the first command, performing first processing including: creating the first host object that includes an initiator set of the host; and creating a second host object on the second data storage system, wherein the second host object includes the initiator set and specifies access control in the second data storage system for the host; receiving a second command to map the stretched volume to the first host object; and in response to receiving the second command, granting the host access to the stretched volume on the first data storage system and the second data storage system.

Automated uniform host attachment

In one aspect, an example methodology implementing the disclosed techniques includes creating, by a first site of a volume that supports active-active bidirectional replication, a local copy of the volume, the local copy of the volume configured to be active. The method also includes enabling, by the first site of the volume, bidirectional write input/output (I/O) mirroring with a second site of the volume. The method further includes, by the second site of the volume, creating a remote copy of the volume, the remote copy of the volume configured to be passive, and enabling bidirectional write I/O mirroring with the first site of the volume.

Active-passive configuration for synchronous remote replication in an active-active metro cluster

A method, computer program product, and computing system for identifying a replication link failure between a first volume of a first storage array and a second volume of a second storage array, wherein a first storage protocol identifier is associated with each of the first volume and the second volume. One of the first volume and the second volume may be defined as inaccessible and the other of the first volume and the second volume as accessible, thus defining an inaccessible volume and an accessible volume. The first storage protocol identifier associated with the inaccessible volume may be replaced with a second storage protocol identifier. Access to the inaccessible volume may be provided via the second storage protocol identifier.

System and method for promoting fractured volumes

A technique of managing virtual volumes includes receiving, by a storage system, instructions to create specified virtual volumes in the storage system, the instructions including virtual volume metadata that identifies virtual machines to which the specified virtual volumes are assigned, and providing a database that associates such virtual volumes with the virtual machines identified by the virtual volume metadata. The technique further includes performing a storage activity on a virtual machine by identifying, from the database, multiple virtual volumes that the database associates with the virtual machine and performing the storage activity on all of the identified virtual volumes together as a group.

Reliable virtual machine discovery and storage association

A command is received from a host regarding accessing an NVMe dispersed namespace in a metro cluster configuration of storage arrays. A namespace group state corresponding to the host and the port is determined and returned to the host. The namespace group state indicates whether the specific communication path between the host and the port is optimized or non-optimized. The namespace group state indicates that the communication path is non-optimized where the host is not located at the same location as the storage array, and that the communication path is optimized where the host is located at the same location as the storage array and the node of the storage array is a preferred node for processing I/O directed to the NVMe dispersed namespace from hosts located in the same location as the storage array.

Indicating optimized and non-optimized paths to hosts using NVMe-oF in a metro cluster storage system

Growing community of inventors

Westborough, MA, United States of America

Dmitry Nikolayevich Tylik