International Business Machines Corporation

Duke Andy Lee

Gregory Tad Kishi

Erika Dawson

Joel Kenneth Lyman

Ralph Thomas Beeston

Cheryl Marie Friauf

David Luciani

Jonathan Wayne Peake

Wayne Charles Carlson

David Alan Brettell

Alan J Fisher

Keith Anthony Bello

Norie Iwasaki

Joseph M Swingler

Koichi Masuda

Paul Merril Greco

Scott Milton Fry

Gavin Stuart Johnson

Jon Arthur Lynds

Gary Anna

Cory G Smith

Jeffrey Wayne Pilch

Vanessa R Earle

Alexander Nieves

Ariel Villasenor

Provided are a method, system, and computer program product in which operations are performed for generating a logical recovery cache partition to perform testing and to recover exported data, wherein production data is separated from recovered data. Concurrent recovery of exported physical tape data is performed by the method, system, and computer program product.

Concurrent recovery of exported physical tape data

A computer-implemented method according to one embodiment includes receiving at an encryption daemon a key request from a storage device; implementing, by the encryption daemon, a secure communications channel between the encryption daemon and an encryption key server; sending the key request from the encryption daemon to the encryption key server, utilizing the secure communications channel; receiving, from the encryption key server at the encryption daemon, an encrypted response, utilizing the secure communications channel; decrypting, by the encryption daemon, the encrypted response to obtain the requested key, and sending the requested key from the encryption daemon to the storage device.

Securely retrieving encryption keys for a storage system

A tool for adjusting available physical tape storage capacities. The tool determines an initial capacity size for one or more tapes, wherein the initial capacity size is a maximum physical storage capacity provided by the one or more tapes. The tool assigns the one or more tapes to a logical cluster based, at least in part, on the initial capacity size for the one or more tapes. The tool determines an initial storage capacity for the one or more tapes, wherein the initial storage capacity is a starting logical storage capacity that is less than the maximum physical storage capacity provided by the one or more tapes. The tool determines an incremental growth threshold for the one or more tapes. Responsive to a determination that the incremental growth threshold is exceeded, the tool increments a logical storage capacity of the one or more tapes by an incremental growth assignment.

Adjustable tape storage capacity

A method according to one embodiment includes copying data incoming to and/or generated at a production site to a copy cluster at a remote copy site, thereby creating a redundant copy of the data at the copy cluster. When the copy cluster becomes unavailable, data incoming to and/or generated at the production site is copied to a backup reserve site after the copy cluster becomes unavailable. Additional systems, methods, and computer programs products are also presented.

Apparatus, system and method for temporary copy policy

A computer program product for eliminating access to data within a writable storage media cartridge includes a computer readable medium having program instructions embodied therewith. The program instructions are executable by a processing circuit to cause the processing circuit to determine whether a first portion of data on the writable storage media cartridge is encrypted, and determine whether key shredding is enabled. In response to determining that key shredding is not enabled, the processing circuit causes performance of a long erase on at least the encrypted first portion of data, and causes shredding of an encryption key related to said encrypted first portion of data.

Efficient elimination of access to data on a writable storage media

A system provided for eliminating access to data within a writable storage media cartridge. The system comprises a writable storage media drive, such as a tape drive. The writable storage drive determines if at least a first portion of data on the writable storage media is encrypted. If it is determined that the first portion of data is encrypted then the writable storage drive shreds a second portion of data within the writable storage media cartridge related to said encrypted first portion of data. The first portion of data and the second portion are not the same portions of the writable storage media cartridge.

A method according to one embodiment includes outputting a first alert when a cache free space size is less than a first threshold and entering into a warning state, and outputting a second alert when the cache free space size is less than a second threshold and entering into a critical state. At least one scratch volume is deleted when in the critical state, the scratch volume chosen based on at least one of: a length of time the scratch volume has been designated scratch, a priority level of the information stored on the scratch volume, and a scratch delay value associated with the scratch volume.

Managing a cache in a multi-node virtual tape controller

A method and computer program product are provided for eliminating access to data within a writable storage media cartridge. If it is determined if at least a first portion of data on the writable storage media is encrypted then a second portion of data within the writable storage media cartridge related to said encrypted first portion of data is shredded. The first portion of data and the second portion are not the same portions of the writable storage media cartridge.

According to one embodiment, a system includes a virtual tape library having a cache, a virtual tape controller (VTC) coupled to the virtual tape library, and an interface for coupling multiple hosts to the VTC. The cache is shared by the multiple hosts, and a common view of a cache state, a virtual library state, and a number of write requests pending is provided to the hosts by the VTC. In another embodiment, a method includes receiving data from at least one host using a VTC, storing data received from all the hosts to a cache using the VTC, sending an alert to all the hosts when free space is low and entering into a warning state, sending another alert to all the hosts when free space is critically low and entering into a critical state while allowing previously mounted virtual drives to continue normally.

According to one embodiment, a method for managing cache space in a virtual tape controller includes receiving data from at least one host using the virtual tape controller; storing data received from the at least one host to a cache using the virtual tape controller; sending a first alert to the at least one host when a cache free space size is less than a first threshold and entering into a warning state using the virtual tape controller; sending a second alert to the at least one host when the cache free space size is less than a second threshold and entering into a critical state using the virtual tape controller; and allowing previously mounted virtual drives to continue normal writing activity when in the critical state.

Methods for managing a cache in a multi-node virtual tape controller

According to one embodiment, a system includes a virtual tape library having a cache, a virtual tape controller (VTC) coupled to the virtual tape library, and an interface for coupling at least one host to the VTC. The cache is shared by all the hosts, and a common view of a cache state, a virtual library state, and a number of write requests pending is provided to all the hosts by the VTC.

Systems for managing a cache in a multi-node virtual tape controller

A system according to one embodiment includes a processor; logic in the processor and/or a memory configured to determine a furthest physical position on a magnetic medium that unobscured data has been written to; and logic configured to store an indicator of the furthest physical position on at least one of the magnetic medium and a memory coupled thereto. A system according to another embodiment includes a processor; logic in the processor and/or a memory configured to receive an instruction to obscure data on a magnetic medium; logic configured to read an indicator of a furthest physical position on the magnetic medium that unobscured data has been written to; and logic configured to cause obscuring of the unobscured data on the magnetic medium, and terminating the obscuring upon reaching the physical position in the indicator.

Monitoring of extent of writing of unobscured data to improve erase performance on a magnetic medium

The provision of verification for data storage cartridges having data storage tape media employs determining the volume identity of a data storage cartridge; and providing an internal label at each block of data to be written to the data storage tape media of the data storage cartridge, the internal label at least comprising the volume identity. Verification of a label comprises reading an external label of the cartridge, the external label at least comprising a volume identity of the cartridge; determining whether the tape media comprises valid data arranged in blocks; positioning the tape media at one of the data blocks and attempting to read an internal label from the data block; and if so, determining whether the volume identity of the external label matches the volume identity of the internal label, and, if so, determining that the matching volume identity is the volume identity of the cartridge.

Verification of a tape data storage cartridge

A method for providing continuous access to shared tape drives from two virtual tape server (VTS) nodes is disclosed. A group of tape drives are connected to two VTS nodes via a set of switches. Both VTS nodes can concurrently process requests to mount physical tape cartridges to separate tape drives. The selection of a tape drive to fulfill a volume mount request on a physical volume begins by locking down any access to a tape drive table having a composite view of all the tape drives shared between the two VTS nodes. An available tape drive is then selected to mount the physical volume, and an entry in the tape drive table is updated to claim ownership of the tape drive. A reservation command is sent to the tape drive to lock down any access to the tape drive, and the lock to the tape drive table is released. Having claimed ownership to the tape drive, the VTS node can now perform the volume mount request.

Method and apparatus for providing continuous access to shared tape drives from multiple virtual tape servers within a data storage system

With detection of a selected error event involving a data storage drive and data storage media, a subsystem attempts to move the media to another drive, and conduct a similar operation. The subsystem separately tracks successive error events of individual drives and individual media, wherein a complete successful operation breaks the chain of the successive error events; and upon the number of successive error events reaching a threshold, fails the data storage drive or the data storage media. Error events are categorized into:

Growing community of inventors

Tucson, AZ, United States of America

Duke Andy Lee