Hitachi, Ltd.

Haruaki Watanabe

Kenji Yamagami

Kouji Arai

Takashi Oeda

Akira Yamamoto

Hiroshi Arakawa

Katsunori Nakamura

Koichi Kimura

Shigeo Homma

Yoshinori Okami

Kiichiro Urabe

Minoru Kosuge

Hiroshi Abei

Kenzo Tabata

Toshio Nakano

Atsushi Tanaka

Yoshiki Kano

Takao Sato

Takao Satoh

Hisaharu Takeuchi

Yoichi Mizuno

Hidenori Suzuki

Seiichi Higaki

Shizuo Yokohata

Shigeru Kishiro

Mikito Ogata

Susumu Suzuki

Yoshihito Nakagawa

Youichi Gotoh

Shoji Sugino

Yoshiro Shiroyanagi

Takashi Kaga

Michio Suetsugu

Kouji Umemoto

Sigeo Homma

Masahiro Tsumagari

A storage apparatus having a plurality of logical volumes includes a storage device, and a storage controller that operates each of the logical volumes as a virtual volume. A primary volume and a secondary volume are configured as a copy pair in which data in the primary volume can be copied to the secondary volume. If the primary volume receives a discard request for a unit physical storage area, the storage controller determines whether or not a unit physical storage area exists configuring the secondary volume corresponding to the unit physical storage area, which is a target of the discard request. If the unit physical storage area configuring the secondary volume exists, an instruction is transmitted to the secondary volume to discard the page or unit physical storage area assigned to the secondary volume.

Storage apparatus and method including page discard processing for primary and secondary volumes configured as a copy pair

The present invention appropriately processes a write command issued during data migration processing, and completes the data migration processing promptly. A copy control part, in a case where write data targeted at a migration-source volumeA has been received from a hostduring data migration processing, selects and executes one of a synchronous copy processA and an asynchronous copy processB based on either any one or multiple pieces of prescribed informationA throughD. This enables write command processing according to a process mode complying a storage system condition.

Storage system and data migration processing control method

The present invention is devised so that snapshot data preparation processing does not end abnormally as a result of the pool region becoming full with saved data from the primary logical volume during snapshot data preparation. When the CHA receives a snapshot data preparation request, the CHA checks whether or not update information is present in the logical volume that is the object of this data preparation. If such information is present (YES in S), a check is made from the number of slots in the in the volume control information and the updating amount count value in the update information in order to ascertain whether or not the proportion of the updating amount relative to the number of slots is equal to or greater than the threshold value in the threshold value control information (S). If this proportion is equal to or greater than the threshold value (YES in S), the update information is initialized (S), and physical snapshot control is started (S). If such is not the case (NO in S), the update information is initialized (S), and logical snapshot control is started (S).

Storage system and snapshot data preparation method in storage system

In an information processing system including a central processor for generating commands to process storage data stored and for executing a sequence processing and a storage subsystem including a plurality of storage media for transferring data between the plural storage media according to commands from the central processor, a data recovery method recovers data to a predetermined state upon occurrence of a failure in a sequence of processing executed by the central processor. Before execution of a sequence of processing, the central processor issues to the storage subsystem a saving request to save in the plural storage media a copy of data stored in either one of the storage media used in the sequence of processing. In response to the saving request, the storage subsystem saves a copy of data of the storage media.

Method of and a system for recovering data in an information processing system

Provided is a storage control system in which a number of storage controllers are connected, and restored data is forwarded from one storage controller to the other storage controller. This storage control system is configured by a first storage controller and a second storage controller being connected in a mutually communicable manner, and which performs data processing according to a request from a host system, the first storage controller having a virtual volume associated with a logical volume of the second storage controller; a cache memory associated with the virtual volume; and a control unit for controlling the data processing between the cache memory and the virtual volume; wherein the control unit purges the storage area of the cache memory corresponding to the virtual volume accessed by the host system upon storing the restored data of the logical volume in the cache memory.

Storage control system and storage control method

A storage control device provided in a storage control system reports a virtual storage capacity value stored in a shared memory, to a host terminal, and ensures that, after the virtual storage capacity value has been stored in the host terminal, the virtual storage capacity value thus reported cannot be changed while the virtual storage unit having the virtual storage capacity value is connected to the host terminal.

Storage control sub-system comprising virtual storage units

The disk array apparatus has a source volume that is the source for data migration, and migrates the data to a destination volume that is the destination for the data migration. The disk array apparatus includes: an access frequency calculator for calculating the frequency of access to the source volume for each time period of a certain length of time going back from a data migration termination date and time when the data migration termination date and time is designated externally; an estimated data migration amount calculator for calculating the estimated data migration amount for each time period based on the access frequency calculated by the access frequency calculator; and a data migration start date and time calculator for calculating the data migration start date and time based on the estimated data migration amount calculated by the estimated data migration amount calculator.

Disk array apparatus, data migration method, and storage medium

A storage apparatus is capable of relocating volumes accurately even when a plurality of storage apparatuses are connected. The storage apparatus comprises an external connection function for recognizing an external logical volume set on a physical storage device as a logical volume inside the storage apparatus, a storage control device with a volume relocation function for relocating the logical volumes based on set conditions, and a storage unit with a plurality of physical storage devices. When the host sends a read request to the logical volume set on the physical storage device of the storage unit, the volume relocation function generates internally the same read request to the external storage volume set on the physical storage device in the external storage apparatus and relocates volumes based on the monitor information obtained by monitoring responses to the read request.

Storage apparatus and method for relocating volumes thereof

A data copy method for a disk sub system that is equipped with a first storage apparatus including a first logic storage apparatus divided into a first region and a second region and a second storage apparatus including a second logic storage apparatus divided into a first region and a second region, the first logic storage apparatus and the second logic storage apparatus connecting to a host apparatus, wherein data on the first logic storage apparatus is copied to the second logic storage apparatus by an instruction from the host apparatus. With the data copy method, the second logic storage apparatus is designated as a copy destination for copying data of the first logic storage apparatus, the second region of the first logic storage apparatus and the second region of the second logic storage apparatus are switched with one another, and data stored in the first region and the second region within the first storage apparatus are copied to the first region and the second region within the second storage apparatus.

Data copy method

A storage control device provided in a storage control sub-system reports a virtual storage capacity value stored in a shared memory, to a host terminal, and ensures that, after the virtual storage capacity value has been stored in the host terminal, the virtual storage capacity value thus reported cannot be changed while the virtual storage unit having the virtual storage capacity value is connected to the host terminal.

A backup processing method for backing up data to be used by a data-processing computer system comprises selecting resources in a usable state from a plurality of resources necessary for the data to be used by the data-processing computer system, selecting switches in a usable state from a plurality of switches needed to form routes among said selected resources, and executing backup processing by using the secured resources and routes when the resources and routes necessary for backing up data to be used by the data processing computer system are secured to form multiple backup subsystems.

Backup processing method

Two data centers located in the vicinity are connected using a synchronous transfer copy function, and one of the data centers is coupled with a third data center disposed at a remote location by an asynchronous remote copying function. The order whereat a storage sub-system located in the vicinity has received data from a host is consistently guaranteed, and the third data center holds the data. Further, each storage sub-system includes a function whereby, during normal operation, data can be exchanged and the data update state can be obtained by the storage sub-systems located in the two data centers that do not directly engage in data transmission.

Remote copy for a storage controller with reduced data size

In a storage system, a logical volume is divided into a plurality of small areas called logical storage devices and only such an area designated by a user is made an object of remote copying or migratory copying. Also, there is provided a unit for forming a logical volume from any logical storage device of any RAID group. Thereby, the reduction of the deterioration in performance at the time of remote copying, the reduction of a storage area to be assigned to a secondary site as a copy destination, the shortening of a time required for migratory copying and the assignment of any area of a logical volume on any RAID group are enabled.

Storage system

In a novel snapshot management method for a data storage system which does not use duplication (mirroring), when a snapshot of a main volume pertaining to a designated time is being taken, every time a write request to a storage region in the main volume is received, if the data in that storage region has not been copied to an auxiliary volume since the designated time, that data is copied to the auxiliary volume, and the writing to the storage region is carried out after that. In the case of sequential writing, also for data in a further storage region, following the target storage region, on which it is predicted that sequential writing will be carried out henceforth, if copying to the auxiliary volume has not been carried out since the designated time, the data is copied to the auxiliary volume in the same way.

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Isehara, Japan

Haruaki Watanabe