Hitachi, Ltd.

Isamu Kurokawa

Hisaharu Takeuchi

Junichi Muto

Ran Ogata

Masanori Araki

Masatoshi Baba

Yuji Sueoka

Masaru Tsukada

Masahiro Kawaguchi

Kazue Jindo

Shinichi Hiramatsu

Hiroaki Nakanishi

Takahiko Takeda

Yoshihito Nakagawa

Akihiro Mori

Kenta Shinozuka

Miyuki Yasuda

Takuya Ichikawa

Hisayoshi Kawabata

Yuya Goto

Sho Sawada

Jyunichi Muto

Hiroaki Onuma

Takumi Sano

A controller is configured to receive a write request from a host, and send an intermediate parity generation command corresponding to a specified address indicated by the write request to a first storage device in storage devices. The intermediate parity generation command instructs generation of an intermediate parity from new data at the specified address and old data that is updated to the new data. The intermediate parity generation command includes a first address in the memory area at which the new data is stored and a second address in the memory area for storing the intermediate parity. The first storage device is configured to receive the intermediate parity generation command, acquire the new data from the first address, generate the intermediate parity from the new data and the old data stored in the first storage device, and store the intermediate parity at the second address.

Storage system for improved efficiency of parity generation and minimized processor load

A storage apparatus includes a microprocessor package configured to access a logical volume and a local memory in the microprocessor package. An input/output (I/O) request range of one I/O request, including a start position address and an end position address of the logical volume which is a target of the one I/O request, is stored in the local memory. A counter value indicating a number of I/O requests to and from the logical volume associated with the one I/O request is acquired and stored in the local memory. If the counter value associated with the one I/O request is greater than the counter value associated with another I/O request, the I/O request ranges of the one I/O request and the other I/O request are compared. If there is no overlap between the I/O request ranges, the one I/O request is executed; otherwise, the one I/O request is placed on standby.

Storage apparatus and method for executing exclusive extent processing in parallel using counter values

To efficiently manage data including control information. A storage apparatus connected to a host requesting data writing includes one or a plurality of storage devices and a controller for allocating a storage area in page units to an area of a virtual volume to write the data in response to a request from the host to write the data wherein if the data regarding which the host makes the write request includes control information and data excluding the control information is specified data, the controller releases the allocation of the page allocated to the area for writing the relevant data.

Storage apparatus and data management method

A storage apparatus comprises a disk device and a disk adapter for controlling the disk device. The disk adapter controls the disk device and forms a data volume and a pool volume, creates a data block for parity data, compresses write data and the created parity data, and stores a number of compressed data blocks equal to or less than a predetermined number and stores compressed parity data that are within a predetermined size in storage areas in an actual volume, and stores the remaining compressed data blocks of a number greater than the predetermined number and compressed parity data that exceed the predetermined size in storage areas in the pool volume corresponding to a virtual volume.

Storage apparatus and data storage method using the same

A storage apparatus comprises a disk device and a disk controller for controlling the disk device. The disk controller provides a data volume including an actual volume and virtual volume with a volume capacity virtualization function. The virtual volume is associated with a pool volume for storing the actual data and the actual data is stored in the pool volume. In response to a write command from a host computer, the disk controller compresses write data under RAID 5 control and stores the compressed data in a storage area in the actual volume. If the entire compressed data cannot be stored in that storage area, the disk controller stores the remaining portion of the compressed data in the virtual volume.

Provided is a storage system enabling the addition of a storage apparatus without going offline. When a first storage apparatus receives from a host system a command for writing first data in any one of the primary volumes in a primary volume group, it writes the first data in the relevant primary volume and sends to a second storage apparatus a first command for writing the first data in a secondary volume specified using first mapping information. When the second storage apparatus receives from the host system a command for writing second data in any one of the secondary volume groups in a secondary volume group, it writes the second data in the relevant secondary volume and sends to the first storage apparatus a second command for writing the second data in a primary volume specified using second mapping information.

Storage system

A method and system are provided that can realize data migration between volumes accessed by a host computer without stopping the host computer accessing the volumes. A host computeris connected to a storage subsystemvia pathsand, and the storage subsystemis connected to a storage subsystemvia a path(or pathsand). While data is being copied from an old volumein the storage subsystem(a migration source) to a new volumein the storage subsystem(a migration destination) via the path(or pathsand), if a request for I/O processing is sent from the host computer, the storage subsystemresponds and handles that I/O processing.

Storage system and data migration method for the same

In the host, an IP issues CCW, and a CH encodes the CCW and a CCW chain by the encode program to create a code including the description of controlling a conditional branch with the DKC and transmits the code to a PORT in the DKC. In the DKC, the PORT decodes the code by the decode program, and a CP sequentially processes each command obtained by the decoding and returns a return code representing the end state of the processing. The host receives the return code to recognize the end state of the processing.

Data processing system, data processing method and program

A storage device system in which migration of data from an existing storage device to a higher-standard storage device is unnecessary, and in which discarding of existing storage devices by the user can be prevented. A CHFreceives a Read Capacity command from a new-type storage device(S). Using LDEV, LUN and other information tables, an LUNis converted into a mapped LDEV (S). A check is performed to determine whether the LDEV emulation type is read-only, write-only, or read/write (S). If none of these, a check is performed to determine whether the emulation type is newly created (S). If newly created, the size of all storage areas of the LDEV are set as the Max LBA in a response to the new-type storage device(S). If the result of Sis YES, the size of the user area in the LDEV is set as the Max LBA in a response to the new-type storage device(S). If not newly created, processing proceeds to the processing of S

Storage device system interfacing open-system host computer input/output interfaces

In a data processing system in which a host processing apparatus and a storage subsystem are connected via a channel interface, the present invention makes it possible to expand the number of logical device addresses in excess of the device address limitations of the channel interface, and also enhances the performance of parallel access processing for the same logical device. When an access request is generated for a logical device, the host processing apparatus stores the logical device address to be accessed in a prefix command of a channel command word (CCW) for the access request, sets this CCW in a device information block of a frame which complies with the channel interface, sets a parallel access identifier for identifying a plurality of accesses for the same device in a device address of this frame, and then sends this frame to the storage subsystem.

Data processing system configuring and transmitting access request frames with a field in channel command words to accommendate a plurality of logical device address data therein

For using a plurality of files contained in one logical device with a plurality of processing systems, sharing of a data storage unit among the plurality of processing systems is realized without need for a host processing system to check use states of the files in a server storage unit. Information concerning extent (extent range) of an input/output processing request issued by a host processor is stored in a control memory incorporated in a control unit for allowing the control unit to make decision as to overlap of the extents of the input/output processings to thereby effectuate exclusive control on an extent-by-extent basis.

Storage system processing read/write data requests with or without logical storage area information

Array system controls request based on information received from host computer

A data look-ahead control is provided to realize a high cache hit rate and improves responsiveness in an information processing system. In the data look-ahead control, when it is determined that the current input/output request is an access to a specific database that was the subject of a recent input/output request and whose I/O count exceeds a predetermined value, and it is also determined that a cache memory can be occupied to some extent and that there would be no impact on other input/output requests, data including one or more blocks (logical tracks) larger than a block that is the subject of the current I/O request are loaded to the cache memory.

Effects of prefetching on I/O requests in an information processing system

A storage system, which can execute sort processing of data without affecting online service, is disclosed. A storage control devicereceives a sort instruction specifying a record group for sorting and a sort key from a host device, reads the record group from an external storage deviceinto cache memory, and uses the cache memoryand a work area secured in the external storage deviceto execute sort processing of the above record group, and again stores the sorted record group in a prescribed output area within the external storage device. When a plurality of sort instructions are received, work areas are allocated automatically without overlapping work areas. When record updates occur during online service, a snapshot of the updated records is taken, and sorting of the snapshot is performed.

Storage system with a data sort function

There is provided a data processing system which, from a point of view of increasing process efficiency of the entire data processing system to exhibit a maximum effect, may assign an alias device to a logic device. The data processing system of this invention comprises a host processing device () and a storage control device () connected thereto via a communication means (), where the storage control device () has a deciding means for deciding, at a time of processing an I/O request of a certain base device, whether there is a need to newly assign an alias device to the base device according to a use situation of a physical device (). When assignment is decided as necessary, the host processing device () is notified of such via the communication means, and the host processing device () newly assigns an alias device to the base device when there is the notification from the storage control device ().

Growing community of inventors

Odawara, Japan

Isamu Kurokawa