Hitachi, Ltd.

Kosuke Sakai

Koji Nagata

Yoshiyuki Noborikawa

Yusuke Nonaka

Koichi Tanaka

Takeshi Shigemura

Takahiro Kito

Shunichi Wakabayashi

Masayoshi Ohara

Saeko Yoshida

A controller for the storage apparatus: creates a second logical volume in a storage area provided by one or more storage devices; stores management information of a snapshot of a first logical volume, which is to be provided to a host computer, in the second logical volume; and reads the management information of a necessary snapshot from the second logical volume to a memory when needed, executes processing using the read management information, and returns the management information, which becomes no longer necessary, from the memory to the second logical volume. When reading the management information of the necessary snapshot from the second logical volume to the memory when needed, the controller changes the number of generations and address range of the snapshot of the management information to be read to the memory according to a generation and address of the snapshot whose management information is required.

Storage apparatus and its control method

A storage system comprises a storage device from which a physical storage area is created for storing data processed in an external apparatus, a thin provisioning controller creating a physical storage area pool with a plurality of unit physical storage areas from the physical storage area, and creating a logical volume from the physical storage area pool, and a snapshot controller designating the logical volume as a primary volume, defining a secondary volume which is a partner of the primary volume as a combination of the primary volume and difference data, assigning unused one of the unit physical storage areas to the area into which the difference data is to be stored, and setting a volume pair created with the primary volume and the secondary volume into a synchronizing state and a non-synchronizing state.

Storage system using thin provisioning pool and snapshotting, and controlling method of the same

A storage apparatus obtains a snapshot(s) of a first logical volume when needed and saves old data to a second logical volume when data is written to the first logical volume after obtaining the snapshot. A storage area of the second logical volume is allocated in chunk units to the first logical volume and a tendency of order to delete snapshots is judged when the chunks have been completely used up. If there is a tendency to delete the snapshots in their acquisition order, a new chunk is allocated to the first logical volume and a storage area in that chunk is determined to be a save location of the old data. If there is a tendency to delete the snapshots randomly, an unused storage area in a chunk already allocated to the first logical volume is determined to be the save location of the old data.

Proposed are a highly reliable storage system and its control method capable of accelerating the processing speed of the copy processing seen from the host device. With the storage system and its control method which stores a command issued from a host device in a command queue and executes the command stored in the command queue in the order that the command was stored in command queue, a copy queue is set for temporarily retaining a copy command among the commands issued from the host device in the memory, the copy command among the commands is moved from the host device stored in the command queue to the copy queue and an execution completion reply of copy processing according to the command is sent to the host device as a sender of the command, and the copy command that was moved to the copy queue is executed in the background in the order that the copy command was stored in the copy queue.

Storage system and a control method for accelerating the speed of copy processing

In a storage system having a plurality of storage apparatuses, each of the storage apparatuses stores therein a coupling mode that is information indicative of whether or not to permit setting of a communication path between each of the storage apparatuses and a plurality of other storage apparatuses. A management apparatus is provided to be coupled for communication to each of the storage apparatuses. The management apparatus has a communication path setting part that provides a user interface for setting the communication path. The communication path setting part does not permit setting of the communication path, at the time of setting the communication path, when the coupling modes of both of the storage apparatuses between which the communication path is to be set are set permissible.

Method of setting communication path in storage system, and management apparatus therefor

This storage apparatus further includes a control unit for creating a second volume as a backup volume of the first volume upon receiving a backup command of the first volume from the host apparatus, and sending a completion reply of the backup command to the host apparatus while the formatting of the second volume and the replication from the first volume to the second volume are incomplete.

Storage apparatus and control method thereof

A storage system includes a controller that controls switching from a system before switching to a system after switching. The controller includes a check unit that checks whether a connection between the system before switching and the system after switching is enabled, or not, a determination unit that determines whether switching from the system before switching to the system after switching is enabled, or not, a fail-over information migration unit that migrates fail-over information included in the system before switching to the system after switching, a user data migration unit that migrates user data in the system before switching to the system after switching, and a switching execution unit that enables the system after switching to receive I/O from a host.

Device for control of switching of storage system

The input of a prescribed type information element is received from an operator via an operator interface. A first storage system outputs a first type information element required to construct a remote copy environment. A second storage system inputs second setting information, which comprises first type information elements and prescribed type information elements, uses the second setting information to execute a second setting, and outputs the second type information element required to construct a remote copy environment. The first storage system inputs first setting information, which comprises the second type information element, and uses the first setting information to execute a first setting. Since the types of information elements required to construct a remote copy environment are exchanged between the storage systems, the number of types of information elements inputted by the operator are less than the number of types of information elements required to construct the remote copy environment.

Growing community of inventors

Isehara, Japan

Kosuke Sakai