International Business Machines Corporation

Other

Compagnie Ibm France

Minh-Ngoc Le Huynh

James Chien-Chiung Chen

Chung Man Fung

Patricia Ching Lu

James C Chen

Michael T Benhase

Gail Andrea Spear

Richard Anthony Ripberger

Steven Edward Klein

Dung Ngoc Dang

William Frank Micka

Brent Cameron Beardsley

Christopher Michael Sansone

Alex Chen

Richard Alan Schaeffer

Satish Chandra Penmetsa

Kaukab Uddin

Matthew J Kalos

Carol Santich Mellgren

Susan Kay Candelaria

Yu-Cheng Hsu

Theodore Timothy Harris, Jr

Olympia Gluck

Kevin Lee Gibble

Angqin Bai

Brian Jeffrey Corcoran

Gabriel G Walder

Frederick James Carberry, Ii

Edwin K Scott

Jeffery Michael Barnes

Patricia Chiung Lu

Provided are a method for selecting a path comprising ports on primary and secondary clusters to use to transmit data at a primary volume to a secondary volume. A request is received to copy data from a primary storage location to a secondary storage location. A determination is made from a plurality of primary clusters of an owner primary cluster for the primary storage location, wherein the primary clusters are configured to access the primary storage location. A determination is made as to whether there is at least one port on the owner primary cluster providing an available path to the secondary storage location. One port on the owner primary cluster is selected to use to copy the data to the secondary storage location in response to determining that there is at least one port on the owner primary cluster available to transmit to the secondary storage location.

Selecting a path comprising ports on primary and secondary clusters to use to transmit data at a primary volume to a secondary volume

An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for storing and retrieving compressed data. A compression module compresses a data file organized in logical tracks. A ratio module determines a track compression ratio. The track compression ratio is a ratio of an integer value n to one. A destage module destages a single directory entry for the data file to a directory. The directory entry points to a zeroth track on a hard disk drive. The destage module further destages the data file sequentially to tracks of the hard disk drive from the zeroth track with n logical tracks of the data file stored on one physical track of the hard disk drive. A stage module stages a kth logical track from a physical track of the hard disk drive. The physical track is specified by an integer value of k divided by n.

Apparatus, system, and method for storing and retrieving compressed data

Provided are a system and article of manufacture for bidirectional data transfer. In certain embodiments a link layer login is sent from a first port to a second port. Subsequently, an application layer login is sent from the first port to the second port to establish a first data path, wherein the first data path is from the first port to the second port. Subsequently, another application layer login is sent from the second port to the first port to establish a second data path, wherein the second data path is from the second port to the first port. In certain other embodiments, a first data path is established from a first port to a second port. A determination is made at the first port, whether the second port has a second data path established from the second port to the first port. An application layer logout is sent from the first port to the second port, in response to determining that the second port has the second data path established from the second port to the first port. The first data path is terminated from the first port to the second port in response to receiving the application layer logout at the second port.

System and article of manufacture for bidirectional data transfer

System and computer program product are provided to configure a path between nodes through a fabric in a fibre channel storage area network (SAN). A node name is provided for a target node on the SAN and a port name is provided for each port in the target node. A relationship is established in a data structure between each port name and a slot in which each port is physically located in the target node. Prior to configuring a path between a source node and a port in the target node, the ports which are physically connected and logged in to the fabric are identified by port address. The port names corresponding to the port addresses are then identified. The port names are used to generate interface_ids of the ports corresponding to the physical slots in which the ports are located. A data structure is created to maintain the relationship between interface_ids and port names. To establish a path connection between a port in the source node and a selected port in the target node, the node name of the target node and the interface_id of the selected port are input to the data structure and the port name of the selected port is output. The port name is then used to obtain the address of the selected port and an I/O session path opened between the source and target nodes.

Configuration of fibre channel SAN path

A method, apparatus and program storage device for providing asynchronous status messaging in a data storage system Asynchronous events are returned from a target to an initiator in response to a Read Message from the initiator. The return status message may or may not be associated with a previously given command or Logical Unit (LUN).

Method, apparatus and program storage device for providing asynchronous status messaging in a data storage system

Provided are a method, system, and program monitoring paths between a first controller and second controller. A determination is made as to whether one path has been unavailable for a predetermined time period in response to detecting that the path is unavailable. Indication is made that the path is in a first failed state if the path has been unavailable for more than the predetermined time period and indication is made that the path is in a second failed state if the path has not been unavailable for the predetermined time period.

System and program for transmitting input/output requests from a first controller to a second controller

Disclosed is a technique for assigning priorities. A request to manipulate data is received. A type of the request is determined. A priority is assigned to the request based on the type of the request.

Assigning priorities

Methods, system and computer program product are provided to improve the efficiency of data transfers in a PPRC environment. Any or all of three features may be implemented, each of which reduces the number of round trips required for the exchange of handshaking, data and control information. A first feature includes disabling the 'transfer ready' acknowledgment which normally occurs between a primary storage controller and a secondary storage controller. A second feature includes pre-allocating payload and data buffers in the secondary storage controller. A third feature includes packaging write control information with a write command in an extended command descriptor block (CDB). Such a step eliminated the need for a separate transmission of the write control information. The CDB is transmitted along with a data block from the primary storage controller to the secondary storage controller and placed in the respective, pre-allocated buffers. Data may also be pipelined to the secondary. By decreasing the response time for data transfers, the distance separating the primary and secondary storage controllers may be increased.

Decreased response time for peer-to-peer remote copy write operation

Methods, system and computer program product are provided to configure a path between nodes through a fabric in a fibre channel storage area network (SAN). A node name is provided for a target node on the SAN and a port name is provided for each port in the target node. A relationship is established in a data structure between each port name and a slot in which each port is physically located in the target node. Prior to configuring a path between a source node and a port in the target node, the ports which are physically connected and logged in to the fabric are identified by port address. The port names corresponding to the port addresses are then identified. The port names are used to generate interface_ids of the ports corresponding to the physical slots in which the ports are located. A data structure is created to maintain the relationship between interface_ids and port names. To establish a path connection between a port in the source node and a selected port in the target node, the node name of the target node and the interface_id of the selected port are input to the data structure and the port name of the selected port is output. The port name is then used to obtain the address of the selected port and an I/O session path opened between the source and target nodes.

Provided are a method for monitoring paths between a first controller and second controller. A determination is made as to whether one path has been unavailable for a predetermined time period in response to detecting that the path is unavailable. Indication is made that the path is in a first failed state if the path has been unavailable for more than the predetermined time period and indication is made that the path is in a second failed state if the path has not been unavailable for the predetermined time period.

Method for transmitting input/output requests from a first controller to a second controller

Provided are a method, system, and program for copying tracks between a primary controller and secondary controller. A track is received from the primary controller that is part of a copy job comprising a sequence of tracks to copy along with a sequence number of the received track and a context number identifying computational resources in the primary controller used to transmit the track, sequence number, and context number. The context number and sequence number transmitted with the track are used to determine if a track preceding the received track was written to storage. The secondary-controller writes the received track to storage if the track preceding the received track was written to storage.

Method, system, and program for copying tracks between a primary storage and secondary storage

Provided are a method, system and article of manufacture for bidirectional data transfer. In certain embodiments a link layer login is sent from a first port to a second port. Subsequently, an application layer login is sent from the first port to the second port to establish a first data path, wherein the first data path is from the first port to the second port. Subsequently, another application layer login is sent from the second port to the first port to establish a second data path, wherein the second data path is from the second port to the first port. In certain other embodiments, a first data path is established from a first port to a second port. A determination is made at the first port, whether the second port has a second data path established from the second port to the first port. An application layer logout is sent from the first port to the second port, in response to determining that the second port has the second data path established from the second port to the first port. The first data path is terminated from the first port to the second port in response to receiving the application layer logout at the second port.

Method for bidirectional data transfer

Method, system, and program for transmitting input/output requests from a primary controller to a secondary controller

A method to provide information from a first information storage and retrieval system to a second information storage and retrieval system. Applicants' method provides a first information storage and retrieval system, where that first information storage and retrieval system comprises (N) PPRC adapters and information, and provides a second information storage and retrieval system. The method generates and saves an Established Path Bitmap which recites each of the (N) PPRC adapters, and generates an Available Path Bitmap. If a PPRC adapter is in communication with the secondary information storage and retrieval system, then the method adds that adapter to the Available Path Bitmap. The Established Path Bitmap and the Available Path Bitmap are used for subsequent PPRC operations.

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Minh-Ngoc Le Huynh