International Business Machines Corporation

Globalfoundries Inc.

Nicolas Marc Clayton

Theresa Mary Brown

Carol Santich Mellgren

Gregory E McBride

Theodore Timothy Harris, Jr

Matthew John Ward

Nedlaya Yazzie Francisco

Joshua J Crawford

Matthew Sanchez

Gail Andrea Spear

Warren Keith Stanley

David Michael Shackelford

John Glenn Thompson

Lisa Joan Gundy

Mark L Lipets

David Brent Schreiber

Beth Ann Peterson

Alfred Emilio Sanchez

Lokesh M Gupta

David C Reed

Brian D Hatfield

Raul Eduardo Saba

Damian Trujillo

Kevin C Lin

Clint Alan Hardy

John Richard Paveza

Anthony J Ciaravella

David Fei

Michael S Gagner

Yang Liu

David B Petersen

Robert Francis Bartfai

Robert Frederic Kern

Xue Qiang Zhou

Yongjie Gong

Shan Fan

Edgar Xavier Somoza

Harry M Yudenfriend

Dale Francis Riedy, Jr

Peter Grimm Sutton

William J Rooney

William James Scales

Susan Kay Candelaria

Scott Brady Compton

Shachar Fienblit

Lawrence Yiumchee Chiu

Chao Li

Lee Jason Sanders

David Randall Blea

Olympia Gluck

Suguang Li

Sonny Earl Williams

Ian Boden

Chiahong Chen

Jared Michael Minch

Gang Lyu

Eli Malul

Tri M Hoang

Corey G Smeaton

Michael J Shannon

Terry O'Connor

Pierre-Fortin Jean-Denis

Chuong H Tran

Barry D Whyte

Bengt E Larsson

Theodore T Harris

A computer-implemented method according to one aspect includes monitoring a current usage of a backup storage space for a storage volume; comparing the current usage to a capacity threshold; and conditionally increasing a size of the backup storage space, based on the comparing and a predetermined size limitation.

Expanding storage capacity for implementing logical corruption protection

A computer-implemented method according to one aspect includes receiving an indication of a track range to be released within a storage volume; identifying a data backup within a backup storage space for the storage volume that corresponds to the track range; and releasing the track range within the storage volume in response to determining that the corresponding data backup has expired within the backup storage space.

Releasing data storage tracks while maintaining logical corruption protection

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a new approach for workload balancing in a system. A computer-implemented method comprises obtaining a configuration of a system, wherein the configuration includes a connection relationship between components in the system. The method further comprises determining a workload threshold of a given component in the components based on the configuration, wherein a workload threshold of an upstream component of the given component is associated with a workload limit of the upstream component and a workload limit of the given component. The method further comprises determining a utilization rate of the given component based at least partially on a workload amount of the given component, the workload threshold of the given component, and the workload threshold of the upstream component. Accordingly, a more accurate utilization rate of each component in a system can be determined by considering the bottleneck of other components in the system, and thus workloads of various components in the system can be balanced from the perspective of the overall system.

Workload balancing to achieve a global workload balance

Withdrawal of a point-in-time snap copy relationship or a portion of such a relationship, is managed in a manner which can obviate disruption of consistency groups due to the withdrawal. If the withdrawal request is directed to a subrange of the original snap copy relationship, the snap copy relationship is split by creating one or more point-in-time snap copy relationships over one or more subranges of tracks of the snap copy source. A determination is made as to whether to delay execution of the withdrawal request to temporarily preserve data of the withdrawal range. Disruptions to completion of consistency groups may be avoided by selectively delaying the withdrawal of a snap copy relationship corresponding to the withdrawal subrange. In so far as the host is involved, a host may treat the withdrawal request as immediately granted without delay. Other aspects may be realized, depending upon the particular application.

Point-in-time snap copy withdrawal management

A computer-implemented method according to one aspect includes receiving a request to increase a size of a backup storage space for a storage volume; adding additional extents to the backup storage space in response to the request; identifying a current extent location within the backup storage space; determining whether any filled extent locations exist between the current extent location and the additional extents added to the backup storage space; and conditionally utilizing the additional extents added to the backup storage space, based on the determining.

Provided are techniques for performing a recovery copy command to restore a safeguarded copy backup to a production volume. In response to receiving a recovery copy command, a production target data structure is created. A read operation is received for data for a storage location. In response to determining that the data for the storage location is in a cache of a host and a generation number is greater than a recovery generation number, the data is read from the cache. In response to determining at least one of that the data for the storage location is not in the cache and that the generation number is not greater than the recovery generation number, the data is read from one of the production volume and a backup volume based on a value of an indicator for the storage location in the production target data structure.

Performing a recovery copy command to restore a safeguarded copy backup to a production volume

Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for copying data from multiple point-in-time copies to a log storage to use to roll-back a source storage managing point-in-time copies of a source storage. A plurality of point-in-time copies of a source storage at different point-in-times are established. In response to receiving writes to the source storage after establishing each of the point-in-time copies, point-in-time data in the source storage is copied, before being updated by the received writes, to a log storage, wherein the log storage stores point-in-time data for multiple of the point-in-time copies. The log storage is used to roll-back the source storage to a selected point-in-time of one of the point-in-time copies.

Copying data from multiple point-in-time copies to a log storage to use to roll-back a source storage

A determination is made that a point-in-time copy of a consistency group of a production volume has to be stored in a backup storage that is configured to store a plurality of point-in-time copies generated at a plurality of time instants. An extent of a thin provisioned volume of a highest storage tier of a tiered storage is allocated to store the point-in-time copy of the consistency group. A process is initiated for storing the point-in-time copy of the consistency group to the extent of the highest storage tier of the tiered storage.

Management of backup volume extents via a tiered storage mechanism

Consistency groups are asynchronously copied to a remote computational device, from a local computational device, wherein point in time copy operations are performed at the local computational device while the consistency groups are being asynchronously copied to the remote computational device. Indicators are stored at the remote computational device to identify those point in time copy operations that are to be restored as part of a recovery operation performed at the remote computational device in response to a failure of the local computational device.

Restoration of data when point in time copy operations are performed during asynchronous copy

A method for accelerating transaction execution across geographically dispersed clusters is disclosed. In one embodiment, such a method includes receiving a request to read data in a data replication system comprising a primary storage system and a secondary storage system in a synchronous mirroring relationship with the primary storage system. The method determines whether at least one of the following conditions is true: (1) the secondary storage system is closer from a communication standpoint; and (2) a high speed communication technology is available to communicate with the secondary storage system that is not available to communicate with the primary storage system. In the event either of the conditions is true, the method directs the request to the secondary storage system. In the event neither of the conditions is true, the method directs the request to the primary storage system. A corresponding system and computer program product are also disclosed.

Accelerating transaction execution across geographically dispersed clusters

Provided are techniques for determining which target is most ahead in a multi-target mirroring environment between data from a consistent synchronous mirror copy operation and data from a consistent asynchronous mirror copy operation. It is determined that data is to be retrieved from one of a sync secondary storage of a sync secondary storage controller and an async secondary storage of an async secondary storage controller. Then, it is determined which one of data of a consistent synchronous mirror copy operation on the sync secondary storage and data of a consistent asynchronous mirror copy operation on the async secondary storage is a most current copy of the data. The most current copy of the data is retrieved and used for further processing.

Determining which target is most ahead in a multi-target mirroring environment

Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for using a space release data structure to indicate tracks to release for a space release command to release space of tracks in a consistency group being formed. A space release command is received to free a release space of tracks in a source storage or target storage while transferring changed data in a consistency group to a target storage. A space release data structure is created indicating for each track of the tracks in the release space whether to release or not release the track. The space release data structure is initialized to indicate that each of the tracks is to be released. The tracks in the space release data structure are indicated to be released after the consistency group has completed.

Using a space release data structure to indicate tracks to release for a space release command to release space of tracks

Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for processing a space release command when mirroring data at a source storage to a target storage. A space release command is received to free a release space in the source storage while transferring changed data in a consistency group. A determination is made as to whether a transfer time to transfer remaining consistency group data in the consistency group for the release space that has not been transferred exceeds a response time to process a space release command. The remaining consistency group data in the release space is transferred to the target storage in response to determining that the transfer time does not exceed the response time. The release space for the space release command is freed in response to transferring the consistency group data in the release space to the target storage.

Processing a space release command to free release space in a consistency group

Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for using a forward log storage and backward log storage to recover a storage to a forward or backward point-in-time. In response to receiving writes to source data after establishing point-in-time copies, point-in-time data of the source data is copied to a backward log storage storing point-in-time data for multiple of the point-in-time copies. The point-in-time data in the backward log storage is applied to a recovery source data to roll-back the source data to a backward point-in-time of one of the point-in-time copies. Before applying the point-in-time data from the backward log storage, point-in-time data in the recovery source data, is copied to a forward log storage. The point-in-time data in the forward log storage is applied to the recovery source data to roll forward the recovery source data to a forward point-in-time subsequent to the backward point-in-time.

Using a forward log storage and backward log storage to recover a storage to a forward or backward point-in-time

In one embodiment, a local copy target is also a local primary of an incomplete consistency group of an ongoing asynchronous mirror relationship. Completion of the consistency group is facilitated notwithstanding that the local copy operation was initiated after the consistency group was initiated. In one aspect, asynchronous data mirroring logic, prior to the overwriting of existing data of the target, reads the existing data of the target for purposes of mirroring the read data to a remote secondary target of the consistency group. As a result, existing data of the local copy target which is also a local primary source of the consistency group, may be safely overwritten. Other features and aspects may be realized, depending upon the particular application.

Point-in-time snap copy on asynchronous consistency group management

Growing community of inventors

Warrington, United Kingdom

Nicolas Marc Clayton