Emc Corporation

Emc IP Holding Company LLC

Data General Corporation

Paul Thomas McGrath

David Haase

Miles Aram De Forest

Nagapraveen Veeravenkata Seela

Dayanand Suldhal

Alan Lee Taylor

Dennis Thomas Duprey

Michael D Haynes

Michael C Brundage

Robert F Goudreau

Walter A O'Brien, Iii

Juan M Fernandez

Michael Paul Wagner

Saurabh M Pathak

David Joseph Richmond

David W Harvey

Walter Forrester

Somnath A Gulve

Charles Christopher Bailey

Scott David Von Rhee

Chetan Rameshchandra Vaidya

Robert Anthony Alfieri

Miles Aram DeForest

James Theodore Compton

J Brandon Myers

Peter E Tolvanen

Michael O Carlesimo

Prabu Surendra

Brian J Thorstad

Khaled S Soufi

Andrew R Huber

Sheetal A Desai

Samuel Lee Mullis, Ii

Miles A Deforest

Robert F Goudreau, Jr

Bruce Allen Keesee

Eric R Vook

A technique for managing file system expansions includes receiving a request to perform a file system expansion, the request specifying or implying an increase in size of a file system to a new target size. The request is received while a previous file system expansion is already in progress. The technique includes merging the previous file system expansion into the file system expansion specified by the request, to increase the size of the file system to the new target size.

Managing multiple file system expansions

A technique for managing copy sessions in a data storage system supports active and inactive copy-session states and reclaims memory for inactive copy sessions to reduce their memory footprints. When a copy session transitions from the active state to the inactive state, the copy session persists certain copy-progress data in non-volatile storage and frees structures in memory previously storing that copy-progress data. The inactive copy session continues to run but performs no copying and consumes less memory. When the copy session later transitions back to the active state, the copy session reads the copy-progress data back into memory and resumes copying.

Managing copy sessions in a data storage system to control resource consumption

A method includes (a) receiving a command to create an upper-deck filesystem of a specified size, the upper-deck filesystem residing within a logical volume expressed from a container file of a lower-deck filesystem, (b) provisioning a plurality of storage provisioning units (SPUs) from a storage pool of the data storage system to the container file in an order reflecting proximity of the SPUs within storage devices of the data storage system, the plurality of SPUs providing storage for the entire container file, and (c) subsequent to provisioning the plurality of SPUs to the container file, executing a plurality of threads in parallel to write metadata of the upper-deck filesystem to the plurality of SPUs, representing the upper-deck filesystem. Other embodiments are directed to a system, a computerized apparatus, and a computer program product for performing methods similar to that described above.

Coordination of file system creation to ensure more deterministic performance characteristics

An embodiment of a computer-implemented method for use in managing allocation of a storage pool in a data storage system by calculating an allocation mode for the storage pool based on a policy is described. Also described are embodiments of a system and computer program product enabled for carrying out such computer-implemented allocation management.

Calculating an allocation mode for a storage pool based on a policy

A method is used for managing consistency groups in storage systems. A consistency group comprising multiple logical objects is created and multiple replicas of the consistency group are created. The consistency group is restored to one of the multiple replicas.

Restoring snapshots to consistency groups of mount points

A method, computer program product, and computing system for defining a first virtual object, wherein the first virtual object includes a first ready state indicator. At least a second virtual object is defined, wherein the at least a second virtual object includes at least a second ready state indicator. The first virtual object and the at least a second virtual object are grouped within a group virtual object.

System and method for object management

A storage system uses a block-level file system to manage physical storage of data blocks of logical units, the file system being mounted on an owning one of a set of storage processors. The storage processors redirect received storage requests to the owning storage processor, and periodically the amount of redirection is evaluated. If the amount of redirection is higher than a threshold, then the file system is dismounted at the owning storage processor and mounted at another storage processor to reduce the amount of redirection.

Storage system with dynamic transfer of block file system ownership for load balancing

A method, computer program product, and computing system for identifying a target storage device upon which a plurality of logical storage devices are to be defined. The target storage device includes a plurality of physical storage blocks. At least a first logical storage device and a second logical storage device are defined for mapping within the target storage device. Each of the first and second logical storage devices includes a plurality of logical storage slices. At least a portion of the logical storage slices for each of the first and second logical storage devices are non-sequentially mapped to at least a portion of the plurality of physical storage blocks included within the target storage device to generate an interlaced target storage device.

System and method for interleaving storage

A method is used in managing restore operations in storage systems. A state of a logical object is retrieved and a second logical object is placed in a pre-step mode. An instantaneous restore operation between the first logical object and the second logical object is performed. Drivers that are associated with the instantaneous restore and utilize data-less writes are identified. A granularity value representative of a size at which the identified driver tracks changes is determined. Changed data extents in the first logical object are identified. Data-less writes are sent at the lowest determined granularity to any identified extents in the first logical object.

Optimizing data less writes for restore operations

A method is used in managing restore operations in storage systems. A state of a logical object is retrieved and a second logical object is placed in a pre-step mode. An instantaneous restore operation between the first logical object and the second logical object is performed. Changed data extents in the first logical object are identified. Data-less writes are sent to any identified extents in the first logical object.

Managing restore operations using data less writes

A method is used for managing snapshot mount points in storage systems. A request to resize a snapshot mount point is received and a file object associated with the snapshot mount point is retrieved. The file object is analyzed to determine a file attached to the snapshot mount point and a file ID is determined for an underlying file associated with the determined file. The file associated with the file ID is resized.

Resizing snapshot mount points

In a data storage system, a fixture communication channel is created for communications between a fixture and another component, where the fixture is a component of a device driver that provides extended input/output functionality with respect to one or more storage devices. A handle identifies the fixture communication channel, and callbacks are registered with a driver handler and reference callback functions of the fixture. Fixture communication messages each include the handle and a message-specific operation code for an operation to be performed by the fixture, and each is conveyed by (1) issuing a fixture-control input/output control command to the handler that includes the handle and message-specific operation code, and (2) at the handler, using the handle and message-specific operation code to select a callback and invoke a corresponding callback function of the fixture.

Lightweight communication channel for control of device driver components

A method is used in managing properties collection. Storage objects for which properties information is to be refreshed are determined. A bulk request for properties information from file systems corresponding to the storage objects is generated and is issued to the file systems. Based on a response to the bulk request, a blocking transaction is used to update a model of the storage objects that is made available to management software.

Managing properties collection

A method is used in managing consistency groups in storage systems. A consistency group is created from a set of snapshot mount points. A snapshot mount point is a logical object accessible for using a replica of a logical volume. An operation is performed on the consistency group.

Managing consistency groups in storage systems

A system for performance optimization of storage allocation to virtual logical units includes a storage entity having data storage space divided into slices for storing data. A slice allocation table stores slice allocation status. A memory stores statistics regarding the allocation of slices to logical units. A management database stores information regarding the allocation of slices to logical units. An allocation module performs an allocation process in response to receiving an I/O write request. A management module performs scheduled post-I/O management processes asynchronously with allocation processes, including updating the management database to reflect the allocation of the selected slice, and updating the status of the selected slice in the slice allocation table to indicate that the post-I/O management process for the selected slice has been performed.

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Raleigh, NC, United States of America

Paul Thomas McGrath