International Business Machines Corporation

Robert Francis Bartfai

Gail Andrea Spear

Michael Edward Factor

William Frank Micka

Shachar Fienblit

Kevin J Reilly

Olympia Gluck

Gregory E McBride

Sam Clark Werner

Warren Keith Stanley

Nicholas P Rash

Kenneth Wayne Boyd

Thomas Charles Jarvis

Aviad Zlotnick

Kenneth Fairclough Day, Iii

LeRoy R Lundin

John W Doxtader

Robert Bruce Nicholson

Jay Robert Herring

James Chien-Chiung Chen

Mark G Atkins

Aruna V Ramanan

Sheli Rahav

Ifat Nuriel

John Divirgilio

David W Messina

David G Folsom

Mark Gurevich

Laura J Merritt

Pierre-Fortin Jean-Denis

Brent Cameron Beardsley

Rivka Mayraz Matosevich

Nicolas Marc Clayton

Robert Frederic Kern

Sonny Earl Williams

Craig Brian Stunkel

Derrick LeRoy Garmire

Eli Malul

Dalit Tzafrir

Edward Hsiu-Wei Lin

Francis Alfred Kampf

Peter J LeVangia

Carol Santich Mellgren

Eyal Gordon

Edward Lin

Carl Alfred Bender

Martin Tross

Sivan Tal

Julian Thomas

Barry P Lubart

Irit Dolev

Dawn S Moyer

Rivka Mayraz Matsoevich

Dalit Tzafir

Sherry Suzanne Worcester

Gregory Edward Mcbride

Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for splitting writes between a storage controller and replication engine. A splitter executing in a storage controller manages access to primary volumes. An initialization command is received to communicate with a replication engine. A replication command is received for one primary volume and the primary volume is indicated as subject to replication. A write request is received to write data to a target primary volume of the primary volumes that is indicated as subject to the replication. The data in the write request is written to the target primary volume. The data in the write request is sent to the replication engine. The replication engine executes a copy services function associated with the target primary volume to write the data to a replication engine volume.

Splitting writes between a storage controller and replication engine

Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for managing writes received to data units that are being transferred to a secondary storage as part of a mirror relationship. Synchronization information indicates data units to transfer from a primary storage to a secondary storage, wherein the synchronization information data is updated to indicate the transfer of one of the data units from the primary storage to the secondary storage. A storage controller receives a write request having an update to a target data unit comprising one of the data units indicated in the synchronization information that has not been transferred from the primary storage to the secondary storage. The write request is allowed to apply the update to the target data unit in response to transferring the data in the target data unit to a network adapter of the storage controller and before the data in the target data unit is transferred to the secondary storage.

Determining when to apply writes received to data units being transferred to a secondary storage

Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for using virtual copies in a failover and failback environment. Updates are copied from a primary first storage at the primary site to a secondary first storage at the secondary site during system operations. A second storage is maintained at at least one of the primary and secondary sites. A failover is performed from the primary site to the secondary site after a failure at the primary site. The at least one second storage is used after recovery of the primary site to synchronize the secondary site to the primary site. Only updates made to the secondary site during the failover are copied to or from the at least one second storage in response to the recovery at the primary site.

Using virtual copies in a failover and failback environment

Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for a replication engine communicating with a splitter to split writes between a storage controller and replication engine. Communication is initiated with the splitter implemented in a storage controller managing access to primary volumes. A command is sent to the splitter to copy writes to one primary volume to the replication engine. Write data is received from the splitter to one of the primary volumes following the splitter receiving the command to copy the writes to the replication engine. A determination is made of a copy services function to use for the received data. The determined copy services function is invoked to transfer the received data to a secondary storage volume.

Replication engine communicating with a splitter to split writes between a storage controller and replication engine

Techniques are provided for performing a copy operation. A fast reverse restore command indicating a new source and a new target is received, wherein the new source is an original target and the new target is an original source. A synchronous scan is performed on the new target. A new target structure associated with the new target is updated using a new source structure associated with the new source. Techniques are also provided for performing a copy operation in which a fast reverse restore command is received after an instant virtual copy has been performed from a new target to a new source and wherein the fast reverse restore command is performed before a background copy has been performed by the instant virtual copy.

Data storage system for fast reverse restore

Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for copying storage. Data sent from a first storage unit is synchronously copied at a second storage unit. The copied data is sent asynchronously from the second storage unit to a third storage unit.

Method, system, and article of manufacture for remote copying of data

Article of manufacture and system for fast reverse restore

An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for performing an incremental resynchronization between two unrelated volumes when a third volume fails. The apparatus, system, and method include initiating registration of changed tracks; keeping track of bytes in flight activities between a local volume and an intermediate volume; recording the changed tracks in bitmaps at the local volume; stopping the recording of the changed tracks; and starting a resynchronization process by sending the changed tracks to a recovery volume.

Apparatus, system, and method for incremental resynchronization in a data storage system

Provided are a method, system, and program for forming a consistency group of data. Information is provided on a consistency group relationship indicating a plurality of slave controllers and, for each indicated slave controller, a slave storage unit managed by the slave controller. A command is transmitted to each slave controller in the consistency group relationship to cause each slave controller to transmit data in the slave storage unit to a remote storage in a manner that forms the consistency group. A determination is made as to whether all the slave controllers successfully transmitted the data in the slave storage units that is part of the consistency group to the remote storage.

Method, system and program for forming a consistency group

Provided are a method, system, deployment and program for managing data transfer in consistency group formation. In one embodiment, nodes are periodically polled to determine traffic conditions. An estimated drain time for a node such as the most congested node, for example, is compared to a drain time limit and if within a vicinity of the drain time limit, operations switch to a consistency group formation mode. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Node polling in consistency group formation

Provided are a method, system, deployment and program for managing data transfer in consistency group formation. In one embodiment, a transfer time for a data structure is selected as a function of at least one determined backlog. Upon expiration of the selected transfer time, the mode of operation may be switched. By dynamically selecting a transfer time, backlogs may be reduced to increase the likelihood of successful creation of a consistency group. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Data transfer management in consistency group formation

An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for activating a synchronous mirror as a primary storage volume. The apparatus system and method include directing a third storage volume to store updates sent to the third storage volume from a second storage volume onto a first storage volume in response to the first storage volume becoming operational after a failure, terminating sending updates from the second storage volume to the third storage volume in response to the first storage volume becoming substantially consistent with the third storage volume, and synchronously storing updates received by the second storage volume on the first storage volume and asynchronously storing updates received by the first storage volume on the third storage volume in response to terminating sending updates from the second storage volume to the third storage volume after the first and third storage volumes are substantially consistent.

Apparatus, system, and method for an improved synchronous mirror swap

A two-phase process FlashCopy operation is provided that can be used to aid in the formation of consistency groups across multiple storage control units. In the first phase, preparations to create a new consistency group are made 'revertible' by write-inhibiting the source volumes through 'Establish-FlashCopy-revertible' commands. If the preparation of any volume within the consistency group fails, a &#x201c;Withdraw-FlashCopy-revert&#x201d; command may be executed, thereby causing a retention of the prior FlashCopy point-in-time copy. In the second phase, executed if all preparations are successful, a &#x201c;Withdraw-FlashCopy-commit&#x201d; command may be executed to remove all write-inhibit indicators, complete the creation of the new FlashCopy point-in-time copy and secure the new consistency group. Write requests to the FlashCopy source volumes may then be received and processed without risking corruption of the new consistency group on the Flashcopy target volumes.

Autonomic infrastructure enablement for point in time copy consistency

Growing community of inventors

Tucson, AZ, United States of America

Robert Francis Bartfai