International Business Machines Corporation

Suguang Li

Theresa Mary Brown

Nedlaya Yazzie Francisco

Beth Ann Peterson

Mark L Lipets

Carol Santich Mellgren

Raul Eduardo Saba

Matthew J Kalos

Lokesh M Gupta

Gregory E McBride

Theodore Timothy Harris, Jr

Michael T Benhase

Warren Keith Stanley

Alfred Emilio Sanchez

Kevin J Ash

Binny Sher Gill

Karl Allen Nielsen

Nicolas Marc Clayton

Kenneth Wayne Todd

David Frank Mannenbach

Richard B Stelmach

Nicholas M Clayton

Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for updating change information for current copy relationships when establishing a new copy relationship having overlapping data with the current copy relationships. A first copy relationship indicates changed first source data to copy to first target data. An establish request is processed to create a second copy relationship to copy second source data in to second target data. A second copy relationship is generated, in response to the establish request, indicating data in the second source data to copy to the second target data. A determination is made of overlapping data units in the first source data also in the second target data. Indication is made in the first copy relationship to copy the overlapping data units. The first source data indicated in the first copy relationship is copied to the first target data, including data for the overlapping data units.

Updating change information for current copy relationships when establishing a new copy relationship having overlapping data with the current copy relationships

Various embodiments for configuring a medical database by a processor in communication with at least one storage device in a computing environment are provided. Medical data are assigned to a patient. A plurality of data types is organized for the medical data. Portions of each of the plurality of data types are designated as public and private data. A plurality of access levels is organized for the medical data. Each of the plurality of data types includes the plurality of access levels. A first access level of the plurality of access levels corresponds to the patient. The medical data is classified according to the plurality of data types, for each of the plurality of data types, according to the plurality of access levels, and according to one of the public and the private data. The medical data is encrypted in a hierarchical structure corresponding to each of the plurality of access levels.

Universal personal medical database access control

A request is received to perform a point in time copy operation from a source volume to a space efficient target volume. A controller copies data stored in a group of data storage units, from the source volume to a non-volatile storage, to preserve the point in time copy operation. A background process asynchronously copies the data from the non-volatile storage to the space efficient target volume to commit a physical point in time copy of the data from the source volume to the target volume.

Point in time copy operations from source volumes to space efficient target volumes in two stages via a non-volatile storage

Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for releasing space allocated to a space efficient target storage in a copy relationship with a source storage. Source and target copy relationships indicate source data in the source storage to copy to target data in the target storage. The source copy relationship indicates source data that need to be copied to the target data before being updated, and the target copy relationship indicates target data tracks updated with data copied from corresponding source data. An operation is initiated that results in terminating the source and target copy relationships. Space allocated to the target data for the source and target copy relationships is released in response to determining that the target storage comprises the space efficient storage. The source and target copy relationships are removed.

Releasing space allocated to a space efficient target storage in a copy relationship with a source storage

Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for using a cascade flag to process a copy relationship having a backward cascade copy relationship. Each of a plurality of copy relationships indicates to copy source data to target data and has a cascade flag. The cascade flag for a forward copy relationship of the copy relationships is set to a first value in response to determining that the source data for the forward copy relationship comprises target data for a backward copy relationship and that a background copy operation specified to copy source data to target data of the backward copy relationship has not completed. The cascade flag for the forward copy relationship is set to a second value in response to determining that the backward copy relationship does not have an uncompleted background copy operation.

Using a cascade flag to process a copy relationship having a backward cascade copy relationship

Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for assigning levels of pools of resources in an operating system to a super process having sub-processes. A plurality of first level pools of resources are reserved in the operating system for first level processes to perform a first level operation and invoke at least one second level process to perform a second level operation. A plurality of second level pools of resources are reserved in the operating system for second level processes. One of the second level pools of resources assigned to one of the second level processes is released and available to assign to another second level process when the second level process completes the second level operation for which it was invoked.

Assigning levels of pools of resources to a super process having sub-processes

For performing efficient full-stride copy source-to-target operations in a computing storage environment by a processor device, pursuant to a destage operation, a determination is made whether to destage a full stride or one track of data on a target volume by comparing a counted number of modified tracks for the full stride against a predetermined threshold.

Grouping of tracks for copy source to target destage on global mirror secondary

A method for combining storage array copy requests for a disk storage system is disclosed. The method may include receiving a BGC (background copy) request, determining that the BGC request satisfies a set of background copy (BGC) criteria, and adding, based on the determining, the BGC request to a sorted position in the wait accumulation queue (WAQ). The method may also include combining, based on a set of track combining criteria, the BGC request and an adjacent BGC request into a combined BGC request including data locations corresponding to the BGC request and to the adjacent BGC request. The method may also include replacing, in a sorted position in the WAQ, the BGC request and the adjacent BGC request with the combined BGC request, and moving, based on the set of BGC criteria, the combined BGC request to a BGC queue.

Flash copy relationship management

A storage controller receives a write command with respect to a track, from a host. A first process determines that the track is a source track and also determines that at least one corresponding target track is in an incremental copy relation to the source track. A second process is generated to modify a target change recording structure, where the second process executes in parallel with the first process.

Parallel processes for performing multiple incremental copies

In one embodiment of the present description, a copy relationship is established between a storage location at a first site and a storage location at a second site in a data storage system, wherein a dynamically assignable bitmap preset to one of a plurality of different predetermined bit patterns is selected as a function of both the availability of the selected bitmap and the type of predetermined bit pattern identified for the selected bitmap. The selected bitmap may be assigned as an out-of-sync bitmap wherein updates to the storage location at one site, which are to be copied to the storage location at the other site, are indicated in the selected bitmap, and data writes being written to the storage location at the one site, are copied to the storage location at the other site, using the selected bitmap as an out-of-sync bitmap. Other aspects are described.

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Tucson, AZ, United States of America

Suguang Li