Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi Computer Peripherals Co., Ltd.

Taiyo Yuden Co., Ltd.

Hitachi Computer Peripheral Co., Ltd.

Yoichi Mizuno

Naoto Matsunami

Yoshiaki Eguchi

Yasuyuki Mimatsu

Yutaka Takata

Tomonori Murayama

Ai Satoyama

Ikuya Yagisawa

Daisuke Orikasa

Ken Matsuda

Masahiro Arai

Akira Nishimoto

Yusuke Nonaka

Kenichi Takamoto

Yoshinori Ohira

Kenji Muraoka

Takashi Amano

Junji Ogawa

Kenji Saito

Hirokazu Chazono

Noboru Morishita

Tadato Nishina

Yasuhisa Kono

Jun Matsumoto

Masayuki Yamamoto

Takashi Oeda

Manabu Kitamura

Atsushi Tanaka

Koji Sonoda

Kenta Shiga

Naoki Watanabe

Hideki Kamimaki

Haruaki Watanabe

Akihiro Mannen

Naoyuki Masuda

Ran Ogata

Azusa Sudo

Shinichi Kishima

Sigeo Homma

A storage system is provided with a memory region, a cache memory region, and a processor. The memory region stores the time relation information that indicates a time relationship of a data element that has been stored into the cache memory region and that is to be written to the logical region and a snapshot acquisition point of time to the primary volume. The processor judges whether or not the data element that has been stored into the cache memory region is a snapshot configuration element based on the time relation information for the data element that is to be written to a logical region of a write destination that conforms to the write request that specifies the primary volume and that has been stored into the cache memory region. In the case in which the result of the judgment is positive, the processor saves the data element to the secondary volume for holding a snapshot image in which the snapshot configuration element is a configuration element, and a data element of a write target is then stored into the cache memory region.

Storage system and storage control method

Multiple storage area groups into which multiple storage areas provided by multiple storage devices are classified with reference to storage area attributes are managed. The multiple logical volumes to which, in accordance with a write request to at least one address included in multiple addresses in the logical volume, at least one storage area included in the multiple storage areas is allocated are provided. In accordance with the access condition of the at least one address in the logical volume, the data written to the at least one address by the write request is migrated from the at least one storage area included in one of the multiple storage area groups to at least one storage area in another storage area group included in the multiple storage area groups.

Storage system providing virtual volumes

A storage system is provided with storage devices that are basis of a pool and a primary volume and a controller that is coupled to the plurality of storage devices and a host computer and that is provided with a cache region. In a case that a write request specifies a secondary volume storing a snapshot of a primary volume the write data is stored in a first cache sub region of the cache region and a response to the write request is transmitted to the host computer. In the case in which a page in the pool is unallocated to a virtual region of a write destination of the write data, a page is allocated to the virtual region, and write data is stored in the first cache sub region into the allocated page.

The present invention provides the function of dynamically switching the allocation of snapshot data in a pool according to the use status of the pool. More specifically, the present invention provides the function of dynamically switching a storage mode to be applied to the pool from a storage mode in which the snapshot data is aggregated in a specific pool volume to a storage mode in which the snapshot data is distributed to plural pool volumes, or from the storage mode in which the snapshot data is distributed to the plural pool volumes to the storage mode in which the snapshot data is aggregated in the specific pool volume, according to the use status of the pool.

Storage device and method for controlling the same

This invention is intended for the purpose of providing the storage system, the storage apparatus, and the storage system by which, even if the storage areas allocated to the virtual volume are managed in management units set by the RAID group, overhead for parity calculation does not become excessive. This invention, by releasing a specific management unit not fully utilized for page allocation from allocation to the virtual volume and migrating the allocated pages belonging to this specific management unit to the other management unit, makes the storage areas of the specific management unit available for the write accesses for the other virtual volumes from the host computer.

Storage system, storage apparatus, and optimization method of storage areas of storage system

If an I/O load on a first virtual storage area falls below a first threshold, a controller copies data in a first storage area, which is allocated to the first virtual storage area, to a third storage area in a second tier storage area, and allocates the third storage area instead of the first storage area to the first virtual storage area. If an I/O load on a second virtual storage area exceeds a second threshold which is greater than said first threshold, the controller copies data in a second storage area, which is allocated to the second virtual storage area, to a fourth storage area in a first tier storage area, and allocates the fourth storage area instead of the second storage area to the second virtual storage area.

Storage system providing heterogeneous virtual volumes and storage area re-allocation

A storage system comprises a virtual volume configured of multiple virtual areas and a pool configured of multiple actual area groups of different performances. The controller of the storage system manages which actual areas are assigned to which virtual areas and the access load on the actual areas assigned to the virtual areas. The controller, if the access load of a first actual area assigned to a first virtual area is inappropriate for a first actual area group comprising the first actual area, migrates data to a second actual area in a second actual area group which is appropriate for the access load of the first actual area from the first actual area. The controller performs data migration between actual areas for achieving data allocation at a certain point of time based on history information which is the information related to a virtual area at a point of time in the past and an actual area assigned to the virtual area. Data allocation is the allocation of data in a virtual area to an actual area in an actual area group.

Storage system for reallocating data in virtual volumes and methods of the same

Provided is a disk array system which is connected to a computer and which data is transmitted by the computer, including: a plurality of disk drives for storing user data transmitted by the computer; a cache memory for temporarily storing data sent/received among the computer and the plurality of disk drives; and a control unit for controlling input/output of the data to/from the cache memory, in which the control unit stores user data identification information that is capable of judging whether the user data is stored in a sector of the disk drive. The disk array system according to this invention allows the identification of user data of a disk drive.

Disk array system

Storage system, storage apparatus, and optimization method of storage areas of storage system having page migration

A plurality of CPU cores each have control rights for logical storage areas of one or more types among logical storage areas of a plurality of types. As a source for an area to be assigned to the logical storage areas, a physical storage area which is common to the logical storage areas of the plurality of types is managed. In the case of a data access to a logical storage area corresponding to the control rights of the CPU core, the respective CPU core assigns an area required to store the data from the common physical storage area.

Storage controller and storage control method for dynamically assigning partial areas of pool area as data storage areas

A storage control device uses write management information that manages locations of the occurrence of writing in one or more first storage devices in order to specify one or more locations where writing has occurred, and backs up one or more data elements stored in one or more specified locations to a second storage device. In order to perform a restore operation, write management information at the time of a backup is stored, and data elements stored in the second storage device are restored to one or more locations specified from the write management information at that time of backup, or to one or more new locations specified from new write management information indicating one or more new locations corresponding to the one or more locations.

Storage control device to backup data stored in virtual volume

Growing community of inventors

Yokohama, Japan

Yoichi Mizuno