International Business Machines Corporation

Netapp, Inc.

Maxta, Inc.

Topio, Inc.

Network Appliance, Inc.

Yoram Novick

William Frank Micka

Oded Cohn

Erez Webman

Kenneth M Nagin

Alexander Winokur

Michael Howard Hartung

Danit Segev

Alex Winokur

Efraim Zeidner

Kenneth Nagin

Claus William Mikkelsen

Michael Rodeh

Gabriel G Walder

Yigal Eisinger

Gail Andrea Spear

Brent Cameron Beardsley

Michael Edward Factor

David Michael Shackelford

Thomas Charles Jarvis

James T Brady

Olympia Gluck

Norman Ken Ouchi

Sam Clark Werner

Vernon John Legvold

John Norbert McCauley

Pnina A Vortman

Yosef Moatti

Alan Jay Wecker

Joe-Ming Cheng

Dvir Koren

James W Eldridge

Helena Cornelia Burton

John N McCauley, Jr

Yael Petruschka

Timothy Alan Griffin

Orly Devor

Tal Sivan

Elfraim Zeidner

Nimrod Rotics

Udi N Rotics

Efaim Zeidner

Ron Yair Pinter

A storage system provides shared storage by utilizing dispersed storage devices while optimizing both the placement of data across the dispersed storage devices and the method for accessing the stored data. The storage system enables high level of scalability and performance while minimizing resource consumption.

Shared data storage leveraging dispersed storage devices

An advanced clock synchronization technique is adapted for use with a replication service in a data backup and recovery storage environment. The storage environment includes a plurality of source storage systems and target storage systems, wherein the source storage systems are illustratively embodied as source replication nodes. The advanced clock synchronization technique establishes a software-only, loosely-accurate global clock based on a timestamp and an associated error boundary. Notably, the timestamp and its error boundary are used as global clock information to enable synchronization (i.e., ordering of storage requests) among the source replication nodes and/or the target storage systems, thereby ensuring consistent replication of the storage requests on the target storage systems.

Advanced clock synchronization technique

A system and method enhances performance of a log adapted for use with a storage system. The log is illustratively organized into a plurality of regions, wherein each region comprises one or more entries and wherein each region is allocated to a consistency collection. As used herein, a consistency collection is defined as a set of one or more data containers among which it is desired to maintain transaction consistency, i.e., atomicity of updates of a transaction to those containers. Each entry of the region is adapted to store an update of data from a source, e.g., an application executing on the storage system. Thus, the consistency collection may comprise multiple data containers associated with one or more applications configured to maintain the atomicity of transaction updates to the collection of containers.

System and method for enhancing log performance

A write ordering style asynchronous replication service utilizes a loosely-accurate global clock in a data backup and recovery storage environment. The storage environment includes a set of source storage systems illustratively embodied as source replication nodes that cooperate to maintain a consistency group that may span multiple geographical sites. The storage environment also includes one or more target storage systems illustratively embodied as target replication nodes configured to service the consistency group. The write ordering style service utilizes the loosely-accurate global clock to provide consistent replication of a storage space of the consistency group.

Write ordering style asynchronous replication utilizing a loosely-accurate global clock

A delta query technique transmits only latest changes to data of objects from a server to one or more clients in response to a client query (request) to access the object data. A global counter is maintained for all of the objects served by the server. Every time the data of an object changes, a value of the global counter increments (updates) and the updated global counter value is then assumed ('inherited') by that object. In addition, the global counter is updated when a client issues a request to access one or more objects. If the data of the objects has changed since the last time the client accessed the objects, the server responds with the latest object data and the updated global counter value. Notably, each client maintains a local counter having a value that, upon receipt of the latest object data, is modified to reflect the updated global counter value.

Delta query technique

A target data storage system comprises a peer-to-peer communication link interface for linking the target to a source data storage system, and data storage for storing point in time copy data received from the source via the peer-to-peer communication link interface. Information is established at the target relating logical identification of the point in time copy data to point in time copy data stored at the target and to point in time copy data stored at the source, such that the information references the data storage system having requested point in time copy data. A controller of the target accesses requested point in time copy data at the target if the table indicates that the requested point in time copy data is available at the target; else obtains the requested point in time copy data from the source via the peer-to-peer communication link interface.

Point in time copy between data storage systems

A data backup and recovery system for use with at least one server interconnected with at least one storage device, including at least one data recovery device, at least one associated data recovery storage device, controlled by the data recovery device, and at least one data communication monitor. A method for data backup and recovery is also disclosed.

System and a method for asynchronous replication for storage area networks

A method for data backup includes creating a sidefile in a cache memory of a data storage system. Entries are added to the sidefile specifying copy operations to be respectively performed by copy services in the system, including at least first and second copy services of different, first and second types. The copy operations specified by the operations are then executed using the first and second copy services.

Efficient data backup using a single side file

A method that uses a single callback function for a multiphase service with possible discontinuation of execution between the phases. The method is based on assignment of a case in the callback function for each phase or state of the service and a stack of state descriptors. At each call to the callback function, the top descriptor is popped off the stack and the appropriate case in the callback function is run.

Efficient thread programming using a single callback function

System for the storage and maintenance of data sets updates in a storage subsystem, that comprises direct access storage device(s) that serves as the main storage of the storage subsystem and on which the data sets are originally stored; a Cache memory storage device that enables fast interaction with the storage subsystem, on which a copy of the data sets is stored; a non-volatile storage device partitioned into a plurality of fixed size non-volatile memory pages. The system employs an update process, in which the changes to the data sets are applied to the data set copy stored on the Cache memory device; a journal of the changes that are being made to the data sets stored on the Cache memory device, utilizing the non-volatile memory pages to store update records reflecting the changes in the data sets; a reconstruction process in which the data sets are reconstructed utilizing the update records stored on the non-volatile memory pages, and the data sets stored on the direct access storage device; and a process for freeing arbitrary non-volatile pages from their prior association with data sets that are stored in the Cache memory.

DASD-free non-volatile updates

Disclosed is a method, system, program, and data structures for maintaining electronic data at a point-in-time. A first data structure indicates point-in-time data at one of a first storage location and a corresponding second storage location. A second data structure indicates point-in-time data at one of a first storage location and corresponding second storage location. A first relationship data structure indicates a relationship between the first storage location and corresponding second storage location and a second relationship data structure indicates a relationship between the first storage location and second storage location. A request to process the first storage location is processed by processing the first relationship data structure to determine the corresponding second storage location for the first storage location and processing the first data structure to determine whether data at the first storage location was transferred to the second storage location. A request to process the second storage location is processed by processing the second relationship data structure to determine the corresponding first storage location for the second storage location and processing the second data structure to determine whether the point-in-time data at the first storage location was transferred to the second storage location.

Method, system, and program for maintaining electronic data as of a point-in-time

A method and system are disclosed for enhanced efficiency of backup copying of designated datasets stored within a plurality of storage devices coupled to the data processing system via a storage subsystem control unit having subsystem memory therein. Application execution within the data processing system is temporarily suspended long enough to form a dataset logical-to-physical system address concordance to be utilized to administer copying of the designated dataset. Thereafter, application initiated updates to uncopied portions of the designated datasets are temporarily deferred until sidefiles of the affected portions of the designated datasets are written to subsystem memory. The updates are then written to the storage subsystem. Portions of the designated datasets are then accessed and copied from the storage subsystem on a scheduled or opportunistic basis utilizing selected data retrieval command sequences. A sidefile status query is appended to selected data retrieval command sequences and the presence of data within the subsystem memory is determined without the necessity of additional communications between the data processing system and the storage subsystem. The sidefiles are then accessed and copied. Copied portions of the designated datasets and sidefiles are then copied to alternate storage locations in a backup copy order defined by the address concordance.

Method and system for sidefile status polling in a time zero backup copy process

Disclosed is a system for copying data sets from a first storage device to a second storage device. The first storage device is managed by a first controller and the second storage device is managed by a second controller. The first controller receives a command to copy a plurality of data sets from the first storage device to the second storage device. First and second data structures are generated to include fields corresponding to the data sets. The fields initially indicate that the data sets have not been copied. For the data sets subject to the copy command, the first controller transfers a copy of the data set to the second controller. The second controller stores the copy of the data set received from the first controller in the second storage device. The field in the first data structure corresponding to the data set copied to the second storage device is then modified to indicate that the data set was copied to the second storage device. The field in the second data structure corresponding to the data set the second controller stores in the second storage device is also modified to indicate that the data set was stored in the second storage device.

Data copy between peer-to-peer controllers

Growing community of inventors

Cupertino, CA, United States of America

Yoram Novick