Datasheet replication in a cloud computing environment

• US 10,235,065 B1
• Filed: 01/12/2017
• Issued: 03/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pure Storage, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Pure Storage, Inc.
• Inventors: Miller, Ethan L., Borowiec, Benjamin, Hodgson, Steve
• Primary Examiner(s): Lottich, Joshua P
• Application Number:
  US15/404,653
• Time in Patent Office: 796 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0712 in a virtual computing platform, e.g. logically partitioned systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0727 in a storage system, e.g. in a DASD or network based storage system drivers for digital recording or reproducing units G06F3/06; circuits for error detection or correction within digital recording or reproducing units G11B20/18; for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0748 in a remote unit communicating with a single-box computer node experiencing an error/fault remote testing G06F11/2294
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0757 by exceeding a time limit, i.e. time-out, e.g. watchdogs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0766 Error or fault reporting or storing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0772 Means for error signaling, e.g. using interrupts, exception flags, dedicated error registers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0793 Remedial or corrective actions recovery from an exception in an instruction pipeline G06F9/3861; by retry G06F11/1402; for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity H04L69/40
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1446 Point-in-time backing up or restoration of persistent data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1451 by selection of backup contents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1456 Hardware arrangements for backup
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1464 for networked environments
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2069 Management of state, configuration or failover
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2071 using a plurality of controllers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2094 Redundant storage or storage space G06F11/2056 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2097 maintaining the standby controller/processing unit updated initialisation or re-synchronisation thereof G06F11/1658 and subgroups
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3034 where the computing system component is a storage system, e.g. DASD based or network based digital input from or digital output to record carriers G06F3/06; digital recording or reproducing G11B20/18; for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3476 Data logging G06F11/14, G06F11/2205 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/81 Threshold
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/84 Using snapshots, i.e. a logical point-in-time copy of the data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/00 Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0619 : in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/065 : Replication mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0665 : at area level, e.g. provisioning of virtual or logical volumes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 : Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

Systems, methods, and computer readable storage mediums for generating an alert on a failure of a storage subsystem to phone home to the cloud in a replication environment. A dataset is replicated from a first storage subsystem to a second storage subsystem. The first and second storage subsystems also phone home log data to the cloud on a periodic basis. In response to detecting a failure of the first storage subsystem to phone home, the cloud generates and sends an alert to the second storage subsystem. In response to receiving this alert, the second storage subsystem starts disaster recovery operations for the dataset.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting, by a cloud-based service, one or more conditions indicative of an impending failure of a replication event of a dataset from a first storage subsystem to a second storage subsystem;

in response to detecting one or more conditions indicative of an impending failure of a replication event of a dataset from a first storage subsystem to a second storage subsystem, selecting, by the cloud-based service, a third storage subsystem to take over as a replication target of the dataset;

identifying, by the cloud-based service, data needed to update the most recent replication of the dataset stored on the third storage subsystem; and

providing to the third storage subsystem, by the cloud-based service, the data needed to update the most recent replication of the dataset stored on the third storage subsystem.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein providing to the third storage subsystem, the data needed to update the most recent replication of the dataset stored on the third storage subsystem includes:

identifying, by the cloud-based service, a fourth storage subsystem that includes the identified data needed to update the most recent replication of the dataset on the third storage subsystem;

retrieving, by the cloud-based service, from the fourth storage subsystem, the identified data; and

sending, by the cloud-based service, the identified data to the third storage subsystem.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein identifying a fourth storage subsystem that includes the identified data needed to update the most recent replication of the dataset on the third storage subsystem includes using a global to local dataset identification (ID) mapping table to correspond local dataset IDs of the third storage subsystem and local dataset IDs of the fourth storage subsystem.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying, by the cloud-based service, the most recent replication of the dataset stored on the third storage subsystem.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more conditions include a failure of the first storage subsystem to phone home log data for a threshold amount of time.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the log data includes at least one of storage capacity utilization, a number of program-erase cycles for one or more storage devices, an age of the one or more storage devices, volume count, queue depth, read bandwidth, read input/output operations per second (TOPS), read latency, write bandwidth, write TOPS, and write latency.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more conditions include a health indicator of the first storage subsystem falling below a programmable threshold.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the dataset comprises at least one of a volume, virtual machine, file, protection group, disk image, database, and application.

9. A system comprising a cloud-based service that includes computer memory operatively coupled to one or more processors, the computer memory having disposed within it computer program instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to carry out the steps of:

detecting one or more conditions indicative of an impending failure of a replication event of a dataset from a first storage subsystem to a second storage subsystem;

in response to detecting one or more conditions indicative of an impending failure of a replication event of a dataset from a first storage subsystem to a second storage subsystem, selecting a third storage subsystem to take over as a replication target of the dataset;

identifying data needed to update the most recent replication of the dataset stored on the third storage subsystem; and

providing to the third storage subsystem, the data needed to update the most recent replication of the dataset stored on the third storage subsystem.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein providing to the third storage subsystem, the data needed to update the most recent replication of the dataset stored on the third storage subsystem includes:

identifying a fourth storage subsystem that includes the identified data needed to update the most recent replication of the dataset on the third storage subsystem;

retrieving from the fourth storage subsystem, the identified data; and

sending the identified data to the third storage subsystem.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein identifying a fourth storage subsystem that includes the identified data needed to update the most recent replication of the dataset on the third storage subsystem includes using a global to local dataset identification (ID) mapping table to correspond local dataset IDs of the third storage subsystem and local dataset IDs of the fourth storage subsystem.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the cloud-based service includes computer program instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to carry out the steps of identifying the most recent replication of the dataset stored on the third storage subsystem.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more conditions include a failure of the first storage subsystem to phone home log data for a threshold amount of time.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the log data includes at least one of storage capacity utilization, a number of program-erase cycles for one or more storage devices, an age of the one or more storage devices, volume count, queue depth, read bandwidth, read input/output operations per second (IOPS), read latency, write bandwidth, write IOPS, and write latency.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more conditions include a health indicator of the first storage subsystem falling below a programmable threshold.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein the dataset comprises at least one of a volume, virtual machine, file, protection group, disk image, database, and application.

17. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable by a processor of a cloud-based service to:

detect one or more conditions indicative of an impending failure of a replication event of a dataset from a first storage subsystem to a second storage subsystem;

in response to detecting one or more conditions indicative of an impending failure of a replication event of a dataset from a first storage subsystem to a second storage subsystem, select a third storage subsystem to take over as a replication target of the dataset;

identify data needed to update the most recent replication of the dataset stored on the third storage subsystem; and

provide to the third storage subsystem, the data needed to update the most recent replication of the dataset stored on the third storage subsystem.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 17 wherein providing to the third storage subsystem, the data needed to update the most recent replication of the dataset stored on the third storage subsystem includes:

identifying a fourth storage subsystem that includes the identified data needed to update the most recent replication of the dataset on the third storage subsystem;

retrieving from the fourth storage subsystem, the identified data; and

sending the identified data to the third storage subsystem.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 18 wherein identifying a fourth storage subsystem that includes the identified data needed to update the most recent replication of the dataset on the third storage subsystem includes using a global to local dataset identification (ID) mapping table to correspond local dataset IDs of the third storage subsystem and local dataset IDs of the fourth storage subsystem.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the program instructions are further executable by a processor to identify the most recent replication of the dataset stored on the third storage subsystem.