Storage apparatus, storage apparatus backup method, storage apparatus backup system, and storage medium

• US 10,459,654 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2017
• Issued: 10/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IP Wave Pte. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Kamiura, Tomoka
• Primary Examiner(s): Bragdon, Reginald G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vo, Thanh D
• Application Number:
  US15/840,144
• Publication Number:
  US 20180181308A1
• Time in Patent Office: 685 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1451 by selection of backup contents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1464 for networked environments
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/84 Using snapshots, i.e. a logical point-in-time copy of the data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0619 in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0644 Management of space entities, e.g. partitions, extents, pools
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/065 Replication mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0664 at device level, e.g. emulation of a storage device or system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0683 Plurality of storage devices

Abstract

A storage apparatus includes a backup controller and a remote copy controller. The backup controller identifies a common data area being an area storing data common to a first volume and a second volume, each of the volumes including a storage area capable of storing data. The backup controller transmits an instruction to a backup destination storage apparatus including a backup volume, the instruction causing to copy, in the backup destination storage apparatus, data stored in the common data area, from a backup volume of the second volume to a backup volume of the first volume. The remote copy controller transmits at least part of data stored in an area different from the common data area in the first volume to the backup destination storage apparatus.

Claims

1. A storage apparatus comprising:

processing circuitry and a memory storing instructions that when executed by the processing circuitry allows;

a backup controller to identify a common data area in each of a first volume and a second volume, each of the volumes including a storage area capable of storing data, the common data area in each of the first volume and the second volume being an area storing data common to the first volume and the second volume, and

to transmit an instruction to a backup destination storage apparatus being another storage apparatus configured to include, for each of the first volume and the second volume, a backup volume storing backup data duplicated from each of the first volume and the second volume, the instruction causing the backup destination storage apparatus to copy, in the backup destination storage apparatus, data stored in the common data area in the backup volume of the second volume to the backup volume of the first volume; and

a remote copy controller to transmit data stored in an area different from the common data area in the first volume to the backup destination storage apparatus to duplicate the data to the backup volume of the first volume in the backup destination storage apparatus.

2. The storage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first volume is a clone volume derived from an entity volume being the volume used as a master, the clone volume being the volume storing a difference from the entity volume, the second volume is the clone volume different from the first volume and derived from the entity volume same as the first volume, and

the backup controller selects at least one second volume out of one or more second volumes for which backup processing to the backup destination storage apparatus is started, and identifies the common data area by specifying an area in the entity volume and an area in the first volume corresponding to each other and including no difference, and specifying an area in the entity volume and an area in the second volume corresponding to each other and including no difference.

3. The storage apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the backup controller selects the second volume for which backup processing is started first, out of the at least one of the selected second volume for which backup processing to the backup destination storage apparatus is started, and transmits the instruction which causes the backup destination storage apparatus to copy data stored in the common data area in the backup volume of the at least one of the selected second volume for which backup processing is started first to the backup volume of the first volume.

4. The storage apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the backup controller identifies the common data area between each of one or more of the second volumes for which backup processing to the backup destination storage apparatus is started and the first volume, selects the second volume having a largest common data area with the first volume, and transmits the instruction which causes the backup destination storage apparatus to copy data stored in the common data area in the backup volume of the second volume being selected to the backup volume of the first volume.

5. The storage apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the remote copy controller,

with regard to an area having a difference from the entity volume among areas different from the common data area in the first volume, transmits data stored in the area having the difference from the entity volume in the first volume to the backup destination storage apparatus, and,

with regard to an area having no difference from the entity volume among areas different from the common data area in the first volume, transmits data stored in the area in the entity volume to the backup destination storage apparatus.

6. The storage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the backup controller selects a plurality of the second volumes for which backup processing to the backup destination storage apparatus is already started, and identifies the common data area between each of the plurality of the second volumes and the first volume, and the remote copy controller transmits at least part of data stored in an area different from each of the common data areas identified by the backup controller in the first volume to the backup destination storage apparatus.

7. A backup destination storage apparatus comprising:

one or more backup volumes being a volume including a storage area capable of storing data; and

processing circuitry and a memory storing instructions that when executed by the processing circuitry allows;

a remote instruction processing unit to execute processing of receiving an instruction for backup of a first volume, from a backup source storage apparatus being another storage apparatus, the instruction at least including information by which a common data area can be identified, the common data area being an area in each of the first volume and a second volume for storing data common to the first volume and the second volume, each of the first volume and the second volume being included in the backup source storage apparatus and including a storage area capable of storing data;

in response to the instruction, copying data included in the common data area identified by the instruction in a backup volume of the second volume to a backup volume of the first volume, in the backup destination storage apparatus itself, wherein the backup volume of the first volume storing backup data duplicated to the backup volume of the first volume;

receiving at least part of data included in an area different from the common data area in the first volume from the backup source storage apparatus; and

writing the received data onto the backup volume of the first volume.

8. A storage apparatus backup system comprising:

a backup source storage apparatus including a first volume and a second volume, each of the first volume and the second volume including a storage area capable of storing data; and

a backup destination storage apparatus including a backup volume being a volume including a storage area capable of storing data, the backup destination storage apparatus being different from the backup source storage apparatus, wherein the backup source storage apparatus further includes processing circuitry and a memory storing instructions that when executed by the processing circuitry allows;

a backup controller to identify a common data area in each of the first volume and the second volume, the common data area being an area storing data common to the first volume and the second volume, and to transmits an instruction to the backup destination storage apparatus, the instruction causes the backup destination storage apparatus to copy, in the backup destination storage apparatus, data stored in the common data area in a backup volume of the second volume to a backup volume of the first volume; and

a remote copy controller to transmit at least part of data stored in an area different from the common data area in the first volume to the backup destination storage apparatus, and the backup destination storage apparatus further includes processing circuitry and a memory storing instructions that when executed by the processor allows;

a remote instruction processing unit to execute processing of receiving the instruction from the backup source storage apparatus, and in response to the received instruction, copying data included in the common data area identified by the received instruction, from the backup volume of the second volume to the backup volume of the first volume, in the backup destination storage apparatus itself,

receiving at least part of data included in an area different from the common data area in the first volume, from the backup source storage apparatus, and

writing the received data onto the backup volume of the first volume.