Remote copy system

• US 20050213389A1
• Filed: 05/02/2005
• Published: 09/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Ninose, Kenta, Arakawa, Hiroshi, Hirakawa, Yusuke, Asaka, Yoshihiro, Iwamura, Takashige
• Granted Patent: US 7,437,389 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 365/185.220
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2064 while ensuring consistency
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2071 using a plurality of controllers

Abstract

A remote copy system includes a plurality of first storage systems and a plurality of second storage systems. Each first storage system assigns a sequential number to write data received from the host and sends the write data with the sequential number to the second storage system. One of the first storage systems defers the processing of the write request received from the host and instructs each of the first storage systems to create a marker, whereupon each of the first storage systems defers the processing of the write request, creates a marker including a sequential number and having a marker number, and sends the marker to the second storage system. Each of the second storage systems, when receiving a marker from the first storage system, stores the marker number included in the marker. One of the second storage systems reads the marker number stored by each of the second storage systems and reports to each of the second storage systems the marker number of smallest value of the marker numbers which were thus read. Each of the second storage systems writes to a logical volume in sequential number order write data, of the write data received from the first storage system, that includes a sequential number of a value smaller than the sequential number of the marker including the marker number reported from one of the second storage systems.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a plurality of first storage devices each connected to a host computer; and

a plurality of second storage devices each connected to any of the first storage devices, wherein

each of said plurality of first storage devices is configured to hold the processing of a write request received from the host computer based on the instruction from a management unit and to restart thereafter the processing of the write request received from the host computer based on the instruction from said management unit;

each of said plurality of first storage devices is configured to manage as a write data set the write data of the write request processed after the processing of the write request has been restarted according to the instruction from said management unit till the processing of the write request is then held according to the instruction from said management unit;

said management unit is configured to receive a completion report of holding the processing of the write request from said plurality of first storage devices and then to instruct said plurality of first storage devices to create new write data sets, to attach common identification information to the write data set created in said plurality of first storage devices, and then to instruct said plurality of first storage devices to restart the processing of the write request; and

each of said plurality of second storage devices is configured to store the write data received from the first storage device for each write data set in logical volumes of said second storage devices and said plurality of second storage devices store the write data of the write data set having the same identification information in logical volumes of said second storage devices based on the instruction from said management unit.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein

said management unit is configured to receive a completion report of holding the processing of the write request from said plurality of first storage devices and then to instruct said plurality of first storage devices to send the write data to any of said plurality of second storage devices with respect to a write data set containing the write data of the write request processed by each of the plurality of first storage devices before the holding of the processing of said write request is executed.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein

each of said plurality of second storage devices has a cache memory and is configured to store the write data received from any of the first storage devices in said cache memory;

and

said management unit, after said plurality of first storage devices have completed sending the write data relating to said write data set, instructs said plurality of second storage devices to store the write data of said write data set stored in said cache memory in logical volumes of the second storage devices.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein

each of said plurality of second storage devices is configured to record in the memory of said second storage devices the identification information attached to a write data set when the reception of the write data of the write data set is completed;

and

said management unit collects the identification information recorded in said memory from said plurality of second storage devices and, when the values of the collected identification information coincide, instructs to store the write data of said write data set stored in said cache memory in the logical volumes of the second storage devices.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein

when sending the write data of a write data set to any of the second storage devices, each of said plurality of first storage devices conveys the identification information attached to said write data set to said second storage device.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein

each of said plurality of first storage devices is configured to create, with respect to write data received according to the write request from the host computer, write data management information comprising identification information of a write data set to which the write data belongs;

and

when the write data of the write data set is sent to any of the second storage devices, the write data management information of the write data is also sent to said second storage device.

7. The system according to claim 3, wherein

said plurality of first storage devices are configured to record in the memory of said first storage devices the identification information attached to a write data set when the sending of the write data of the write data set is completed;

and

said management unit collects the identification information recorded in said memory from said plurality of first storage units and, when the values of the collected identification information coincide, instructs to store the write data of said write data set stored in said cache memory of each of the plurality of second storage devices in the logical volumes of said second storage devices.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein

each of said plurality of first storage devices is configured to manage the newest write data as write data belonging to a write data set when a plurality of write requests to overlapping addresses are processed within the interval after the processing of the write request has been restarted according to the instruction from said management unit till the processing of the write request is then held according to the instruction from said management unit.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein

each of said plurality of first storage devices stores the write data belonging to the write data set in a cache memory and is configured to update the write data on the cache memory with respect to the overlapping portion of addresses when a plurality of write requests to the overlapping addresses are received within the interval after the processing of the write request has been restarted according to the instruction from said management unit till the processing of the write request is then held according to the instruction from said management unit.

10. The system according to claim 3, wherein

any of said plurality of first storage devices has said management unit.

11. The system according to claim 3, wherein

the host computer connected to said plurality of first storage devices has said management unit.

12. A remote copying method executed between a plurality of first storage devices each connected to a host computer and a plurality of second storage devices each connected to any of the first storage devices, said method comprising the steps of:

each of said plurality of first storage devices managing the write data received from the host computer as a first write data set;

each of said plurality of first storage devices holding the processing of the write data received from the host computer based on the instruction from a management unit and reporting to this effect to said management unit;

the management unit receiving the completion report of the processing of the write request from said plurality of first storage devices, and then instructing said plurality of first storage devices to change said first write data set into a second write data set and to create a new first write data set;

said plurality of first storage devices changing said first write data set into the second write data set based on the instruction from said management unit, preparing for managing the new first write data set, and reporting to this effect to said management unit;

said management unit instructing said plurality of first storage devices to cancel the holding of the processing of the write request after receiving the reports from said plurality of first storage devices;

said plurality of first storage devices canceling the holding of the processing of the write request based on the instruction from said management unit and managing the write data of the write requests to be subsequently processed as a new first write data set;

each of said plurality of first storage devices sending the write data of said second write data set to any of said second storage devices based on the instruction from said management unit;

each of said plurality of second storage devices managing the write data received from any of the first storage devices as write data belonging to a third write data Bet; and

each of said plurality of second storage devices changing said third write data set into a fourth write data set based on the instruction from said management unit and storing the write data belonging to said fourth write data set in logical volumes of the second storage devices.

13. The remote copying method according to claim 12, wherein

common identification information between said plurality of first storage devices specified by said management unit is attached to the first write data set created based on the instruction from said management unit, and the identification information attached to the first write data set is handed over to the second write data set, third write data set, and fourth write data set.

14. The remote copying method according to claim 12, wherein

said management unit instructs said plurality of second storage devices to change the third write data set into the fourth write data set after said plurality of second storage devices have completed receiving the write data belonging to the second write data set from the first storage devices.

15. The remote copying method according to claim 14, further comprising the steps of:

each of said plurality of first storage devices reporting, when completing sending the write data belonging to said second write data set to the second storage devices, to this effect to said second storage device;

each of said plurality of second storage devices recording, when receiving said report from the first storage devices, the identification information attached to the third write data set to which the received write data belongs, in the memory of said second storage devices; and

said management unit collecting the identification information recorded in the memory from said plurality of second storage devices;

wherein

said management unit instructs said plurality of second storage devices to change the third write data set into the fourth write data set when the values of the identification information collected from said plurality of second storage devices coincide.

16. The remote copying method according to claim 14, further comprising the steps of:

said plurality of first storage devices recording in the memory of said first storage devices the identification information attached to said second write data set when completing sending the write data belonging to said second write data set to the second storage devices; and

said management unit collecting the identification information recorded in the memory from said plurality of first storage devices;

wherein

said management unit instructs said plurality of second storage devices to change the third write data set into the fourth write data set when the values of the identification information collected from said plurality of first storage devices coincide.

17. The remote copying method according to claim 12,

wherein each of said plurality of first storage devices manages the write data of the newest write request as write data belonging to the first write data set when a plurality of write requests are received for an overlapping region of address ranges.

18. The remote copying method according to claim 12, wherein any of said plurality of first storage devices has said management unit.

19. The remote copying method according to claim 12, wherein the host computer connected to said plurality of first storage devices has said management unit.