Volume management system and method

• US 20060010289A1
• Filed: 10/01/2004
• Published: 01/12/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Takeuchi, Shinya, Uchiyama, Yasufumi
• Granted Patent: US 7,673,112 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/114
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0631 by allocating resources to storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

The system according to the present invention comprises a first storage area for storing a plurality of logical volume data where the attributes on a plurality of logical volumes are recorded respectively, a second storage area for storing allocation destination candidate data where the attributes on an allocation destination candidate selected from one or more allocation destination candidates are recorded, a third storage area for storing one or more history data to indicate a relationship of a logical volume having a certain attribute among the plurality of logical volumes to an allocation destination candidate having a certain attribute among one or more allocation destination candidates, a device refining unit for refining the plurality of logical volume data to one or more logical volume data based on the plurality of logical volume data, allocation destination candidate data, and one or more history data, and a refined result output section for outputting the content of the refined one or more logical volume data.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a first storage area for storing a plurality of logical volume data where attributes on a plurality of logical volumes are recorded respectively;

a second storage area for storing allocation destination candidate data where the attributes on an allocation destination candidate selected from one or more allocation destination candidates are recorded;

a third storage area for storing one or more history data to indicate a relationship of a logical volume having a certain attribute among said plurality of logical volumes to an allocation destination candidate having a certain attribute among said one or more allocation destination candidates; and

a volume refining unit for refining said plurality of logical volume data to one or more logical volume data based on said plurality of logical volume data, said allocation destination candidate data and said one or more history data, and outputting the content of said refined one or more logical volume data.

2. The system according to claim 1,

wherein said volume refining unit further comprises a history update unit for providing a GUI which accepts the selection of a desired logical volume data from said plurality of logical volume data or said refined one or more logical volume data, generating history data where at least one attribute element among the attributes included in said selected logical volume data and at least one attribute element among the attributes included in said allocation destination candidate data are associated based on the logical volume data selected using said GUI and said allocation destination candidate data, and storing said generated history data in said third storage area.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein

the attributes included in said allocation destination candidate data have a plurality of allocation destination candidate attribute elements,

each of the plurality of history data includes said plurality of allocation destination candidate attribute elements, and

said volume refining unit selects the history data to be used for processing for refining the logical volume data, based on judgment whether an allocation destination candidate attribute element matching at least one of said plurality of allocation destination candidate attribute elements included in said allocation destination candidate data exists in each of a plurality of history data.

4. The system according to claim 3, further comprising

a fourth storage area for storing a weight value to indicate a weight for each of said plurality of allocation destination candidate attribute elements,

wherein said volume refining unit determines an evaluation value for each of said plurality of history data, based on the information on whether an allocation destination candidate attribute element matching at least one of said plurality of allocation destination candidate attribute elements included in said allocation destination candidate data exists in each of the plurality of history data and each weight value of said plurality of allocation destination candidate attribute elements, and determines the history data which has the evaluation value matching a predetermined condition among the determined plurality of evaluation values as history data to be used for the processing for refining the logical volume data.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein

said allocation destination candidate is an information processing terminal for writing data to the logical volume or reading data from the logical volume;

said information processing terminal has one or more application programs and/or one or more pieces of user identification information corresponding to one or more users respectively is/are registered, and said plurality of allocation destination candidate attribute elements include the (1) and (2) and/or (3) among the following (1) to (3), that is

(1) terminal identification information of said information processing terminal,

(2) application identification information of one application program among said one or more application programs, and

(3) one piece of user identification information among said one or more pieces of user identification information; and

the weight value becomes higher in the order of the weight value of the user identification information, the weight value of the application identification information, and the weight value of the terminal identification information.

6. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a history update unit for acquiring access relationship data, where the information indicating which allocation destination candidate among said one or more allocation destination candidates accessed which logical volume among said one or more logical volumes is described, generating history data based on said acquired access relationship data, and registering said generated history data in said third storage area.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein

said allocation destination candidate is an information processing terminal for writing data to the logical volume or reading data from the logical volume;

said information processing terminal has one or more application programs;

said information processing terminal further comprises;

an application interface unit to be an interface for the application program;

a command issuing unit for issuing a command to said logical volume;

a monitoring unit for monitoring said application interface unit and said command issuing unit;

an application access storage area for storing information on the access of the application interface unit; and

a command access storage area for storing information on the access of the command issuing unit,

said application interface unit receives a write request or read request of data from one of said one or more application programs, outputs said received write request or read request, and receives write data, which is a write target, from the application program which is said write request issuing source, and outputs the write data to said command issuing unit, or receives read data, which is a read target, and which was output from said command issuing unit, and outputs the read data to the application program which is said read request issuing source,

said command issuing unit receives said write request or read request which was output, selects the logical volume to be a destination from said plurality of logical volumes according to the write request or read request, generates and outputs a write command or read command for the selected logical volume, and outputs said write data to said logical volume, or receives the read data from said logical volume responding to said read command, and outputs the read data to said application interface unit,

said monitoring unit acquires the application identification information of the application program which issued a write request or read request to said application interface unit, acquires a first data content, which is a content of the write data or the read data received by said application interface unit, and writes said application identification information and said first data content to said application access storage area,

acquires the logical volume identification information of a logical volume to be a destination of the write command or read command which was output by said command issuing unit from the write command or read command, acquires a second data content, which is a content of write data or read data received by said command issuing unit, writes said logical volume identification information and said second data content to said command access storage area,

detects that said written first data content and second data content match, acquires the application identification information corresponding to said matched first data content from said application access storage area, and acquires the logical volume identification information corresponding to said matched second data content from said command access storage area,

generates and outputs said access relationship data including said acquired application identification information and logical volume identification information, and

said history update unit acquires said access relationship data which was output.

8. A volume management method, comprising:

storing a plurality of logical volume data where the attributes on a plurality of logical volumes are recorded respectively to a first storage area;

storing allocation destination candidate data where the attributes on an allocation destination candidate selected from one or more allocation destination candidates to a second storage area;

storing one or more history data to indicate the relationship of a logical volume having a certain attribute among said plurality of logical volumes to an allocation destination candidate having a certain attribute among said one or more allocation destination candidates to a third storage area;

refining said plurality of logical volume data to one or more logical volume data based on said plurality of logical volume data, said allocation destination candidate data, and said one or more history data; and

outputting the content of said refined one or more logical volume data.

9. A system, comprising:

one or more computers;

a storage area for registering a plurality of history data where at least one volume attribute element among the attributes on a logical volume and at least one allocation destination candidate attribute element among attributes on a logical volume allocation candidates are associated;

a first computer program, that is a computer program to be executed by at least one of said one or more computers, for registering a plurality of logical volume data, where the attributes on said plurality of logical volumes are recorded respectively, to said storage area;

a second computer program, that is a computer program to be executed by at least one of said one or more computers, for registering a plurality of allocation destination candidate data, where the attributes on said plurality of allocation destination candidates are recorded respectively, to said storage area;

a third computer program, that is a computer program to be executed by at least one of said one or more computers, for providing an allocation destination candidate selection GUI for accepting the selection of a desired allocation destination candidate data from said plurality of allocation destination candidate data;

a fourth computer program, that is a computer program to be executed by at least one of said one or more computers, for registering the allocation destination candidate data selected using said allocation destination candidate selection GUI to said storage area;

a fifth computer program, that is a computer program to be executed by at least one of said one or more computers for determining an evaluation value for each of said plurality of history data based on whether an allocation destination candidate attribute element matching at least one of the plurality of allocation destination candidate attribute elements included in said selected allocation destination candidate data exists in each of said plurality of history data;

a sixth computer program, that is a computer program to be executed by at least one of said one or more computers, for determining the history data having an evaluation value matching predetermined conditions, among said determined plurality of evaluation values, as the history data to be used for processing for refining the logical volume data; and

a seventh computer program, that is a computer program to be executed by at least one of said one or more computers, for refining said plurality of logical volume data to one or more logical volume data based on said plurality of logical volume data, said selected allocation destination candidate data and said determined history data, and outputting the content of said refined one or more logical volume data.

10. A volume management method, comprising:

storing a plurality of history data where at least one volume attribute element among attributes on a logical volume and at least one allocation destination candidate attribute element among attributes on logical volume allocation candidates are associated, to a storage area;

receiving a plurality of logical volume data where the attributes on said plurality of logical volumes are recorded respectively, and registering the plurality of logical volume data to said storage area;

receiving a plurality of allocation destination candidate data, where the attributes on said plurality of allocation destination candidates are recorded respectively, and registering said plurality of allocation destination candidate data to said storage area;

providing an allocation destination candidate selection GUI for accepting the selection of a desired allocation destination candidate data from said plurality of allocation destination candidate data;

registering the allocation destination candidate data selected using said allocation destination candidate selection GUI to said storage area;

determining an evaluation value for each of said plurality of history data based on whether an allocation destination candidate attribute element matching at least one of the plurality of allocation destination candidate attribute elements included in said selected allocation destination candidate data exists in each of said plurality of history data;

determining the history data having an evaluation value matching predetermined conditions, among said determined plurality of evaluation values, as history data to be used for processing for refining the logical volume data;

refining said plurality of logical volume data to one or more logical volume data based on said plurality of logical volume data, said selected allocation destination candidate data and said determined history data; and

outputting the content of said refined one or more logical volume data.

11. A system for writing data to one logical volume among a plurality of logical volumes or reading data from said logical volume, comprising:

one or more computers;

an application program to be executed by at least one of said one or more computers;

an application interface program, that is a computer program to be executed by at least one of said one or more computers and to be an interface for an application program;

a command issuing program, that is a computer program to be executed by at least one of said one or more computers, for issuing a command to a logical volume;

a first monitoring program, that is a computer program to be executed by at least one of said one or more computers, for monitoring an application interface unit;

a second monitoring program, that is a computer program to be executed by at least one of said one or more computers, for monitoring said command issuing unit;

a third monitoring program, that is a computer program to be executed by at least one of said one or more computers, for communicating with said first monitoring program and said second monitoring program;

an application access storage area for storing information on the access of the application interface unit; and

a command access storage area for storing information on the access of the command issuing unit, wherein

said application interface program receives a write request or read request of data from one of said one or more application programs, outputs said received write request or read request, and receives write data, which is a write target, from the application program which is said write request issuing source and outputs the write data to

said command issuing unit, or receives read data, which is a read target, and which was output from the command issuing unit and outputs the read data to the application program which is said read request issuing source, said command issuing program receives said write request or read request which was output, selects the logical volume to be a destination from said plurality of logical volumes according to the write request or read request, generates and outputs a write command or read command for the selected logical volume, and outputs said write data to said logical volume, or receives the read data from said logical volume responding to said read command and outputs the read data to said application interface unit,

said first monitoring program, that is a resident program of said application interface program, acquires the application identification information of the application program which issued a write request or read request to said application interface program, acquires first data content, which is a content of the write data or read data received by said application interface program, and notifies said acquired application identification information and the first data content to said third monitoring program,

said second monitoring program, that is a resident program of said command issuing program, acquires the logical volume identification information of a logical volume to be a destination of the write command or read command which was output by said command issuing program from the write command or read command, acquires a second data content, which is a content of the write data or the read data received by said command issuing program, and notifies said acquired logical volume identification information and the second data content to said third monitoring program,

said third monitoring program writes said application identification information and said first data content notified by said first monitoring program to said application access storage area, writes said logical volume identification information and said second data content notified by said second monitoring program to said command access storage area, detects that said written first data content and second data content match, acquires the application identification information corresponding to said matched first data content from said application access storage area, acquires the logical volume identification information corresponding to said matched second data content from said command access storage area, and generates and outputs said access relationship data including said acquired application identification information and logical volume identification information.