Migrating data in a storage system

• US 20060242379A1
• Filed: 04/20/2005
• Published: 10/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Korgaonkar, Anuja, Yandell, Jesse, Hoffman, Brian L.
• Granted Patent: US 7,302,539 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/170
• 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 3/0647 Migration mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0689 Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD

Abstract

A method of managing storage comprises connecting a number of virtual disks to a disk controller loop of a disk controller, and mounting a portion of the number of virtual disks to the disk controller wherein a storage map is loaded into a fixed-size memory of the disk controller for each virtual disk mounted. The method further comprises receiving a request for data contained on an unmounted virtual disk with the unmounted virtual disk having a storage map of certain size. A sufficient number of mounted virtual disks are dismounted to allow the fixed-size memory to accommodate the certain size of the unmounted virtual disk storage map. The unmounted virtual disk may be mounted.

Claims

1. A method of migrating client data comprising:

dividing a plurality of disks into disk group subsets;

configuring an individual disk group as a self-contained domain from which virtualized disks are allocated and presented as logical units to the client;

writing to the disk group metadata information including mapping information and state information that self-identifies state of the disk group;

dismounting the disk group from a first array;

physically moving the disk group from the first array to a second array;

mounting the disk group to the second array including reading the disk group metadata, enabling a disk controller to load and present the virtualized disks corresponding to the disk group as logical units to a client; and

accessing the disk group from the second array.

2. A method of managing storage comprising:

connecting a number of virtual disks to a disk controller loop of a disk controller;

mounting a portion of the number of virtual disks to the disk controller wherein a storage map is loaded into a fixed-size memory of the disk controller for each virtual disk mounted;

receiving a request for data contained on an unmounted virtual disk, the unmounted virtual disk having a storage map of certain size;

dismounting a sufficient number of mounted virtual disks to allow the fixed-size memory to accommodate the certain size of the unmounted virtual disk storage map; and

mounting the unmounted virtual disk.

3. A method according to claim 2 whereby mounting the unmounted virtual disk further comprises:

reading disk group metadata from the unmounted virtual disk, enabling a disk controller to load and present the virtualized disks corresponding to the disk group as logical units to a client.

4. A method according to claim 2 whereby mounting the unmounted virtual disk further comprises:

reading disk group metadata from the unmounted virtual disk; and

updating state information in the disk group metadata in compliance with conditions of mounting.