Storage system and storage device

• US 20070070975A1
• Filed: 11/21/2005
• Published: 03/29/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Otani, Toshio, Nakatsuka, Daiki
• Application Number:
  US11/282,568
• Publication Number:
  US 20070070975A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/351
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2007 using redundant communication media
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/201 between storage system components
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2053 where persistent mass storage functionality or persistent mass storage control functionality is redundant error detection or correction in information storage based on relative movement between record carrier and transducer G11B20/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1008 based on parameters of servers, e.g. available memory or workload monitoring of computer activity G06F11/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1034 Reaction to server failures by a load balancer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 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]

Abstract

A storage system includes a host having an iSCSI initiator function, a storage having an iSCSI target function and plural storage ports and communicable with the host through an IP network, and a management server communicable with the storage. The management server includes a load information collecting unit for collecting load information on load for each of the storage ports, a network topology information collecting unit for collecting network topology information on the physical topology or on the logical topology of the storage system, and a port selection unit for selecting a failover port when a communication error occurs on one port of the storage ports which is in use to communicate with the host.

Claims

1. A storage system comprising:

a host having an iSCSI initiator function;

a storage having an iSCSI target function and plural storage ports, the storage communicable with the host through an IP network; and

a management server communicable with the storage;

the management server comprising;

a load information collecting unit for collecting load information on load for each of the storage ports; and

a port selection unit for selecting a failover port when a communication error occurs on one port of the storage ports which is in use to communicate with the host, the selection unit inquiring the load information for each of the storage ports and selecting for the port in use the failover port out of the storage ports except for the port in use based on the load for each of the storage ports, the selection unit allowing the failover port to take over communication conditions of the port in use so that the failover port maintains the communication on the port in use.

2. The storage system according to claim 1, wherein

the storage comprising plural network controllers having plural ports;

and

the port selection means for selecting the failover port out of the storage ports which belong to the same broadcast domain as the port in use and which is loaded on a different network controller from the network controller on which the port in use is loaded.

3. A storage system comprising:

a host having an iSCSI initiator function;

a storage having an iSCSI target function and plural storage ports, the storage communicable with the host through an IP network; and

a management server communicable with the storage;

the management server comprising;

a network topology information collecting unit for collecting network topology information on physical topology or on logical topology of the storage system; and

a port selection unit for selecting a failover port when a communication error occurs on one port of the storage ports which is in use to communicate with the host, the selection unit inquiring the network topology information on the physical topology or on the logical topology of the storage system and selecting for the port in use the failover port out of the storage ports except for the port in use based on the physical topology or the logical topology of the storage system, the selection unit allowing the failover port to take over communication conditions of the port in use so that the failover port maintains the communication on the port in use.

4. A storage system comprising:

a host having an iSCSI initiator function;

a storage having an iSCSI target function and plural storage ports, the storage communicable with the host through an IP network, and

a management server communicable with the storage;

the management server comprising;

a load information collecting unit for collecting load information on load for each of the storage ports;

a network topology information collecting unit for collecting network topology information on physical topology or on logical topology of the storage system; and

a port selection unit for selecting a failover port when a communication error occurs on one port of the storage ports which is in use to communicate with the host, the selection unit inquiring the information on load for each of the storage ports and the network topology information on the physical topology or on the logical topology of the storage system and selecting for the port in use the failover port out of the storage ports except for the port in use based on the load for each of the storage ports and on the physical topology or the logical topology of the storage system, the selection unit allowing the failover port to take over communication conditions of the port in use so that the failover port maintains the communication on the port in use.

5. A storage system comprising:

a host having an iSCSI initiator function;

a storage having an iSCSI target function and plural storage ports, the storage communicable with the host through an IP network, and

a management server communicable with the storage;

the management server comprising;

either of a load information collecting unit for collecting load information on load for each of the storage ports or a network topology information collecting unit for collecting network topology information on physical topology or on logical topology of the storage system; and

a port selection unit for selecting a failover port when an error on the port in use to communicate with the host exceeds a predetermined value, the selection unit inquiring the information on load for each of the storage ports and the network topology information on physical topology or on logical topology of the storage system and selecting for the port in use the failover port out of the storage ports except for the port in use based on the load for each of the storage ports, or on the physical topology or the logical topology of the storage system, the selection unit allowing the failover port to take over communication conditions of the port in use so that the failover port maintains the communication on the port in use.

6. A storage system comprising:

a host having a NAS client function;

a storage having a NAS server function and plural storage ports, the storage communicable with the host through an IP network; and

a management server communicable with the storage;

the management server comprising;

a load information collecting unit for collecting load information on load for each of the storage ports; and

a port selection unit for selecting a failover port when a communication error occurs on one port of the storage ports which is in use to communicate with the host, the selection unit inquiring the load information and selecting for the port in use the failover port out of the storage ports except for the port in use based on the load for each of the storage ports, the selection unit allowing the failover port to take over communication conditions of the port in use so that the failover port maintains the communication on the port in use.

7. The storage system according to claim 6, wherein

the host has an NFS client function or a CIFS client function, and wherein

the storage is communicable with the host based on NFS protocols or CIFS protocols.

8. A storage system comprising:

a host having a NAS client function;

a storage having a NAS server function and plural storage ports, the storage communicable with the host through an IP network; and

a management server communicable with the storage;

the management server comprising;

a network topology information collecting unit for collecting network topology information on physical topology or on logical topology of the storage system; and

a port selection unit for selecting a failover port when a communication error occurs on one port of the storage ports which is in use to communicate with the host, the selection unit inquiring the network topology information on physical topology or on logical topology of the storage system and selecting for the port in use the failover port out of the storage ports except for the port in use based on the physical topology or the logical topology of the storage system, the selection unit allowing the failover port to take over communication conditions of the port in use so that the failover port maintains the communication on the port in use.

9. The storage system according to claim 8, wherein

the host has an NFS client function or a CIFS client function, and wherein

the storage is communicable with the host based on NFS protocols or CIFS protocols.

10. A storage system comprising:

a host having a NAS client function;

a storage having a NAS server function and plural storage ports, the storage communicable with the host through an IP network; and

a management server communicable with the storage;

the management server comprising;

a load information collecting unit for collecting load information on load for each of the storage ports;

a network topology information collecting unit for collecting network topology information on physical topology or on logical topology of the storage system; and

a port selection unit for selecting a failover port when a communication error occurs on one port of the storage ports which is in use to communicate with the host, the selection unit inquiring the information on load for each of the storage ports and the network topology information on physical topology or on logical topology of the storage system and selecting for the port in use the failover port out of the storage ports except for the port in use based on the load for each of the storage ports, or on the physical topology or the logical topology of the storage system, the selection unit allowing the failover port to take over communication conditions of the port in use so that the failover port maintains the communication on the port in use.

11. The storage system according to claim 10, wherein

the host has an NFS client function or a CIFS client function, and wherein

the storage is communicable with the host based on NFS protocols or CIFS protocols.

12. A storage system comprising:

a host having a NAS client function;

a storage having a NAS server function and plural storage ports, the storage communicable with the host through an IP network; and

a management server communicable with the storage;

the management server comprising;

either of a load information collecting unit for collecting of load information on load for each of the storage ports or a network topology information collecting unit for collecting network topology information on physical topology or on logical topology of the storage system; and

a port selection unit for selecting a failover port when an error on the port in use to communicate with the host exceeds a predetermined value, the selection unit inquiring the information on load for each of the storage ports and the network topology information on the physical topology or on the logical topology of the storage system and selecting for the port in use the failover port out of the storage ports except for the port in use based on the load for each of the storage ports, or on the physical topology or the logical topology of the storage system, the selection unit allowing the failover port to take over communication conditions of the port in use so that the failover port maintains the communication on the port in use.

13. The storage system according to claim 12, wherein

the host has an NFS client function or a CIFS client function, and wherein

the storage is communicable with the host based on NFS protocols or CIFS protocols.

14. A storage system comprising:

a host having an iSCSI initiator function;

a storage having an iSCSI target function and plural storage ports, the storage communicable with the host through an IP network, and

a management server communicable with the storage;

the management server comprising;

a load information collecting unit for collecting load information on number of iSCSI sessions or on I/O rate for each of the storage ports; and

a port selection unit for selecting a failover port when a communication failure occurs on one port of the storage ports on which an iSCSI session to the host is being established, the selection unit inquiring the load information on the number of the iSCSI sessions or on the I/O rate for each of the storage ports and selecting for the port in use the failover port out of the storage ports except for the port in use, which have less number of the iSCSI sessions or less I/O rate, the port selection unit allowing the failover port to take over IP address information and iSCSI target information of the port in use so that the failover port maintains the iSCSI session to the host.

15. A storage system comprising:

a host having an iSCSI initiator function;

a storage having an iSCSI target function and plural storage ports, the storage communicable with the host through an IP network; and

a management server communicable with the storage;

the management server comprising;

a network topology information collecting unit for collecting network topology information on subnet topology and on port topology of the storage system; and

a port selection unit for selecting a failover port when a communication failure occurs on one port of the storage ports on which an iSCSI session to the host is being established, the selection unit inquiring the network topology information on the subnet topology and on the port topology of the storage system and selecting for the port in use the failover port out of the storage ports except for the port in use, which belong to the same domain as the port in use, the port selection unit allowing the failover port to take over IP address information and iSCSI target information of the port in use so that the failover port maintains the iSCSI session to the host.

16. The storage system according to claim 15, wherein

the management server comprises:

a load information collecting unit for collecting load information on number of iSCSI sessions or on I/O rate for each of the storage ports; and

when selecting the failover port, the port selection unit inquiring the load information on the number of the iSCSI sessions or on the I/O rate for each of the storage ports and selecting for the port in use the failover port out of the storage ports except for the port in use, which have less iSCSI sessions or less I/O rate and which belong to the same broadcast domain as the port in use.

17. A storage system comprising:

a host having an iSCSI initiator function;

a storage having an iSCSI target function and plural storage ports, the storage communicable with the host through an IP network; and

a management server communicable with the storage;

the management server comprising;

a load information collecting unit for collecting load information on number of iSCSI sessions or on I/O rate for each of the storage ports;

a network topology information collecting unit for collecting network topology information on subnet topology and on port topology of the storage system;

an error information collecting unit for collecting form MIB (Management Information Base) error information of packet transmission/receipt on the port in use on which an iSCSI session is being established to the host; and

the selection unit for selecting a failover port when the error information of packet transmission/receipt on the port in use exceeds a predetermined value, the selection unit inquiring the network topology information on the subnet topology and on the port topology of the storage system and the error information of packet transmission/receipt on the port in use and selecting for the port in use the failover port out of the storage ports except for the port in use, which belong to the same domain as the port in use and which have less number of the iSCSI sessions or less I/O rate, the port selection unit allowing the failover port to take over IP address information and iSCSI target information of the port in use so that the failover port maintains the iSCSI session to the host.

18. A storage system comprising:

a host having a NAS client function;

a storage having a NAS server function and plural storage ports, the storage communicable with the host through an IP network; and

a management server communicable with the storage;

the management server comprising;

a load information collecting unit for collecting load information on number of NAS sessions or on I/O rate for each of the storage ports; and

a port selection means for selecting a failover port when a communication failure occurs on one port of the storage ports which is in use to communicate with the host, the selection unit inquiring the load information on the number of the NAS sessions or on the I/O rate for each of the storage ports and selecting for the port in use the failover port out of the storage ports except for the port in use, which have less number of the NAS sessions or less I/O rate, the port selection unit allowing the failover port to take over IP address information of the port in use so that the failover port maintains the iSCSI session to the host.

19. The storage system according to claim 18, wherein

the host has an NFS client function or a CIFS client function, and wherein

the storage is communicable with the host based on NFS protocols or CIFS protocols.

20. A storage system comprising:

a host having a NAS client function;

a storage having a NAS server function and plural storage ports, the storage communicable with the host through an IP network; and

a management server communicable with the storage;

the management server comprising;

a network topology information collecting unit for collecting network topology information on subnet topology and on port topology of the storage system; and

a port selection unit for selecting a failover port when a communication error occurs on one port of the storage ports which is in use to communicate with the host, the selection unit inquiring the network topology information on the subnet topology and on the port topology of the storage system and selecting the failover port out of the storage ports except for the port in use, which belong to the same domain as the port in use, the port selection unit allowing the failover port to take over IP address information of the port in use so that the failover port maintains the communication to the host.

21. The storage system according to claim 20, wherein

the host has an NFS client function or a CIFS client function, and wherein

the storage is communicable with the host based on NFS protocols or CIFS protocols.

22. A storage system comprising:

a host having a NAS client function;

a storage having a NAS server function and plural storage ports, the storage communicable with the host through an IP network; and

a management server communicable with the storage;

the management server comprising;

a load information collecting unit for collecting load information on number of NAS sessions or on I/O rate for each of the storage ports;

a network topology information collecting unit for collecting network topology information on subnet topology and on port topology of the storage system; and

a port selection unit for selecting a failover port when a communication error occurs on one port of the storage ports which is in use to communicate with the host, the selection unit inquiring the load information on the number of the NAS sessions or on the I/O rate for each of the storage ports and the network topology information on the subnet topology and on the port topology of the storage system and selecting for the port in use the failover port out of the storage ports except for the port in use, which belong to the same domain as the port in use and which have less number of the NAS sessions or less I/O rate, the port selection unit allowing the failover port to takeover IP address information of the port in use so that the failover port maintains the communication to the host.

23. The storage system according to claim 22, wherein

the host has an NFS client function or a CIFS client function, and wherein

the storage is communicable with the host based on NFS protocols or CIFS protocols.

24. A storage device having an iSCSI target function and plural storage ports, and communicable with a host having an iSCSI initiator function;

the storage device comprising;

a communication failure detection unit for detecting a communication failure on one port of the storage ports which is in use to communicate with the host;

a port selection unit for selecting a failover port when the communication error occurs on the port in use, the selection unit selecting the failover port out of the storage ports which belong to the same domain as the port in use, the selection unit allowing the failover port to take over IP address information and iSCSI target information of the port in use; and

an iSCSI session retaining unit for retaining the iSCSI session to the host by sending a Gratuitous ARP packet through the failover port.

25. The storage device according to claim 24, wherein

the storage device comprising plural network controllers having plural ports;

and

the port selection means for selecting the failover port out of the storage ports which belong to the same broadcast domain as the port in use and which is loaded on a different network controller from the network controller on which the port in use is loaded.

26. A storage device having a NAS server function and plural storage ports, and communicable with a host having a NAS client function;

the storage device comprising;

a communication failure detection unit for detecting a communication failure on one port of the storage ports which is in use to communicate with the host;

a port selection unit for selecting a failover port when the communication error occurs on the port in use, the selection unit selecting for the port in use the failover port out of the storage ports, which belong to the same domain as the port in use, the selection unit allowing the failover port to take over IP address information of the port in use; and

a NAS session retaining unit for retaining the NAS session to the host by sending a Gratuitous ARP packet through the failover port.

27. The storage device according to claim 26, wherein

the storage device comprising plural network controllers having plural ports;

and

the port selection means for selecting the failover port out of the storage ports which belong to the same broadcast domain as the port in use and which is loaded on a different network controller from the network controller on which the port in use is loaded.

28. A storage device having an iSCSI target function and plural storage ports, and communicable with a host having an iSCSI initiator function;

the storage device comprising;

a communication failure detection unit for detecting a communication failure on one port of the storage ports which is in use to communicate with the host;

a port selection unit for selecting a failover port when the communication failure occurs on the port in use, the selection unit selecting the failover port out of the storage ports which belong to the same domain as the port in use and which have less iSCSI sessions or less I/O rate, the selection unit allowing the failover port to take over communication conditions of the port in use; and

an iSCSI session retaining unit for retaining the iSCSI session to the host by sending a Gratuitous ARP packet through the failover port.

29. The storage device according to claim 28, wherein

the storage device comprising plural network controllers having plural ports;

and

the port selection means for selecting the failover port out of the storage ports which belong to the same broadcast domain as the port in use and which is loaded on a different network controller from the network controller on which the port in use is loaded.

30. A storage device having a NAS server function and plural storage ports, and communicable with a host having a NAS client function;

the storage device comprising;

a communication failure detection unit for detecting an IP communication failure on one port of the storage ports which is in use to communicate with the host;

a port selection unit for selecting a failover port when the IP communication failure occurs on the port in use, the selection unit selecting the failover port out of the storage ports which belong to the same domain as the port in use and which have less NAS sessions or less I/O rate, the selection unit allowing the failover port to take over communication conditions of the port in use; and

an iSCSI session retaining unit for retaining the NAS session to the host by sending a Gratuitous ARP packet through the failover port.

31. The storage device according to claim 30, wherein

the storage device comprising plural network controllers having plural ports;

and

the port selection means for selecting the failover port out of the storage ports which belong to the same broadcast domain as the port in use and which is loaded on a different network controller from the network controller on which the port in use is loaded.