Method, device and program for managing volume

• US 20070245115A1
• Filed: 06/12/2007
• Published: 10/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hirotaka Nakagawa, Masayuki Yamamoto, Yasunori Kaneda
• Original Assignee: Hirotaka Nakagawa, Masayuki Yamamoto, Yasunori Kaneda
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Masayuki, Kaneda, Yasunori, Nakagawa, Hirotaka
• Granted Patent: US 7,502,907 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/170
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3485 for I/O devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0607 by facilitating the process of upgrading existing storage systems, e.g. for improving compatibility between host and storage device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0631 by allocating resources to storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0647 Migration mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0653 Monitoring storage devices or systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99955 Archiving or backup

Abstract

Computer systems having a plurality of storage systems could not detect addition of storage systems or configuration changes thereof and automatically redistribute existing volumes based on “hints” provided when the volumes were created. A management computer, which is connected via a network to storage systems having volumes connected via a network to a host computer and which stores data used by the host computer, keeps correspondences between levels indicating specific performances of volumes and storage system characteristics indicating performances of the storage systems. From a first storage system, a level is obtained indicating a performance of a volume of the first storage system allocated to the host computer. The storage system characteristics of the first storage system corresponding to the obtained level indicating the performance of the volume, and storage system characteristics of another storage system are referenced, and the performances of the volumes of the storage systems are compared.

Claims

1. A method of managing volumes of a plurality of storage systems by a management computer connected via a first network to the plurality of storage systems having volumes connected to a computer via a second network and storing data used by the computer, the method comprising the steps of:

keeping a correspondence between each value of a level and characteristic information related to characteristics of each volume of the volumes provided by the plurality of storage systems;

obtaining from a first storage system, a first value of a level indicating characteristic information of a first volume having been provided to the computer by the first storage system;

referencing the characteristic information corresponding to the first value among the plurality of storage systems;

comparing the referenced characteristic information among the plurality of storage systems; and

selecting a volume based on the comparison to allocate the selected volume to the computer,

wherein the correspondence is obtained from the storage system connected to the management computer, and

wherein the comparison of the characteristic information of respective volumes is also performed when a new correspondence is obtained from the first storage system.