DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING NUMBER OF LOGICAL PATHS

• US 20080077737A1
• Filed: 11/21/2006
• Published: 03/27/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Takeuchi, Shinya, Nakase, Kenta, Uchiyama, Yasufumi
• Granted Patent: US 7,689,787 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/114
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0613 in relation to throughput
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0635 by changing the path, e.g. traffic rerouting, path reconfiguration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

In a control device of a computer system in which a plurality of host computers are capable of sharing a same host interface of a storage system are provided: a VOL status monitoring portion that monitors a VOL status of each VOL mapped to the VVOL and determines whether or not the VOL status is changed, and a path number control portion that updates the number of paths connecting to a VVOL in which the VOL status has changed.

Claims

1. A control device of a computer system in which a plurality of host computers are capable of sharing a same host interface of a storage system,

wherein the storage system comprises:

a plurality of host interfaces capable of being shared by the plurality of host computers,

a plurality of virtual logical volumes (VVOL) respectively provided to the plurality of host computers, and

a plurality of actual logical volumes (VOL) mapped to any of the plurality of VVOL,

wherein a plurality of logical paths that pass through any of the plurality of host interfaces span between the plurality of host computers and the plurality of VVOL, and the host computers access, via paths spanning to themselves, the VVOL connected to these paths, thereby achieving access to the VOL mapped to the VVOL,

and wherein the control device comprises,

a VOL status monitoring portion that monitors a VOL status of each VOL mapped to the VVOL and determines whether or not the VOL status is changed, and

a path number control portion that updates a number of paths connecting to a target VVOL, which is a VVOL in which the VOL status has changed.

2. The control device according to claim 1,

wherein the path number control portion controls the number of paths after updating connecting to the target VVOL based on a relative relationship between the VOL status after updating and the VOL status before updating.

3. The control device according to claim 1,

wherein the VOL status is a hierarchy level to which the VOL belongs,

the hierarchy level is defined by a plurality of VOL attribute values respectively corresponding to a plurality of types of VOL attributes,

the target VVOL is a VVOL in which a VOL hierarchy level mapped to the target VVOL has changed, and

the path number control portion controls the number of paths after updating connecting to the target VVOL based the hierarchy level after updating.

4. The control device according to claim 3,

wherein when detected that the hierarchy level to which the VOL belongs has changed from a first level to a second level which is higher, the path number control portion increases the number of paths connecting to the target VVOL mapped to the VOL to a number higher than before the change.

5. The control device according to claim 3,

wherein when detected that the hierarchy level to which the VOL belongs has changed from a second level to a first level which is lower, the path number control portion decreases the number of paths connecting to the target VVOL mapped to the VOL to a number lower than before the change.

6. The control device according to claim 3,

wherein the VOL hierarchy level is defined by at least two of a RAID level of the VOL, a storage subsystem type having the VOL, and a storage device type having the VOL.

7. The control device according to claim 1,

wherein the VOL status monitoring portion calculates a VOL evaluation value for each of the VOL based on a VOL attribute of the VOL,

the VOL status is the VOL evaluation value, and

the target VVOL is a VVOL whose VOL evaluation value calculated of a VOL being mapped is different from a previously calculated VOL evaluation value.

8. The control device according to claim 7,

wherein the control device comprises a storage area in which attribute management information is stored,

the attribute management information is information representing attribute evaluation values that have been set respectively for a plurality of VOL evaluation values corresponding to a plurality of types of VOL attributes, and

the VOL status monitoring portion specifies attribute evaluation values corresponding to VOL evaluation values of various VOL attributes of the VOL for each VOL and calculates VOL evaluation values of the VOL based on the specified plurality of attribute evaluation values.

9. The control device according to claim 7,

wherein the path number control portion determines the number of paths after updating of the target VVOL using a predetermined calculation formula, and

the calculation formula is based on a current number of paths of the target VVOL and a ratio of the calculated VOL evaluation value to the previously calculated VOL evaluation value.

10. The control device according to claim 9,

wherein the control device comprises a storage area that stores a correspondence between a first value, which is the current number of paths, and a second value, which becomes a base of the number of paths, and

when the value calculated by the predetermined calculation formula is not an integer, the path number control portion sets the calculated value to an integer using a predetermined method, sets the calculated value as the second value and registers and stores in the storage area the integer set by the predetermined method of the calculated value as the first value and substitutes the second value into the current number of paths in the predetermined calculation formula.

11. The control device according to claim 1,

wherein the path number control portion selects a host interface from two or more host interfaces through which paths connected to the target VVOL pass and which are shared by a plurality of host computers, and updates the number of paths connecting to the target VVOL by increasing or decreasing paths that pass through the selected host interface.

12. The control device according to claim 11,

wherein the VOL status monitoring portion calculates a VOL evaluation value for each of the VOL based on a VOL attribute of the VOL,

the VOL status is the VOL evaluation value,

the target VVOL is a VVOL whose VOL evaluation value calculated of a VOL being mapped is different from a previously calculated VOL evaluation value, and

for each of the two or more host interfaces, the path number control portion calculates a host interface evaluation value based on one or more VOL evaluation value of one or more VVOL linked via each host interface and selects a host interface based on the two or more host interface evaluation values corresponding to the two or more host interfaces.

13. The control device according to claim 12,

the path number control portion selects a host interface capable of equalizing as much as possible the two or more host interface evaluation values.

14. The control device according to claim 13,

wherein when the number of paths is to be increased, the path number control portion selects a host interface having the smallest host interface evaluation value of the two or more host interface evaluation values.

15. The control device according to claim 13,

wherein when the number of paths is to be decreased, the path number control portion selects a host interface having the largest host interface evaluation value of the two or more host interface evaluation values.

16. The control device according to claim 1,

wherein the control device further comprises a load monitoring portion that monitors a presence/absence of physical elements relating to paths and determines a presence/absence of load change, and

the path number control portion updates the number of paths connecting to the target VVOL with a timing at which load change has been detected.

17. The control device according to claim 16,

wherein updating of the number of paths is configured such that, of a predefined plurality of paths, the number of paths whose path status is set to online is updated, and

the path number control portion determines one or more update target path candidates, which are candidates of paths for path status updating, with a timing at which VOL status change has been detected, and then selects of path candidates to undergo path status updating from among the one or more update target path candidates that have been determined, with a timing at which a change in load is determined, and updates the path status.

18. The control device according to claim 1,

wherein the VOL status is a hierarchy level to which the VOL belongs,

the hierarchy level is defined by a plurality of VOL attribute values respectively corresponding to a plurality of types of VOL attributes, and the VOL hierarchy level is defined by at least two of a RAID level of the VOL, a storage subsystem type having the VOL, and a storage device type having the VOL,

the target VVOL is a VVOL in which a VOL hierarchy level mapped to the target VVOL has changed, and

when detected that the hierarchy level to which the VOL belongs has changed from a first level to a second level which is higher, the path number control portion increases the number of paths connecting to the target VVOL mapped to the VOL to a number higher than before the change, and when detected that the hierarchy level to which the VOL belongs has changed from a second level to a first level which is lower, decreases the number of paths connecting to the target VVOL mapped to the VOL to a number lower than before the change.

19. The control device according to claim 18,

wherein updating of the number of paths is configured such that, of a predefined plurality of paths, the number of paths whose path status is set to online is updated,

the control portion further comprises a load monitoring portion that monitors a presence/absence of physical elements relating to paths and determines a presence/absence of load change, and

the path number control portion determines one or more update target path candidates, which are candidates of paths for path status updating, with a timing at which VOL status change has been detected, and selects path candidates to undergo path status updating from among the one or more update target path candidates that have been determined, with a timing at which a change in load is determined, and updates the path status.

20. A method of controlling the number of logical paths in a computer system in which a plurality of host computers are capable of sharing a same host interface of a storage system,

wherein the storage system comprises:

a plurality of host interfaces capable of being shared by the plurality of host computers,

a plurality of virtual logical volumes (VVOL) respectively provided to the plurality of host computers, and

a plurality of actual logical volumes (VOL) mapped to any of the plurality of VVOL,

and wherein a plurality of logical paths that pass through any of the plurality of host interfaces span between the plurality of host computers and the plurality of VVOL,

a VOL status of each VOL mapped to the VVOL is monitored and a determination is made as to whether, or not the VOL status is changed, and

the number of paths connecting to a target VVOL, which is a VVOL in which the VOL status has changed, is updated.