Storage control system and storage control method

• US 20090031167A1
• Filed: 01/11/2008
• Published: 01/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Onabe, Kenji, Morita, Seiki
• Granted Patent: US 7,895,467 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/6
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1092 Rebuilding, e.g. when physically replacing a failing disk
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1096 Parity calculation or recalculation after configuration or reconfiguration of the system

Abstract

Unique information including a logical type name is stored in a user data area of a management area as a media of the alternative disk drive to become an alternative of the storage device. Upon using the alternative disk drive, a disk controller reads the unique information of the alternative disk drive, and determines that copy back is unnecessary when the rotating speed and capacity belonging to the unique information of the alternative disk drive are the same as the rotating speed and capacity of the failed disk drive belonging to RAID, and otherwise determines that copy back is necessary.

Claims

1. A storage control system, comprising:

a storage apparatus; and

,

a controller for sending and receiving data between said storage apparatus and a host system;

wherein said storage apparatus includes;

a plurality of storage mediums mutually configuring a RAID group;

a spare medium for saving stored information of a storage medium subject to a failure among said plurality of storage mediums; and

an alternative medium to become an alternative of said failed storage medium; and

wherein said controller executes, based on a control program;

a first step of detecting a failure in said storage medium;

a second step of recovering stored information of said failed storage medium based on stored information of another storage medium configuring said RAID group, and copying this to said spare medium; and

a third step of reading unique information of said alternative medium, and determining whether to copy back stored information of said spare medium to said alternative medium based on the read unique information.

2. The storage control system according to claim 1,

wherein the unique information of said alternative medium includes a logical type name relating to the specification of said plurality of storage mediums;

and

wherein said controller is configured to determine the necessity of said copy back depending on whether the logical type name belonging to the unique information of said alternative medium is the same as the logical type name of said storage medium.

3. The storage control system according to claim 1,

wherein the unique information of said alternative medium includes a logical type name relating to the specification of said plurality of storage mediums;

and

wherein said controller is configured to determine that said copy back is unnecessary when the logical type name belonging to the unique information of said alternative medium is the same as the logical type name of said storage medium, and otherwise determine that said copy back is necessary.

4. The storage control system according to claim 1,

wherein the unique information of said alternative medium includes the rotating speed and capacity relating to the specification of said plurality of storage mediums;

and

wherein said controller is configured to determine the necessity of said copy back depending on whether the rotating speed and capacity belonging to the unique information of said alternative medium are the same as the rotating speed and capacity of said storage medium.

5. The storage control system according to claim 1,

wherein the unique information of said alternative medium includes the rotating speed and capacity relating to the specification of said plurality of storage mediums;

and

wherein said controller is configured to determine that said copy back is unnecessary when the rotating speed and capacity belonging to the unique information of said alternative medium are the same as the rotating speed and capacity of said storage medium, and otherwise determine that said copy back is necessary.

6. A storage control system, comprising:

a channel controller for controlling an I/O request to a storage apparatus in response to a data I/O request from a host system;

a disk controller for controlling the I/O request of said data with said storage apparatus;

a shared memory for storing control information;

a cache memory for temporarily storing control data;

a disk storage apparatus as said storage apparatus to be connected to said disk controller; and

a connection for mutually connecting said channel controller, said disk controller, said shared memory, and said cache memory;

wherein said disk storage apparatus includes;

a plurality of disk drives configuring a RAID group;

a spare disk drive for saving stored information of a disk drive subject to a failure among said plurality of disk drives; and

an alternative disk drive to become an alternative of said failed disk drive;

wherein said shared memory includes a storage area storing information for mapping another disk drive of the RAID group to which said failed disk drive belongs to said spare disk drive;

wherein said alternative disk drive includes media for storing unique information;

wherein said disk controller is configured to recover stored information of said failed disk drive based on stored information of other disk drives configuring said RAID group, and copy this to said spare medium; and

determine whether to copy back stored information of said spare disk drive to said alternative disk drive based on the unique information stored in the media of said alternative disk drive.

7. The storage control system according to claim 6,

wherein the unique information stored in the media of said alternative disk drive includes the rotating speed and capacity as with the disk drives configuring said RAID group;

and

said disk controller is configured to determine that said copy back is unnecessary when the rotating speed and capacity belonging to the unique information stored in the media of said alternative disk drive are the same as the rotating speed and capacity of the disk drives configuring said RAID group, and otherwise determine that said copy back is necessary.

8. A storage control method of controlling the transfer of data between a storage apparatus comprising a plurality of storage mediums mutually configuring a RAID group, a spare medium for saving stored information of a storage medium subject to a failure among said plurality of storage mediums, and an alternative medium to become an alternative of said failed storage medium;

and a host system, comprising;

a first step of detecting a failure in said storage medium;

a second step of recovering stored information of said failed storage medium based on stored information of another storage medium configuring said RAID group, and copying this to said spare medium; and

a third step of reading unique information of said alternative medium, and determining whether to copy back stored information of said spare medium to said alternative medium based on the read unique information.

9. The storage control method according to claim 8,

wherein the unique information of said alternative medium includes a logical type name relating to the specification of said plurality of storage mediums;

and

wherein said third step is a step of determining the necessity of said copy back depending on whether the logical type name belonging to the unique information of said alternative medium is the same as the logical type name of said storage medium.

10. The storage control method according to claim 8,

wherein the unique information of said alternative medium includes the rotating speed and capacity relating to the specification of said plurality of storage mediums;

and

wherein said third step is a step of determining the necessity of said copy back depending on whether the rotating speed and capacity belonging to the unique information of said alternative medium are the same as the rotating speed and capacity of said storage medium.