SYSTEM OF CREATING LOGICAL VOLUME AND METHOD THEREOF

• US 20090083503A1
• Filed: 09/20/2007
• Published: 03/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Inventec Corporation
• Original Assignee: Inventec Corporation
• Inventors: LI, Lei, He, Lei, Chen, Tom, Liu, Win-Harn
• Application Number:
  US11/858,319
• Publication Number:
  US 20090083503A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/162
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1458 Management of the backup or restore process
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/84 Using snapshots, i.e. a logical point-in-time copy of the data

Abstract

A system of creating logical volume and method thereof is used to solve the problems such as creation steps are complicated, a space of storage medium is wasted and the number of snapshots to be created is limited. An available logical volume space and a timestamp storage area are allocated in the logical volume according to space allocation algorithm. According to original data and data amended at subsequent time point in the logical volume, copy-on-write operation is sequentially performed on the amended data in the logical volume to create a timestamp corresponding to the time point. The timestamp of the corresponding time point is stored in the timestamp storage area. A storage medium offset address pointer is created to record writing position of the copy-on-write operation of the corresponding time point. And the pointer is stored in the storage medium to serve as index information of address of each timestamp.

Claims

1. A system of creating a logical volume, comprising:

an allocation module, for allocating an available logical volume space and a timestamp storage area in the logical volume according to a space allocation algorithm;

a timestamp creating module, for backing up an original data of the logical volume to create a first timestamp when data is input to or output from the logical volume for the first time and according to one or more time points of amending the original data of the logical volume, for sequentially performing one or more copy-on-write operations on the amended data of the data in the logical volume at the corresponding amendment time points to create one or more timestamps corresponding to the amendment time points;

a timestamp storage module, for continuously storing the first timestamp and the timestamps of the corresponding amendment time points in the timestamp storage area; and

a pointer module, for creating a storage medium offset address pointer for recording one or more writing positions of the copy-on-write operations at the corresponding amendment time points to serve as an index information of addresses of the timestamps.

2. The system of creating a logical volume as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pointer points to an initial address of the timestamp storage area before the first timestamp is created, and sequentially moves backward with the creation of the timestamps of the amendment time points.

3. A method of creating a logical volume, comprising:

allocating an available logical volume space and a timestamp storage area in a logical volume according to a space allocation algorithm;

backing up an original data of the logical volume when data is input to or output from the logical volume for the first time to create a first timestamp;

according to one or more time points of amending the original data of the logical volume, sequentially performing one or more copy-on-write operation on the amended data of the data of the logical volume at the amendment time points to create one or more timestamps corresponding to the amendment time points;

continuously storing the first timestamp and the timestamps of the corresponding amendment time points in the timestamp storage area;

creating a storage medium offset address pointer for recording one or more writing positions of the copy-on-write operations at the corresponding amendment time points; and

storing the pointer in a storage medium to serve as index information of addresses of the timestamps.

4. The method of creating a logical volume as claimed in claim 3, wherein the pointer points to an initial address of the timestamp storage area before the first timestamp is created, and sequentially moves backward with the creation of the timestamps of the amendment time points.