Storage system and method of managing a storage system using a management apparatus

• US 20090287887A1
• Filed: 07/15/2008
• Published: 11/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Sonoda, Koji, Matsuki, Kunihito, Higaki, Seiichi
• Granted Patent: US 8,117,387 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/154
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3495 for systems
• 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 3/061 Improving I/O performance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0632 by initialisation or re-initialisation of storage systems
• 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]

Abstract

A storage system has NAS apparatuses each including virtual file servers to be provided to host apparatuses, a storage apparatus including logical units, and a management apparatus for managing the NAS apparatuses and the storage apparatus. The management apparatus requests the NAS apparatuses and the storage apparatus to transfer management information, acquires the management information. The management apparatus then creates system performance information concerning the virtual file servers based on the acquired management information to display the created system performance information on a user interface.

Claims

1. A storage system, comprising;

a plurality of NAS apparatuses configured to provide a plurality of virtual file servers respectively to a plurality of host apparatuses;

a storage apparatus operatively connected to the plurality of NAS apparatuses and including a plurality of drive units in which a plurality of logical units to be accessed by the plurality of virtual file servers are formed and a controller that controls the access by the plurality of virtual file servers to the plurality of logical units; and

a management apparatus including a user interface and operatively connected to the NAS apparatus and the storage apparatus,

wherein the management apparatus sends a first send request for acquiring first management information to the plurality of NAS apparatuses, and receives the first management information sent from the plurality of NAS apparatuses in reply to the first send request, while the management apparatus sends a second send request for acquiring second management information to the controller, and receives the second management information sent from the controller in reply to the second send request, and

wherein the management apparatus creates system performance information concerning the plurality of virtual file servers based on the received first management information and the received second management information, and displays the created system configuration information on the user interface.

2. The storage system according to claim 1,

wherein the management apparatus includes a threshold value management table defining a threshold value of at least one item of the system performance information, and

wherein the management apparatus visually differentiates and displays a specific item of the system performance information according to the threshold value defined in the threshold value management table.

3. The storage system according to claim 2, wherein the system performance information is virtual file server performance information including resource performance information of the NAS apparatus and resource performance information of the controller regarding at least one of the plurality of virtual file servers in one of the plurality of NAS apparatuses.

4. The storage system according to claim 3, wherein the management apparatus calculates a ratio of an I/O amount per unit time regarding at least one of the plurality of virtual file servers in one of the plurality of NAS apparatuses and, based on the calculated ratio, calculates an operating ratio of a processor and a usage ratio of a memory in a controller regarding at least one of the plurality of virtual file servers.

5. The storage system according to claim 2, wherein the system performance information is logical unit performance information including an I/O amount per unit time in relation to a logical unit to be accessed by at least one of the plurality of virtual file servers.

6. The storage system according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the plurality of logical units is formed in at least one of a plurality of RAID groups which are configured based on the plurality of drive units.

7. The storage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the management apparatus receives a selection of an item of the displayed system performance information via the user interface, executes simulation of system performance information according to the selection, and displays an execution result of the simulation on the user interface.

8. The storage system according to claim 7, wherein, upon receiving a selection of an item concerning a specific virtual file server of the displayed system performance information via the user interface, the management apparatus executes simulation of the system performance information under the condition that the selected specific virtual file server has been migrated to a NAS apparatus other than the NAS apparatus having the selected specific virtual file server, and displays an execution result of the simulation on the user interface.

9. The storage system according to claim 7, wherein, upon respectively receiving selections of an item concerning a specific logical unit and an item of a RAID group of the displayed system performance information via the user interface, the management apparatus executes simulation of the system performance information under the condition that the selected specific logical unit has been migrated to the selected RAID group, and displays an execution result of the simulation on the user interface.

10. The storage system according to claim 7, wherein the management apparatus sends a system configuration change request to the NAS apparatus and the storage apparatus so that the execution result of the simulation according to the selection is reflected, and the NAS apparatus and the storage apparatus respectively change its system configuration based on the system configuration change request sent from the management apparatus.

11. A method of managing, using a management apparatus, a storage system configured from a plurality of NAS apparatuses capable of providing a plurality of virtual file servers, and a storage apparatus including a plurality of logical units to be accessed by the plurality of virtual file servers and a controller that controls the access to the plurality of logical units;

sending, under control of the management apparatus, a first send request for acquiring first management information to the plurality of NAS apparatuses;

sending, under control of each of the plurality of NAS apparatuses, the first management information to the management apparatus in reply to the first send request;

sending, under control of the management apparatus, a second send request for acquiring second management information to the controller;

sending, under control of the controller, the second management information to the management apparatus in reply to the second send request;

creating, under control of he management apparatus, system performance information concerning the plurality of virtual file servers based on the received first management information and the received second management information; and

displaying, under control of the management apparatus, the created system performance information on a user interface of the management apparatus.

12. The management method according to claim 11, wherein, at the displaying step, the management apparatus visually differentiates and displays a specific item of the system performance information according to a threshold value management table defining a threshold value of at least one item of the system performance information.