SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PERFORMING MULTI-PATH STORAGE OPERATIONS

• US 20100064067A1
• Filed: 11/13/2009
• Published: 03/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: CommVault Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Chen, Ho-Chi, Kottomtharayil, Rajiv, Retnamma, Manoj Vijayan
• Granted Patent: US 8,296,475 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 710/17
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

Systems and methods for allocating transmission resources within a computer network are provided. In some embodiments of the invention, communication links may be assigned based on predefined preferences or system configuration to facilitate the transfer of data from one point in the network to another. In other embodiments, system operation may be monitored and communication paths be assigned dynamically based on this information to improve system operation and provide improved failover response, load balancing and to promote robust data access via alternative routes.

Claims

1. A method of allocating data in a storage system, the method comprising:

communicating with a plurality of storage devices via a plurality of communication paths, wherein the communication paths comprise host bus adapter (HBA) devices;

processing a storage operation that transfers the data from at least a first storage device to at least a second storage device;

determining whether the second storage device has adequate storage resources to store the data and if the storage resources in the second storage device are adequate to store a portion of the data, but not all of the data, dynamically selecting a third storage device;

determining transmission capacity and availability of the communication paths with the second and third storage devices; and

parsing the data into smaller data units based on the transmission capacity of the communication paths associated with the second and third storage devices and based on the storage resources available in the second and third storage devices.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining availability of HBA devices in the communication paths.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising using a fourth storage device if the HBA device associated with the third storage device is unavailable.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising using the first storage device if the HBA device associated with the third storage device is unavailable.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising monitoring an available storage capacity of the second storage device.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising moving data to the second storage device after determining, based on said monitoring, that the first storage device no longer has available storage capacity.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing configuration information associated with the HBA devices.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising dynamically assigning which of the plurality of HBA devices are used to perform the storage operation.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising monitoring an availability of the selected communication paths during performance of the storage operation.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising switching from using a first communication path to using a second communication path when the first communication path is determined to become unavailable during performance of the storage operation.

11. A system for allocating data in a storage operation, the system comprising:

a plurality of storage devices;

a plurality of host bus adapter (HBA) devices in communication with the plurality of storage devices to form a plurality of communication paths;

at least one storage operation that transfers the data from at least a first storage device to at least a second storage device; and

one or more modules executing in one or more computer processors, configured to determine whether the second storage device has adequate storage resources to store the data and if the storage resources in the second storage device are adequate to store a portion of the data, but not all of the data, the module further configured to dynamically select a third storage device, and wherein at least one of the modules parses the data into smaller data units based on the transmission capacity of the communication paths and based on the storage resources available in the second and third storage devices.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more modules determine availability of HBA devices in the communication paths.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more modules select a fourth storage device if the HBA device associated with the third storage device is unavailable.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more modules select the first storage device if the HBA device associated with the third storage device is unavailable.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more modules monitor an available storage capacity of the second storage device.

16. The system of claim 15, further comprising moving data to the second storage device after determining, based on said monitoring, that the first storage device no longer has available storage capacity.

17. The system of claim 11 wherein the HBA devices have configuration information associated therewith.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein at least one of the modules is configured to dynamically assign which of the plurality of HBA devices are used to perform the storage operation.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein at least one of the modules is configured to monitor an availability of the selected communication paths during performance of the storage operation.

20. The system of claim 11, wherein at least one of the modules is further configured to switch from using a first communication path to using a second communication path when the first communication path is determined to become unavailable during performance of the storage operation.