STORAGE SYSTEM FOR A STORAGE POOL AND VIRTUAL VOLUMES

• US 20110179263A1
• Filed: 04/01/2011
• Published: 07/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yoshiaki Eguchi
• Original Assignee: Yoshiaki Eguchi
• Inventors: EGUCHI, Yoshiaki
• Granted Patent: US 8,255,666 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/08 in hierarchically structured memory systems, e.g. virtual memory systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0631 by allocating resources to storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0665 at area level, e.g. provisioning of virtual or logical volumes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

This invention provides a storage system to store data used by computers. A storage system coupled to a computer and a management apparatus, includes storage devices accessed by the computer and a control unit that controls the storage devices, in which the control unit performs the following operations: setting, in the storage devices, a first virtual device including a first logical device; setting a second virtual device which including a second logical device, which is a virtual volume accessed by the computer; allocating an address of the first logical device to the second logical device; and changing the allocation to change storage areas of the virtual volume.

Claims

1. A storage system coupled to a host computer and a management apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of storage devices accessed by the host computer; and

a control unit that controls the plurality of storage devices,

wherein the control unit;

sets a first-type virtual device corresponding to the plurality of storage devices, the first-type virtual device including a plurality of first-type logical devices,

wherein the plurality of first-type logical devices includes at least one first first-type logical device and at least one second first-type logical device, the at least one first first-type logical device being allocated to a volume accessible by the host computer;

sets a second-type virtual device including a second-type logical device, which is a virtual volume accessible by the host computer; and

allocates each second first-type logical device, of the plurality of first-type logical devices, to a storage pool, and

wherein when the control unit receives first write data for the first first-type logical device included in the first-type virtual device, the control unit stores the first write data in the first first-type logical device, and when the control unit receives second write data for the second-type logical device included in the second-type virtual device, the control unit associates at least one second first-type logical device, of the first-type virtual device and allocated to the storage pool, with the second-type logical device, and stores the second write data in the second first-type logical device.

2. A storage system according to claim 1,

wherein the storage system further comprises a memory storing management information, which includes cache data to be destaged and configuration information regarding the configuration of the respective virtual devices, logical devices and volumes,

wherein in response to the power of the storage system being turned off, the storage system:

locates an unused area in the storage pool;

assigns the unused portion as a system area;

evacuates the management information stored in the memory to the system area; and

stores in the memory the address and size of the system area, and

wherein in response to the power of the storage system subsequently being turned back on, the storage system;

consults the memory to obtain information about the assigned system area where the management information is stored;

reads the management information in the assigned system area;

boots the system; and

cancels the assignment of the unused area as a system area.

3. The storage system according to claim 2, wherein the control unit:

sets “

pool volume attribute”

as a device attribute of a second first-type logical device; and

allocates an address of the second first-type logical device having the device attribute of “

pool volume attribute”

to an address of the second-type logical device, thereby associating the second first-type logical device with the second-type logical device.

4. The storage system according to claim 3, wherein the control unit sets an identifier of the storage pool to the second first-type logical device, thereby setting “

pool volume attribute”

as the device attribute of the second first-type logical device.

5. The storage system according to claim 3, wherein the control unit sets “

pool volume attribute”

as the device attribute of another first-type logical device, thereby increasing the capacity of the storage pool.

6. The storage system according to claim 3, wherein the control unit is configured to cancel the device attribute of the second first-type logical device whose device attribute has been set to “

pool volume attribute”

, thereby reducing the capacity of the storage pool.

7. The storage system according to claim 6, wherein the control unit:

determines whether the second first-type logical device whose device attribute has been set to “

pool volume attribute”

is storing data when the device attribute is to be cancelled; and

does not cancel the device attribute of the second first-type logical device whose device attribute has been set to “

pool volume attribute”

when it is determined that data is stored in the second first-type logical device.

8. The storage system according to claim 3, wherein the control unit is configured to cancel the device attribute of each first-type logical device whose device attribute has been set to “

pool volume attribute”

, thereby eliminating the storage pool.

9. The storage system according to claim 3,

wherein first configuration information including an identifier of the first-type logical device and second configuration information including an identifier of the second-type logical device are provided, and

wherein the control unit stores the identifier of the first-type logical device from the first configuration information in the second configuration information, thereby associating the second-type logical device with the second first-type logical device.

10. The storage system according to claim 9,

wherein the first configuration information further includes an address of the first-type logical device, and identifiers of areas preceding and following the first-type logical device, and

wherein the second configuration information further includes an address of the second-type logical device.

11. The storage system according to claim 3, wherein the control unit provides an association between the virtual volume, a connection port number of a connection port through which the computer accesses the virtual volume, and route information, thereby setting the virtual volume to be accessible by the host computer.

12. The storage system according to claim 3, wherein the control unit:

specifies the type of logical device corresponding to an address designated in a read request upon reception of a data read request from the host computer;

specifies which second first-type logical device is allocated to a second-type logical device, when the specified type of logical device is a second-type logical device; and

reads data designated in the read request from the specified second first-type logical device.

13. The storage system according to claim 3, wherein the control unit:

specifies the type of logical device located at an address designated in a write request, upon reception of a data write request from the computer;

specifies which first-type logical device is allocated to a second-type logical device, when the specified type of logical device is a second-type logical device; and

writes data designated in the write request to the specified first-type logical device.

14. The storage system according to claim 3, wherein the control unit:

specifies the type of logical device located at an address designated in a write request, upon reception of a data write request from the computer; and

allocates a second first-type logical device having a device attribute of “

pool volume attribute”

to the second-type logical device, when the specified type of logical device is a second-type logical device and when no first-type logical device is allocated to the second-type logical device.

15. The storage system according to claim 3, wherein the control unit:

specifies the type of logical device associated with an address designated in a request, upon reception of the request from the computer; and

rejects the request when the specified type of logical device is a first-type logical device whose device attribute is set to “

pool volume attribute”

.

16. The storage system according to claim 3, wherein the control unit:

upon detection of a failure in one of the plurality of storage devices, blocks a first-type virtual device corresponding to the one of the plurality of storage devices having the failure;

blocks a first-type logical device that is included in the first-type virtual device corresponding to the one of the plurality of storage devices having the failure; and

blocks the first-type logical device, when the device attribute of the first-type logical device is “

pool volume attribute”

.

17. The storage system according to claim 3, wherein the control unit:

stores storage system management information in a second first-type logical device having a device attribute that is set to “

pool volume attribute”

, at the time the power is turned off; and

reads the stored management information to boot the storage system when the power is turned on again after being turned off.

18. The storage system according to claim 3, wherein the control unit:

finds a second first-type logical device other than the second first-type logical devices storing data from among first-type logical devices whose device attribute as been set to “

pool volume attribute”

, at the time the power is turned off;

stores storage system management information in the a second first-type logical device found; and

reads the stored management information to boot the storage system, when the power is turned on again.

19. A method of changing configuration of a storage system connected to a host computer and a management apparatus, the storage system comprising a plurality of storage devices accessed by the host computer and a control unit that controls the storage system, the method comprising:

a first step of setting a first-type virtual device, which includes a plurality of first-type logical devices, and corresponds to the plurality of storage devices,

wherein the plurality of first type logical devices includes at least one first first-type logical device and at least one second first-type logical device, the at least one first first-type logical device being allocated to a volume accessible by the host computer;

setting a second-type virtual device including a second-type logical device, which is a virtual volume accessed by the host computer; and

allocating each second first-type logical device, of the plurality of first-type logical devices, to a storage pool,

wherein when the control unit receives first write data for the first first-type logical device included in the first-type virtual device, the control unit stores the first write data in the first first-type logical device, and

wherein when the control unit receives second write data for the second-type logical device included in the second-type virtual device, the control unit associates at least one second first-type logical device, of the first-type virtual device allocated to the storage pool, with the second-type logical device; and

storing the second write data in the second first-type logical device.

20. The method according to claim 19,

wherein the storage system further comprises a memory storing management information, which includes cache data to be destaged and configuration information regarding the configuration of the respective virtual devices, logical devices and volumes, and

wherein in response to power to the storage system being turned off, the method further includes:

locating an unused area in the storage pool;

assigning the unused portion as a system area;

evacuating the management information stored in the memory to the system area; and

storing in the memory the address and size of the system area, and

wherein in response to the power to the storage system subsequently being turned back on, the method further includes the steps of;

consulting the memory to obtain information about the assigned system area where the management information is stored;

reading the management information in the assigned system area;

booting the system; and

canceling the assignment of the unused area as a system area.