Volume Management for Network-Type Storage Devices

• US 20120131296A1
• Filed: 12/15/2011
• Published: 05/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Ikuko
• Granted Patent: US 8,402,239 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/162
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0635 by changing the path, e.g. traffic rerouting, path reconfiguration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0647 Migration mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

An administrator'"'"'s work load increases because the administrator has to both allocate volumes of PC server device applications and take over volumes for applications based on changes in PC server devices. A volume management system solves the problem with a computer system having storage devices each having a unit managing volume configuration information based on each application, a unit managing volume usage information based on the application volumes, and a unit managing and partitioning allocatable areas of the storage devices based on performance and reliability. The system has a unit selecting suitable allocation regions in accordance with the volume usages of the applications; a unit selecting a suitable allocation region based on change of host performance and migrating a volume to the suitable allocation region when the host configuration of an application changes; and a unit changing configuration information to perform change of setting on each host.

Claims

1. A storage system management method for a storage system that includes a plurality of host computers configured to operate an application and a plurality of storage devices each configured to provide a corresponding volume to the application, each storage device storing application management information, the application management information of each storage device including an identifier of the application and a security item related to the application and the volume provided by the storage device, the storage management method comprising:

processing, by a controller of each storage device of the plurality of the storage devices, an I/O request to a storage medium of the storage device by referring to the application management information of the storage device;

migrating the application from a first host computer to a second host computer;

changing a path for a first storage device of the plurality of storage devices between the application and the corresponding volume provided by the first storage device; and

updating the application management information of the first storage device based on the changed path.

2. The storage system management method according to claim 1, wherein the security item of the application management information of each storage device includes a port address related to the application.

3. The storage system management method according to claim 2, wherein each host computer sends the I/O request to a corresponding storage device of the plurality of storage devices through an initiator of the host computer, and wherein the security item of the application management information of each storage device includes an identifier of the initiator through which the I/O request was sent to the storage device.

4. The storage system management method according to claim 3, wherein each host computer maintains application registration information related to the application and the port address, and wherein the storage system management method further comprises providing a notification of completion of a configuration change in the plurality of storage devices and updating the application registration information with the changed path for the first storage device.

5. The storage system management method according to claim 4, wherein the security item of the application management information of each storage device includes an identifier of the corresponding volume provided by the storage device, and wherein the storage system management method further comprises migrating the volume associated with the migrated application from the first storage device to a second storage device of the plurality of storage devices.

6. A storage system, comprising:

a plurality of host computers configured to operate an application; and

a plurality of storage devices each configured to provide a corresponding volume to the application, each storage device storing application management information, the application management information of each storage device including an identifier of the application and a security item related to the application and the volume provided by the storage device,

wherein a controller of each storage device of the plurality of the storage devices processes an I/O request to a storage medium of the storage device by referring to the application management information of the storage device,

wherein the host computer migrates the application from a first host computer to a second host computer, and

wherein a first storage device of the plurality of storage devices changes a path between the application and the corresponding volume provided by the first storage device and updates the application management information of the first storage device based on the changed path.

7. The storage system according to claim 6, wherein the security item of the application management information of each storage device includes a port address related to the application.

8. The storage system according to claim 7, wherein each host computer sends the I/O request to a corresponding storage device of the plurality of storage devices through an initiator of the host computer, and wherein the security item of the application management information of each storage device includes an identifier of the initiator through which the I/O request was sent to the storage device.

9. The storage system according to claim 8, wherein each storage device provides a notification of completion of a configuration change in the plurality of storage devices, and wherein each host computer maintains application registration information related to the application and the port address and updates the application registration information with the changed path for the first storage device.

10. The storage system according to claim 9, wherein the security item of the application management information of each storage device includes an identifier of the corresponding volume provided by the storage device, and wherein the first storage device migrates the volume associated with the migrated application from the first storage device to a second storage device of the plurality of storage devices.