STORAGE SYSTEM AND REMOTE COPY CONTROL METHOD FOR STORAGE SYSTEM

• US 20120246429A1
• Filed: 06/06/2012
• Published: 09/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Akira Deguchi, Hiroshi Arakawa, Katsuhiro Okumoto, Kenta Ninose
• Original Assignee: Akira Deguchi, Hiroshi Arakawa, Katsuhiro Okumoto, Kenta Ninose
• Inventors: ARAKAWA, Hiroshi, Ninose, Kenta, Deguchi, Akira, Okumoto, Katsuhiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,347,053 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/162
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2064 while ensuring consistency
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2074 Asynchronous techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/855 Details of asynchronous mirroring using a journal to transfer not-yet-mirrored changes

Abstract

A storage system for managing a plurality of asynchronous remote copy proceedings between a plurality of first storage control devices and a plurality of second storage control devices, wherein each of a plurality of second storage control devices stores one or more update data corresponding to one or more update data related information including the same update reflection time information with the one that is received or older update reflection time information than this in a one or more second logical volume and changes status of the one or more second logical volumes to suspend status.

Claims

1. A storage system for managing a plurality of asynchronous remote copy proceedings between a plurality of first storage control devices and a plurality of second storage control devices, comprising:

a plurality of first storage control devices with each having a plurality of first channel adapters for receiving data, a first cache memory for storing data and a plurality of first disk adapters for transferring data to a plurality of first disk drives;

a plurality of second storage control devices with each having a plurality of second channel adapters for receiving data, a second cache memory for storing data and a plurality of second disk adapters for transferring data to a plurality of second disk drives,

wherein each of the plurality of first storage control devices manages one or more first logical volumes, receives update data which is sent to one of the one or more first logical volumes from a higher level device, stores the update data in the one of first logical volume, and transfers the update data to one of the plurality of second storage control devices according to one of a plurality of asynchronous remote copy proceedings together with the update data related information corresponding to the update data,

wherein each of the plurality of second storage control devices manages one or more second logical volumes each corresponding to one of the one or more first logical volumes, receives the update data and the update data related information which was sent from one of the plurality of first storage control devices according to one of a plurality of asynchronous remote copy proceedings, and stores the update data based on sequential information which shows reception order of the update data each included in the update data related information and update time information of the update data in a second logical volume corresponding to the one of first logical volume among the one or more second logical volumes,

wherein one of the plurality of second storage control devices is a master second storage control device,

wherein any of the plurality of first storage control devices or any of the plurality of second storage control devices detect occurrence of a failure in the storage system,

wherein when any of the plurality of first storage control devices detects a failure, the failure detection is notified to one of the plurality of second storage control devices,

wherein one of the plurality of second storage control devices which detects the failure or is notified of the failure detection sets the failure information as asynchronous remote copy control information,

wherein each of the plurality of second storage control devices, in response to an inquiry from the master second storage control device, notifies the master second storage control device of the latest update time information among the plurality of update time information in the received plurality of update data related information and the asynchronous remote copy control information,

wherein the master second storage control device determines oldest update time information among the plurality of update time information received by the plurality of second storage control devices as update reflection time information and notifies the plurality of second storage control devices of the asynchronous remote copy control information and the update reflection time information that was notified together with the oldest update time information,

wherein each of the plurality of second storage control devices stores one or more update data corresponding to one or more update data related information including the same update reflection time information with the one that is received or older update reflection time information than this in the one or more second logical volume and changes status of the one or more second logical volumes to suspend status.

2. The storage system according to claim 1,

wherein any of the plurality of first storage control devices or any of the plurality of second storage control devices detects a failure which requires a suspend process.

3. The storage system according to claim 1,

wherein the asynchronous remote copy control information is information that requires a suspend process to the plurality of second storage control devices.

4. The storage system according to claim 1, wherein:

each of the plurality of second storage control devices notifies each of the plurality of first storage control devices of the one or more second logical volume status change;

each of the plurality of first storage control devices, when receiving the status change notification, changes status of the one or more first logical volumes to a suspend status.

5. The storage system according to claim 1, wherein

each of the plurality of first storage control devices includes one or more first logical volume groups having the one or more first logical volumes;

each of the plurality of second storage control devices includes one or more second logical volume groups having the one or more second logical volumes;

each of the one or more second logical volume groups corresponds to one of the one or more first logical volume groups; and

the master second storage control device makes determination and notification of the update time reflection information for the one or more second logical volume groups.

6. A remote copy controlling method in a storage system for managing a plurality of asynchronous remote copy proceedings between a plurality of first storage control devices and a plurality of second storage control devices, comprising:

managing one or more first logical volumes by each of the plurality of first storage control devices;

receiving update data which is sent to one of the one or more first logical volumes from a higher level device and storing the update data to the one of first logical volumes by each of the plurality of first storage control devices;

transferring the update data to one of the plurality of second storage control devices according to one of a plurality of asynchronous remote copy proceedings together with update data related information corresponding to the update data by each of the plurality of first storage control devices;

managing one or more second logical volumes each corresponding to one of the one or more first logical volumes by each of the plurality of second storage control devices;

receiving the update data and the update data related information which was sent from one of the plurality of first storage control devices according to one of a plurality of asynchronous remote copy proceedings by each of the plurality of first storage control devices;

storing the update data based on sequential information which shows reception order of the update data each included in the update data related information and update time information of the update data in a second logical volume corresponding to the one of first logical volume among the one or more second logical volumes by each of the plurality of first storage control devices;

detecting occurrence of a failure in the storage system by any of the plurality of first storage control devices or any of the plurality of second storage control devices;

notifying failure detection to one of the plurality of second storage control devices when any of the first storage control devices detects a failure;

setting failure information as asynchronous remote copy control information by one of the plurality of second storage control devices which detects the failure or is notified of the failure detection;

in response to an inquiry from the master second storage control device, notifying the master second storage control device of the latest update time information among the plurality of update time information in the received plurality of update data related information and the asynchronous remote copy control information, by each of the plurality of second storage control devices,

determining oldest update time information among the plurality of update time information received by the plurality of second storage control devices as update reflection time information by the master second storage control device,

notifying the plurality of second storage control devices of the asynchronous remote copy control information and the update reflection time information that was notified together with the oldest update time information by the master second storage control device,

storing one or more update data corresponding to one or more update data related information including the same update reflection time information with the one that is received or older update reflection time information than this in the one or more second logical volume and changing status of the one or more second logical volumes to suspend status by each of the plurality of second storage control devices.

7. The remote copy control method according to claim 6,

wherein any of the plurality of first storage control devices or any of the plurality of second storage control devices detects a failure which requires a suspend process.

8. The remote copy control method according to claim 6,

wherein the asynchronous remote copy control information is information that requires suspend process to the plurality of second storage control devices.

9. The remote copy control method according to claim 6, wherein:

each of the plurality of second storage control devices notifies each of the plurality of first storage control devices of the one or more second logical volume status change;

each of the plurality of first storage control devices, when receiving the status change notification, changes status of the one or more first logical volumes to a suspend status.

10. The remote copy control method according to claim 6, wherein

each of the plurality of first storage control devices includes one or more first logical volume groups having the one or more first logical volumes;

each of the plurality of second storage control devices includes one or more second logical volume groups having the one or more second logical volumes;

each of the one or more second logical volume groups corresponds to one of the one or more first logical volume groups; and

the master second storage control device makes determination and notification of the update time reflection information for the one or more second logical volume groups.