STORAGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND STORAGE MANAGEMENT METHOD

• US 20120331248A1
• Filed: 06/23/2011
• Published: 12/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Kono, Misako, Maki, Nobuhiro, Asano, Masayasu, Hara, Junichi
• Granted Patent: US 8,886,903 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/162
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1448 Management of the data involved in backup or backup restore
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1458 Management of the backup or restore process
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1461 Backup scheduling policy
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/815 Virtual
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/84 Using snapshots, i.e. a logical point-in-time copy of the data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0619 in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/065 Replication mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

An embodiment of this invention is a storage management system including a processor and a storage device to manage a storage system having one or more copy functions. The processor locates data designated to determine a backup method. The storage device stores copy function management information on the one or more copy functions of the storage system. The processor refers to the copy function management information to ascertain the unit of copy operation of each of the one or more copy functions. The processor determines a candidate for a copy function of the storage system to be used to back up the designated data depending on the data configuration in a volume holding the designated data and the unit of copy operation of the candidate for the copy function.

Claims

1. A storage management system for managing a storage system having one or more copy functions, comprising:

a processor; and

a storage device,

wherein;

the processor locates data designated to determine a backup method;

the storage device stores copy function management information on the one or more copy functions of the storage system;

the processor refers to the copy function management information to ascertain the unit of copy operation of each of the one or more copy functions; and

the processor determines a candidate for a copy function of the storage system to be used to back up the designated data depending on data configuration in a volume holding the designated data and the unit of copy operation of the candidate for the copy function.

2. The storage management system according to claim 1, wherein:

the storage system provides a virtual machine running on a host computer with one or more volumes; and

the designated data is data of the virtual machine.

3. The storage management system according to claim 2, wherein data different in backup condition from the designated data are eliminated in copying the designated data using the candidate for the copy function.

4. The storage management system according to claim 3, wherein:

the storage device stores condition information for specifying backup conditions for data held in the storage system; and

the processor refers to the condition information to determine the candidate for the copy function and whether to relocate data in a volume holding the designated data before the copy using the candidate for the copy function in such a condition that data different in backup condition from the designated data are eliminated in copying the designated data using the candidate for the copy function.

5. The storage management system according to claim 4, wherein the processor identifies a relocation function of the host computer which can be used for the relocation of data.

6. The storage management system according to claim 5, further comprising a display device, wherein the display device displays information on a candidate for a backup method for the designated data including the candidate for the copy function and the result of the determination of whether to relocate data.

7. The storage management system according to claim 6, wherein:

the condition information includes a backup condition on a virtual machine to be added to the host computer;

the processor determines a second candidate for a copy function to be used to back up data in the virtual machine to be added;

the processor determines arrangement of the data in the virtual machine to be added based on the unit of copy operation of the second candidate for the copy function in such a condition that copying the data in the virtual machine to be added using the second candidate for the copy function eliminates data different in the backup condition from the data in the virtual machine to be added.

8. A storage management method by a storage management system for managing a storage system having one or more copy functions, the method comprising:

locating, by the storage management system, data designated to determine a backup method;

referring to, by the storage management system, preliminarily stored copy function management information to ascertain the unit of copy operation in each of the one or more copy functions; and

determining, by the storage management system, a candidate for a copy function of the storage system to be used to back up the designated data depending on data configuration in a volume holding the designated data and the unit of copy operation of the candidate for the copy function.

9. The storage management method according to claim 8, wherein the designated data is data of a virtual machine running on a host computer and provided with one or more volumes by the storage system.

10. The storage management method according to claim 8, wherein data different in backup condition from the designated data are eliminated in copying the designated data using the candidate for the copy function.

11. The storage management method according to claim 8, the determining the candidate for the copy function refers to condition information specifying backup conditions for data held in the storage system to determine the candidate for the copy function and whether to relocate data in a volume holding the designated data before the copy using the candidate for the copy function in such a condition that data different in backup condition from the designated data are eliminated in copying the designated data using the candidate for the copy function.

12. The storage management method according to claim 11, wherein the determining the candidate for the copy function identifies a relocation function of a host computer which can be used for the relocation of data.

13. The storage management method according to claim 8, further comprising:

displaying, by the storage management system, information on a candidate for a backup method for the designated data including the candidate for the copy function and indication of whether to relocate the designated data.

14. The storage management method according to claim 8,

wherein a backup condition on a virtual machine to be added to a host computer is included in condition information in the storage management system, and

the storage management method further comprising:

determining, by the storage management system, a second candidate for a copy function to be used to back up data in the virtual machine; and

determining, by the storage management system, arrangement of the data in the virtual machine based on the unit of copy operation of the second candidate for the copy function in such a condition that copying the data in the virtual machine using the second candidate for the copy function eliminates data different in the backup condition from the data in the virtual machine.

15. A storage management system for managing a storage system having one or more copy functions, comprising:

a processor; and

a storage device,

wherein;

the processor locates data designated to determine a backup method;

the storage device stores copy function management information on the one or more copy functions of the storage system;

the processor refers to the copy function management information to ascertain the unit of copy operation in each of the one or more copy functions;

the processor determines a combination of a copy function of the storage system to be used to backup the designated data and an arrangement of the designated data under a volume configuration provided by the storage system, based on the unit of copy operation in the copy function.