STORAGE CONTROL APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD, AND COMPUTER PRODUCT

• US 20150089171A1
• Filed: 08/19/2014
• Published: 03/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: FUJITA, Kenichi, KUWAYAMA, Takashi, OGURI, Noboru
• Granted Patent: US 9,665,435 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/162
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1451 by selection of backup contents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/84 Using snapshots, i.e. a logical point-in-time copy of the data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/061 Improving I/O performance
• 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

A storage control apparatus controls storage units in a storage apparatus and includes a memory unit that stores group information identifying a copy-source volume group belonging to a consistency group; and a control unit that creates based on the group information, snapshots of respective volumes of the volume group for a given time point; creates respective difference storage areas to store, as difference data, update data for the respective volumes after the given time point; and transfers to a copy-destination storage apparatus, data of the snapshots of the respective volumes. The control unit further creates snapshots of the respective volumes at an arbitrary time point after the given time point; creates respective difference storage areas to store, as difference data, update data for the respective volumes after the arbitrary time point; and transfers to the copy-destination storage apparatus, the difference data of the respective volumes for the arbitrary time point.

Claims

1. A storage control apparatus configured to control storage units in a storage apparatus, the storage control apparatus comprising:

a memory unit configured to store group information identifying a copy-source volume group belonging to a consistency group; and

a processor configured to create based on the group information, snapshots of respective volumes of the volume group for a given time point;

create respective difference storage areas to store, as difference data, update data for the respective volumes after the given time point; and

transfer to a copy-destination storage apparatus, data of the snapshots of the respective volumes, wherein

the processor is further configured to create snapshots of the respective volumes at an arbitrary time point after the given time point;

create respective difference storage areas to store, as difference data, update data for the respective volumes after the arbitrary time point; and

transfer to the copy-destination storage apparatus, the difference data of the respective volumes for the arbitrary time point.

2. The storage control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the processor periodically or arbitrarily creates snapshots of the respective volumes at an arbitrary time point after the given time point;

creates respective difference storage areas to store, as difference data, update data for the respective volumes after the arbitrary time point; and

transfers to the copy-destination storage apparatus, the difference data for the arbitrary time point.

3. The storage control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the processor, consequent to receiving data of a snapshot of a copy-source volume from another storage apparatus, stores the data into a copy-destination volume;

and consequent to receiving difference data of the copy-source volume, creates a difference storage area to store, as difference data, update data for the copy-destination volume, stores the received difference data into the difference storage area, and creates a snapshot of the copy-destination volume.

4. The storage control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the processor, consequent to receiving data of a snapshot of the copy-source volume, stores the data into the copy-destination volume;

creates a difference storage area to store, as difference data, update data for the copy-destination volume, and creates a snapshot of the copy-destination volume.

5. The storage control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the processor makes an inquiry about a migration-destination storage control apparatus of the copy-destination volume to a given storage control apparatus of a storage control apparatus group in the copy-destination storage apparatus, when communication is disabled with a storage control apparatus that is among the storage control apparatus group and has the copy-destination volume of the respective volumes.

6. The storage control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the processor, when an arbitrary volume of the volume group resides in another storage control apparatus that is in the storage apparatus and different from the storage control apparatus of the processor, notifies the other storage control apparatus of a creation instruction for a snapshot of the arbitrary volume at the given time point;

and consequent to making the notification of the creation instruction, creates snapshots of volumes residing in the storage control apparatus of the processor, among the volume group at the given time point;

creates respective difference storage areas to store, as difference data, update data for the volumes after the given time point; and

transfers to the copy-destination storage apparatus, data of the snapshots of the volumes, and

the processor notifies the other storage control apparatus of a creation instruction for a snapshot of the arbitrary volume at an arbitrary time point after the given time point; and

consequent to making the notification of the creation instruction, creates snapshots of the volumes at the arbitrary time point;

creates respective difference storage areas to store, as difference data, update data for the volumes after the arbitrary time point; and

transfers to the copy-destination storage apparatus, difference data of the volumes at the arbitrary time point.

7. The storage control apparatus according to claim 6, wherein

the processor, consequent to accepting from the other storage apparatus, a creation instruction for snapshots of volumes that reside in the storage control apparatus of the processor and are among the volume group at the given time point;

creates snapshots of the volumes for the given time point;

creates respective difference storage areas to store, as difference data, update data for the volumes after the given time point; and

transfers to the copy-destination storage apparatus, data of the snapshots of the volumes; and

the processor, consequent to accepting from the other storage control apparatus, a creation instruction for snapshots of volumes at an arbitrary time point after the given time point, creates snapshots of the volumes for the arbitrary time point;

creates respective difference storage areas to store, as difference data, update data for the volumes after the arbitrary time point; and

transfers to the copy-destination storage apparatus, difference data of the volumes at the arbitrary time point.

8. A control method executed by a storage control apparatus configured to control storage units in a storage apparatus, the control method comprising:

creating based on group information identifying a copy-source volume group belonging to a consistency group stored by a memory unit, snapshots of respective volumes of the volume group for a given time point;

creating respective difference storage areas to store, as difference data, update data for the respective volumes after the given time point;

transferring to a copy-destination storage apparatus, data of the snapshots of the respective volumes;

creating snapshots of the respective volumes at an arbitrary time point after the given time point;

creating respective difference storage areas to store, as difference data, update data for the respective volumes after the arbitrary time point; and

transferring to the copy-destination storage apparatus, the difference data of the respective volumes for the arbitrary time point.

9. A non-transitory, computer-readable recording medium storing a control program that causes a storage control apparatus configured to control storage units in a storage apparatus to execute a process comprising:

creating based on group information identifying a copy-source volume group belonging to a consistency group stored by a memory unit, snapshots of respective volumes of the volume group for a given time point;

creating respective difference storage areas to store, as difference data, update data for the respective volumes after the given time point;

transferring to a copy-destination storage apparatus, data of the snapshots of the respective volumes;

creating snapshots of the respective volumes at an arbitrary time point after the given time point;

creating respective difference storage areas to store, as difference data, update data for the respective volumes after the arbitrary time point; and

transferring to the copy-destination storage apparatus, the difference data of the respective volumes for the arbitrary time point.