COMPUTER SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD

• US 20160004460A1
• Filed: 10/29/2013
• Published: 01/07/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: FUKUOKA, Mikio, INOUE, Shintaro, SATO, KATSUYA
• Application Number:
  US14/768,165
• Publication Number:
  US 20160004460A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1824 implemented using Network-attached Storage [NAS] architecture distributed or networked storage systems G06F3/067; protocols for distributed storage of data in a network H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/188 Virtual file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0604 Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. storage management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0608 Saving storage space on storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0617 in relation to availability
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0619 in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0631 by allocating resources to storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0635 by changing the path, e.g. traffic rerouting, path reconfiguration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0644 Management of space entities, e.g. partitions, extents, pools
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0646 Horizontal data movement in storage systems, i.e. moving data in between storage devices or 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]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0689 Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

The present invention provides a computer system capable of ensuring a storage capacity to a virtual volume within a pool. According to the present invention, a pool capacity of a block storage is reserved in a specific address range of the virtual volume, and a reserved capacity is allocated during writing of data to a specific address range. Further, when the reserved capacity is not allocated for a given period of time, reservation is freed.

Claims

1. A computer system comprising:

a storage device including multiple storage media, and a storage controller providing a virtual volume; and

a server outputting a read/write request to the virtual volume provided by the storage device;

wherein the storage controller

divides each of the multiple storage media into multiple real storage areas, and constitutes a block storage pool having the multiple real storage areas;

when a capacity reservation request addressing a specific address range of the virtual volume is received from the server, reserves a given number of real storage areas as a capacity of the block storage pool with respect to the specific address range of the virtual volume;

if a write request from the server to the virtual volume addresses the specific address range, allocates a given real storage area from the reserved real storage area, and if the write request addresses an address out of the specific address range, allocates a real storage area from a capacity not reserved in the block storage pool.

2. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein

the block storage pool includes multiple storage tiers, each tier having a reservation capacity threshold set thereto;

and

when a reservation capacity of a tier for reserving the given number of real storage areas exceeds the reservation capacity threshold, then the capacity of a tier other than said tier will be reserved.

3. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein

if a set amount of time has elapsed from a point of time when the given number of real storage areas are reserved, or if a given time has arrived but the given number of real storage areas are not allocated to the specific address range of the virtual volume, then the reserved capacity is freed.

4. The computer system according to claim 2, wherein

if a set amount of time has elapsed from a point of time when the given number of real storage areas are reserved, or if a given time has arrived but the given number of real storage areas are not allocated to the specific address range of the virtual volume, then switching is performed from tier capacity reservation to pool capacity reservation.

5. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein the storage device has an external storage device including multiple storage media coupled thereto;

the external storage device constitutes an external block storage pool from the storage media, and an external virtual volume to which the external block storage pool is allocated is provided as an external volume to the block storage pool; and

a reservation command is issued to the external volume to acquire a reservable capacity, and an external volume having the reservable capacity is registered to the block storage pool.

6. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein

the server is a NAS server controlling a file system, and the NAS server manages multiple virtual volumes provided from the storage device collectively as a NAS pool, and provides the same to the file system.

7. The computer system according to claim 6, wherein

when the given number of real storage areas is composed by extending over multiple virtual volumes, the NAS server issues a reservation command for reserving a capacity for each virtual volume, and performs capacity reservation in units of the given number of real storage areas.

8. The computer system according to claim 7, wherein

if capacity reservation via a reservation command to any one of the multiple virtual volumes cannot be performed, the reserved capacity in the given number of storage areas is freed.

9. The computer system according to claim 7, wherein

if all the reservation commands to the multiple virtual volumes are not completed, then the reserved capacity in the given number of real storage areas is freed.

10. A method for controlling a computer system comprising:

a storage device including multiple storage media, and a storage controller providing a virtual volume; and

a server outputting a read/write request to the virtual volume provided by the storage device;

wherein the storage controller

divides each of the multiple storage media into multiple real storage areas, and constitutes a block storage pool having the multiple real storage areas;

when a capacity reservation request addressing a specific address range of the virtual volume is received from the server, reserves a given number of real storage areas as a capacity of the block storage pool with respect to the specific address range of the virtual volume;

if a write request from the server to the virtual volume addresses the specific address range, allocates a given real storage area from the reserved real storage area, and if the write request addresses an address out of the specific address range, allocates a real storage area from a capacity not reserved in the block storage pool.

11. The method for controlling a computer system according to claim 10, wherein

the block storage pool includes multiple storage tiers, each tier having a reservation capacity threshold set thereto;

and

when a reservation capacity of a tier for reserving the given number of real storage areas exceeds the reservation capacity threshold, then the capacity of a tier other than said tier will be reserved.

12. The method for controlling a computer system according to claim 10, wherein

if a set amount of time has elapsed from a point of time when the given number of real storage areas are reserved, or if a given time has arrived but the given number of real storage areas are not allocated to the specific address range of the virtual volume, then the reserved capacity is freed.

13. The method for controlling a computer system according to claim 11, wherein

if a set amount of time has elapsed from a point of time when the given number of real storage areas are reserved, or if a given time has arrived but the given number of real storage areas are not allocated to the specific address range of the virtual volume, then switching is performed from tier capacity reservation to pool capacity reservation.

14. The method for controlling a computer system according to claim 10, wherein the storage device has an external storage device including multiple storage media coupled thereto;

the external storage device constitutes an external block storage pool from the storage media, and an external virtual volume to which the external block storage pool is allocated is provided as an external volume to the block storage pool; and

an advance allocation command is issued to the external volume to acquire a reservable capacity, and an external volume having the reservable capacity is registered to the block storage pool.

15. The method for controlling a computer system according to claim 10, wherein

the server is a NAS server controlling a file system, and the NAS server manages multiple virtual volumes provided from the storage device collectively as a NAS pool, and provides the same to the file system.

16. The method for controlling a computer system according to claim 15, wherein

when the given number of real storage areas is composed by extending over multiple virtual volumes, the NAS server issues a reservation command for reserving a capacity for each virtual volume, and performs capacity reservation in units of the given number of real storage areas.

17. The method for controlling a computer system according to claim 16, wherein

if capacity reservation via a reservation command to any one of the multiple virtual volumes cannot be performed, the reserved capacity in the given number of storage areas is freed.

18. The method for controlling a computer system according to claim 16, wherein

if all the reservation commands to the multiple virtual volumes are not completed, then the reserved capacity in the given number of real storage areas is freed.