VIRTUAL STORAGE SYSTEM

• US 20170308316A1
• Filed: 07/11/2017
• Published: 10/26/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: YAMAMOTO, Akira, AKUTSU, Hiroaki, KAWAGUCHI, Tomohiro
• Granted Patent: US 10,452,293 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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 3/0631 by allocating resources to storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0664 at device level, e.g. emulation of a storage device or system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

A virtual storage system according to an aspect of the present invention includes multiple storage systems each including: a storage controller that accepts a read/write request for reading or writing from and to a logical volume; and multiple storage devices. The storage system defines a pool that manages the storage device capable of allocating any of storage areas to the logical volume, and manages the capacity (pool capacity) of the storage areas belonging to the pool, and the capacity (pool available capacity) of unused storage areas in the pool. Furthermore, the storage system calculates the total value of the pool available capacities of the storage systems included in the virtual storage system, and provides the server with the total value as the pool available capacity of the virtual storage system.

Claims

1. A storage system, comprising a plurality of nodes each comprising:

a storage device for storing data, and a controller for performing read/write of data;

wherein each of the plurality of the nodes constitutes a virtual storage system by managing same identifier, and

each of the plurality of the nodes

configures a pool volume by using a storage area of the storage device, and allocate a capacity of the pool volume to a virtual logical volume to be provided to an information processing system,

manages a storage capacity of the storage device as a storage capacity of own node,

manages a virtual capacity of the pool volume of whole the virtual storage system, by exchanging the storage capacity of the own node among the plurality of the nodes,

acquires available capacities of the storage devices of the plurality of the other nodes in the virtual storage system,

determines necessity of performing allocation change of the virtual logical volume, on the basis of the available capacities of the own node and other nodes, and

when it is determined that it is necessary to perform allocation change, performs allocation of a capacity allocated to the virtual logical volume from the pool volume, by changing from the storage device of the own node of the plurality of the nodes in the virtual storage system to the storage device of the other node.

2. The storage system according to claim 1,

wherein when it is determined that it is necessary to perform allocation change, each of the nodes refers to the available capacities of the plurality of the other nodes to judge whether it is possible to change allocation to the other node.

3. The storage system according to claim 2,

wherein each of the nodes requests the other node to perform allocation change when the available capacity resides in the other node, and

receives storage area information allocated by the other node, and sets the storage area information in the storage area information of the own node.

4. The storage system according to claim 1,

wherein each of the nodes

shares, on the basis of the exchanged storage capacity, a virtual storage storage capacity provided by the virtual storage system, a total storage storage capacity that is a total value of the storage capacity of each of the nodes, a total available storage capacity, and storage capacities of the own and other nodes.

5. The storage system according to claim 1,

wherein each of the plurality of the nodes executes a hypervisor program that creates a plurality of virtual machines, and

the plurality of the virtual machines comprises the virtual machine that operates a program for performing read/write of the data.

6. A system comprising the storage system according to claim 5 and the information processing system,

wherein the plurality of the virtual machines comprises the virtual machine that operates a program of the information processing system to which the virtual logical volume is provided, and the virtual machine that operates the program for performing read/write of the data.

7. A management method of a storage system comprising a plurality of nodes each comprising:

a storage device for storing data, and a controller for performing read/write of data;

wherein each of the plurality of the nodes constitutes a virtual storage system by managing same identifier, and

each of the plurality of the nodes

configures a pool volume by using a storage area of the storage device, and allocate a capacity of the pool volume to a virtual logical volume to be provided to an external system,

manages a storage capacity of the storage device as a storage capacity of own node,

manages a virtual capacity of the pool volume of whole the virtual storage system, by exchanging the storage capacity of the own node among the plurality of the nodes,

acquires available capacities of the storage devices of the plurality of the other nodes in the virtual storage system,

determines necessity of performing allocation change of the virtual logical volume, on the basis of the available capacities of the own node and other nodes, and

when it is determined that it is necessary to perform allocation change, performs allocation of a capacity allocated to the virtual logical volume from the pool volume, by changing from the storage device of the own node of the plurality of the nodes in the virtual storage system to the storage device of the other node.

8. The management method of the storage system according to claim 7,

wherein when it is determined that it is necessary to perform allocation change, each of the nodes refers to the available capacities of the plurality of the other nodes to judge whether it is possible to change allocation to the other node.

9. The management method of the storage system according to claim 8,

wherein each of the nodes requests the other node to perform allocation change when the available capacity resides in the other node, and

receives storage area information allocated by the other node, and sets the storage area information in the storage area information of the own node.

10. The management method of the storage system according to claim 7,

wherein each of the nodes

shares, on the basis of the exchanged storage capacity, a virtual storage storage capacity provided by the virtual storage system, a total storage storage capacity that is a total value of the storage capacity of each of the nodes, a total available storage capacity, and storage capacities of the own and other nodes.

11. The management method of the storage system according to claim 7,

wherein each of the plurality of the nodes executes a hypervisor program that creates a plurality of virtual machines, and

executes the virtual machine that operates a program for performing read/write of the data as the plurality of the virtual machines.

12. The management method of the storage system according to claim 11,

wherein each of the plurality of the nodes executes the virtual machine that operates a program of an information processing system to which the virtual logical volume is provided, and the virtual machine that operates the program for performing read/write of the data, as the plurality of the virtual machines.