INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM AND VOLUME ALLOCATION METHOD

• US 20190332275A1
• Filed: 03/12/2019
• Published: 10/31/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: JIN, Azusa, SAITO, Hideo, AGETSUMA, Masakuni, TAKASHIGE, Soichi
• Granted Patent: US 11,199,972 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1482 by means of middleware or OS functionality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1484 involving virtual machines
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2028 eliminating a faulty processor or activating a spare
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2092 Techniques of failing over between control units
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2094 Redundant storage or storage space G06F11/2056 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2097 maintaining the standby controller/processing unit updated initialisation or re-synchronisation thereof G06F11/1658 and subgroups
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1844 Management specifically adapted to replicated file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/188 Virtual file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0611 in relation to response time
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0631 by allocating resources to storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0647 Migration mechanisms
• 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]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/068 Hybrid storage device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0685 Hybrid storage combining heterogeneous device types, e.g. hierarchical storage, hybrid arrays

Abstract

The present invention proposes an information processing system and a volume allocation method making it feasible to reduce overall system operation cost. A replication group to carry out replication is comprised of one or multiple nodes. A storage node classifies respective storage devices mounted thereon into plural storage hierarchies according to the drive type of each of the storage devices for management of the storage devices. A controller node allocates, to each node of the nodes constituting the replication group, a volume for which a storage device of a storage hierarchy suitable for a type of middleware that the node uses and a node type of the node acting in the replication group provides a storage area.

Claims

1. An information processing system where multiple nodes run which perform data read and/or write processing,

the information processing system comprising:

at least one compute server which configures at least one of the nodes or on which one or multiple ones of the nodes run;

at least one storage node on which storage devices of plural types of drives having different levels of response performance are mounted respectively and at least one volume is created for which one of the storage devices of any drive type provides a storage area; and

a controller node which controls the at least one compute server and the at least one storage node;

wherein each of the nodes and another or other ones of the nodes constitute a replication group to carry out replication;

the at least one storage node classifies the respective storage devices mounted thereon into a plurality of storage hierarchies according to the drive type of each of the storage devices for management of the storage devices; and

the controller node allocates, to each node of the nodes, the at least one volume for which one of the storage devices of a storage hierarchy suitable for a type of middleware that the node uses and a node type of the node acting in the replication group provides a storage area.

2. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the controller node manages amounts of free space on each of the at least one storage node with respect to each of the storage hierarchies respectively and allocates the at least one volume from one of the at least one storage node having the largest amount of free space of the corresponding storage hierarchy to a necessary number of the nodes.

3. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein when having detected a fault of a compute server which configures at least one node of the nodes, the controller node allocates the at least one volume allocated to the at least one node affected by the fault occurrence to another one of the nodes other than the at least one node and activates the another one of the nodes.

4. The information processing system according to claim 3, wherein when having detected a fault of a compute server which configures a replication source node of the nodes, as the node type in the replication group, or when having detected a fault of the compute server on which the replication source node exists, and when another one of the nodes constituting the replication group has been upgraded to the replication source instead of the replication source node, the controller node allocates a volume allocated to the replication source node before the fault occurrence to a node other than the another one of the nodes constituting the replication group and activates the node to which that volume has been allocated as a replication destination in the replication group and, after that, changes the node type of the activated node to the replication source in the replication group.

5. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein when having detected a fault of one of the at least one storage node in which the volume allocated to a replication source node of the nodes, as the node type in the replication group, exists and when another node of the nodes constituting the replication group has been upgraded to a replication source instead of the replication source node, the controller node decides whether or not the storage hierarchy of one of the storage devices providing a storage area for the volume being allocated to the another node upgraded to the replication source is the storage hierarchy that should be allocated to the replication source node in the replication group and, if a result of the decision is No, migrates data stored in the volume being allocated to the another node upgraded to the replication source to a storage area that is provided by one of the storage devices of the storage hierarchy that should be allocated to the replication source node in the replication group.

6. The information processing system according to claim 2, wherein the controller node allocates the volumes created in the storage nodes belonging to different Fault Sets respectively to the respective nodes constituting the same replication group.

7. A volume allocation method that is performed in an information processing system where multiple nodes run which perform data read and/or write processing,

the information processing system including:

at least one compute server which configures at least one of the nodes or on which one or multiple ones of the nodes run;

at least one storage node on which storage devices of plural types of drives having different levels of response performance are mounted respectively and at least one volume is created for which one of the storage devices of any drive type provides a storage area; and

a controller node which controls the at least one compute server and the at least one storage node;

wherein each of the nodes and another or other ones of the nodes constitute a replication group to carry out replication,

the volume allocation method comprising;

a first step in which the at least one storage node classifies the respective storage devices mounted thereon into a plurality of storage hierarchies according to the drive type of each of the storage devices for management of the storage devices; and

a second step in which the controller node allocates, to each node of the nodes, the at least one volume for which one of the storage devices of a storage hierarchy suitable for a type of middleware that the node uses and a node type of the node acting in the replication group provides a storage area.

8. The volume allocation method according to claim 7

wherein in the first step, the controller node manages amounts of free space on each of the at least one storage node with respect to each of the storage hierarchies respectively;

and

in the second step, the controller node allocates the at least one volume from one of the at least one storage node having the largest amount of free space of the corresponding storage hierarchy to a necessary number of the nodes.

9. The volume allocation method according to claim 7, further comprising a third step in which, when having detected a fault of a compute server which configures at least one node of the nodes, the controller node allocates the at least one volume allocated to the at least one node affected by the fault occurrence to another one of the nodes other than the at least one node and activates the another one of the nodes.

10. The volume allocation method according to claim 9, wherein, in the third step, when having detected a fault of a compute server which configures a replication source node of the nodes, as the node type in the replication group, or when having detected a fault of the compute server on which the replication source node exists, and when another one of the nodes constituting the replication group has been upgraded to the replication source instead of the replication source node, the controller node allocates a volume allocated to the replication source node before the fault occurrence to a node other than the another one of the nodes constituting the replication group and activates the node to which the volume has been allocated as a replication destination in the replication group and, after that, changes the node type of the activated node to the replication source in the replication group.

11. The volume allocation method according to claim 7, further comprising a fourth step in which, when having detected a fault of one of the at least one storage node in which the volume allocated to a replication source node of the nodes, as the node type in the replication group, exits and when another node of the nodes constituting the replication group has been upgraded to a replication source instead of the replication source node, the controller node decides whether or not the storage hierarchy of one of the storage devices providing a storage area for the volume being allocated to the another node upgraded to the replication source is the storage hierarchy that should be allocated to the replication source node in the replication group and, if a result of the decision is No, migrates data stored in the volume being allocated to the another node upgraded to the replication source to a storage area that is provided by one of the storage devices of the storage hierarchy that should be allocated to the replication source node in the replication group.

12. The volume allocation method according to claim 8, wherein, in the second step, the controller node allocates the volumes created in the storage nodes belonging to different Fault Sets respectively to the respective nodes constituting the same replication group.