Disk storage accessing system and method for changing access path to storage devices

• US 6,792,503 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2001
• Issued: 09/14/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Yagi, Yuji, Hirabayashi, Motoaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Gossage, Glenn
• Application Number:
  US10/003,095
• Publication Number:
  US 20020069320A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,013 Days
• Field of Search: 711/112, 711/114, 711/165
• US Class Current: 711/112
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2206/1012 Load balancing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0613 in relation to throughput
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0635 by changing the path, e.g. traffic rerouting, path reconfiguration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0653 Monitoring storage devices or systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

In one embodiment of the invention, a disk storage accessing system for enabling a plurality of computers to share and access a plurality of disk storage comprises a plurality of computers that refer to the disk storage. Each of the computers includes a counting module for counting a frequency of access to each of the disk storage, and a module for receiving an access path change command to change access paths for the computer to access a different disk storage according to the command. The system further comprises an instructing module for collecting and totaling a frequency of accesses to each disk storage, as counted by the counting module of each of the computers, as well as instructing a particular disk storage as a copy source disk storage to copy content in the copy source disk storage into one or more other disk storage as one or more target disk storage when the totaled access frequency is higher than a predetermined value, and for instructing the receiving module of a computer that accesses the copy source disk storage after receiving a report of copy completion, to change access paths so as to access a target disk storage instead of the copy source disk storage.

Claims

1. A disk storage accessing system for enabling a plurality of computers to share and access a plurality of disk storage, said system comprising:

a plurality of computers that refer to said disk storage, each of said computers including counting means for counting a frequency of accesses to each of said disk storages; and

means for receiving an access path change command to change access paths for said computer to access a different disk storage according to said command; and

instructing means for collecting and totaling a frequency of accesses to each disk storage, as counted by the counting means of each of said computers, as well as instructing a particular disk storage as a copy source disk storage to copy content in said copy source disk storage into one or more other disk storage as one or more target disk storages when said totaled access frequency is higher than a predetermined value, and for instructing the receiving means of a computer that accesses said copy source disk storage after receiving a report of copy completion, to change access paths so as to access a target disk storage instead of said copy source disk storage.

2. The disk storage accessing system according to claim 1, wherein said instructing means, when instructing a computer that accesses said copy source disk storage to change access paths so as to access a target disk storage from said copy source disk storage, issues an access path change command to a computer that has accessed said copy source disk storage most frequently.

3. The disk storage accessing system according to claim 1, wherein said instructing means for said system is provided in any one of said computers.

4. The disk storage accessing system according to claim 1, wherein said instructing means, when data in said copy source disk storage is updated, enables said data to be copied from said copy source disk storage into said one or more target disk storage.

5. A disk storage accessing system for enabling a plurality of computers to share and access a plurality of disk storage, said system comprising:

a plurality of computers that refer to said disk storage; and

a management computer;

wherein each of said computers that refer to said disk storages comprises counting means for counting a frequency of accesses to each of said disk storages; and

wherein said management computer comprises means for collecting and totaling a frequency of accesses to each disk storage, as counted by the counting means of each of said computers, and means for instructing a particular disk storage as a copy source disk storage to copy data in said copy source disk storage into one or more other disk storage as one or more target disk storages when said totaled access frequency is higher than a predetermined value and instructing a computer that accesses said copy source disk storage after receiving a report on completion of said copying, to change access paths so as to access a target disk storage instead of said copy source disk storage.

6. The disk storage accessing system according to claim 5, wherein said instructing means, when instructing a computer that accesses said copy source disk storage to change access paths so as to access a target disk storage instead of said copy source disk storage, issues said instruction to a computer that has accessed said copy source disk storage most frequently.

7. The disk storage accessing system according to claim 5, wherein said instructing means, when data in said copy source disk storage is updated, enables said updated data to be copied from said copy source disk storage into said one or more target disk storages.

11. The disk storage accessing system according to claim 5, wherein each of said computers that refer to said disk storages comprises means for receiving an access path change command from said management computer to change access paths and access a target disk storage according to said command.

8. A disk storage accessing system for enabling a plurality of computers to share and access a plurality of disk storages, said system comprising:

a plurality of computers that refer to said disk storages;

a first management computer; and

a second management computer;

wherein each of said computers that refer to said disk storages comprises counting means for counting a frequency of accesses to each of said disk storages;

wherein said first management computer comprises means for collecting and totaling a frequency of accesses to each disk storage, as counted by the counting means of each of said computers and sending a copy command to said second management computer so as to copy said data from a particular disk storage as a copy source disk storage into one or more other disk storages as one or more target disk storages when said totaled access frequency is higher than a predetermined value;

wherein said second management computer comprises second instructing means that, when receiving said copy command, instructs said copy source disk storage to copy data in said copy source disk storage into said one or more target disk storages; and

wherein said first management computer comprises first instructing means that, when receiving a report on completion of said copying from said second management computer, instructs a computer that accesses said copy source disk storage to change access paths so as to access a target disk storage instead of said copy source disk storage.

9. The disk storage accessing system according to claim 8, wherein said first instructing means, when instructing a computer that accesses said copy source disk storage to change access paths so as to access a target disk storage instead of said copy source disk storage, send said command to a computer that has accessed said copy source disk storage most frequently.

10. The disk storage accessing system according to claim 8, wherein said second instructing means, when data in said copy source disk storage is updated, enables said data to be copied from said copy source disk storage into said one or more target disk storages.

12. The disk storage accessing system according to claim 8, wherein each of said computers that refer to said disk storages comprises means for receiving an access path change command from said first management computer so as to change access paths and access a target disk storage according to said command.

13. A disk storage accessing method comprising:

totaling a frequency of accesses to each of a plurality of disk storages by a plurality of computers;

instructing a particular disk storage as a copy source disk storage to copy content in the copy source disk storage into one or more other disk storages as one or more target disk storages when the access frequency is higher than a predetermined value; and

upon completion of copying the content in the copy source disk storage into the one or more target disk storages, instructing a computer that accesses the copy source disk storage to change access paths so as to access a target disk storage instead of the copy source disk storage.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein instructing a computer that accesses the copy source disk storage to change access paths comprises instructing a computer that has accessed the copy source disk storage most frequently to change access paths so as to access a target disk storage instead of the copy source disk storage.

15. The method according to claim 13, further comprising, when data in the copy source disk storage is updated, copying the updated data from the copy source disk storage into the one or more target disk storages.