Storage area network system

• US 6,792,557 B1
• Filed: 05/31/2002
• Issued: 09/14/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Sato, Takao, Takamoto, Yoshifumi, Uchigiri, Tatsumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Beausoliel, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bonzo, Bryce P.
• Application Number:
  US09/646,011
• Time in Patent Office: 837 Days
• Field of Search: 714/7, 714/8, 711/162
• US Class Current: 714/6.32
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2069 Management of state, configuration or failover
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2094 Redundant storage or storage space G06F11/2056 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2003/0697 device management, e.g. handlers, drivers, I/O schedulers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0601 Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/1803 by redundancy in data representation
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/1883 Methods for assignment of alternate areas for defective areas
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers

Abstract

In remote copy systems connected with a dedicated interface, reliability is reduced for the time until the disk system that caused an error will be recovered.

Therefore, when an error occurs in a primary disk system, it is replaced with a standby disk system connected to a storage area network.

As a result, a remote copy system with high reliability is obtained.

Claims

1. A storage area network system comprising:

storage area network;

a host computer;

a primary storage system;

a secondary storage system; and

a standby storage system,

wherein said host computer, said primary storage system, said secondary storage system and said standby storage system are connected to each other by said storage area network,

wherein said primary storage system performs a remote copy by performing a write in response to a write request from said host computer via said storage area network, and also transfers the write command to said secondary storage system via said storage area network, and

wherein when an error occurs in either said primary storage system or said secondary storage system, the storage system in which the error occurred is replaced with said standby storage system.

2. A storage area network system according to claim 1, wherein when an error occurs in said primary storage system, said secondary storage system is assigned as said primary storage system and said standby storage system is assigned as said secondary storage system.

3. A storage area network system comprising:

a storage area network;

a host computer connected to said storage area network;

a primary storage system connected to said storage area network; and

a secondary storage system connected to said storage area network,

wherein said primary storage system performs a remote copy by performing a write in response to a write request from said host computer, and also transfers the write command to said secondary storage system,

wherein when an error occurs in either said primary storage system or said secondary storage system, the storage system in which the error occurred is replaced with a standby storage system, and

wherein switching to said standby storage system is performed by said host computer.

4. A storage area network system comprising:

a storage area network;

a primary storage system connected to said storage area network and a secondary storage system; and

a plurality of standby storage systems connected to said storage area network,

wherein when an error occurs in said secondary storage system, a product of distances from each of a plurality of said standby storage systems to the host computer and said primary storage system is figured out, and

wherein the standby storage system with the largest value of this product is newly assigned as the secondary storage system.

5. A storage area network system comprising:

a storage area network;

a host computer;

a primary storage system; and

a secondary storage system,

wherein said host computer, said primary storage system and said secondary storage system are connected to each other by said storage area network,

wherein said primary storage system performs a write in response to a write request from said host computer via said storage area network and also transfers said write command to said secondary storage system via said storage area network; and

wherein said secondary storage system has a plurality of host computer interfaces all of which are connected to said storage area network and one of which has no device identifier and also, when an error occurs in said primary storage system, the device identifier of said primary storage system is assigned to one of a plurality of said host computer interfaces which has no device identifier before.

6. A storage area network system according to claim 5, wherein when an error occurs in said primary storage system, the host computer interface of said primary storage system is nullified.

7. A primary storage system connected to a storage area network to which a host computer and a secondary storage system are connected by a network interface,

wherein said primary storage system performs a write in response to a write request command from said host computer via said storage area network and said network interface, and when performing a remote copy to transfer said write request command to said secondary storage system via said storage area network and said network interface, retransfers the write request command from said host computer to said secondary storage system via said storage area network by using said network interface as it was.

8. A secondary storage system connected to a storage area network to which a host computer and a primary storage system are connected,

wherein said secondary storage system, if a write request command is sent from said host computer to said secondary storage system via said primary storage system and said storage area network, receives said write request command which includes an identifier for said primary storage system.

9. A host computer connected to a storage area network which is connected to a first storage system and a second storage system,

wherein said first storage system is defined as a primary storage system,

wherein said second storage system is defined as a secondary storage system which is the remote copy destination of said primary storage system, and

wherein when an error is detected in said first storage system, the definition of said second storage system is changed to said primary storage system via said storage area network.

10. A host computer according to claim 9, wherein when said first storage system is recovered from the error, said first storage system is defined as the secondary storage system.