Storage system and method for data transfer between storage systems

• US 6,810,469 B2
• Filed: 08/03/2001
• Issued: 10/26/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Tsuboki, Masanao, Takeda, Takahiko, Takahashi, Masamitsu, Nakamura, Katsunori
• Primary Examiner(s): Vital, Pierre M.
• Application Number:
  US09/922,462
• Publication Number:
  US 20020062429A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,180 Days
• Field of Search: 711/159, 711/161, 711/162, 711/165, 711/112, 711/114, 711/154, 707/200, 707/204
• US Class Current: 711/159
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2066 Optimisation of the communication load
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2071 using a plurality of controllers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/065 Replication mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0689 Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99955 Archiving or backup

Abstract

There is realized a storage system which can reduce the limitation of a device number used by a host CPU at the time of duplexing data. A micro processor of a source external storage controller unit unifies a plurality of write data received from the host CPU to the same data bus to provide one unit of data transmitting to a target storage system. A number not dependent on the device number used when the host CPU specifies a device is allocated to this. Then, the source external storage controller unit sends the write data to the target external storage controller unit. This can receive/send the data without depending on the target specifying device number.

Claims

1. A method for data transfer between storage systems having a source storage system connected to a host CPU and provided with one or more source storage device units for storing data of said host CPU and a source storage controller unit for controlling said source disk storage device units, and a target storage system provided with one or more target disk storage device units for storing said data received from said source storage system and a target storage controller unit for controlling said target storage device units, comprising the steps of:

receiving a plurality of blocks of write data from said host CPU, each block having an associated first identifier allocated by said host CPU that indicates one of said source storage device units;

unifying some of said blocks of write data to produce a unit of data for transmitting to said target storage system;

allocating, to said unit of data a second identifier different from said first identifiers;

sending, to said target storage system, said unit of data;

receiving said unit of data in said target storage system;

dividing said unit of data into said some of said blocks of data; and

writing some of said blocks of data into said target storage device unit in accordance with said first identifiers for specifying a target,

wherein said some of said blocks of write data are stored in one or more of said target disk storage device units based on their associated first identifiers.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein each of said source storage device units is a logical volume identified by a device number, wherein each of said first identifiers is a device number.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising steps of:

temporarily storing said blocks of write data in a cache memory of said source storage system, each block of write data being stored as a data portion and a data control information portion, said data control information portion including said first identifier; and

temporarily storing said unit block of data in a cache memory of said target storage system.

4. A method for transferring data sent from a host CPU between a source storage system and a target storage system, both of which has a cache memory to temporarily store data, and both of which comprises a plurality of disk storage devices defined as logical volumes to store the data therein, the method comprising steps of:

receiving a plurality of blocks of write data from said host CPU, said blocks of write data including first logical volume numbers indicating said logical volumes in said target storage system, said first logical volume numbers assigned by said host CPU;

storing temporarily said blocks of write data in said cache memory of said source storage system;

allocating one or more second logical volume numbers to groups of said blocks of data, said second logical volume numbers determined independently of said first logical volume numbers;

sending said groups of said blocks of data and their corresponding second logical volume numbers to said target storage system;

receiving said blocks of data in said target storage system;

temporarily storing said blocks of data in said cache memory of said target storage system;

allocating to said blocks of data said first logical volume numbers; and

storing said blocks of data in said disk storage devices of said target storage system based said first logical volume numbers.