Configuring and monitoring data volumes in a consolidated storage array using one storage array to configure the other storage arrays

• US 6,895,485 B1
• Filed: 12/07/2000
• Issued: 05/17/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NetApp, Inc.
• Original Assignee: LSI Logic Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Binford, Charles D., DeKoning, Rodney A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Anderson, Matthew
• Assistant Examiner(s): THOMAS, SHANE M
• Application Number:
  US09/732,003
• Time in Patent Office: 1,622 Days
• Field of Search: 710/74, 711/170, 711/114, 711/111, 718/105
• US Class Current: 711/170
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3485 for I/O devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0631 by allocating resources to storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0647 Migration mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0665 at area level, e.g. provisioning of virtual or logical volumes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

In a storage area network having a host device and a consolidated storage array (CSA), one of the storage arrays of the CSA acts as a primary device of the CSA to form logical data volumes across one or more of the total storage arrays of the CSA. The logical data volumes typically have performance requirements that cannot be met by a single storage array. Upon receipt of a command from the host device to create one of the logical data volumes, the CSA primary device analyzes the storage arrays to determine a combination thereof, across which the logical data volume will be striped, that best satisfies the performance requirements. The CSA primary device configures these storage arrays to form the logical data volume and sends striping information, which defines the logical data volume, to the host device. Striping software based on the host device responds to the striping information to access the logical data volume. The CSA primary device also manages the storage arrays and the logical data volume by monitoring the storage arrays to determine whether any of the storage arrays is about to reach its saturation point, typically due to changing performance requirements of all of the logical data volumes on the storage arrays. The CSA primary device then migrates a portion of one of the logical data volumes from one storage array to another to balance the data transfer loads on the storage arrays.

Claims

1. A method of creating a logical data volume in a consolidated storage array (CSA) which satisfies performance requirements for the logical data volume, the CSA comprising a plurality of storage arrays, each of the storage arrays having performance capabilities, the performance requirements for the logical data volume exceeding available performance capabilities of any single storage array, the CSA being connected to a host device executing data access software which uses the logical data volume, comprising the steps performed by the CSA of:

designating anyone of the plurality of storage arrays as a primary device of the CSA;

analyzing the storage arrays for their available performance capability in light of the performance requirements for the logical data volume;

selecting at least some of the storage arrays, a combined available performance capability of which is at least equal to the performance requirements for the logical data volume;

configuring the selected storage arrays for storage spaces for the logical data volume, the storage spaces of each selected storage array containing a portion of the logical data volume;

forming volume information describing the logical data volume;

sending the volume information from the CSA to the host device for configuring the data access software to access the logical data volume wherein the host device is a computing system capable of executing programmed instructions to perform the data access software where the data access software includes storage management processes or user application processes or both user application processes and storage management processes;

monitoring whether currently utilized performance capabilities of each of the storage arrays are within a predetermined range of maximum performance capabilities for the storage arrays; and

adjusting at least a portion of the one of the storage spaces for the logical data volume to maintain the performance capabilities of each of the storage arrays within the predetermined range,

wherein the method is performed by a controller within the primary device, and

wherein any of the storage arrays may take over as the primary device in response to sensing a failure of the primary device.

2. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

issuing a volume create command from the host device to the CSA to instruct the CSA to create the logical data volume in the storage arrays in the CSA;

receiving the volume information at the host device; and

configuring the data access software with the volume information of the logical data volume enabling the host device to access the logical data volume.

3. A method as defined in claim 2 further comprising the step of:

specifying at least one of the bandwidth, transaction rate, redundancy or size of the logical data volume in parameters that describe the performance requirements for the logical data volume.

4. A method as defined in claim 2, wherein the data access software includes data striping software, further comprising the step of:

striping the logical data volume across the selected storage arrays.

5. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

striping the logical data volume across the selected storage arrays; and

describing, in the volume information, a striping definition for a manner in which the logical data volume is striped across the selected storage arrays.

6. A storage area network (SAN) having a host device connected to a consolidated storage array (CSA), the host device accessing data stored on the CSA and sending a volume create command to the CSA, the SAN comprising:

a plurality of storage arrays each having a plurality of storage devices containing the data, the storage arrays forming the CSA and each having available performance capabilities;

a logical data volume distributed across the storage arrays and contained on portions of the storage devices of the storage arrays, the logical data volume containing the data, the logical data volume having performance requirements that are higher than the available performance capabilities of each individual storage array before the logical data volume is created on the storage devices of the storage array;

the performance requirements being specified by a user of the SAN and issued by the user through the host device to the CSA; and

a CSA primary device designated by the CSA as any one of the storage arrays and connected to all other storage arrays and executing volume create software to create the logical data volume on the storage devices in the storage arrays in response to the volume create command sent by the host device, the volume create command including the performance requirements of the logical data volume, the CSA primary device further executing the volume create software to analyze the available performance capabilities of the storage arrays before the logical data volume is created on the storage devices in light of the performance requirements of the logical data volume, the CSA primary device further executing the volume create software to select the storage arrays for the portions of the storage devices to contain the logical data volume, combined performance capabilities of the selected storage arrays being at least equal to the performance requirements of the logical data volume, the CSA primary device further executing the volume create software to configure and distribute the logical data volume across the selected storage arrays, the CSA primary device further executing the volume create software to monitor whether the logical data volume is operating within the performance requirements, adjusting at least a portion of the one of the storage spaces for the logical data volume, and the CSA primary device further executing the volume create software to adjust the configuration of the logical data volume to maintain the performance requirements of the logical data volume, the CSA primary device further adapted to communicate information regarding the configuration of the logical data volume to the host device to configure data access software operable in the host device to use the logical data volume, and wherein the data access software in the host device includes storage management processes, user application processes or both storage management processes and user application processes, and

wherein any of the other storage arrays may take over as the CSA primary device in response to sensing a failure of the presently designated CSA primary device.

7. A SAN as defined in claim 6 wherein:

the performance requirements of the logical data volume are specified by the user in the volume create command and include at least one of a bandwidth, transaction rate, redundancy or size of the logical data volume.

8. A SAN as defined in claim 6 wherein:

the logical data volume is striped across the selected storage arrays; and

the volume information includes a striping definition for the logical data volume.

9. A method of creating a logical data volume in a storage area network having a host device and a consolidated storage array (CSA) including a plurality of storage arrays, comprising the steps of:

establishing parameters defining performance requirements of the logical data volume, the performance requirements exceeding available performance capabilities of any single storage array;

sending a volume create command containing the established parameters from the host device to the CSA instructing the CSA to create the logical data volume with the performance requirements;

designating any one of the plurality of storage arrays as a primary device of the CSA;

receiving at the host device volume information from the CSA indicating that the CSA has created the logical data volume, the volume information including a striping definition of the logical data volume which describes selected ones of the storage arrays and portions of the selected storage arrays in which the logical data volume is sniped across the CSA;

configuring a host-based striping software with the striping definition of the logical data volume to enable the host device to access the logical data volume wherein the host device is a computing system capable of executing programmed instructions to perform the striping software where the striping software includes storage management processes or user application processes or both user application processes and storage management processes;

monitoring whether currently utilized performance capabilities of each of the storage arrays are within a predetermined range of maximum performance capabilities for the storage arrays; and

adjusting the configuration of the logical data volume to maintain the performance capabilities of each of the storage arrays within the predetermined range,

wherein the method steps of designating, receiving and configuring are performed by a controller within the primary device, and

wherein any of the storage arrays may take over as the primary device in response to sensing a failure of the primary device.

10. A method for managing data storage in a storage area network having a host device connected to a consolidated storage array (CSA), the CSA including a, plurality of storage arrays across which a logical data volume is stored on behalf of the host device, the logical data volume having performance requirements and the storage arrays having a maximum performance capability, comprising the steps performed by the CSA of:

monitoring for a data transfer performance parameter of each of the storage arrays on which a portion of the logical data volume is stored;

determining whether the data transfer performance parameter of each of the storage arrays on which a portion of the logical data volume is stored is within a predetermined range of the maximum performance capability for each of the storage arrays;

adjusting the configuration of the logical data volume to maintain the data transfer performance parameter of each of the storage arrays within the predetermined range; and

communication volume information regarding the logical data volume to configure striping software operable on the host device wherein the striping software includes user application processes, storage management processes or both storage management processes and user application processes,

wherein the method is performed within a designated one of any of the plurality of storage arrays, and

wherein any of the storage arrays may take over as the primary device in response to sensing a failure of the primary device.