System and method for storage system

• US 6,985,997 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2003
• Issued: 01/10/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Jiang, Xiaoming, Yagisawa, Ikuya, Yagi, Satoshi, Mitsutaka, Daisuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Thai, Tuan V.
• Application Number:
  US10/377,848
• Publication Number:
  US 20030212860A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,047 Days
• Field of Search: 711/100, 711/111, 711/112, 711/114, 711/154, 711/161, 711/162, 711/113, 711/156, 714/6, 714/766, 714/767
• US Class Current: 711/114
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/061 Improving I/O performance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0613 in relation to throughput
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0631 by allocating resources to storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0658 Controller construction arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0659 Command handling arrangements, e.g. command buffers, queues, command scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0689 Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/52 Program synchronisation; Mutual exclusion, e.g. by means of semaphores

Abstract

In a storage system including a plurality of data controllers that receive a data input/output request that is input via an external communication path and perform data input/output processing with respect to a storage resource in response to this request, the plurality of data controllers being connected by a data communication path and being able to communicate with one another, if a data input/output request has been input into one of the controllers, the plurality of data controllers and shares execution of the data input/output processing by communication through the data communication path.

Claims

1. A control method for a storage system having a plurality of data controllers that receive a data input/output request that is input via an external communication path and perform data input/output processing with respect to a storage resource in response to said data input/output request, said plurality of data controllers being connected by a data communication path and being able to communicate with one another;

said control method comprising;

a first step, in which, if said data input/output request is a data read request, then a first data controller, which is one of said plurality of data controllers, receives said data read request;

a second step, in which said first controller communicates said data read request received in said first step to a second data controller other than said first controller;

a third step, in which said first controller executes a portion of the processing of said received data read request to read the data out of said storage resource, and said second controller executes a portion of the processing of reading request with respect to said storage resource, which said second data controller has received from said first controller;

a fourth step, in which said second controller sends the data that it has read out to said first controller; and

a fifth step, in which said first controller sends the data that it has read out itself and the data that were read out by said second controller and sent therefrom via said external communication path.

2. The control method according to claim 1, further comprising:

said first data controller dividing the data to be read out into reading units in accordance with one of the schemes of RAID 3 to 6, and performing an assignment process, in which the first data controller assigns said second data controller that is to handle the reading process to the divided reading units one by one.

3. The control method according to claim 2, further comprising executing a process of reading, from said storage resource, data that are read out as one stripe that is composed when managing said storage resource with said RAID scheme, after assigning the data controller that is to handle said reading process among said plurality of data controllers.

4. A control method for a storage system having a plurality of data controllers that receive a data input/output request that is input via an external communication path and perform data input/output processing with respect to a storage resource in response to said data input/output request, said plurality of data controllers being connected by a data communication path and being able to communicate with one another;

said control method comprising;

if said data input/output request is a data read request, then receiving said data read request by a first data controller, which is one of said plurality of data controllers;

communicating said data read request received by said first data controller to a second data controller;

executing by said first data controller a portion of the processing of said received data read request to read the data out of said storage resource;

executing by said second data controller another portion of the processing of reading request with respect to said storage resource, which said second data controller has received from said first data controller;

sending by said second data controller the data that said second data controller has read out to said first data controller; and

sending by said first data controller the data that said first data controller has read out and the data that were read out by said second controller and received by said first controller to said external communication path.

5. The control method according to claim 4, further comprising:

said first data controller dividing the data to be read out into reading units in accordance with one of the schemes of RAID 3 to 6, and performing an assignment process, in which the first data controller assigns said second data controller that is to handle the reading process to the divided reading units one by one.

6. The control method according to claim 5, further comprising executing a process of reading, from said storage resource, data that are read out as one stripe that is composed when managing said storage resource with said RAID scheme, after assigning the data controller that is to handle said reading process among said plurality of data controllers.