Storage subsystem and storage subsystem control method

• US 7,240,156 B2
• Filed: 01/10/2006
• Issued: 07/03/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Sakaguchi, Takashi, Sugino, Shoji, Nagasoe, Yasuyuki, Hoshino, Sachiko
• Primary Examiner(s): BATAILLE, PIERRE MICHE
• Application Number:
  US11/328,057
• Publication Number:
  US 20060112225A1
• Time in Patent Office: 539 Days
• Field of Search: 711/114, 711/118, 711/154, 711/113, 711/173, 711/209, 710/54
• US Class Current: 711/114
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/084 with a shared cache
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0866 for peripheral storage systems, e.g. disk cache
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0871 Allocation or management of cache space
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2003/0697 device management, e.g. handlers, drivers, I/O schedulers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/282 Partitioned cache
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/311 In host system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/312 In storage controller
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/6042 Allocation of cache space to multiple users or processors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0601 Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

The present invention partitions a cache region of a storage subsystem for each user and prevents interference between user-dedicated regions.

A plurality of CLPR can be established within the storage subsystem. A CLPR is a user-dedicated region that can be used by partitioning the cache region of a cache memory. Management information required to manage the data stored in the cache memory is allocated to each CLPR in accordance with the attribute of the segment or slot. The clean queue and clean counter, which manage the segments in a clean state, are provided in each CLPR. The dirty queue and dirty counter are used jointly by all the CLPR. The free queue, classification queue, and BIND queue are applied jointly to all the CLPR, only the counters being provided in each CLPR.

Claims

1. A storage system comprising:

a display device displaying information; and

a disk array system coupled to said display device, comprising;

a plurality of channel adapters, coupled to at least one host computer, which communicate data with said host computer,

a plurality of disk devices relating to at least one logical volume and storing data sent from said channel adapters,

a plurality of disk adapters coupled to said disk devices and causing data sent from said channel adapters to be stored in said disk drives,

a cache memory storing data between said channel adapters and said disk adapters and having a plurality of logical partition regions which partition said cache memory logically, and

a control memory storing management information which relates to said logical partition regions,

wherein said management information includes a plurality of first management information and second management information, each of said first management information is used to independently manage one of said logical partition regions, and said second management information is used to commonly manage said logical partition regions,

wherein one of said first management information is set/changed, if one of said logical partition regions is set/changed based on a request sent from said display device,

wherein said management information includes a plurality of queues and at least one counter associated with the at least one queue, and

wherein at least one of said queues includes partition management information and a counter associated with the at least one of said queues indicates a next entry of the at least one of said queues to be used.

2. The storage system according to claim 1, wherein said first management information and said second management information are established based on an indication of a kind of status in which data is stored in one of said logical partition regions.

3. The storage system according to claim 1, wherein said management information is constituted by submanagement information of a plurality of types;

and

wherein said partition management information are constituted by partitioning, based on an indication of a kind of status in which data is stored in one of said logical partition regions, some of the submanagement information items for each of the cache partition regions, the remainder of the submanagement information being used as said second management information.

4. The storage system according to claim 1, wherein the management information is constituted by queues of a plurality of types, and counters that are associated with each of the queues;

and

wherein said first partition management information are constituted by providing some of the queues and counters in each of the logical partition regions based on an indication of a kind of status in which data is stored in an area of the logical partition region, the, remainder of the queues and the remainder of the counters being used as said second management information.

5. The storage system according to claim 4, wherein one of a first queue of the queues and a first counter of the counters, which is associated with said first queue, constitutes said first management information, and the other is used as said second management information.

6. The storage subsystem according to claim 4, wherein a queue management table is associated with each queue, and the queue management table associated with a queue that constitutes said first management information is provided in each of the logical partition regions.

7. The storage system according to claim 1, wherein the management information includes:

a free queue to which a cache management unit in an unused state is connected and a free queue counter associated with the free queue,

a dirty queue to which a cache management unit for storing data in a dirty state prior to reflection in a storage device group is connected and a dirty queue counter associated with the dirty queue,

a clean queue to which a cache management unit for storing data in a clean state that has been reflected In the storage device group is connected and a clean queue counter associated with the clean queue, and

an in-use counter that counts the total capacity of in-use areas in said cache memory,

wherein the free queue counter, the clean queue, the clean queue counter and the in-use counter are provided in each of the logical partition regions and each constitute said first management information, and

wherein the free queue, the dirty queue, and the dirty queue counter are used as said second management information.

8. The storage system according to claim 1, wherein each of the logical partition regions can be established for each of the channel adapters.

9. The storage system according to claim 1, wherein one logical partition region among the logical partition regions is established as a common region and a new logical partition region is established by allocating resources belonging to the common region.

10. A method for controlling a storage system that comprises:

a display device displaying information; and

a disk array system coupled to said display device, which includes;

a plurality of channel adapters, coupled to at least one host computer, which communicate data with said host computer,

a plurality of disk devices relating to at least one logical volume and storing data sent from said channel adapters,

a plurality of disk adapters coupled to said disk devices and causing data sent from said channel adapters to be stored in said disk drives, and

a cache memory storing data between said channel adapters and said disk adapters and having a plurality of logical partition regions which partition said cache memory logically,

said method comprising the steps of;

storing in a control memory management information which relates to said logical partition regions,

wherein said management information includes a plurality of first management information and second management information, each of said first management information is used to independently manage one of said logical partition regions, and said second management information is used to commonly manage said logical partition regions;

setting/changing one of said first management information, if one of said logical partition regions is set/changed based on a request sent from said display device,

wherein said management information includes a plurality of queues and at least one counter associated with the at least one queue, and

wherein at least one of said queues includes partition management information and a counter associated with the at least one of said queues indicates a next entry of the at least one of said queues to be used.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein said first management information and said second management information are established based on an indication of a kind of status in which data is stored in one of said logical partition regions.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein said management information is constituted by submanagement information of a plurality of types;

and

wherein said partition management information are constituted by partitioning, based on an indication of a kind of status in which data is stored in one of said logical partition regions, some of the submanagement information items for each of the cache partition regions, the remainder of the submanagement information being used as said second management information.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein the management information is constituted by queues of a plurality of types, and counters that are associated with each of the queues;

and

wherein said first partition management information are constituted by providing some of the queues and counters in each of the logical partition regions based on an indication of a kind of status in which data is stored in an area of the logical partition region, the remainder of the queues and the remainder of the counters being used as said second management information.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein one of a first queue of the queues and a first counter of the counters, which is associated with said first queue, constitutes said first management information, and the other is used as said second management information.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein a queue management table Is associated with each queue, and the queue management table associated with a queue that constitutes said first management information is provided in each of the logical partition regions.

16. The method according to claim 10, wherein the management information includes:

a free queue to which a cache management unit in an unused state is connected and a free queue counter associated with the free queue,

a dirty queue to which a cache management unit for storing data in a dirty state prior to reflection in a storage device group is connected and a dirty queue counter associated with the dirty queue,

a clean queue to which a cache management unit for storing data in a clean state that has been reflected in the storage device group is connected and a clean queue counter associated with the clean queue, and

an in-use counter that counts the total capacity of in-use areas in said cache memory,

wherein the free queue counter, the clean queue, the clean queue counter and the in-use counter are provided in each of the logical partition regions and each constitute said first management information, and

wherein the free queue, the dirty queue, and the dirty queue counter are used as said second management information.

17. The method according to claim 10, wherein each of the logical partition regions can be established for each of the channel adapters.

18. The method according to claim 10, wherein one logical partition region among the logical partition regions is established as a common region and a new logical partition region is established by allocating resources belonging to the common region.