Storage system

• US 7,275,133 B2
• Filed: 11/16/2004
• Issued: 09/25/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Masayuki, Yagisawa, Ikuya, Matsunami, Naoto, Mannen, Akihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Ellis; Kevin L.
• Application Number:
  US10/988,496
• Publication Number:
  US 20050071525A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,043 Days
• Field of Search: 711/114, 711/112
• US Class Current: 711/114
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1456 Hardware arrangements for backup
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2069 Management of state, configuration or failover
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2071 using a plurality of controllers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0607 by facilitating the process of upgrading existing storage systems, e.g. for improving compatibility between host and storage device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0616 in relation to life time, e.g. increasing Mean Time Between Failures [MTBF]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0617 in relation to availability
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0629 Configuration or reconfiguration of storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0634 by changing the state or mode of one or more devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0647 Migration mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/065 Replication mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0653 Monitoring storage devices or systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0658 Controller construction arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0661 Format or protocol conversion arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0689 Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD

Abstract

A disk array includes a drive management unit, which is a program for identifying kinds of disk devices and managing different disk devices separately, and a drive management table for storing information to be utilized by the drive management unit. The disk array further includes a program for managing accumulated time of disk devices. The program includes a drive lifetime setting portion for setting lifetimes of drives, a drive start/stop portion for intentionally starting/stopping ATA disk devices, and an operation time measurement portion for measuring accumulated operation time. Since it is necessary to be conscious of difference in reliability and performance among disk devices when forming a RAID, a drive kind notification unit, which is a program for notifying of the kind of a disk device when forming the RAID, is provided.

Claims

1. A storage system for storing data, comprising

at least one first type disk devices each comprising a first type interface;

at least one second type disk devices each comprising a second type interface; and

a control unit coupled to said at least one first type disk devices and said at least one second type disk devices,

wherein said at least one second type disk devices are configured to execute a different type command from a command executed by said at least one first type disk devices, and

wherein at least one first type RAID groups are formed from said at least one first type disk devices, and at least one second type RAID groups are formed from said at least one second type disk devices.

2. The storage system according to claim 1, wherein said at least one first type disk devices are FC disk devices each comprising an FC interface, and said at least one second type disk devices are ATA disk devices each comprising an ATA interface.

3. The storage system according to claim 1, wherein said control unit is configured to create said at least one first type RAID groups and said at least one second type RAID groups, based on an interface type of each disk device in said storage system.

4. The storage system according to claim 3, wherein said control unit is configured to distinguish between said at least one first type disk devices and said at least one second type disk devices, and create at least one RAID group for each type of disk devices.

5. The storage system according to claim 4, wherein said control unit is configured to detect an interface type of each disk device coupled to said control unit, and create said at least one first type RAID groups and said at least one second type RAID groups according to the detected interface type of each disk device.

6. The storage system according to claim 5, wherein said control unit is configured to issue a command to each disk devices coupled to said control unit in order to detect the interface type of each disk device, and receive information associated with an interface type from each disk device in response to said command.

7. A storage system according to claim 1, wherein at least one first type logical storage areas are formed in said at least one first type RAID groups, and at least one second type logical storage areas are formed in said at least one second type RAID groups.

8. The storage system according to claim 1, wherein said control unit includes a first type drive interface part communicatively coupled to said at least one first type disk devices and a second type drive interface part communicatively coupled to said at least one second type disk devices.

9. The storage system according to claim 8, wherein said control unit is configured to determine a type of command to be issued to a target disk device of said command, according to an interface type of said target disk device.

10. The storage system according to claim 2, further comprising:

a first chassis including said FC disk devices;

a second chassis including said ATA disk devices; and

an FC loop coupled to said first chassis and said second chassis, via said FC loop, each of said FC disk devices and said ATA disk devices is coupled to said control unit.

11. The storage system according to claim 10, wherein said second chassis is coupled to said control unit via said first chassis and said FC loop, and said second chassis further includes an FC-ATA conversion interface, which converts a command for FC disk devices into a command for ATA disk devices to issue the convened command to an ATA disk device in said second chassis.

12. The storage system according to claim 2, further comprising:

a first chassis including said FC disk devices; and

a second chassis including said ATA disk devices, which is coupled to said control unit via an FC loop,

wherein said second chassis further includes an FC-ATA conversion interface, which converts a command received from-said control unit via said FC loop to a command for an ATA disk device and issues the converted command to an ATA disk device in said second chassis.

13. A storage system comprising:

a plurality of first type disk devices each including a first type interface;

a plurality of second type disk devices each including a second type interface; and

a control unit comprising a first type device interface part coupled to said first type disk devices and a second type device interface part coupled to said second type disk devices,

wherein said second type disk devices are configured to execute a different type of command from a command executed by said first type disk devices,

wherein said control unit is configured to receive an I/O command from a computer coupled to said storage system, determine a type of command for issuing to a target disk device, in which target data of the received I/O command is stored, based on an interface type of said target disk device, and issue the determined type command to said target disk device,

wherein said control unit is configured to detect an interface type of each disk device coupled to said control unit, and determine a type of command for issuing to said target disk device according to the detected interface type of said target disk device,

wherein said control unit has a drive management table in which information indicating the detected interface type of each disk device is recorded, and said control unit is configured to determine a type of command based on the information recorded in said drive management table, and

wherein said control unit is configured to control setting of a first type RAID group including said first type disk devices and setting of a second type RAID of group including said second type disk devices according to said drive management table.

14. A storage system comprising;

first type disk devices accessed via first type interfaces;

second type disk devices accessed via second type interfaces; and

a control unit coupled to the first type disk devices and the second type disk devices,

wherein the control unit manages interface types of the first type disk devices and the second type disk devices, and configures a first type disk group with the first type disk devices and a second type disk group with the second type disk devices based on the interface types, and

wherein a first type logical unit is configured in the first type disk group and a second type logical unit is configured in the second type disk group.

15. A storage system according to claim 14,

wherein the control unit obtains information relating to the interface types of the first type disk devices and the second type disk devices, and manages the interface types based on the obtained information.

16. A storage system according to claim 15,

wherein the control unit obtains the information relating to the interface types from the first type disk devices and the second type disk devices.

17. A storage system according to claim 16,

wherein the control unit issues a command to the first type disk devices and the second type disk devices, and obtains the information relating to the interface types in response to the command.

18. A storage system according to claim 14,

wherein the first type interfaces are FC interfaces and the second type interfaces are ATA interfaces.

19. A storage system according to claim 18,

wherein the first type disk group is an FC type RAID group configured with FC type disk devices, and the second type disk group is an ATA type RAID group configured with ATA type disk devices.

20. A method for configuring a logical unit in a storage system, which includes first type disk devices having first type interfaces, second type disk devices having second type interfaces, and a control unit coupled to the first type disk devices and the second type disk devices, comprising;

selecting plural disk devices based on interface types of the first type disk devices and the second type disk devices;

configuring, by the control unit, a disk group by using the selected plural disk devices, so that a first type disk group, being different from a second type disk group configured by the second type disk devices, is configured by the first type disk devices; and

configuring, a logical unit by using the first type disk group, so that a first type logical unit, being different from a second type logical unit configured by the second type disk group, is configured.

21. A method for configuring a logical unit according to claim 20, further comprising;

obtaining information relating to the interface types of the first type disk devices and the second type disk devices, and wherein the control unit configures the disk group based on the information relating to the interface types.

22. A method for configuring a logical unit according to claim 21, wherein the control unit issues a command to the first type disk devices and the second type disk devices, and obtains the information relating to the interface types in response to the command.

23. A method for configuring a logical unit according to claim 20, wherein the disk group is a RAID group.

24. A method for configuring a logical unit according to claim 20, wherein the first type interfaces are FC interfaces and the second type interfaces are ATA interfaces.