Method for controlling storage system

• US 7,353,434 B2
• Filed: 02/03/2006
• Issued: 04/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Fujimoto, Shuji
• Primary Examiner(s): PUENTE, EMERSON C
• Application Number:
  US11/346,763
• Publication Number:
  US 20060150035A1
• Time in Patent Office: 788 Days
• Field of Search: 714/4, 714/5, 714/9, 714/13, 714/54
• US Class Current: 714/54
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0727 in a storage system, e.g. in a DASD or network based storage system drivers for digital recording or reproducing units G06F3/06; circuits for error detection or correction within digital recording or reproducing units G11B20/18; for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0748 in a remote unit communicating with a single-box computer node experiencing an error/fault remote testing G06F11/2294
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0775 Content or structure details of the error report, e.g. specific table structure, specific error fields
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0778 Dumping, i.e. gathering error/state information after a fault for later diagnosis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0784 Routing of error reports, e.g. with a specific transmission path or data flow
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2092 Techniques of failing over between control units
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0617 in relation to availability
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0643 Management of files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0659 Command handling arrangements, e.g. command buffers, queues, command scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0689 Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD

Abstract

A storage system including: channel control portions each including a circuit board on which a file access processing portion for receiving file-by-file data input/output requests sent from information processors through a network and an I/O processor for outputting I/O requests corresponding to the data input/output requests to storage devices are formed; disk control portions for performing data input/output of the storage devices in response to the I/O requests sent from the I/O processors; and a computer communicatably connected to the channel control portions and the disk control portions. The storage system is formed so that when one of the channel control portions detects occurrence of failure in the channel control portion, the channel control portion gives a notice of occurrence of failure to the computer.

Claims

1. A method of controlling a storage system, wherein:

said storage system includes;

channel control portions each including a circuit board on which a file access processing portion for receiving file-by-file data input/output requests sent from information processors through a network and an I/O processor for outputting I/O requests corresponding to said data input/output requests to storage devices are formed;

disk control portions for performing data input/output of said storage devices in response to said I/O requests sent from said I/O processors; and

a computer communicably connected to said channel control portions and said disk control portions;

said method comprising;

storage regions for storing dump information concerning programs executed by said channel control portions are set in said storage devices; and

when one of said disk control portions makes a decision that said I/O request accepted from one of said channel control portions is for any one of said set storage regions, said disk control portion gives a notice of occurrence of failure in said channel control portion to said computer.

2. A method of controlling a storage system according to claim 1, wherein:

when each of said channel control portions receives a notice of occurrence of failure in a channel control portion, each of said channel control portions specifies the address on said storage devices, of dump information written by said failed channel control portion on the basis of said notice; and

each of said channel control portions acquires said dump information stored in said specified address and sends said dump information to said information processors.

3. A method of controlling a storage system according to claim 1, wherein said failure is caused by a fault in one of an operating system and an application program executed by each of said channel control portions.

5. A method of controlling a storage system according to claim 2, wherein each of said channel control portions processes said dump information stored in said storage devices into a data format that can be referred to by persons operating said information processors before each of said channel control portions sends said dump information to said information processors.

4. A method of controlling a storage system, wherein:

said storage system includes;

channel control portions each including a circuit board on which a file access processing portion for receiving file-by-file data input/output requests sent from information processors through a network and an I/O processor for outputting I/O requests corresponding to said data input/output requests to storage devices are formed;

disk control portions for performing data input/output of said storage devices in response to said I/O requests sent from said I/O processors; and

a computer communicably connected to said channel control portions and said disk control portions;

said method comprising;

when one of said disk control portions detects the fact that dump information output from one of said channel control portions is written in one of said storage devices, said disk control portion gives a notice of occurrence of failure in said channel control portion to said computer.

6. A storage system, wherein:

said storage system includes;

channel control portions each including a circuit board on which a file access processing portion for receiving file-by-file data input/output requests sent from information processors through a network and an I/O processor for outputting I/O requests corresponding to said data input/output requests to storage devices are formed;

disk control portions for performing data input/output of said storage devices in response to said I/O requests sent from said I/O processors; and

a computer communicably connected to said channel control portions and said disk control portions; and

said storage system further includes means by which when one of said disk control portions detects the fact that dump information output from one of said channel control portions is written in any one of said storage devices, said disk control portion gives a notice of occurrence of failure in said channel control portion to said computer.

7. A program stored on a computer-readable medium and used in a storage system including:

channel control portions each including a circuit board on which a file access processing portion for receiving file-by-file data input/output requests sent from information processors through a network and an I/O processor for outputting I/O requests corresponding to said data input/output requests to storage devices are formed;

disk control portions for performing data input/output of said storage devices in response to said I/O requests sent from said I/O processors; and

a computer communicably connected to said channel control portions and said disk control portions;

said program providing each of said disk control portions with a function by which when one of said disk control portions detects the fact that dump information output from one of said channel control portions is written in any one of said storage devices, said disk control portion gives a notice of occurrence of failure in said channel control portion to said computer.