Disk array apparatus and disk array apparatus controlling method

• US 7,373,456 B2
• Filed: 11/27/2006
• Issued: 05/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/16/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Hakamata, Kazuo, Kano, Azuma, Yamazaki, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Sparks; Donald
• Assistant Examiner(s): BRADLEY, MATTHEW A
• Application Number:
  US11/604,216
• Publication Number:
  US 20070073970A1
• Time in Patent Office: 533 Days
• Field of Search: 711/114
• US Class Current: 711/114
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3221 of disk drive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3268 Power saving in hard disk drive
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1662 the resynchronized component or unit being a persistent storage device re-synchronization of failed mirror storage G06F11/2082; rebuild or reconstruction of parity RAID storage G06F11/1008
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2094 Redundant storage or storage space G06F11/2056 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2097 maintaining the standby controller/processing unit updated initialisation or re-synchronisation thereof G06F11/1658 and subgroups
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0625 Power saving in storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0634 by changing the state or mode of one or more devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0653 Monitoring storage devices or systems
• 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: G11B 19/00 Driving, starting, stopping record carriers not specifically of filamentary or web form, or of supports therefor; Control thereof; Control of operating function ; Driving both disc and head
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate

Abstract

Times at which requests for a data read or data write from/to a logical volume are received are stored in memory as access times of a RAID group making up the logical volume. When a predetermined time has elapsed after the access time, a number of the hard disk drives according to the redundancy of the RAID group are set to a power saving mode. Assume there are first hard disk drives and second hard disk drives having shorter lifes and the RAID group exceeds a predetermined time after the access time. When the RAID group consists of only the first drives, a number of the first drives according to the redundancy of the RAID group are set to a power saving mode and when it consists of only the second drives, an arbitrary number of second drives are set to a power saving mode.

Claims

1. A disk array apparatus connected to an information processing apparatus so as to be able to communicate therewith, comprising:

a plurality of hard disk drives;

a controller constructed by including a host interface which receives a request for a data read and request for a data write from/to said hard disk drives from said information processing apparatus, a disk interface connected to said hard disk drives so as to be able to communicate therewith through a communication path which performs data input/output to/from said hard disk drives, a memory, a CPU which controls said host interface and said disk interface and a time counting mechanism; and

a first controller coupled to an information processing apparatus and controlling to transfer/receive data to/from said information processing apparatus and controlling to read/write data,

wherein a logical volume is formed in a RAID group with redundancy made up of a plurality of said hard disk drives, said disk array apparatus comprising;

an access time storage section which stores, upon reception of a request for a data read or request for a data write from/to said logical volume from said information processing apparatus, the time acquired from said time counting mechanism as the access time in said memory in association with an identifier of said RAID group in which said logical volume is formed; and

a power saving mode execution section which refers to said access time stored in said memory and sets a number of said hard disk drives according to the redundancy of said RAID group to a power saving mode when the difference between the time acquired from said time counting mechanism and said access time exceeds a predetermined time,

wherein said plurality of hard disk drives include (1) a plurality of first disk drives each coupled to both said first controller, each of first disk drives corresponding to a converter and storing data received via said converter, said converter performing a conversion of an interface between a Fibre Channel (FC) interface and a Serial AT Attachment (Serial ATA) interface, (2) a plurality of second disk drives each coupled to said first controller and storing data sent according to a FC interface, and (3) at least one spare disk drive,

a first Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks (RAID) group is formed by using said first disk drives,

a second RAID group is formed by using said second disk drives,

said first controller stores data in said spare disk drive and corresponds the stored data in said spare disk to data stored in at least one of said first disk drives, if said first controller performs a first spare process, and

said first controller stores data in said spare disk drive and corresponds the stored data in said spare disk to data stored in at least one of said second disk drives, if said first controller performs a second spare process.

2. A disk array apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a basic case comprising said first controller; and

an additional case comprising said first disk drives.

3. A disk array apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

said first controller includes a computer program, and said computer program include codes controlling to form said first RAID group and controlling to form said second RAID group.

4. A disk array apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

said first controller comprises a first CPU and a first memory;

said first CPU forms said first RAID group and said second RAID group; and

said first memory stores first information of said first RAID group, second information of said first disk drives, third information of said second RAID group, and fourth information of said second disk drives.

5. A disk array apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

said first controller comprises a first CPU and a first memory;

said first CPU forms said first RAID group and said second RAID group; and

aid first memory stores first information of said first RAID group, second information of said first disk drives, third information indicating that communication interface of said first disk drives is said Serial ATA interface, fourth information of said second RAID group, fifth information of said second disk drives, and sixth information indicating that communication interface of said second disk drives is said FC interface.

6. A disk array apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

said first controller automatically performs said first spare process based on error information of said at least one of said first disk drives, and

said first controller automatically performs said second spare process based on error information of said at least one of said second disk drives.

7. A disk array apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

said first controller comprises a first CPU and a first memory;

said first CPU forms said first RAID group;

said first memory stores first information of said first RAID group, second information of said first disk drives, and error information of said at least one of said first disk drives; and

said first controller performs said first spare process of said at least one of said first disk drives based on said error information of said at least one of said first disk drives.

8. A disk array apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

said first controller comprises a first CPU and a first memory;

said first CPU forms said first RAID group;

said first memory stores first information of said first RAID group, second information of said first disk drives, third information indicating that communication interface of said first disk drives is said Serial ATA interface, and error information of said at least one of said first disk drives, fourth information of said second RAID group, fifth information of said second disk drives, and sixth information indicating that communication interface of said second disk drives is said FC interface, and error information of said at least one of said second disk drives;

said first controller performs said first spare process of said at least one of said first disk drives based on said error information of said at least one of said first disk drives; and

said first controller performs said second spare process based on said error information of said at least one of said second disk drives.

9. A disk array apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

said first controller comprises a first CPU and a first memory;

said first CPU forms said first RAID group and said second RAID group;

said first memory stores error information of said at least one of said first disk drives and error information of said at least one of said second disk drives;

said first controller performs said first spare process of said at least one of said first disk drives based on the number of errors of said at least one of said first disk drives is over a level; and

said first controller performs said second spare process based on the number of errors of said at least one of said second disk drives is over a level.