Remote e copy system and a remote copy method utilizing multiple virtualization apparatuses

• US 7,418,565 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2006
• Issued: 08/26/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Suzuki, Katsuyoshi, Asaka, Yoshihiro, Shirogane, Tetsuya, Takeda, Takahiko, Yamagami, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): Sough; Hyung
• Assistant Examiner(s): Walter; Craig E
• Application Number:
  US11/392,567
• Publication Number:
  US 20060174076A1
• Time in Patent Office: 880 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 711/162
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2066 Optimisation of the communication load
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2071 using a plurality of controllers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2003/0697 device management, e.g. handlers, drivers, I/O schedulers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/855 Details of asynchronous mirroring using a journal to transfer not-yet-mirrored changes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0601 Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

A data processing system includes a first storage system including a first host and a first storage subsystem. The first host has access to a first copy manager that is operable to manage a data replication operation. A second storage system includes a second host and a second storage subsystem. The second host has access to a second copy manager that is operable to manage a data replication operation. A first communication link is coupled to the first storage system and the second storage system to exchange management information between the first and second storage systems in order to manage the data replication operation. A data transfer path is configured to transfer data stored in the first storage subsystem to the second storage subsystem and replicate the data of the first storage subsystem in the second storage subsystem. The data transfer path is different from the first communication link.

Claims

1. A remote copy system comprising:

a plurality of primary storage subsystems having a plurality of primary logical storage areas, each of the plurality of primary storage subsystems including a primary controller and at least one of the plurality of primary logical storage areas associated with at least one primary disk;

a primary apparatus coupled to the plurality of primary storage subsystems;

a plurality of secondary storage subsystems having a plurality of secondary logical storage areas, each of the plurality of secondary storage subsystems including a secondary controller and at least one of the plurality of secondary logical storage areas associated with at least one secondary disk; and

a secondary apparatus coupled to the plurality of secondary storage subsystems;

wherein the primary apparatus manages a mapping between first address information to access the plurality of primary logical storage areas and second address information to access at least one primary virtual storage area, and executes a remote copy operation,

wherein the secondary apparatus manages a mapping between third address information to access the plurality of secondary logical storage areas and fourth address information to access at least one secondary virtual storage area, and executes a remote copy operation,

wherein the at least one primary virtual storage area includes a copy source virtual storage area and the at least one secondary virtual storage area includes a copy destination virtual storage area,

wherein when the primary apparatus receives a write request to the copy source virtual storage area from a host computer, the primary apparatus sends write data received according to the write request to at least one of the plurality of primary storage subsystems having a copy source primary logical storage area to store the write data in the copy source primary logical storage area, the copy source primary logical storage area being one of the plurality of primary logical storage areas and being associated with the copy source virtual storage area,

wherein the primary apparatus transmits a copy of the write data and time information assigned to the copy of the write data to the secondary apparatus,

wherein the secondary apparatus controls to store the copy of the write data and the time information in a journal area in at least one of the plurality of secondary storage subsystems, and

wherein when a certain time is determined, the secondary apparatus controls to store one or more copies, to which the time information indicating a time prior to the certain time is assigned, stored in the journal area to the copy destination virtual storage area so that the one or more copies are sent to at least one of the plurality of secondary storage subsystems having a copy destination secondary logical storage area, the copy destination secondary logical storage area being one of the plurality of secondary logical storage areas and being associated with the copy destination virtual storage area.

2. A remote copy subsystem according to claim 1,

wherein when the certain time is designated, the secondary apparatus controls to create a data image of the copy source virtual storage area at a point in the certain time in the copy destination virtual storage area, by using the copies and the time information in the journal area.

3. A remote copy subsystem according to claim 2,

wherein the secondary apparatus controls to create the data image of the copy source virtual storage area at the point in the certain time in the copy destination virtual storage area by controlling to store the one or more copies, to which the time information indicating the time prior to the certain time is assigned, in the copy destination virtual storage area.

4. A remote copy subsystem according to claim 1, wherein a marker for informing a predetermined event is transmitted from the primary apparatus to the secondary apparatus.

5. A remote copy subsystem according to claim 1, wherein the journal area is a secondary virtual storage area other than the copy destination virtual storage area.

6. A remote copy subsystem according to claim 1, wherein the primary apparatus acquires the copy of the write data received according to the write request in order to transmit the copy of the write data to the secondary apparatus.

7. A remote copy subsystem comprising:

a plurality of primary storage subsystems having a plurality of primary volumes, each of the plurality of primary storage subsystems including a primary controller and at least one of the plurality of primary volumes associated with at least one primary disk;

a primary apparatus coupled to the plurality of primary storage subsystems;

a plurality of secondary storage subsystems having a plurality of secondary volumes, each of the plurality of secondary storage subsystems including a secondary controller and at least one of the plurality of secondary volumes associated with at least one secondary disk;

a secondary apparatus coupled to the plurality of secondary storage subsystems,

wherein the primary apparatus manages a relation between the plurality of primary volumes and at least one primary virtual volume, and executes an operation for remote copying,

wherein the secondary apparatus manages a relation between the plurality of secondary volumes and at least one secondary virtual volume, and executes an operation for remote copying,

wherein the at least one primary virtual volume includes a copy source virtual volume and the at least one secondary virtual volume includes a copy destination virtual volume,

wherein the primary apparatus receives write data according to write requests to the copy source virtual volume from a host computer, and executes write operations to at least one of the plurality of primary storage subsystems having a copy source primary volume to store the write data in the copy source primary volume, the copy source primary volume being one of the plurality of primary volumes and being associated with the copy source virtual volume based on the relation managed by the primary apparatus,

wherein the primary apparatus creates data for transmission, the data for transmission includes a copy of the write data and time information assigned to the copy of the write data, and transmits the data for transmission to the secondary apparatus,

wherein the secondary apparatus controls to store the data for transmission received from the primary apparatus in a journal area in at least one of the plurality of secondary storage subsystems, and

wherein when a certain time is determined, the secondary apparatus controls to store one or more copies, to which the time information indicating a time prior to the certain time is assigned, stored in the journal area to the copy destination virtual volume, so that a write operation to at least one of the plurality of secondary storage subsystems having a copy destination secondary volume is executed in order to store the one or more copies in the copy destination secondary volume, the copy destination secondary volume being one of the plurality of secondary volumes and being associated with the copy destination virtual volume based on the relation managed by the secondary apparatus.

8. A remote copy subsystem according to claim 7,

wherein when the certain time is designated, the secondary apparatus controls to create a data image of the copy source virtual volume at a point in the certain time in the copy destination virtual volume, by using the copies and the time information in the journal area.

9. A remote copy subsystem according to claim 8,

wherein the secondary apparatus controls to create the data image of the copy source virtual volume at the point in the certain time in the copy destination virtual volume by controlling to store the one or more copies, to which the time information indicating the time prior to the certain time is assigned, to the copy destination virtual volume.

10. A remote copy subsystem according to claim 7, wherein a marker for informing a predetermined event is transmitted from the primary apparatus to the secondary apparatus.

11. A remote copy subsystem according to claim 7, wherein the journal area is a secondary virtual volume other than the copy destination virtual volume.

12. A remote copy subsystem according to claim 7, wherein the primary apparatus acquires the copy of the write data, and creates the data for transmission including the copy of the write data and the time information assigned to the copy of the write data.

13. A method for remote copying from a primary subsystem to a secondary subsystem,

wherein the primary subsystem includes a plurality of primary storage subsystems having a plurality of primary logical storage areas and a primary apparatus coupled to the plurality of primary storage subsystems, each of the plurality of primary storage subsystems having a primary controller and at least one of the plurality of primary logical storage areas associated with a primary disk, and

wherein the secondary subsystem includes a plurality of secondary storage subsystems having a plurality of secondary logical storage areas and a secondary apparatus coupled to the plurality of secondary storage subsystems, each of the plurality of secondary storage subsystems having a secondary controller and at least one of the plurality of secondary logical storage areas associated with a secondary disk,

the method comprising steps of:

by the primary apparatus, managing a mapping between first address information to access the plurality of primary logical storage areas and second address information to access at least one primary virtual storage area, the at least one primary virtual storage area including a copy source virtual storage area;

by the secondary apparatus, managing a mapping between third address information to access the plurality of secondary logical storage areas and fourth address information to access at least one secondary virtual storage area, the at least one secondary virtual storage area including a copy destination virtual storage area;

by the primary apparatus, receiving a write request to the copy source virtual storage area from a computer;

by the primary apparatus, based on the mapping managed by the primary apparatus, sending write data received according to the write request to at least one of the plurality of primary storage subsystems having a copy source primary logical storage area to store the write data in the copy source primary logical storage area, the copy source primary logical storage area being one of the plurality of primary logical storage areas associated with the copy source virtual storage area;

by the primary apparatus, transmitting a copy of the write data and time information assigned to the copy of the write data to the secondary apparatus;

by the secondary apparatus, controlling to store the copy of the write data and the time information in a journal area in the plurality of secondary storage subsystems; and

by the secondary apparatus, when a certain time is determined, controlling to store the one or more copies, to which the time information indicating a time prior to the certain time is assigned, from the journal area to the copy destination virtual storage area so that the one or more copies are sent to at least one of the secondary storage subsystems having a copy destination secondary logical storage area, the copy destination secondary logical storage area being one of the plurality of secondary logical storage areas associated with the copy destination virtual storage area.

14. A method for remote copying according to claim 13,

wherein when the certain time is designated, the secondary apparatus controls to create a data image of the copy source virtual storage area at a point in the certain time in the copy destination virtual storage area, by using the copies and the time information in the journal area.

15. A method for remote copying according to claim 14,

wherein the secondary apparatus controls to create the data image of the copy source virtual storage area at the point in the certain time in the copy destination virtual storage area by controlling to store the one or more copies, to which the time information indicating the time prior to the certain time is assigned, in the copy destination virtual storage area.

16. A method for remote copying according to claim 13, further comprising a step of transmitting a marker for informing a predetermined event from the primary apparatus to the secondary apparatus.

17. A method for remote copying according to claim 13, wherein the journal area is another secondary virtual storage area other than the copy destination virtual storage area.

18. A method for remote copying according to claim 13, further comprising a step of by the primary apparatus, acquiring the copy of the write data received according to the write request in order to transmit the copy of the write data to the secondary apparatus.

19. A method for remote copying between a primary subsystem and a secondary subsystem,

wherein the primary subsystem includes a plurality of primary storage subsystems having a plurality of primary volumes and a primary apparatus coupled to the plurality of primary storage subsystems, each of the plurality of primary storage subsystems including a primary controller and at least one of the plurality of primary volumes associated with at least one primary disk, and

wherein the secondary subsystem includes a plurality of secondary storage subsystems having a plurality of secondary volumes and a secondary apparatus coupled to the plurality of secondary storage subsystems, each of the plurality of secondary storage subsystems including a secondary controller and at least one of the plurality of secondary volumes associated with at least one secondary disk,

the method comprising steps of:

by the primary apparatus, managing a relation between the plurality of primary volumes and at least one primary virtual volume, the at least one primary virtual volume including a copy source virtual volume;

by the secondary apparatus, managing a relation between the plurality of secondary volumes and at least one secondary virtual volume, the at least one secondary virtual volume including a copy destination virtual volume;

by the primary apparatus, receiving write data according to write requests to the copy source virtual volume from a host computer;

by the primary apparatus, executing write operations to at least one of the plurality of primary storage subsystems having a copy source primary volume to store the write data in the copy source primary volume, the copy source primary volume being one of the plurality of primary volumes and being associated with the copy source virtual volume based on the relation managed by the primary apparatus;

by the primary apparatus, creating data for transmission, the data for transmission including a copy of the write data and time information assigned to the copy of the write data;

by the primary apparatus, transmitting the data for transmission to the secondary apparatus;

by the secondary apparatus, controlling to store the data for transmission received from the primary apparatus in a journal area in at least one of the plurality of secondary storage subsystems;

by the secondary apparatus, when a certain time is determined, controlling to store one or more copies, to which the time information indicating a time prior to the certain time is assigned, stored in the journal area to the copy destination virtual volume so that a write operation to at least one of the plurality of secondary storage subsystems having a copy destination secondary volume is executed in order to store the one or more copies in the copy destination secondary volume, the copy destination secondary volume being one of the plurality of secondary volumes and being associated with the copy destination virtual volume based on the relation managed by the secondary apparatus.

20. A method for remote copying according to claim 19,

wherein when the certain time is designated, the secondary apparatus controls to create a data image of the copy source virtual volume at a point in the certain time in the copy destination virtual volume, by using the copies and the time information in the journal area.

21. A method for remote copying according to claim 20,

wherein the secondary apparatus controls to create the data image of the copy source virtual volume at the point in the certain time in the copy destination virtual volume by controlling to store the one or more copies, to which the time information showing the time prior to the certain time is assigned, to the copy destination virtual volume.

22. A method for remote copying according to claim 19, further comprising a step of transmitting a marker for informing a predetermined event from the primary apparatus to the secondary apparatus.

23. A method for remote copying according to claim 19, wherein the journal area is another secondary virtual volume other than the copy destination virtual volume.

24. A method for remote copying according to claim 19, further comprising a step of by the primary apparatus, acquiring the copy of the write data to create the data for transmission including the copy of the write data and the time information assigned to the copy of the write data.

25. A system used for copying data from primary subsystem including a plurality of primary storage subsystems having a plurality of primary logical storage areas to a secondary subsystem including a plurality of secondary storage subsystems having a plurality of secondary logical storage areas, comprising:

a primary apparatus coupled to the plurality of primary storage subsystems, each of the plurality of primary storage subsystems having a controller and at least one of the plurality of primary logical storage areas associated with at least one primary disk; and

a secondary apparatus coupled to the plurality of secondary storage subsystems, each of the plurality of secondary storage subsystems having a controller and at least one of the plurality of secondary logical storage areas associated with at least one secondary disk,

wherein the primary apparatus manages a relation between the plurality of primary logical storage areas and at least one primary virtual storage area, the at least one primary virtual storage area including a copy source virtual storage area,

wherein the secondary apparatus manages a relation between the plurality of secondary logical storage areas and at least one secondary virtual storage area, the at least one secondary virtual storage area including a copy destination virtual storage area,

wherein when the primary apparatus receives a write request to the copy source virtual storage area, the primary apparatus sends write data received according to the write request to at least one of the primary storage subsystems having a copy source primary logical storage area to store the write data in the copy source primary logical storage area, the copy source primary logical storage area being one of the plurality of primary logical storage areas and being associated with the copy source virtual storage area based on the relation managed by the primary apparatus,

wherein the primary apparatus transmits a copy of the write data and time information assigned to the copy of the write data to the secondary apparatus,

wherein the secondary apparatus controls to store the copy of the write data and the time information in a journal area in at least one of the plurality of secondary storage subsystems, and

wherein when a certain time is determined, the secondary apparatus controls to store one or more copies, to which the time information indicating a time prior to the certain time is assigned, stored in the journal area to the copy destination virtual storage area, so that the one or more copies are sent to at least one of the plurality of secondary storage subsystems having a copy destination secondary logical storage area, the copy destination secondary logical storage area being one of the plurality of secondary logical storage areas and being associated with the copy destination virtual storage area based on the relation managed by the secondary apparatus.

26. A system used for copying data according to claim 25,

wherein when the certain time is designated, the secondary apparatus controls to create a data image of the copy source virtual storage area at a point in the certain time in the copy destination virtual storage area, by using the copies and the time information in the journal area.

27. A system used for copying data according to claim 26,

wherein the secondary apparatus controls to create the data image of the copy source virtual storage area at the point in the certain time in the copy destination virtual storage area by controlling to store the one or more copies, to which the time information showing the time prior to the certain time is assigned, in the copy destination virtual storage area.

28. A system used for copying data according to claim 25, wherein a marker for informing a predetermined event is transmitted from the primary apparatus to the secondary apparatus.

29. A system used for copying data according to claim 25, wherein the journal area is another secondary virtual storage area other than the copy destination virtual storage area.

30. A system used for copying data according to claim 25, wherein the primary apparatus acquires the copy of the write data received according to the write request in order to transmit the copy of the write data to the secondary apparatus.

31. A system used for copying data from a primary subsystem including a plurality of primary storage subsystems having a plurality of primary volumes to a secondary subsystem including a plurality of secondary storage subsystems having a plurality of secondary volumes, comprising:

a primary apparatus coupled to the plurality of primary storage subsystems, each of the plurality of primary storage subsystems having a controller and at least one of the plurality of primary volumes associated with at least one primary disk; and

a secondary apparatus coupled to the plurality of secondary storage subsystems, each of the plurality of secondary storage subsystems having a controller and at least one of the plurality of secondary volumes associated with at least one secondary disk,

wherein the primary apparatus manages a mapping between first address information to access the plurality of primary volumes and second address information to access at least one primary virtual volume, the at least one primary virtual volume including a copy source virtual volume,

wherein the secondary apparatus manages a mapping between third address information to access the plurality of secondary volumes and fourth address information to access at least one secondary virtual volume, the at least one secondary virtual volume including a copy destination virtual volume,

wherein the primary apparatus receives write data according to write requests to the copy source virtual volume, and executes a write operation to at least one of the plurality of primary storage subsystems having a copy source primary volume to store the write data in the copy source primary volume, the copy source primary volume being one of the plurality of primary volumes and being associated with the copy source virtual volume,

wherein the primary apparatus generates data for transmission, the data for transmission includes a copy of the write data and time information assigned to the copy of the write data, and transmits the data for transmission to the secondary apparatus,

wherein the secondary apparatus receives the data for transmission and controls to store the copy of the write data and the time information included in the data for transmission to a journal area in at least one of the plurality of secondary storage subsystems, and

wherein when a certain time is determined, the secondary apparatus controls to store one or more copies, to which the time information indicating a time prior to the certain time is assigned, stored in the journal area to the copy destination virtual storage area so that the one or more copies area sent to at least one of the plurality of secondary storage subsystems having a copy destination secondary volume, the copy destination secondary volume being one of the plurality of secondary volumes and being associated with the copy destination virtual storage volume.

32. A system used for copying data according to claim 31,

wherein when the certain time is designated, the secondary apparatus controls to create a data image of the copy source virtual volume at a point in the certain time in the copy destination virtual volume, by using the copies and the time information in the journal area.

33. A system used for copying data according to claim 32,

wherein the secondary apparatus controls to create the data image of the copy source virtual volume at the point in the certain time in the copy destination virtual volume by controlling to store the one or more copies, to which the time information showing the time prior to the certain time is assigned, to the copy destination virtual volume.

34. A system used for copying data according to claim 31, wherein a marker for informing a predetermined event is transmitted from the primary apparatus to the secondary apparatus.

35. A system used for copying data according to claim 31, wherein the journal area is another secondary virtual volume other than the copy destination virtual volume.

36. A system used for copying data according to claim 31, wherein the primary apparatus acquires the copy of the write data, and creates the data for transmission including the copy of the write data and the time information assigned to the copy of the write data.