Storage system and storage control device

• US 7,673,107 B2
• Filed: 07/03/2007
• Issued: 03/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Tamura, Keishi, Okumoto, Katsuhiro, Honma, Hisao, Nakagawa, Yoshihito
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsai; Sheng-Jen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Alsip; Michael
• Application Number:
  US11/773,081
• Publication Number:
  US 20080016303A1
• Time in Patent Office: 973 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 711/162
• 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 11/2071 using a plurality of controllers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2082 Data synchronisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• 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 3/065 Replication mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0665 at area level, e.g. provisioning of virtual or logical volumes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

A virtualization system, including: at least one first port coupled to at least one host system; at least one second port coupled to a plurality of storage systems; wherein the virtualization system is capable to control to perform processes of splitting a relationship between the first virtual volume and the second virtual volume; storing first differential information identifying data of a first write request; write data of first write request to a storage area of the disk drives related to the first logical volume; storing second differential information identifying data of a second write request, the data of the second request being written after the splitting step, receiving a differential copying request; to copy differential data from the first virtual volume to the second virtual volume, or to copy differential data from the second virtual volume to the first virtual volume.

Claims

1. A virtualization system including a virtualization storage device and a plurality of storage devices, the virtualization system comprising:

at least one first port coupled to at least one host system;

at least one second port coupled to a plurality of storage devices; and

at least one controller forming a first virtual volume and a second virtual volume within the virtualization storage device; and

each of the plurality of storage devices comprising;

a plurality of disk drives; and

a controller coupled to at least one second host system and forming at least one logical volume related to at least a portion of the plurality of disk drives;

wherein the virtualization storage device controls to perform processes of splitting a relationship between the first virtual volume and the second virtual volume;

receiving a first write request, the first write request being sent from the first host system for writing data to the first virtual volume;

storing first differential information identifying data of the first write request, the data of the first write request being written after the splitting step; and

transferring the data of the first write request to a first logical volume of a first storage device of the storage devices, the first logical volume being related to the first virtual volume, so that the first storage device can write the data of the first write request to a storage area of the disk drives related to the first logical volume;

wherein a second storage device of the plurality of storage devices controls to perform processes of;

receiving a second write request, the second write request being sent from the second host system for writing data to a second logical volume, which is related to the second virtual volume in the virtualization storage device and is formed in the second storage device; and

storing second differential information identifying data of the second write request, the data of the second write request being written after the splitting step;

wherein the virtualization storage device controls to perform processes of;

receiving a differential copying request;

if the differential copying request indicates to copy differential data from the first virtual volume to the second virtual volume, (1) controlling to copy the data of the first write request to the second virtual volume based on the first differential information, and (2) transferring the data of the first write request to the second logical volume of the second storage device of the storage devices, so that the second storage device can write the data of the first write request to a storage area of the disk drives related to the second logical volume; and

if the differential copying request indicates to copy differential data from the second virtual volume to the first virtual volume, (3) requesting the second differential information from the second storage device, and (4) acquiring the second differential information from the second storage device, and (5) controlling to copy the data of the second write request to the first virtual volume based on the second differential information, and (6) transferring the data of the second write request to the first logical volume of the first storage device, so that the first storage device can write the data of the second write request to the storage area of the disk drives related to the first logical volume.

2. The virtualization system as recited in claim 1, wherein

the virtualization storage device is an intelligent switch device;

and

the relationship between the first virtual volume and the second virtual volume is a pair relationship.

3. The virtualization system as recited in claim 1, wherein

the virtualization storage device is a switch device;

and

the first differential information are location information identifying a location in the first virtual volumes in which the data of the first write request are written.

4. The virtualization system as recited in claim 1, wherein

the first differential information are stored in a first management information storing area.

5. The virtualization system as recited in claim 1, wherein

the second differential information are location information identifying a location of the data of the second write request.

6. The virtualization system as recited in claim 1 wherein

the virtualization storage device is a switch device;

and

the second differential information are stored in a second management information storing area.

7. The virtualization system as recited in claim 1, wherein

the relationship between the first virtual volume and the second virtual volume is a pair relationship;

and

the differential copying request is received from managing device.

8. The virtualization system as recited in claim 1, wherein

for copying the data of the first write request to the second virtual volume, the virtualization storage device performs processes of

referring to the first differential information;

referring to a mapping information between the first virtual volume and the first logical volumes; and

reading the data of the first write request from the at least one of the first logical volumes of the first storage device.

9. The virtualization system as recited in claim 1, wherein

the virtualization storage device is a switch device;

and

for copying the data of the first write request to the second virtual volume, the virtualization storage device performs processes of;

referring to the first differential information;

referring to a mapping information between the first virtual volume and the first logical volumes; and

reading the data of the first write request from the at least one of the first logical volumes of the first storage device.

10. The virtualization system as recited in claim 1 wherein

the virtualization storage device is a switch device;

the relationship between the first virtual volume and the second virtual volume is a pair relationship; and

for copying the data of the second write request to the first virtual volume, the virtualization storage device performs processes of;

referring to the second differential information;

referring to a mapping information between the second virtual volume and the second logical volumes; and

reading the data of the second write request from the at least one of the second logical volumes of the second storage device.

11. The virtualization system as recited in claim 1, wherein

for copying the data of the second write request to the first virtual volume, the virtualization storage device performs processes of:

referring to the second differential information;

referring to a mapping information between the second virtual volume and the second logical volumes; and

reading the data of the second write request from the at least one of the second logical volumes of the second storage device based on both the referring to the second differential information and the referring to the mapping information.

12. A data copy method for a virtualization system including a virtualization storage device and a plurality of storage devices, where the virtualization storage device is coupled to at least one first host system and the plurality of storage devices and forming a first virtual volume and a second virtual volume within the virtualization storage device, each of the plurality of storage devices coupled to at least one second host system and forming at least one logical volume related to at least a portion of a plurality of disk drives, the data copy method comprising:

splitting, by the virtualization storage device, a relationship between the first virtual volume and the second virtual volume;

receiving, by the virtualization storage device, a first write request sent from the first host system for writing data to the first virtual volume;

storing, by the virtualization storage device, first differential information identifying data of the first write request, the data of the first write request being written after the splitting step;

transferring, by the virtualization storage device, the data of the first write request to a first logical volume of a first storage device of the storage devices, the first logical volume being related to the first virtual volume, so that the first storage device can write the data of the first write request to a storage area of the disk drives related to the first logical volume;

receiving, by a second storage device of the plurality of storage devices, a second write request, the second write request sent from the second host system for writing data to a second logical volume, which is related to the second virtual volume in the virtualization storage device and is formed in the second storage device; and

storing, by the second storage device, second differential information identifying data of the second write request, the data of the second write request being written after the splitting step;

receiving, by the virtualization storage device, a differential copying request;

if the differential copying request indicates to copy differential data from the first virtual volume to the second virtual volume, (1) controlling, by the virtualization storage device, to copy the data of the first write request to the second virtual volume based on the first differential information, and (2) transferring, by the virtualization storage device, the data of the first write request to the second logical volume of the second storage device of the storage devices, so that the second storage device can write the data of the first write request to a storage area of the disk drives related to the second logical volume; and

if the differential copying request indicates to copy differential data from the second virtual volume to the first virtual volume, (3) requesting, by the virtualization storage device, the second differential information from the second storage device, and (4) acquiring, by the virtualization storage device, the second differential information from the second storage device, and (5) controlling, by the virtualization storage device, to copy the data of the second write request to the first virtual volume based on the second differential information, and (6) transferring, by the virtualization storage device, the data of the second write request to the first logical volume of the first storage device, so that the first storage device can write the data of the second write request to the storage area of the disk drives related to the first logical volume.

13. The data copy method as recited in claim 12, wherein

the virtualization storage device is an intelligent switch device;

and

the relationship between the first virtual volume and the second virtual volume is a pair relationship.

14. The data copy method as recited in claim 12 wherein

the virtualization storage device is a switch device;

and

the first differential information are location information identifying a location in the first virtual volumes in which the data of the first write request are written.

15. The data copy method as recited in claim 12, wherein

the first differential information are stored in a first management information storing area.