Method of controlling total disk usage amount in virtualized and unified network storage system

• US 7,953,701 B2
• Filed: 11/13/2006
• Issued: 05/31/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Okitsu, Jun, Ebata, Atsushi, Higuchi, Tatsuo, Kawamoto, Shinichi, Yasuda, Yoshiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong; Don
• Assistant Examiner(s): HO, BINH VAN
• Application Number:
  US11/595,878
• Publication Number:
  US 20070088760A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,660 Days
• Field of Search: 707/620
• US Class Current: 707/620
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0608 Saving storage space on storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0644 Management of space entities, e.g. partitions, extents, pools
• 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 system includes at least a user and a file system connected to the user through a network. An estimated write size of a write operation of the user into the file system is managed as an accumulated value. The timing of judging the limit of the disk usage amount is specified from the accumulated value and a predetermined threshold value, and the limit of the disk usage amount is judged at the specified timing, so that disk usage amount by a user may be limited and managed.

Claims

1. A method for managing disk usage amount of an user in a system including a plurality of network storages which provide users with respective disk spaces, having a disk quota indicating an upper limit of total disk usage of the user in the system, and an information processing apparatus which executes a write request for a network storage, the method, which is executed by the information processing apparatus, comprising the steps of:

at a timing of judging a limit of disk usage based on measurements, measuring disk usage of said user in each of said network storages, subtracting the measured disk usages from the registered disk quota and registering a threshold value indicating an amount of disk space remaining for said user;

accumulating write size estimated from each of write requests which have been issued from said user, each time when a write request is issued from said user;

checking whether the accumulated write size exceeds a registered threshold value, which is lower than the disk quota, and which is held by the information processing apparatus;

accepting a latest write request as an executable request which does not induce a quota error, if the accumulated write size does not exceed the registered threshold value; and

accessing to the network storage, and deciding whether the latest write request is executable or not, based on the accumulated write size and the disk quota, if the accumulated write size exceeds the registered threshold value.

2. A method for managing usage amount of an user according to claim 1, wherein, if the accumulated write size exceeds the threshold value, then the method proceeds to a next-time judging of a limit of disk usage which includes steps of:

measuring again disk usage of said user in each of the network storages;

subtracting the newly measured disk usage from the disk quota; and

updating the threshold value based on a new remainder of the subtraction.

3. A method for managing usage amount of an user according to claim 2, wherein said next-time judging of a limit disk usage further includes a step of:

deciding whether a latest write request is executable or not by comparing a write size estimated from the latest write request to the updated threshold value.