Connecting device of storage device and computer system including the same connecting device

• US 7,984,227 B2
• Filed: 05/12/2008
• Issued: 07/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Muraoka, Kenji, Mimatsu, Yasuyuki, Yamamoto, Yasutomo
• Primary Examiner(s): Spittle; Matthew D
• Application Number:
  US12/118,866
• Publication Number:
  US 20080222356A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,163 Days
• Field of Search: 710311-316, 710/1, 710/2, 710/4, 710/5, 710/20, 710/62, 710/74, 719/325, 719/326, 711/6, 711/113, 711/114, 711/124, 711/142, 711/156, 709223-226
• US Class Current: 710/315
• 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 3/0659 Command handling arrangements, e.g. command buffers, queues, command scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0664 at device level, e.g. emulation of a storage device or system
• 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

In an environment in which plural external storage devices having different function control interfaces are intermixed, when a function of a storage device is controlled from a computer, a common interface for controlling the function of the storage device is provided. A device that provides the common interface manages an interrelationship between a storage area recognized by a host computer and a storage area provided by the storage device and associates a storage area which becomes a target of a function control instruction with the storage device that provides the storage area. A type of the storage device that provides the storage area which becomes the target of the function control instruction is identified and function control is ordered through a function control interface unique to the device.

Claims

1. A switch device comprising:

a first interface to be coupled to a host computer via network;

a plurality of first virtual volumes and a plurality of second virtual volumes provided for the host computer;

a second interface to be coupled to a plurality of storage systems including data volumes for storing data; and

a processor coupled to the first interface and the second interface,

wherein the processor receives, through the first interface, a first instruction for accessing data stored in one of the data volumes from the host computer and sends a third instruction to one of the plurality of first virtual volumes,

wherein the processor receives, through the first interface, a second instruction controlling a function of one of the plurality of storage systems from the host computer and sends the second instruction to one of the plurality of second virtual volumes for controlling a function of the one of the plurality of second volumes,

wherein said first instruction including a virtual volume identifier identifying a virtual volume, identifies at least one of the data volumes corresponding to the virtual volume specified by the virtual volume identifier, and sends, through the second interface, the third instruction to at least one of the data volumes being included in at least one of the plurality of storage systems,

wherein the function is a snapshot function or mirror function,

wherein the host computer sends the first instruction as an Input/Output (I/O) command to one of the first virtual volumes and sends the second instruction as an I/O command to one of the second virtual volumes, and

wherein the third instruction is based on a protocol for a storage system which is a destination of the third instruction.

2. A switch device according to claim 1, wherein each of the storage system executes control for a data volume included therein based on a different protocol,

wherein when a plurality of data volumes correspond to the virtual volume and each of the data volumes is included in a different storage system, the processor sends the third instruction to each of the storage systems, and

wherein the third instruction sent to each storage system corresponds to the protocol of the storage system.

3. A switch device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the first instructions are based on a common protocol among a plurality of said host computers and the memory holds information of a relationship between each of the storage systems and the common protocol, and

wherein the processor converts the first instruction into the third instruction based on the information of the relationship held by the memory.

4. A switch device according to claim 1, wherein the second interface is configured to have a plurality of ports to be coupled to the plurality of storage systems.

5. A switch according to claim 1, wherein the switch converts the first instruction into the second instruction recognized by the storage system.

6. A switch according to claim 1, wherein the switch selects the second instruction recognized by the storage system.

7. The switch device according to claim 1, wherein said first instruction is one of initialization, suspension, re-synchronization, cancellation, and state acquisition for controlling a mirror function.

8. A switch device according to claim 1, wherein a common interface management table having correspondence between a port identifier and an identifier of a data volume and correspondence between the port identifier and a port number is provided.

9. A switch device according to claim 1, wherein World Wide Name (WWN) and Logical Unit Number (LUN) of the second virtual volume are allocated as parameter of the function of the host computer.

10. A switch device comprising:

a host network interface coupled to host computers via a network;

a storage network interface coupled to a first storage system and a second storage system,

wherein the first storage system controls based on a first protocol, and has a plurality of first data volumes storing data from a host computer

wherein the second storage system controls based on a second protocol and has a plurality of second data volumes storing data from a host computer,

wherein said first storage system has a different function compared to functions of said second storage system;

a processor coupled to the host network interface and the storage network interface; and

a first virtual volume corresponding to at least one of the first data volumes and a second virtual volume corresponding to at least one of the second data volumes, the first virtual volume and the second virtual volume provided for at least one of the host computers,

wherein when a virtual volume specified by a virtual volume identifier in a first instruction received by the processor is the first virtual volume corresponding to the at least one of the first data volumes, the processor sends to the first storage system, through the storage network interface, first control information related to the at least one of the first data volumes according to the first protocol for the first storage system for controlling the function of the first storage system,

wherein when a virtual volume specified by the virtual volume identifier in a second instruction received by the processor is the second virtual volume corresponding to the at least one of the second data volumes, the processor sends to the second storage system through the storage network interface, second control information related to the at least one of the second data volumes according to the second protocol for the second storage system for controlling one of the functions of the second storage system,

wherein each of said function of said first storage system and said functions of said second storage system is an intelligent function, and

wherein if the processor sends said first control information and/or the second control information, the processor uses a virtual function for controlling a function and without storing data.

11. A switch device according to claim 10, wherein a plurality of instructions from the host computer is based on a common protocol among the host computer and the switch device, the processor converts, corresponding to a destination of the first/second control information, the first/second instruction into either the first control information or the second control information corresponding to a destination for the first/second control information.

12. A switch device according to claim 11, wherein the processor selects either the first control information or the second control information based on a protocol for a storage system.

13. A switch device according to claim 11, wherein a common interface management table having correspondence between a port identifier and an identifier of the data volume and correspondence between the port identifier and a port number is provided.

14. A switch device according to claim 11, wherein WWN and LUN of the second virtual volume are allocated as parameter of the function of the host computer.

15. A switch device according to claim 10, further comprising:

a third virtual volume corresponding to the first data volume and the second data volume, the third virtual volume to be provided for a host computer,

wherein when an instruction includes a virtual volume identifier specified by the third virtual volume identifier, the processor creates the first control information and the second control information, sends the first control information to the first storage system, and sends the second control information to the second storage system.

16. A switch device according to claim 15, wherein the processor receives first result information according to the first control information from the first storage system and second result information according to the second control information from the second storage system, the first control information and the second control information are related to the first/second instruction related to the third virtual volume, and

wherein the processor, when the first result information indicates a failure of execution according to the first control information and the second result information indicates a success of execution according to the second control information, sends to the second storage system another instruction to cancel the execution if not successful.

17. A switch device according to claim 10, wherein the switch device is a virtualization device.

18. A switch device according to claim 10, wherein the storage network interface is configured to have a first port coupled to the first storage system and a second port coupled to the second storage system.

19. A switch device according to claim 18, wherein the first port is a fibre channel port and the second port is a Local Area Network (LAN) port.

20. The switch device according to claim 10, wherein said intelligent function is a snapshot function or mirror function.

21. The switch device according to claim 20, wherein said instruction is one of initialization, suspension, re-synchronization, cancellation, and state acquisition for controlling a mirror function.

22. The switch device according to claim 10, wherein said intelligent function is not an ordinary disk array function.