Remote copy with worm guarantee

• US 7,991,970 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2008
• Issued: 08/02/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Nonaka, Yusuke, Matsunami, Naoto, Nishimoto, Akira, Mizuno, Yoichi
• Primary Examiner(s): PATEL, HETUL B
• Application Number:
  US12/330,933
• Publication Number:
  US 20090089525A1
• Time in Patent Office: 966 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 711/161
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2069 Management of state, configuration or failover

Abstract

In the case in which data in a storage system A is remotely copied to a storage system B, it is not taken into account whether the data of the remote copy is WORM data. In the case in which a setting is made such that data stored in a volume in the storage system A is copied to a volume in the storage system B, storage system A judges whether an attribute to the effect that data can be referred to and can be updated or to the effect that data can be referred to but cannot be updated is added to the volume in the storage system A. Then, if the volume is a volume to which the attribute to the effect that data can be referred to but cannot be updated is added, such attribute is added to the volume in the storage system B.

Claims

1. A remote copy system comprising:

a first storage system including at least one first disk drive and a first control apparatus for controlling to store data in the first disk drive, the data being sent from at least one of a plurality of client systems, the first disk drive being related to a primary volume in the first storage system; and

a second storage system including at least one second disk drive and a second control apparatus for controlling to store data in the second disk drive, the data being sent from at least one of a plurality of client systems, the second disk drive being related to a secondary volume in the second storage system,

wherein, if the primary volume and the secondary volume are set into remote copy pair to execute a remote copy between the primary volume and the secondary volume, attribute information of the primary volume indicating that data stored in the primary volume cannot be updated and can be referred to is set and stored to the second storage system to be applied as attribute information of the secondary volume, indicating that data stored in the secondary volume cannot be updated and can be referred to,

wherein the second control apparatus has a command queue configured to queue a remote copy command received from the first storage system and write command received from one of the plurality of client systems to the secondary volume,

wherein the second control apparatus determines whether a command extracted from the command queue is the remote copy command from the first control apparatus, by specifying an identifier of a source apparatus sending the command, the second control apparatus controls to store data in the secondary volume according to the remote copy command, and if the command extracted from the queue is the write command from at least one of the plurality of client systems, by specifying an identifier of the source apparatus sending the command, the second control apparatus controls so as to not store data in the secondary volume according to the write command, in order to guarantee that the data has not been falsified by at least one of the plurality of client systems,

wherein the first control apparatus stores an event log of setting the attribute information to the second storage system, indicating that data stored in the secondary volume cannot be updated and can be referred to, after the setting of the attribute information to the second storage system, and

wherein the first control apparatus sends the event log of setting the attribute information to the second storage system, to the second storage system, and instructs to store the event log in the second storage system, in order to keep consistency of the event log stored in the first storage system and the second storage system.

2. The remote copy system according to claim 1, wherein the attribute information of the primary volume is stored in the first disk drive.

3. The remote copy system according to claim 1, wherein the attribute information of the secondary volume is stored in the second disk drive.

4. The remote copy system according to claim 1, wherein the attribute information of the primary volume and the attribute information of the secondary volume indicate a Read-Only attribute.

5. The remote copy system according to claim 1, wherein the attribute information of the primary volume and the attribute information of the secondary volume indicate a WORM attribute.

6. The remote copy system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of volumes in the first storage system; and

a plurality of volumes in the second storage system,

wherein before the remote copy between the primary volume and the secondary volume is executed, one of the plurality of volumes in the first storage system is designated as the primary volume and one of the plurality of volumes in the second storage system is designated as the secondary volume.

7. The remote copy system according to claim 6, wherein in the plurality of volumes in the second storage system, a volume, to which attribute to restriction of data writing is applied, is prohibited to be selected as the secondary volume.

8. The remote copy system according to claim 7, wherein after the secondary volume is selected from the plurality of volumes in the second storage system, the attribute information of the primary volume is stored in the second storage system to apply the attribute to restriction of data writing to the secondary volume.

9. A remote copy method in a first storage system including at least one first disk drive and a first control apparatus for controlling to store data in the first disk drive, the data being sent from at least one of a plurality of client systems, the first disk drive being related to a primary volume in the first storage system;

and a second storage system including at least one second disk drive and a second control apparatus for controlling to store data in the second disk drive, the data being sent from at least one of a plurality of client systems, the second disk drive being related to a secondary volume in the second storage system, the method comprising;

executing a remote copy between the primary volume and the secondary volume,

setting and storing attribute information of the primary volume, the attribute information indicating that data stored in the primary volume cannot be updated and can be referred to, to said second storage system to be applied as attribute information of the secondary volume indicating that data stored in the secondary volume cannot be updated and can be referred to,

queuing a remote copy command received from the first storage system and write command received from one of the plurality of client systems, and

extracting a command from the command queue and determining whether the extracted command is the remote copy command from the first control apparatus, by specifying an identifier of a source apparatus sending the command, storing the data in the secondary volume according to the remote copy command, and if the extracted command is the write command from at least one of the plurality of client systems, by specifying an identifier of the source apparatus sending the command, not storing data in the secondary volume according to the write command, in order to guarantee that the data has not been falsified by at least one of the plurality of client systems,

wherein the first control apparatus stores an event log of setting the attribute information to the second storage system, indicating that data stored in the secondary volume cannot be updated and can be referred to, after the setting of the attribute information to the second storage system, and

wherein the first control apparatus sends the event log of setting the attribute information to the second storage system, to the second storage system, and instructs to store the event log in the second storage system, in order to keep consistency of the event log stored in the first storage system and the second storage system.

10. The remote copy method according to claim 9, further including storing the attribute information of the primary volume in the first disk drive.

11. The remote copy method according to claim 9, further including storing the attribute information of the secondary volume in the second disk drive.

12. The remote copy method according to claim 9, further including the attribute information of the primary volume and the attribute information of the secondary volume indicating a Read-Only attribute.

13. The remote copy method according to claim 9, further including the attribute information of the primary volume and the attribute information of the secondary volume indicating a WORM attribute.

14. The remote copy method according to claim 9, further including:

before executing the remote copy between the primary volume and the secondary volume, one of a plurality of volumes in the first storage system is designated as the primary volume and one of a plurality of volumes in the second storage system is designated as the secondary volume.

15. The remote copy method according to claim 14, further including prohibiting designating, as the secondary volume, a volume to which attribute to restriction of data writing is applied.

16. The remote copy method according to claim 14, further including applying the attribute of restriction of data writing to the secondary volume after the secondary volume is designated from the plurality of volumes in the second storage system.