Disk control unit and storage system

• US 8,032,606 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2009
• Issued: 10/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Tanaka, Atsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): SERRAO, RANODHI N
• Application Number:
  US12/533,310
• Publication Number:
  US 20090292868A1
• Time in Patent Office: 795 Days
• Field of Search: 709/216, 709/250, 711/147, 710/74, 702/122
• US Class Current: 709/216
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1446 Point-in-time backing up or restoration of persistent data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2071 using a plurality of controllers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2074 Asynchronous techniques
• 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 3/0638 Organizing or formatting or addressing of data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

Provided is a disk controller comprising a front end FC I/F to a host, a back end FC I/F to a magnetic disk, a processor, and a main memory section. The front end I/F and the back end I/F are provided for performing information exchange with a network (connected) device that is connected to a network and manages storage. The main memory section stores registered information expressing an attribution of the network (connected) device, access information including security and performance of each network (connected) device through the network, and ranking information assigning a rank to each network (connected) device based on the registered information and the access information. An appropriate network (connected) device is selected from various types of information including the ranking information.

Claims

1. A disk control unit comprising:

a plurality of interfaces (I/Fs);

a processor for controlling the plurality of I/Fs; and

a main memory section,

wherein the plurality of I/F exchange information with a plurality of Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) devices via a network connected between the iSCSI devices and the plurality of I/Fs,

wherein each of the iSCSI devices manages a storage,

wherein the main memory section stores registered information expressing an attribution of each of the iSCSI devices including capacity information indicating a capacity of the storage of each iSCSI device, access information indicating security and performance of each of the iSCSI devices through the network, and ranking information assigning a rank to each of the iSCSI devices based on the registered information and the access information,

wherein the processor selects an appropriate iSCSI device according to various types of information including the ranking information stored in the main memory section,

wherein said capacity information of the storage of each iSCSI device is collected during SCSI login processing to said iSCSI devices, and

wherein said access information indicating security and performance of each of the iSCSI devices is collected at a timing of performing a test access to said iSCSI devices.

2. The disk control unit according to claim 1, wherein communication with each of the iSCSI devices uses iSCSI protocol or IP protocol.

3. The disk control unit according to claim 1, wherein the main memory section is provided with a storage broker as a control program for performing control on each of the iSCSI device each of which manages a storage, and is provided with a device list storing the registered information, the access information, and the ranking information.

4. The disk control unit according to claim 1, wherein the processor obtains the registered information from a replying program built into each of the iSCSI devices, and obtains the access information upon accessing each of the iSCSI devices via the network.

5. The disk control unit according to claim 4, wherein a Service Processor (SVP) with a built-in management program is connected to the processor, wherein the processor obtains the registered information and the access information from terminal operations on the SVP, or from the management program.

6. The disk control unit according to claim 4, wherein the processor obtains the registered information and the access information from the network.

7. The disk control unit according to claim 5, wherein the information exchange with each of the iSCSI devices is performed via one of the plurality of I/Fs.

8. The disk control unit according to claim 5, wherein the information exchange with each of the iSCSI devices is performed via another one of the plurality of I/Fs.

9. The disk control unit according to claim 1, wherein each storage managed by an iSCSI device has an iSCSI I/F.

10. The disk control unit according to claim 1, wherein the processor selects an ISCSI device to which to write mirrored data or backup data based on the registered information, the access information and the ranking information.

11. The disk control unit according to claim 1, wherein the processor selects an iSCSI device to which to write log data accessed from the host based on the registered information, the access information and the ranking information.

12. A disk control unit according to claim 1, wherein said processor determines, upon receipt of a write request, whether a capacity of a storage of an iSCSI device being used satisfies the write request, and

wherein said processor requests the iSCSI device being used to add storage if the capacity of the storage of the iSCSI device being used does not satisfy the write request.