Virtualization controller and data transfer control method

• US 8,572,352 B2
• Filed: 05/22/2012
• Issued: 10/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Honda, Kiyoshi, Iwami, Naoko, Serizawa, Kazuyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Bradley, Matthew
• Assistant Examiner(s): BERNARD, DANIEL J
• Application Number:
  US13/477,223
• Publication Number:
  US 20120297159A1
• Time in Patent Office: 525 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 711/205
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/061 Improving I/O performance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0613 in relation to throughput
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0617 in relation to availability
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0647 Migration mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0649 Lifecycle management
• 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]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0689 Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD

Abstract

System for controlling data transfer between a host system and storage devices. A virtualization controller implements the data transfer and includes first ports for connection with the storage devices, a second port for connection with the host system, a processor, and a memory configured to store volume mapping information which correlates first identification information used by the host system to access a first storage area in one of the storage devices, with second identification information for identifying the first storage area, the correlation being used by the processor to access the first storage area. When data stored in the first storage area is transferred to a second storage area, the processor correlates the first identification information with a third identification information for identifying the second storage area and registers the first identification information and the third identification information in the volume mapping information.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

providing a first volume to a host computer by a first storage device, a first volume identifier being allocated to the first volume;

identifying, at the host computer, the first volume by the first volume identifier;

managing the first volume as an object by a virtualization system;

creating a virtual volume, the first volume identifier being allocated to the virtual volume;

registering mapping information at the virtualization system so that the virtual volume is mapped to the first volume;

providing the virtual volume to the host computer by the virtualization system;

identifying at the host computer the virtual volume by the first volume identifier;

receiving at the virtualization system a first access request to the virtual volume from the host computer; and

transferring the first access request to the first volume based on the mapping information.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

migrating data stored in the first volume to a second volume, a second volume identifier being allocated to the second volume;

updating the mapping information so that the virtual volume is mapped to the second volume;

when issuing a second access request identified by the first volume identifier and the port identifier of the virtualization system from the host computer after the updating, receiving at the virtualization system the second access request; and

transferring the second access request to the second volume based on the mapping information.

3. The method according to claim 2,

when issuing a write request identified by the first volume identifier and the port identifier of the virtualization system from the host computer during the migrating, storing the write request at the virtualization system;

and

transferring the write request to the second volume based on the mapping information.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

migrating data stored in the first volume to a second volume of a second storage device, a second volume identifier being allocated to the second volume;

updating the mapping information so that the virtual volume is mapped to the second volume;

when issuing a second access request identified by the first volume identifier and the port identifier of the virtualization system from the host computer after the updating, receiving at the virtualization system the second access request; and

transferring the second access request to the second volume based on the mapping information.

5. The method according to claim 4,

when issuing a write request identified by the first volume identifier and the port identifier of the virtualization system from the host computer during the migrating, storing the write request at the virtualization system;

and

transferring the write request to the second volume based on the mapping information.