System and method of non-disruptive data migration between a full storage array and one or more virtual arrays

• US 9,098,211 B1
• Filed: 06/29/2007
• Issued: 08/04/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Madnani, Kiran, Ofer, Adi, Brown, Jeffrey A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Liao, Jason
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mitiku, Berhanu
• Application Number:
  US11/771,604
• Time in Patent Office: 2,958 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0617 in relation to availability
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0647 Migration mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

Non-disruptive data migration from a source array to a destination array entails generating a virtual array spanning at least one destination array for receiving a copy of all data at the source array. The virtual array has at least as many virtual ports as physical source ports of the source array and at least as many logical units (LUNs) as the source array. Each source array LUN corresponds to a virtual array LUN and equals the storage capacity of that corresponding LUN. Each virtual port has a virtual port address. All data resident in the LUNs of the source array are copied to corresponding LUNs in the virtual array. A name server database is reconfigured to associate port names of the physical source ports with the virtual port addresses of the virtual ports such that the virtual array appears to a host as the source array.

Claims

1. A method for non-disruptively migrating data in a storage area network from a physical source storage array to a virtual array spanning one or more physical destination storage arrays, the one or more destination storage arrays being physically separate from the source storage array, the source storage array having physical source ports, each physical source port having a physical port address used by hosts to access data residing at the source storage array, the method comprising:

generating the virtual array spanning the one or more destination storage arrays for receiving a copy of all data resident at the source storage array, the virtual array being configured with at least as many virtual ports as physical source ports of the source storage array and with at least as many logical units of storage (LUNs) as LUNs of the source storage array, each LUN of the source storage array corresponding to one of the LUNs of the virtual array and being equal in storage capacity to that corresponding LUN, each virtual port having a virtual port address used by hosts to access data residing at the one or more destination storage arrays;

copying all data resident in the LUNs of the source storage array to corresponding LUNs in the virtual array;

inducing a name server database, used by hosts to learn name and address associations of devices, to be rebuilt to associate port names of the physical source ports of the source storage array with the virtual port addresses of the virtual ports such that the virtual array spanning the one or more destination storage arrays appears to a host as the source storage array.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising transferring metadata from the source storage array to the one or more destination storage arrays.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising transferring management information from the source storage array to the one or more destination storage arrays.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating the virtual array is performed by a switch with n-port ID virtualization capability.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the switch is a first switch, and further comprising the step of communicating by the first switch with a second switch coupled to the source storage array.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual array spans multiple physical storage arrays.

7. The method claim 1, wherein the step of generating the virtual array includes configuring the virtual array with one or more extra virtual ports without any correspondence to a physical source port of the source storage array.

8. The method claim 1, wherein the step of generating the virtual array includes configuring the virtual array with one or more extra LUNs without any correspondence to a LUN of the source storage array.

9. A storage area network comprising:

a switch;

a name server database that associates names and addresses of ports coupled to the switch, the name server database being accessible to one or more hosts for learning name and address associations;

a physical source storage array having one or more physical source ports coupled to the switch, each physical source port having a source port name and a physical port address used by hosts access data residing at the source storage array;

a physical destination storage array physically separate from the source storage array, the destination storage array having a virtual array for receiving a copy of all data resident at the source storage array, the virtual array being configured with at least as many virtual ports as physical source ports of the source storage array and with at least as many logical units of storage (LUNs) as LUNs of the source storage array, each LUN of the source storage array corresponding to one of the LUNs of the virtual array and being equal in storage capacity as that corresponding LUN, each virtual port having a virtual port name and virtual port address used by hosts to access data residing at the destination storage array;

logic copying all data resident in the LUNs of the source storage array to corresponding LUNs in the virtual array; and

logic inducing the name server database to be reconfigured to associate port names of the source physical ports of the source storage array with the virtual port addresses of the virtual ports such that the virtual array at the destination storage array appears to each host as the source storage array.

10. The storage area network of claim 9, further comprising logic transferring metadata from the source storage array to the destination storage array.

11. The storage area network of claim 9, further comprising logic transferring management information from the source storage array to the destination storage array.

12. The storage area network of claim 9, wherein the switch is a first switch with n-port ID virtualization capability, and further comprising a second switch coupled to the first switch and to the source storage array.

13. The storage area network of claim 9, wherein the virtual array spans multiple physical storage arrays.

14. The storage area network of claim 9, wherein the switch and storage arrays communicate in accordance with a Fibre Channel protocol.

15. The storage area network of claim 9, wherein the virtual array includes one or more extra virtual ports that have no correspondence to a physical source port of the source storage array.

16. The storage area network of claim 9, wherein the virtual array includes one or more extra LUNs without any correspondence to a LUN of the source storage array.

17. A computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having a computer-readable program code embodied in said medium for non-disruptively migrating data in a storage area network from a physical source storage array to one or more physical destination storage arrays, the one or more destination storage arrays being physically separate from the source storage array, the source storage array having physical source ports, each physical source port having a physical port address used by hosts to access data residing at the source storage array, the computer readable program code in said medium comprising;

computer-readable program code for causing the storage area network to generate a virtual array spanning the one or more destination storage arrays for receiving a copy of all data resident at the source storage array, the virtual array being configured with at least as many virtual ports as physical source ports of the source storage array and with at least as many logical units of storage (LUNs) as LUNs of the source storage array, each LUN of the source storage array corresponding to one of the LUNs of the virtual array and being equal in storage capacity to that corresponding LUN, each virtual port having a virtual port address used by hosts to access data residing at the one or more destination storage arrays;

computer-readable program code for causing the storage area network to copy all data resident in the LUNs of the source storage array to corresponding LUNs in the virtual array;

computer-readable program code for causing the storage area network to reconfigure a name server database, used by hosts to learn name and address associations of devices, to associate port names of the physical source ports of the source storage array with the virtual port addresses of the virtual ports such that the virtual array spanning the one or more destination storage arrays appears to each host as the source storage array.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, further comprising computer-readable program code for causing the storage area network to transfer metadata from the source storage array to the one or more destination storage arrays.

19. The computer program product of claim 17, further comprising computer-readable program code for causing the storage area network to destination storage arrays.

20. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein computer-readable program code for causing the storage area network to generate the virtual array is executed by a switch with n-port ID virtualization capability.

21. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the switch is a first switch, and further comprising computer-readable program code for causing the storage area network to communicate by the first switch with a second switch coupled to the source storage array.

22. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the virtual array spans multiple physical storage arrays.

23. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the computer-readable program code for causing the storage area network to generate the virtual array includes the computer-readable program code for causing the storage area network to configure the virtual array with one or more extra virtual ports without any correspondence to a physical source port of the source storage array.

24. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the computer-readable program code for causing the storage area network to generate the virtual array includes the computer-readable program code for causing the storage area network to configure the virtual array with one or more extra LUNs without any correspondence to a LUN of the source storage array.