Data access method and data access apparatus for managing initialization of storage areas

• US 9,582,214 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2014
• Issued: 02/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Ando, Hiroyuki, Kobashi, Kazunori, Yanagawa, Toshihide, Murayama, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Rutz, Jared
• Assistant Examiner(s): Doan, Khoa D
• Application Number:
  US14/485,830
• Publication Number:
  US 20150006818A1
• Time in Patent Office: 897 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0604 Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. storage management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0617 in relation to availability
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0632 by initialisation or re-initialisation of storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0689 Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD

Abstract

A storage system manages initialization status of a storage area block by block. The storage system allows reception of an access request indicating data write to Storage Area #1, which is a part of an uninitialized block. Upon receiving the access request, the storage system writes data to the designated Storage Area #1 without initializing Storage Area #1, and initializes, of the uninitialized block, Storage Area #2 not designated by the access request. The storage system determines that initialization of the uninitialized block has been completed with the data write to Storage Area #1 and the initialization of Storage Area #2.

Claims

1. A data access method executed by a storage system including one or more memory apparatuses, the data access method comprising:

starting, by a processor, a first process to proceed with initialization of a plurality of blocks of the memory apparatuses regardless of access requests, and updating exclusion information according to progress of the first process, the exclusion information indicating which one of the plurality of blocks is being initialized;

determining, by the processor, upon receiving an access request to read data from a first storage area being a part of a block whose initialization has not been completed, whether the block indicated by the access request is being initialized by the first process in reference to the exclusion information;

executing, when the block is not being initialized by the first process, by the processor, a second process to complete initialization of the block by instructing the memory apparatuses to initialize the first storage area and a second storage area not designated by the access request, the second storage area being a remaining storage area of the block other than the first storage area; and

returning, by the processor, data corresponding to the initialized first storage area as a response to the access request.

2. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that causes a computer used in a storage system to perform a procedure, the storage system including one or more memory apparatuses, the procedure comprising:

starting a first process to proceed with initialization of a plurality of blocks of the memory apparatuses regardless of access requests, and updating exclusion information according to progress of the first process, the exclusion information indicating which one of the plurality of blocks is being initialized;

determining, upon receiving an access request to read data from a first storage area being a part of a block whose initialization has not been completed, whether the block indicated by the access request is being initialized by the first process in reference to the exclusion information;

executing, when the block is not being initialized by the first process, a second process to complete initialization of the block by instructing the memory apparatuses to initialize the first storage area and a second storage area not designated by the access request, the second storage area being a remaining storage area of the block other than the first storage area; and

returning data corresponding to the initialized first storage area as a response to the access request.

3. A data access apparatus to access one or more memory apparatuses, the data access apparatus comprising:

a processor configured to perform a procedure including;

starting a first process to proceed with initialization of a plurality of blocks of the memory apparatuses regardless of access requests, and updating exclusion information according to progress of the first process, the exclusion information indicating which one of the plurality of blocks is being initialized;

determining, upon receiving an access request for a first storage area being a part of a block whose initialization has not been completed, whether the block indicated by the access request is being initialized by the first process in reference to the exclusion information;

executing, when the block is not being initialized by the first process and the access request is a write request, a third process to write data to the first storage area without initializing the first storage area and to complete initialization of the block by instructing the memory apparatuses to initialize a second storage area not designated by the access request, the second storage area being a remaining storage area of the block other than the first storage area; and

executing, when the block is not being initialized by the first process and the access request is a read request, a second process to complete initialization of the block by instructing the memory apparatuses to initialize the first storage area and the second storage area, and returning data corresponding to the initialized first storage area as a response to the access request.