Volume moving

• US 9,639,383 B1
• Filed: 08/29/2012
• Issued: 05/02/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Natanzon, Assaf
• Primary Examiner(s): MENG, JAU SHYA
• Application Number:
  US13/598,411
• Time in Patent Office: 1,707 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/14 Error detection or correction of the data by redundancy in operation G06F11/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1471 involving logging of persistent data for recovery
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2023 Failover techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2097 maintaining the standby controller/processing unit updated initialisation or re-synchronisation thereof G06F11/1658 and subgroups
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/273 Asynchronous replication or reconciliation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45579 I/O management, e.g. providing access to device drivers or storage
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/815 Virtual middleware or OS functionality using virtual machines to implement generic software techniques for error detection or fault masking G06F11/1484
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/82 Solving problems relating to consistency ensuring consistency in mirrored systems G06F11/2064
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45533 Hypervisors; Virtual machine monitors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects

Abstract

A computer implemented method, system, and computer program product for moving a virtual volume from a first consistency group to a second consistency group in continuous replication without loss of a journal, wherein the volume is being replicated, the method comprising notifying a splitter that the volume is being moved, creating a bookmark, and moving the volume from the first virtual consistency group to the second virtual consistency group.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for moving replication of a virtual volume from being replicated to a first virtual consistency group to a virtual second consistency group, the computer implemented method comprising:

notifying a splitter running in a hypervisor that replication of the virtual volume managed by the hypervisor is being removed from being replicated to the first virtual consistency group and the virtual volume is being added to a second virtual consistency group to be replicated by the second virtual consistency group;

wherein a virtual consistency group contains a replication set;

wherein the replication set is an association between a set of source volumes and a set of replica volumes;

wherein before the virtual volume is removed the splitter intercepts IO written to the virtual volume and sends a copy of the IO to the first virtual consistency group managed by a first virtual data protection appliance;

wherein each virtual consistency group contains one or more replica volumes corresponding to one or more virtual volumes;

wherein the one or more virtual volumes are being replicated to the one or more replica volumes of the virtual consistency group;

flushing IO for the first virtual consistency group;

creating a snapshot of the virtual volume at a replica site;

wherein the first virtual consistency group is located at the replica site, once all the IO is flushed to a replica of the virtual volume in the first virtual consistency group;

creating a bookmark;

wherein the bookmark indicates that the virtual volume was removed from the first virtual consistency group;

wherein the bookmark represents a consistent point in time for the virtual volume removed from the first virtual consistency group; and

moving replication of the virtual volume from the first virtual consistency group to the second virtual consistency group;

wherein moving the virtual volume from the first virtual consistency group to the second virtual consistency group causes the copy of the IO split from the virtual volume to be sent to the second virtual consistency group by reconfiguring the splitter to send IO from the virtual volume to the second virtual consistency group.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

removing the virtual volume from being replicated to the first virtual consistency group; and

adding the virtual volume to be replicated to the second virtual consistency group.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 2 further comprising:

changing the configuration of a splitter for the second virtual consistency group to split IO from the virtual volume to the second virtual consistency group.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

moving the second virtual consistency group to a previous point in time, wherein the previous point in time represents an image the virtual volumes being replicated to the second virtual consistency group at an earlier point in time;

checking whether the point in time is before virtual volume was added to be replicated the second virtual consistency group; and

based on the checking that the volume was not added at the previous point in time, not allowing access to the virtual volume.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein on determining the point in time is before a virtual volume was removed from being replicated to the first virtual consistency group, rolling the data corresponding to the removed virtual volume into a snapshot of the virtual volume and allowing access to the point in time snapshot of the volume.

6. A computer program product for moving replication of a virtual volume from being replicated to a first virtual consistency group to a second virtual consistency the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with computer executable program code, wherein the computer executable program code executed by one or more processors to perform;

notifying a splitter running in a hypervisor replication of the virtual volume managed by the hypervisor is being removed from being replicated to the first virtual consistency group and the virtual volume is being added to a second virtual consistency group to be replicated by the second virtual consistency group;

wherein a virtual consistency group contains a replication set;

wherein the replication set is an association between a set of source volumes and a set of replica volumes;

wherein before the virtual volume is removed the splitter intercepts IO written to the virtual volume and sends a copy of the IO to the first virtual consistency group managed by a first virtual data protection appliance;

wherein each virtual consistency group contains one or more replica volumes corresponding to one or more virtual volumes;

wherein the one or more virtual volumes are being replicated to the one or more replica volumes of the virtual consistency group;

flushing IO for the first virtual consistency group;

creating a snapshot of the virtual volume at a replica site;

wherein the first virtual consistency group is located at the replica site, once all the IO is flushed to a replica of the virtual volume in the first virtual consistency group;

creating a bookmark;

wherein the bookmark indicates that the virtual volume was removed from the first virtual consistency group;

wherein the bookmark represents a consistent point in time for the virtual volume removed from the first virtual consistency group; and

moving replication of the virtual volume from the first virtual consistency group to the second virtual consistency group;

wherein moving the virtual volume from the first virtual consistency group to the second virtual consistency group causes the copy of the IO split from the virtual volume to be sent to the second virtual consistency group by reconfiguring the splitter to send IO from the virtual volume to the second virtual consistency group.

7. The computer program product of claim 6 the computer executable program code further executed by the one or more processors to perform:

removing the virtual volume from being replicated to the first virtual consistency group; and

adding the virtual volume to be replicated to the second virtual consistency group.

8. The computer program product of claim 7 the computer executable program code further executed by the one or more processors to perform:

changing the configuration of a splitter for the second virtual consistency group to split IO from the virtual volume to the second virtual consistency group.

9. The computer program product of claim 6 the computer executable program code further executed by the one or more processors to perform:

moving the second consistency group to a previous point in time, wherein the previous point in time represents an image the virtual volumes being replicated to the second virtual consistency group at an earlier point in time;

checking whether the point in time is before virtual volume was added to be replicated the second virtual consistency group; and

based on the checking that the volume was not added at the previous point in time, not allowing access to the virtual volume.

10. The computer program product of claim 6 the computer executable program code further executed by the one or more processors to perform:

on determining the point in time is before a virtual volume was removed from being replicated to the first virtual consistency group, rolling the data corresponding to the removed virtual volume into a snapshot of the virtual volume and allowing access to the point in time snapshot of the volume.

11. A system for moving replication of a virtual volume from being replicated to a first virtual consistency group to a second virtual consistency group, the system comprising:

the first virtual consistency group;

the second virtual consistency group;

a splitter;

one or more processor;

one or more memory; and

computer-executable program stored in the one or more memory, wherein the computer-executable program executed by the one or more processors to perform;

notifying a splitter running in a hypervisor that replication of virtual volume managed by the hypervisor is being removed from being replicated to the first virtual consistency and the virtual volume is being added to a second virtual consistency group to be replicated by the second virtual consistency group;

wherein a virtual consistency group contains a replication set;

wherein the replication set is an association between a set of source volumes and a set of replica volumes;

wherein before the virtual volume is removed the splitter intercept IO written to the virtual volume and sends a copy of the IO to the first virtual consistency group managed by a first virtual data protection appliance;

wherein each virtual consistency group contains one or more replica volumes corresponding to the one or more virtual volumes;

wherein the one or more virtual volumes are being replicated to the one or more replica volumes of the virtual consistency group;

flushing IO for the first virtual consistency group;

creating a snapshot of the virtual volume at a replica site;

wherein the first virtual consistency group is located at the replica site, once all the IO is flushed to a replica of the virtual volume in the first virtual consistency group;

creating a bookmark;

wherein the bookmark indicates that the virtual volume was removed from the first virtual consistency group;

wherein the bookmark represents a consistent point in time for the virtual volume removed from the first virtual consistency group; and

moving replication of the virtual volume from the first virtual consistency group to the second virtual consistency group;

wherein moving the virtual volume from the first virtual consistency group to the second virtual consistency group causes the copy of the IO split from the virtual volume to be sent to the second virtual consistency group by reconfiguring the splitter to send IO from the virtual volume to the second virtual consistency group.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the computer-executable program further executed by the one or more processors to perform:

removing the virtual volume from being replicated to the first virtual consistency group; and

adding the virtual volume to be replicated to the second virtual consistency group.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the computer-executable program further executed by the one or more processors to perform:

changing the configuration of a splitter for the second virtual consistency group to split IO from the virtual volume to the second virtual consistency group.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein the computer-executable program further executed by the one or more processors to perform:

moving the second virtual consistency group to a previous point in time, wherein the previous point in time represents an image the virtual volumes being replicated to the second virtual consistency group at an earlier point in time;

checking whether the point in time is before virtual volume was added to be replicated the second virtual consistency group; and

based on the checking that the volume was not added at the previous point in time, not allowing access to the virtual volume.

15. The system of claim 11 wherein the computer-executable program further executed by the one or more processors to perform:

on determining the point in time is before a virtual volume was removed from being replicated to the first virtual consistency group, rolling the data corresponding to the removed virtual volume into a snapshot of the virtual volume and allowing access to the point in time snapshot of the volume.