Method of creating a storage area & storage device

• US 20020099914A1
• Filed: 02/28/2001
• Published: 07/25/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Japan Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Japan Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Muraoka, Kenji, Mizuno, Yoichi, Oeda, Takashi, Mimatsu, Yasuyuki, Matsunami, Naoto
• Granted Patent: US 6,912,627 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/154
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0631 by allocating resources to storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0894 Policy-based network configuration management

Abstract

An administrator is required to prepare in advance LU as a pool area when a user storage area is set to a storage. LU configuration is generally cumbersome and it is not easy for a general user to configure it. A pool manager 1 and a storage 1 setting utility in a management console 1 communicate with a program in a storage 1. The storage 1 sets a pool area having a designated capacity. In response to a volume forming request from the management console 1, the storage 1 sets a designated volume by setting the designated volume as a used capacity of the set pool area. When a volume is formed, a policy is designated to select a storage area having a corresponding attribute from the pool area.

Claims

1. Method of setting a logical storage area to a storage connected to a management terminal via a network, comprising the steps of:

transferring information on the logical storage area input to the management terminal to the storage via the network; and

setting the logical storage area to the storage in accordance with information on the storage stored in the storage and the information on the logical storage area transferred via the network.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein the information on the storage stored in the storage includes information of a capacity of a disk drive of the storage not assigned the logical storage area.

3. Method according to claim 1, wherein the information on the logical storage area input to the management terminal is a policy of a user using the storage.

4. Method according to claim 3, further comprising the steps of:

converting at the management terminal the user policy into information of performance and reliability of each of a plurality of disk drives in the storage in accordance with a correspondence table between the information of performance and reliability and the user policy; and

transferring the information of performance and reliability from the management terminal to the storage.

5. Method according to claim 4, wherein:

the information of the storage includes information of the disk drive in the storage capable of being used by each of a plurality of host computers, and

said method further comprises a step of the logical storage area is set to the storage for each of the plurality of host computers.

6. Method according to claim 5, wherein:

the information of the storage includes information on the storage of the disk drive in the storage capable of being used by a plurality of management terminals; and

said method further comprises a step of assigning the logical storage area to the disk drive in the storage for each of the management terminals.

7. Storage system, comprising:

a plurality of disk drives;

a central processing unit; and

a table storing classification data of said plurality of disk drives, the classification data being formed in accordance with a predetermined condition,

wherein said central processing unit outputs information of each of said plurality of disk drives in accordance with said table.

8. Storage system according to claim 7, wherein the information of said disk drive is information on performance and reliability of said disk drive.

9. Storage system according to claim 8, wherein said table is formed in accordance with information input from a computer connected to said disc drive.

10. Storage system according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined condition is a condition that a storage area of said disk drives is divided into a plurality of groups and said disk drives are classified for each program for managing each group.

11. Method of setting a storage area to a storage of a computer system having a host computer, the storage and a management console connected via a network, comprising the steps of:

establishing a communication between a program in the management console and a program in the storage via the network;

setting a pool area having a capacity designated by the management console to the storage in the form of a pool area management table;

in response to a volume forming request from the management console, setting a designated volume as a used capacity of the pool area; and

setting the designated volume in the storage.

12. Method according to claim 11, wherein:

the storage includes a plurality of storage areas having different attributes of performance and reliability; and

said method further comprises the steps of;

if the pool area includes storage areas having a plurality of attributes, setting the storage areas of the pool area by classifying the storage areas into a plurality of policies, in accordance with the attributes; and

in accordance with the policy designated when the volume is formed, identifying the storage area having a corresponding attribute from the pool area.

14. Storage according to claim 13, wherein the pool area management table is set independently for each management console to realize exclusive control of each pool area.

13. Storage connected to a host computer and a management console via a network, comprising:

communication control means connected to the management console via the network for controlling communications with the management console;

means for setting a pool area having a capacity designated via said communication control means in the form of a pool area management table in the storage; and

means responsive to a volume forming request sent via said communication control means for setting a designated volume by setting the designated volume as a used capacity of the pool area.

15. A computer readable memory storing a program for realizing a function of managing a storage area of a storage of a computer system having a host computer, the storage, and a management console connected via a network, the program comprising the steps of:

communicating with a program in the storage and transmitting a command of forming a pool area having a designated capacity; and

transmitting a command of forming a designated volume having a designated capacity in the pool area in response to a request of forming the designated volume.