Method of creating a storage area & storage device

• US 6,912,627 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2001
• Issued: 06/28/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Japan Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Muraoka, Kenji, Mizuno, Yoichi, Oeda, Takashi, Mimatsu, Yasuyuki, Matsunami, Naoto
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Matthew
• Assistant Examiner(s): Choi, Woo H.
• Application Number:
  US09/797,261
• Publication Number:
  US 20020099914A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,581 Days
• Field of Search: 711/111, 711/112, 711/114, 711/154
• 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. A method of setting a logical storage area to a storage pool of a storage apparatus from a management terminal, wherein said storage apparatus comprises a control unit and plural disks defining one or more RAID groups, and said storage pool including at least one RAID group, said method comprising:

at said management terminal, receiving management information of said at least one RAID group in said storage pool from said storage apparatus;

at said management terminal, setting a policy name for each of said at least one of RAID group in said storage pool according to said management information of said at least one RAID group;

at said management terminal, receiving a policy name for setting said logical storage area;

from said management terminal to said storage apparatus, transmitting information that is used to identify a RAID group corresponding to the received policy name to set said logical storage area satisfying condition associated with the received policy name; and

sending a request including program identification information of a program executed in said management terminal to said storage apparatus,

wherein said management terminal receives said management information of said at least one RAID group in said storage pool from said storage apparatus if said storage apparatus determines that said program is authorized to manage said storage pool by examining said program identification information.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said management information of said at least one RAID group includes capacity of each of said least one RAID group.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein said sending step comprises sending said program identification information to said storage apparatus to set said logical storage area in a RAID group in said storage pool, which can be managed by using a program identified by said program identification information.

4. A management terminal provided in a computer system including a storage apparatus, said storage apparatus including a control unit and a plurality of disks, the plurality of disks defining at least one storage pool that includes one or more RAID groups, the management terminal configured to set a logical storage area in the at least one storage pool, the management terminal comprising:

means for receiving management information of said at least one RAID group in said storage pool from said storage apparatus;

means for setting a policy name for each of said at least one of RAID group in said storage pool according to said management information of said at least one RAID group;

means for receiving a policy name for setting said logical storage area;

means for transmitting to said storage apparatus information that is used to identify a RAID group corresponding to the received policy name to set said logical storage area satisfying condition associated with the received policy name; and

means for sending a request including program identification information of a program executed in said management terminal to said storage apparatus,

wherein said management terminal receives said management information of said at least one RAID group in said storage pool from said storage apparatus if said storage apparatus determines that said program is authorized to manage said storage pool by examining said program identification information.

5. A management terminal according to claim 4, wherein said management information of said at least one RAID group includes capacity of each of said least one RAID group.

6. A management terminal of claim 4, wherein said means for sending comprises means for transmitting said program identification information to said storage apparatus to set said logical storage area in a RAID group in said storage pool, which can be managed by using a program identified by said program identification information.