Volume management method and apparatus

• US 6,961,817 B2
• Filed: 04/21/2004
• Issued: 11/01/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Asano, Masayasu, Miyazaki, Satoshi, Soejima, Ken'ichi
• Primary Examiner(s): MOAZZAMI, NASSER G
• Application Number:
  US10/828,283
• Publication Number:
  US 20040199720A1
• Time in Patent Office: 559 Days
• Field of Search: 711111-112, 711/4, 711/114, 714 6- 8
• US Class Current: 711/114
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3419 by assessing time
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3442 for planning or managing the needed capacity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3485 for I/O devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/88 Monitoring involving counting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0608 Saving storage space on storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/061 Improving I/O performance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0611 in relation to response time
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0631 by allocating resources to storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0644 Management of space entities, e.g. partitions, extents, pools
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0665 at area level, e.g. provisioning of virtual or logical volumes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0689 Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD

Abstract

A volume management method is proposed for setting at least a logical volume over a plurality of physical storage devices by taking requested performance of other volumes into consideration. The volume management method comprises the steps of: receiving a volume creation request specifying a requested storage capacity and requested average performance; forming a judgment as to whether or not there exists an unoccupied area satisfying the requested storage capacity throughout the storage devices; forming a judgment as to whether or not all volumes, which include existing volumes each sharing any of the storage devices with a volume to be created and the volume to be created, each satisfy its requested average performance by referring to information of requested average performance on a storage means for each of the existing volumes if the unoccupied area satisfying a requested storage capacity is determined to exist; and setting the volume to be created if all the volumes each satisfy the requested average performance.

Claims

1. A storage apparatus for setting at least a logical volume over a plurality of physical storage devices, said apparatus comprising:

means for receiving a volume creation request specifying a requested average performance;

means for forming a judgment as to whether or not logical volumes, which include present logical volumes that are already set and each sharing any of said storage devices with a logical volume to be created and said logical volume to be created, each satisfy its requested average performance by referring to information of requested average performance on a storage means for each of said present logical volumes; and

means for setting said logical volume to be created if said logical volumes each satisfy said requested average performance.

2. A storage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said information of requested average performance is based on performance information collected by a client computer which accesses said storage apparatus.

3. A storage apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

means for receiving an unoccupied-area-searching request specifying information on said requested average performance;

means for forming a judgment as to whether or not logical volumes, which include present logical volumes that are already set and said new volume supposed to be added to said present logical volumes, each satisfy its requested average performance by referring to said information of requested average performance for each of said present logical volumes which share any of said storage devices with an unoccupied area, and

means for displaying information on said area if said logical volumes each satisfy said requested average performance.

4. A computer system comprising a storage apparatus, a client computer which accesses said storage apparatus, and a volume management apparatus which sets at least a logical volume over a plurality of physical storage devices residing in said storage apparatus,

said client computer having means for transmitting a volume creation request specifying a requested average performance to said volume management apparatus, and

said volume management apparatus comprising:

means for receiving said volume creation request from said client computer;

means for forming a judgment as to whether or not logical volumes, which include present logical volumes that are already set and each sharing any of said storage devices with a logical volume to be created and said logical volume to be created, each satisfy its requested average performance by referring to information of requested average performance on a storage means for each of said present logical volumes; and

means for setting said logical volume to be created if said logical volumes each satisfy said requested average performance.

5. A computer system according to claim 4, wherein said information of requested average performance is based on performance information collected by said client computer.

6. A computer system according to claim 4, wherein said information of requested average performance is based on performance information obtained by said storage apparatus.

7. A computer system comprising a storage apparatus, a client computer which accesses said storage apparatus, and a volume management apparatus which sets at least a logical volume over a plurality of physical storage devices residing in said storage apparatus,

said client computer having means for transmitting a volume creation request specifying a requested average performance to said volume management apparatus, and

said storage apparatus comprising:

means for receiving said volume creation request from said client computer;

means for forming a judgment as to whether or not logical volumes, which include present logical volumes that are already set and each sharing any of said storage devices with a logical volume to be created and said logical volume to be created, each satisfy its requested average performance by referring to information of requested average performance on a storage means for each of said present logical volumes; and

means for setting said logical volume to be created if said logical volumes each satisfy said requested average performance.

8. A computer system according to claim 7, wherein said information of requested average performance is based on performance information collected by said client computer.

9. A computer system according to claim 7, wherein said information of requested average performance is based on performance information obtained by said storage apparatus.

10. A volume management method for setting at least a logical volume over a plurality of physical storage devices residing in a storage apparatus, said method comprising the steps of:

receiving a volume creation request specifying a requested average performance,

forming a judgment as to whether or not logical volumes, which include present logical volumes that are already set and each sharing any of said storage devices with a logical volume to be created and said logical volume to be created, each satisfy its requested average performance by referring to information of requested average performance on a storage means for each of said present logical volumes; and

setting said logical volume to be created if said logical volumes each satisfy said requested average performance.

11. A volume management method according to claim 10, wherein said information of requested average performance is based on performance information collected by a client computer which accesses said storage apparatus.

12. A volume management method according to claim 10, wherein said information of requested average performance is based on performance information obtained by said storage apparatus.

13. A computer system comprising a storage apparatus, a client computer which accesses said storage apparatus, and a volume management apparatus which searches for an unoccupied area used by a new logical volume over a plurality of physical storage devices residing in said storage apparatus,

said client computer having means for transmitting an unoccupied-area-searching request specifying information on requested average performance to said volume management apparatus, and

said volume management apparatus comprising:

means for receiving said unoccupied-area-searching request from said client computer;

means for forming a judgment as to whether or not logical volumes, which include present logical volumes that are already set and said new volume supposed to be added to said present logical volumes, each satisfy its requested average performance by referring to information of requested average performance on a storage means for each of said present logical volumes which share any of said storage devices with an unoccupied area; and

means for displaying information on said area if said logical volumes each satisfy said requested average performance.

14. A computer system comprising a storage apparatus and a client computer which accesses said storage apparatus, said storage apparatus searching for an unoccupied area used by a new logical volume over a plurality of physical storage devices residing in said storage apparatus,

said client computer having means for transmitting an unoccupied-area-searching request specifying information on requested average performance to said storage apparatus, and

said storage apparatus comprising:

means for receiving said unoccupied-area-searching request from said client computer;

means for forming a judgment as to whether or not logical volumes, which include present logical volumes that are already set and said new volume supposed to be added to said present logical volumes, each satisfy its requested average performance by referring to information of requested average performance on a storage means for each of said present logical volumes which share any of said storage devices with an unoccupied area; and

means for displaying information on said area if said logical volumes each satisfy said requested average performance.