Backup method for storage system

• US 8,185,502 B2
• Filed: 06/24/2009
• Issued: 05/22/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Irisawa, Misako, Maki, Nobuhiro, Okada, Wataru, Emaru, Hironori
• Primary Examiner(s): STACE, BRENT S
• Application Number:
  US12/490,956
• Publication Number:
  US 20100274767A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,063 Days
• Field of Search: 707609-673, 707/999.2, 707/999.201, 707/999.204, 711/161, 711/162, 711/154, 711/100
• US Class Current: 707/654
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1456 Hardware arrangements for backup
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1458 Management of the backup or restore process
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1461 Backup scheduling policy
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1469 Backup restoration techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1484 involving virtual machines

Abstract

The present invention provides a backup method that makes it possible to specify the recovery-enabled time of an application even in a case where a backup has been performed without staticizing the application. In response to a first instruction from a management computer, a storage system backs up a first volume to a second volume at a first time while a first host computer continues to process an application. In response to a second instruction from the management computer, a second host computer reads out the data of the second volume and acquires a second time that is the time at which the application is recovery-enabled. The management computer stores the relationship between the backup and the second time in backup catalog information.

Claims

1. A computer system, comprising:

a first host computer that executes an application;

a second host computer;

a storage system, which is coupled to the first host computer and the second host computer, and which includes a plurality of storage apparatuses that form a plurality of volumes including a first volume allocated to the application; and

a management computer, which is coupled to the first host computer, the second host computer and the storage system, and which holds backup schedule information for managing a first time for starting a backup of the first volume, and backup catalog information for managing information related to a backup result,

wherein the management computer references the backup schedule information, issues a first instruction to the storage system at the first time, and issues a second instruction to the second host computer after issuing the first instruction,

wherein the storage system, in response to the first instruction, backs up the first volume to a second volume at the first time while the first host computer continues to process the application,

the second host computer, in response to the second instruction, reads out data of the second volume and acquires a second time, which is the time at which the application is recovery-enabled, and

the management computer stores the second time with identification information of the first volume backup in the backup catalog information,

wherein the first host computer has a virtual server control program for controlling a virtual server that executes an application, and comprises a cache memory for temporarily storing data,

the second host computer has the virtual server control program that the first host computer has, and uses the virtual server control program when acquiring the second time, which is the time at which the application is recovery-enabled,

in a case where the second host computer is unable to read out the second volume and recover the application in response to the second instruction, the management computer deletes the information included in the backup catalog information and related to the identifier, and also issues an instruction to the storage system to delete the second volume,

the management computer stores a third time, which is obtained by adding a preset RPO value to the second time, in the backup schedule information as a time at which the first volume is to be backed up to a third volume subsequent to the first time, and

in a case where the second time matches the time at which the application is recovery-enabled based on data that has been backed up from the first volume to another volume prior to the first time, the management computer changes a time interval during which data is migrated from the cache memory to the first volume.

2. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein the management computer further comprises an output device for outputting a relationship between the identification information and the second time.

3. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein in a case where the second host computer executes an application recovery by reading out the second volume in response to the second instruction, the second host computer writes the recovered data to a third volume of the storage system.

4. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein the second host computer comprises a plurality of host computers,

the management computer has information for managing the utilization statuses of the plurality of host computers, and issues a second instruction to a host computer that is not being used of the plurality of host computers, and

in response to the second instruction, the host computer that is not being used reads out the second volume and acquires the second time, which is the time at which the application is recovery-enabled.

5. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein the first and second host computer has a virtual server control program for controlling a virtual server that executes an application, and

the second host computer acquires the second time by executing a recovery process of the application by activating the virtual server based on backup data stored in the second volume.

6. A backup method by a management computer, which is coupled to a first host computer for executing an application, a second host computer, and a storage system having a plurality of storage apparatuses that form a plurality of volumes including a first volume allocated to the application, wherein the first host computer has a virtual server control program for controlling a virtual server that executes an application, and comprises a cache memory for temporarily storing data, the backup method comprising the steps of:

holding backup schedule information for managing a first time for starting a backup of the first volume, and backup catalog information for managing information related to a backup result,

issuing an instruction to the storage system to back up the first volume to a second volume at the first time while the first host computer continues to process the application,

the second host computer reading out data of the second volume and acquiring a second time, which is the time at which the acquired application is recovery-enabled,

storing a relationship between identification information of the first volume backup and the second time in the backup catalog information,

using, by the second host computer which has the virtual server control program that the first host computer has, the virtual server control program to acquire the second time, which is the time at which the application is recovery-enabled,

deleting, by the management computer in a case where the second host computer is unable to read out the second volume and recover the application in response to the second instruction, the information included in the backup catalog information and related to the identifier, and issuing an instruction to the storage system to delete the second volume,

storing, by the management computer, a third time which is obtained by adding a preset RPO value to the second time, in the backup schedule information as a time at which the first volume is to be backed up to a third volume subsequent to the first time, and

changing, by the management computer, in a case where the second time matches the time at which the application is recovery-enabled based on data that has been backed UP from the first volume to another volume prior to the first time, a time interval during which data is migrated from the cache memory to the first volume.

7. The backup method according to claim 6, wherein the first and second host computer has a virtual server control program for controlling a virtual server that executes an application,

the backup method further comprising the step of:

acquiring, by the second host computer, the second time by executing a recovery process of the application by activating the virtual server based on backup data stored in the second volume.