Determining whether to use a repository to store data updated during a resynchronization

• US 8,250,323 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2007
• Issued: 08/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Benhase, Michael Thomas, Kalos, Matthew Joseph, Spear, Gail Andrea, Williams, Sonny Earl, Fienblit, Shachar
• Primary Examiner(s): Dudek, Jr., Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): DARE, RYAN A
• Application Number:
  US11/952,025
• Publication Number:
  US 20090150627A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,720 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 711/162
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2064 while ensuring consistency
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2082 Data synchronisation

Abstract

Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for determining whether to use a repository to store data updated during a resynchronization. Writes to a primary storage are transferred to a secondary storage. A logical copy of the secondary storage as of a point-in-time is established. Writes to the secondary storage in the logical copy received from the primary storage during a logical copy duration after the point-in-time are stored in a repository that comprises less storage space than the secondary storage in the logical copy. The transferring of writes to the secondary storage is suspended. During the suspension writes to the primary storage are indicated in an out-of-synch data structure. A determination is made as to as to whether available storage space in the repository is sufficient to store writes transferred from the secondary storage while transferring the writes from the out-of-synch data structure in response to ending the suspension of the transferring of writes from the primary to the secondary storages. The repository is used to store data in the secondary storage as of the point-in-time that is to be updated by writes transferred from the primary storage following the ending of the suspension in response to determining that the available storage space in the repository is sufficient to store writes transferred from the secondary storage while transferring the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

transferring writes to a primary storage to a secondary storage in a mirror copy relationship;

establishing a logical copy of the secondary storage as of a point-in-time;

storing writes to data in the logical copy, received from the primary storage during a logical copy duration after the point-in-time, in a repository that comprises less storage space than the secondary storage;

suspending the transferring of writes to the secondary storage, wherein during the suspension writes to the primary storage are indicated in an out-of-synch data structure;

in response to ending the suspension of the transferring of writes from the primary to the secondary storages, determining whether available storage space in the repository is sufficient to store writes transferred from the primary storage while transferring the writes from the out-of-synch data structure; and

using the repository to store data in the secondary storage as of the point-in-time that is to be updated by writes transferred from the primary storage following the ending of the suspension in response to determining that the available storage space in the repository is sufficient to store writes transferred from the primary storage while transferring the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein data from the secondary storage copied from the primary storage prior to the suspension is included in the repository when determining whether the available storage space in the repository is sufficient.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the logical copy comprises a first logical copy and the repository comprises a first repository, further comprising:

establishing a second logical copy of the secondary storage as of a second-point-in time in response to completing transferring the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure to the secondary storage;

establishing a second repository for the second logical copy, wherein writes transferred from the primary storage to the secondary storage after a second point-in-time cause the data to be overwritten in the secondary storage to be copied to the repository.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transferring writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure and writes received at the primary storage to the secondary storage after ending the suspension in response to ending the suspension, and wherein determining whether available storage space in the repository is sufficient to store writes transferred from the secondary storage while transferring the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure in response to ending the suspension comprises estimating whether the available storage space in the repository is sufficient to store the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure and new writes received at the primary storage while transferring the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein estimating whether the available storage space in the repository is sufficient comprises:

estimating a time to transfer all the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure taking into account a size of the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure and a rate at which the new writes are received at the primary storage while transferring all the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure after ending the suspension; and

determining whether the available storage space in the repository is sufficient to store the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure and the new writes received during the estimated time.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

using a third storage equal in size to the secondary storage to store writes transferred from the primary storage to the secondary storage after the suspension in response to determining that the available storage space in the repository is not sufficient to store writes transferred from the secondary storage while transferring the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure, wherein the third storage additionally stores data copied to the repository before the suspension of the writes.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

copying the writes in the repository to the secondary storage;

establishing a second virtual copy of the secondary storage to a third storage, wherein the third storage is equal in size to the secondary storage, in response to copying the writes from the repository; and

resynchronizing the primary storage to the secondary storage, wherein data in the secondary storage to be overwritten by the data from the primary storage is copied to the third storage.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein there are a plurality of primary storage and secondary storage pairs, wherein the operations of transferring the writes, establishing the logical copy, suspending the transferring of writes, and determining whether to use a repository or third storage to store data in the secondary storage updated after the suspension are performed for each primary storage and secondary storage pair.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein at least one primary storage and secondary storage pair uses the repository for the primary and secondary storage pair and at least one primary storage and secondary storage pair uses the third storage for the primary and secondary storage pair.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

using a third storage to store data in the secondary storage as of the point-in-time that is to be updated by writes transferred from the primary storage following the ending of the suspension in response to determining that the available storage space in the repository is not sufficient to store writes transferred from the primary storage while transferring the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure.

10. A method, comprising:

transferring writes to a primary storage to a secondary storage in a mirror copy relationship;

establishing a logical copy of the secondary storage as of a point-in-time;

storing writes to data in the logical copy, received from the primary storage during a logical copy duration after the point-in-time, in a repository that comprises less storage space than the secondary storage;

suspending the transferring of writes to the secondary storage, wherein during the suspension writes to the primary storage are indicated in an out-of-synch data structure;

backing up the logical copy and the writes in the repository to a backup storage in response to ending the suspension;

deleting the logical copy and the repository in response to backing-up the logical copy and the writes in the repository following the ending of the suspension; and

transferring the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure to the secondary storage in response to deleting the logical copy.

12. A system in communication with a primary storage and a secondary storage, comprising:

a plurality of storage controllers;

computer readable storage mediums including code executed by the storage controllers to perform operations, the operations comprising;

transferring writes to the primary storage to the secondary storage in a mirror copy relationship;

establishing a logical copy of the secondary storage as of a point-in-time;

storing writes to data in the logical copy, received from the primary storage during a logical copy duration after the point-in-time, in a repository that comprises less storage space than the secondary storage;

suspending the transferring of writes to the secondary storage, wherein during the suspension writes to the primary storage are indicated in an out-of-synch data structure;

in response to ending the suspension of the transferring of writes from the primary to the secondary storages, determining whether available storage space in the repository is sufficient to store writes transferred from the primary storage while transferring the writes from the out-of-synch data structure; and

using the repository to store data in the secondary storage as of the point-in-time that is to be updated by writes transferred from the primary storage following the ending of the suspension in response to determining that the available storage space in the repository is sufficient to store writes transferred from the primary storage while transferring the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein data from the secondary storage copied from the primary storage prior to the suspension is included in the repository when determining whether the available storage space in the repository is sufficient.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise:

transferring writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure and writes received at the primary storage to the secondary storage after ending the suspension in response to ending the suspension, and wherein determining whether available storage space in the repository is sufficient to store writes transferred from the secondary storage while transferring the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure in response to ending the suspension comprises estimating whether the available storage space in the repository is sufficient to store the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure and new writes received at the primary storage while transferring the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein estimating whether the available storage space in the repository is sufficient comprises:

estimating a time to transfer all the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure taking into account a size of the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure and a rate at which the new writes are received at the primary storage while transferring all the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure after ending the suspension; and

determining whether the available storage space in the repository is sufficient to store the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure and the new writes received during the estimated time.

16. The system of claim 12 further in communication with a third storage equal in size to the secondary storage, wherein the operations further comprise:

using the third storage to store writes transferred from the primary storage to the secondary storage after the suspension in response to determining that the available storage space in the repository is not sufficient to store writes transferred from the secondary storage while transferring the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure, wherein the third storage additionally stores data copied to the repository before the suspension of the writes.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise:

copying the writes in the repository to the secondary storage;

establishing a second virtual copy of the secondary storage to a third storage, wherein the third storage is equal in size to the secondary storage, in response to copying the writes from the repository; and

resynchronizing the primary storage to the secondary storage, wherein data in the secondary storage to be overwritten by the data from the primary storage is copied to the third storage.

19. The system of claim 12, further comprising:

using a third storage to store data in the secondary storage as of the point-in-time that is to be updated by writes transferred from the primary storage following the ending of the suspension in response to determining that the available storage space in the repository is not sufficient to store writes transferred from the primary storage while transferring the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure.

18. A system in communication with a primary storage, a secondary storage, and a backup storage, comprising:

a plurality of storage controllers;

computer readable storage mediums including code executed by the storage controllers to perform operations, the operations comprising;

transferring writes to the primary storage to the secondary storage in a mirror copy relationship;

establishing a logical copy of the secondary storage as of a point-in-time;

storing writes to data in the logical copy, received from the primary storage during a logical copy duration after the point-in-time, in a repository that comprises less storage space than the secondary storage;

suspending the transferring of writes to the secondary storage, wherein during the suspension writes to the primary storage are indicated in an out-of-synch data structure;

backing up the logical copy and the writes in the repository to the backup storage in response to ending the suspension;

deleting the logical copy and the repository in response to backing-up the logical copy and the writes in the repository following the ending of the suspension;

transferring the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure to the secondary storage in response to deleting the logical copy.

20. An article of manufacture comprising at least one of a hardware device having logic and a computer readable storage medium having code to communicate with a primary and secondary storage and to perform operations, the operations comprising:

transferring writes to a primary storage to a secondary storage in a mirror copy relationship;

establishing a logical copy of the secondary storage as of a point-in-time;

storing writes to data in the logical copy, received from the primary storage during a logical copy duration after the point-in-time, in a repository that comprises less storage space than the secondary storage;

suspending the transferring of writes to the secondary storage, wherein during the suspension writes to the primary storage are indicated in an out-of-synch data structure;

in response to ending the suspension of the transferring of writes from the primary to the secondary storages, determining whether available storage space in the repository is sufficient to store writes transferred from the primary storage while transferring the writes from the out-of-synch data structure; and

using the repository to store data in the secondary storage as of the point-in-time that is to be updated by writes transferred from the primary storage following the ending of the suspension in response to determining that the available storage space in the repository is sufficient to store writes transferred from the primary storage while transferring the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure.

21. The article of manufacture of claim 20, wherein data from the secondary storage copied from the primary storage prior to the suspension is included in the repository when determining whether the available storage space in the repository is sufficient.

22. The article of manufacture of claim 20, wherein the logical copy comprises a first logical copy and the repository comprises a first repository, wherein the operations further comprise:

establishing a second logical copy of the secondary storage as of a second-point-in time in response to completing transferring the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure to the secondary storage;

establishing a second repository for the second logical copy, wherein writes transferred from the primary storage to the secondary storage after a second point-in-time cause the data to be overwritten in the secondary storage to be copied to the repository.

23. The article of manufacture of claim 20, wherein the operations further comprise:

transferring writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure and writes received at the primary storage to the secondary storage after ending the suspension in response to ending the suspension, and wherein determining whether available storage space in the repository is sufficient to store writes transferred from the secondary storage while transferring the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure in response to ending the suspension comprises estimating whether the available storage space in the repository is sufficient to store the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure and new writes received at the primary storage while transferring the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure.

24. The article of manufacture of claim 23, wherein estimating whether the available storage space in the repository is sufficient comprises:

estimating a time to transfer all the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure taking into account a size of the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure and a rate at which the new writes are received at the primary storage while transferring all the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure after ending the suspension; and

determining whether the available storage space in the repository is sufficient to store the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure and the new writes received during the estimated time.

25. The article of manufacture of claim 20, wherein the operations further comprise:

using a third storage equal in size to the secondary storage to store writes transferred from the primary storage to the secondary storage after the suspension in response to determining that the available storage space in the repository is not sufficient to store writes transferred from the secondary storage while transferring the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure, wherein the third storage additionally stores data copied to the repository before the suspension of the writes.

26. The article of manufacture of claim 20, wherein the operations further comprise:

copying the writes in the repository to the secondary storage;

establishing a second virtual copy of the secondary storage to a third storage, wherein the third storage is equal in size to the secondary storage, in response to copying the writes from the repository; and

resynchronizing the primary storage to the secondary storage, wherein data in the secondary storage to be overwritten by the data from the primary storage is copied to the third storage.

27. The article of manufacture of claim 25, wherein there are a plurality of primary storage and secondary storage pairs, wherein the operations of transferring the writes, establishing the logical copy, suspending the transferring of writes, and determining whether to use a repository or third storage to store data in the secondary storage updated after the suspension are performed for each primary storage and secondary storage pair.

28. The article of manufacture of claim 27, wherein at least one primary storage and secondary storage pair uses the repository for the primary and secondary storage pair and at least one primary storage and secondary storage pair uses the third storage for the primary and secondary storage pair.

29. The article of manufacture of claim 20, wherein the operations further comprise:

using a third storage to store data in the secondary storage as of the point-in-time that is to be updated by writes transferred from the primary storage following the ending of the suspension in response to determining that the available storage space in the repository is not sufficient to store writes transferred from the primary storage while transferring the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure.

30. An article of manufacture comprising at least one of a hardware device having logic and a computer readable storage medium having code to communicate with a primary storage, a secondary storage, and a backup storage, and to perform operations, wherein the operations further comprise:

transferring writes to a primary storage to a secondary storage in a mirror copy relationship;

establishing a logical copy of the secondary storage as of a point-in-time;

storing writes to data in the logical copy, received from the primary storage during a logical copy duration after the point-in-time, in a repository that comprises less storage space than the secondary storage;

suspending the transferring of writes to the secondary storage, wherein during the suspension writes to the primary storage are indicated in an out-of-synch data structure;

backing up the logical copy and the writes in the repository to the backup storage in response to ending the suspension;

deleting the logical copy and the repository in response to backing-up the logical copy and the writes in the repository following the ending of the suspension; and

transferring the writes indicated in the out-of-synch data structure to the secondary storage in response to deleting the logical copy.