Failure recovery method in information processing system and information processing system

• US 9,043,637 B2
• Filed: 12/14/2010
• Issued: 05/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Saika, Nobuyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Riad, Amine
• Application Number:
  US13/056,527
• Publication Number:
  US 20120151250A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,624 Days
• Field of Search: 714/6.1
• US Class Current: 714/6.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1417 Boot up procedures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1464 for networked environments
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1469 Backup restoration techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1484 involving virtual machines
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/203 using migration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/185 Hierarchical storage management [HSM] systems, e.g. file migration or policies thereof details of archiving G06F16/11
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/84 Using snapshots, i.e. a logical point-in-time copy of the data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/53 using third party service providers

Abstract

Services are promptly resumed at the time of a failure recovery in an information processing system. Before a first server system 3a resumes service during the failure recovery, a second server system 3b sends the first server system 3a directory images of directories of a highest-level tier to a predetermined lower-level tier out of data of files stored in a second storage apparatus 10b, and the first server system 3a restores the directory images in a first storage apparatus 10a. When the request is transmitted from the first server system 3a, the second server system 3b reads an additional directory image from the second storage apparatus 10b and transmits the additional directory image to the first server system 3a. If a re-stubbing occurrence frequency is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold, the second server system 3b suppresses transmission of directory images to the first server system 3a.

Claims

1. A first server computer coupled to a first storage apparatus, a client computer and a data center, the first server computer comprising:

a memory configured to store programs managing a first file system on the first server computer, the first file system including a hierarchic structure of directories and files; and

a CPU configured to;

start a migration;

process a received access request to a directory or files of the first file system;

store data of the directory and the files in the first storage apparatus;

replicate the directories and the files which are stored in the first storage apparatus to the data center;

reconfigure, when the first file system recovers from a failure, the hierarchic structure of the directories and the files by obtaining the replicated data of the hierarchic structure from the data center; and

enable, before completion of the reconfiguration of the hierarchic structure, the client computer to access a file or a directory of the hierarchic structure to be reconfigured.

2. The first server computer according to claim 1, wherein the first server computer is configured to obtain data of a portion of the hierarchic structure from the data center in accordance with an access request to a file or a directory, which has not been obtained from the data center, from the client computer.

3. The first server computer according to claim 2,

wherein each of the files is comprised of metadata and entity data,

wherein the CPU is configured to;

delete the entity data of a second file, which is one of the files replicated to the second server, from the first storage apparatus; and

wherein when the first server receives an access request to the second file, the CPU is configured to;

recall the entity data of the second file from the data center; and

respond to the client computer using recalled data of the second file.

4. The first server computer according to claim 1,

wherein the first server computer is configured to read management information of the file or the directory from the data center when the first server computer does not have the management information of the directory or the file regarding a received access request.

5. A method for controlling a first server computer coupled to a first storage apparatus, a client computer and a data center, the first server computer including a memory and a CPU, the method comprising the steps of:

managing, using at least the memory, a first file system on the first server computer, the first file system including a hierarchic structure of directories and files;

start migration of the hierarchic structure;

receiving, using at least the CPU, during the migration of the hierarchic structure, an access request from a client computer;

storing data of the directories and the files in the first storage apparatus;

replicating the directories and the files which are stored in the first storage apparatus to the data center;

reconfigure, when the first file system recovers from a failure, the hierarchic structure of the directories and the files by obtaining the replicated data of the hierarchic structure from the data center; and

enabling, using at least the CPU and before completion of the reconfiguration, the client computer to access a file or a directory of the hierarchic structure to be reconfigured by using management information of a file or a directory regarding the access request when the first server computer has the management information of the file or the directory regarding the access request.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising the step of:

reading, using at least the first server computer, the management information of the file or the directory from the data center when the first server computer does not have the management information of the file or the directory regarding the access request.

7. The method according to claim 5, further comprising the steps of:

receiving, using at least the first server computer, an access request from the client computer to a first directory in the hierarchic structure before storing files and/or directories belonging to a subordinate hierarchy to the first directory;

obtaining, using at least the first server computer, management information of a subordinate file to the first directory and/or a subordinate directory to the first directory from the data center in accordance with an access request to the first directory.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein

each of the files includes management information of the respective file and entity data;

and

the method further comprises the step of;

reading, using at least the first server computer, entity data of a second file from the data center, when the first server computer does not have the entity data of the second file in accordance with an access request to the second file.

9. The method according to claim 5, the method further comprising the step of starting, using at least the first server computer, receiving access requests after reconfiguration of a predetermined portion of the hierarchic structure.

10. A method for controlling a first server computer coupled to a first storage apparatus, a client computer and a data center, the first server computer including a memory and a CPU, the method comprising the steps of:

managing, using at least the memory, a first file system on the first server computer, the first file system being a hierarchic structure of directories and files;

starting, using at least the CPU, the migration of the hierarchic structure;

storing data of the directories and the files in the first storage apparatus;

replicating the directories and the files which are stored in the first storage apparatus to the data center;

reconfigure, when the first file system recovers from a failure, the hierarchic structure of the directories and the files by obtaining the replicated data of the hierarchic structure from the data center; and

providing, using at least the CPU, before completion of the migration of the hierarchic structure, a client computer with a function of accessing a file or a directory of the hierarchic structure to be reconfigured.

11. The method according to claim 10, the method further comprising:

obtaining, using the first server computer, data of a portion of the hierarchic structure from the data center in accordance with an access request to a file or a directory, which has not been obtained from the second server computer, from the client computer.

12. The method according to claim 10, further comprising the step of:

reading, using the first server computer, management information of the file or the directory from the data center when the first server computer does not have the management information of the file or the directory regarding a received access request.

13. A first server computer coupled to a first storage apparatus, a client computer and a data center, the first server computer comprising:

a memory for storing programs including a first file system on the first server computer, the first file system including a hierarchic structure of directories and files; and

a processor configured to;

start a migration;

receive an access request before completion of the configuration of the hierarchic structure of directories of the first file system;

store data of the directory and the files in the first storage apparatus;

replicate the directories and the files which are stored in the first storage apparatus to the data center;

reconfigure, when the first file system recovers from a failure, the hierarchic structure of the directories and the files by obtaining the replicated data of the hierarchic structure from the data center; and

respond, when the first server computer receives an access request for a first file or a first directory whose management information has been transmitted to the first file system, to the access request for the first file using the management information of the first file or a first directory in the first file system.

14. A first server computer according to claim 13,

wherein if the management information of the first file has transmitted and entity data of the first file has not transmitted to the first file system from the data center when the first server computer receives an access request for the first file, the processor is configured to obtain entity data of the first file.

15. The first server computer according to claim 13, wherein the first server computer is configured so that when the first server computer receives the access request to the first file, the first server computer configures the portion of the hierarchic structure of directories which includes directories existing in superior tiers to the first file and directories which exists in the same directory with the first file.

16. The first server computer according to claim 13, wherein the first server computer is configured to start receiving access requests after configuring a predetermined portion of the hierarchic structure of directories of the first file system.

17. The first server computer according to claim 16, wherein the predetermined portion of the hierarchic structure of directories includes a root directory and a file and/or a directory existing in the root directory.

18. The first server computer according to claim 13, wherein a plurality of file systems are migrated to the first server computer.

19. The first server computer according to claim 13,

wherein the hierarchic structure of the first file system is migrated in a process of failure recovery after a failure in the first server computer.

20. A first server computer coupled to a first storage apparatus, a client computer and a data center, the first server computer comprising:

a memory for storing programs on the first server computer, the first file system including a first file system in which a hierarchic structure of directories and files; and

a processor configured to;

start a migration;

receive an access request before completion of the configuration of the hierarchic structure of directories of the first file system;

store data of the directory and the files in the first storage apparatus;

replicate the directories and the files which are stored in the first storage apparatus to the data center;

reconfigure, when the first file system recovers from a failure, the hierarchic structure of the directories and the files by obtaining the replicated data of the hierarchic structure from the data center; and

obtain, when the first server computer receives an access request for a first file and before completion of the reconfiguration, which has not been transmitted to the first file system, from the client computer, a part of the data indicating the hierarchic structure of directories for processing the access request from the data center;

configure a part of the hierarchic structure of directories of the first file system based on the obtained data; and

respond to the request for the first file using the obtained data.