Cloud alert to replica

• US 9,552,248 B2
• Filed: 12/11/2014
• Issued: 01/24/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2014
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pure Storage, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Pure Storage, Inc.
• Inventors: Miller, Ethan L., Borowiec, Benjamin, Hodgson, Steve
• Primary Examiner(s): Lottich, Joshua P
• Application Number:
  US14/567,990
• Publication Number:
  US 20160170823A1
• Time in Patent Office: 775 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0712 in a virtual computing platform, e.g. logically partitioned systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0727 in a storage system, e.g. in a DASD or network based storage system drivers for digital recording or reproducing units G06F3/06; circuits for error detection or correction within digital recording or reproducing units G11B20/18; for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0748 in a remote unit communicating with a single-box computer node experiencing an error/fault remote testing G06F11/2294
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0757 by exceeding a time limit, i.e. time-out, e.g. watchdogs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0766 Error or fault reporting or storing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0772 Means for error signaling, e.g. using interrupts, exception flags, dedicated error registers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0793 Remedial or corrective actions recovery from an exception in an instruction pipeline G06F9/3861; by retry G06F11/1402; for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity H04L69/40
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1446 Point-in-time backing up or restoration of persistent data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1451 by selection of backup contents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1456 Hardware arrangements for backup
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1464 for networked environments
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2069 Management of state, configuration or failover
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2071 using a plurality of controllers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2094 Redundant storage or storage space G06F11/2056 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2097 maintaining the standby controller/processing unit updated initialisation or re-synchronisation thereof G06F11/1658 and subgroups
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3034 where the computing system component is a storage system, e.g. DASD based or network based digital input from or digital output to record carriers G06F3/06; digital recording or reproducing G11B20/18; for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3476 Data logging G06F11/14, G06F11/2205 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/81 Threshold
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/84 Using snapshots, i.e. a logical point-in-time copy of the data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/00 Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0619 : in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/065 : Replication mechanisms
• 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]

Abstract

Systems, methods, and computer readable storage mediums for generating an alert on a failure of a storage subsystem to phone home to the cloud in a replication environment. A dataset is replicated from a first storage subsystem to a second storage subsystem. The first and second storage subsystems also phone home log data to the cloud on a periodic basis. In response to detecting a failure of the first storage subsystem to phone home, the cloud generates and sends an alert to the second storage subsystem. In response to receiving this alert, the second storage subsystem starts disaster recovery operations for the dataset.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a first storage subsystem;

a second storage subsystem; and

a cloud-based service;

wherein the first storage subsystem is configured to replicate a dataset to the second storage subsystem; and

wherein responsive to detecting one or more conditions indicative of an impending failure of the first storage subsystem, the cloud-based service is configured to;

generate and convey an alert to the second storage subsystem;

select a third storage subsystem to take over as a replication target of the dataset; and

identify a highest medium identifier (ID) of the dataset already stored on the third storage subsystem.

2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the cloud-based service is configured to translate one or more local medium IDs of the dataset to one or more global medium IDs, wherein the one or more local medium IDs are associated with the first storage subsystem.

3. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more conditions include a failure of the first storage subsystem to phone home log data for a threshold amount of time.

4. The system as recited in claim 3, wherein the log data includes at least one of storage capacity utilization, a number of program-erase cycles for one or more storage devices, an age of the one or more storage devices, volume count, queue depth, read bandwidth, read input/output operations per second (TOPS), read latency, write bandwidth, write IOPS, and write latency.

5. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more conditions include a health indicator of the first storage subsystem falling below a programmable threshold.

6. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the dataset comprises at least one of a volume, virtual machine, file, protection group, disk image, database, and application.

7. A method comprising:

replicating a dataset from a first storage subsystem to a second storage subsystem; and

responsive to detecting one or more conditions indicative of an impending failure of the first storage subsystem;

generating and conveying an alert from a cloud-based service to the second storage subsystem

selecting, by the cloud-based service, a third storage subsystem to take over as a replication target of the dataset, and

identifying, by the cloud-based service, a highest medium identifier (ID) of the dataset already stored on the third storage subsystem.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, further comprising translating, by the cloud-based service, one or more local medium IDs of the dataset to one or more global medium IDs, wherein the one or more local medium IDs are associated with the first storage subsystem.

9. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the one or more conditions include a failure of the first storage subsystem to phone home log data for a threshold amount of time.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the log data includes at least one of storage capacity utilization, a number of program-erase cycles for one or more storage devices, an age of the one or more storage devices, volume count, queue depth, read bandwidth, read input/output operations per second (TOPS), read latency, write bandwidth, write IOPS, and write latency.

11. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the one or more conditions include a health indicator of the first storage subsystem falling below a programmable threshold.

12. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the dataset comprises at least one of a volume, virtual machine, file, protection group, disk image, database, and application.

13. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable by a processor to:

replicate a dataset from a first storage subsystem to a second storage subsystem; and

responsive to detecting one or more conditions indicative of an impending failure of the first storage subsystem;

generate and convey an alert from a cloud-based service to the second storage subsystem

select, by the cloud-based server, a third storage subsystem to take over as a replication target of the dataset; and

identify, by the cloud-based server, a highest medium identifier (ID) of the dataset already stored on the third storage subsystem.

14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 13, wherein the program instructions are further executable by a processor to translate one or more local medium IDs of the dataset to one or more global medium IDs, wherein the one or more local medium IDs are associated with the first storage subsystem.

15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 13, wherein the one or more conditions include a failure of the first storage subsystem to phone home log data for a threshold amount of time.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 13, wherein the one or more conditions include a health indicator of the first storage subsystem falling below a programmable threshold.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 13, wherein the dataset comprises at least one of a volume, virtual machine, file, protection group, disk image, database, and application.