Host device, storage device, replication system, priority control method, and program

Abstract

To provide a host device, a storage device, a replication system, a priority control method, and a program for solving the problem that the efficiency of data transfers in replication processing deteriorates.SOLUTION: The host device according to the present invention comprises: a plurality of category processing means each of which performs processing related to a category predetermined for each; and operation state change means for changing an operation state of each of the category processing means on the basis of an accumulated amount of data for each category that is stored in sequence guarantee memory means that stores, while maintaining a write sequence, data written into replication source memory means by each of the category processing means and replicated after being transmitted to a replication destination storage device until being transmitted to the replication destination storage device, and also on the basis of an accumulated data amount threshold for each category that is determined in accordance with the priority of the category.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a host device, a storage device, a replication system, a priority control method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] When performing data replication in a disaster recovery system, it is necessary to guarantee data consistency between the storage at the main site and the storage at the backup site. Therefore, replication is performed in which data is copied to the storage at the backup site in the order in which the data is written to the storage at the main site. As a technology to achieve this, a technology that uses a buffer that guarantees the write order (hereinafter, referred to as an order guarantee buffer) is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

[0003] In the case of technology using an in-order buffer, the amount of data transferred from the main site to the backup site for replication fluctuates according to the load fluctuation of the replication line. For example, when the load of the replication line is high, the amount of data transferred decreases, and data is likely to accumulate in the in-order buffer. Therefore, if data updates occur that exceed the replication processing capacity, the amount of data transferred becomes very large, and as a result, the load on the replication line becomes high, causing the in-order buffer to become full and unable to store any more data, which causes the problem that the replication process must be interrupted.

[0004] To solve this problem, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 performs the following process, for example. That is, a priority is set for each group in advance. If the amount of data accumulated in an order guarantee buffer (for example, buffer 101 in Patent Document 1) exceeds a threshold during data transfer, a group with a low priority among groups whose replication status is "replicated" is selected as a group for which replication processing is to be stopped. The data corresponding to the selected group is deleted from the order guarantee data. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-163521 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the total amount of data stored in the in-order buffer is compared with one threshold value. Therefore, even if the proportion of data from high-priority groups in the in-order buffer is small and the proportion of data from low-priority groups is large, if the total amount of data stored exceeds the threshold value, the low-priority groups are uniformly selected as the groups to be stopped.

[0007] As a result, data of a low-priority group that occupies a large proportion of the order guarantee buffer is deleted from the order guarantee buffer. In the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, when the load on the replication line is reduced, it is assumed that data must be resent to make up for the data deleted from the order guarantee buffer. In this case, if data that occupies a large proportion of the order guarantee buffer has been deleted, the amount of data to be resent increases, resulting in a problem of poor efficiency in data transfer during replication processing.

[0008] An object of this disclosure is to provide a host device, a storage device, a replication system, a priority control method, and a program that solve the above problems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] According to a first aspect of this disclosure, a host device comprises a plurality of category processing means, each of which performs processing related to a category predetermined for each of the category processing means, and an operating state changing means for changing the operating state of each of the category processing means based on the data accumulation amount for each of the categories stored in an order assurance storage means that stores the data to be written to the source storage means by each of the category processing means and transmitted to the destination storage device and replicated, maintaining the writing order until the data is transmitted to the destination storage device, and on a data accumulation amount threshold for each of the categories that is determined in accordance with the priority of the category.

[0010] According to a second aspect of this disclosure, a storage device comprises a host device having a plurality of category processing means, each of which performs processing related to a category predetermined for each of the category processing means, a source storage means to which data is written by each of the category processing means, an order assurance storage means for storing the data written to the source storage means and transmitted to and replicated by a destination storage device while maintaining the order of writing until it is transmitted to the destination storage device, and a detection means for detecting the data accumulation amount for each of the categories stored in the order assurance storage means, which is compared with a data accumulation amount threshold for each of the categories determined according to the priority of the category, and which changes the operating state of each of the category processing means based on the result of the comparison.

[0011] According to a third aspect of this disclosure, a replication system comprises a host device having a plurality of category processing means, each of which performs processing related to a predetermined category for each of the category processing means; a source storage device having a source storage means to which data is written by each of the category processing means; an order assurance storage means for storing data written to the source storage means, the data being sent to a destination storage device and replicated, while maintaining the writing order until it is sent to the destination storage device; and a detection means for detecting the data accumulation amount for each of the categories stored in the order assurance storage means, wherein the host device has an operating state change means for changing the operating state of each of the category processing means based on the data accumulation amount for each of the categories detected by the detection means and a data accumulation amount threshold for each of the categories determined in accordance with the priority of the categories.

[0012] According to a fourth aspect of this disclosure, a priority control method includes a processing step in which each of a plurality of category processing means performs processing related to a category predetermined for each of the plurality of category processing means, and an operating state change step in which each of the category processing means writes data to a source storage means, and changes the operating state of each of the category processing means based on the data accumulation amount for each of the categories stored in an order assurance storage means that stores the data to be sent to a destination storage device and replicated, maintaining the writing order until it is transmitted to the destination storage device, and on a data accumulation amount threshold for each of the categories that is determined according to the priority of the category.

[0013] According to a fifth aspect of this disclosure, a priority control method includes a write step in which a host device has a plurality of category processing means, each of which performs processing related to a category predetermined for each of the category processing means, writes data to a source storage means; a storage step in which the data to be written to the source storage means, which is sent to a destination storage device and replicated, is stored in an order assurance storage means while maintaining the writing order until it is transmitted to the destination storage device; and a detection step in which the data accumulation amount for each of the categories stored in the order assurance storage means is compared with a data accumulation amount threshold for each of the categories determined according to the priority of the category, and the operating state of each of the category processing means is changed based on the result of the comparison.

[0014] According to a sixth aspect of this disclosure, the program is for causing a computer to function as a plurality of category processing means, each performing processing related to a category predetermined for each, and an operating state changing means for changing the operating state of each of the category processing means based on the data accumulation amount for each of the categories stored in an order assurance storage means that stores the data that each of the category processing means writes to the source storage means and is sent to the destination storage device and copied, maintaining the writing order until it is sent to the destination storage device, and on a data accumulation amount threshold for each of the categories that is determined in accordance with the priority of the category.

[0015] According to a seventh aspect of this disclosure, the program causes a computer to function as: a source storage means to which data is written by each of a plurality of category processing means provided in a host device, each of the category processing means performing processing related to a category predetermined for each of the category processing means; an order assurance storage means for storing the data written to the source storage means and sent to a destination storage device and replicated, maintaining the order in which it was written, until it is sent to the destination storage device; and a detection means for detecting the data accumulation amount for each of the categories stored in the order assurance storage means, which is compared with a data accumulation amount threshold for each of the categories determined according to the priority of the category, and which changes the operating state of each of the category processing means based on the result of the comparison. Effect of the Invention

[0016] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to obtain the effect of suppressing the amount of data to be retransmitted and improving the efficiency of data transfer in replication processing. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a replication system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2]FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a host device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 illustrates a business processing unit table according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a main site storage device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a backup site storage device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a host device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of a replication process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] 11 is a flowchart showing a flow of a priority control process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a host device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] 13 is a flowchart showing a flow of a priority control process according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] A replication system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the replication system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The replication system 1 includes a host device 10 and a main site storage device 20 installed at a main site, a backup site host device 10a and a backup site storage device 30 installed at a backup site, a communication network 40, and replication lines 41 and 42.

[0019] The communication network 40 may be, for example, a communication service such as a dedicated line provided by one communication carrier, or a communication network provided by a combination of communication services provided by multiple communication carriers, such as the Internet. The replication lines 41 and 42 may be wired lines or wireless lines.

[0020] In the replication system 1, data written by the host device 10 to the main site storage device 20 is replicated to the backup site storage device 30. In other words, the main site storage device 20 is the source storage device, and the backup site storage device 30 is the destination storage device. Therefore, for example, when a disaster or the like occurs at the main site, the backup site host device 10a starts up and can continue the processing that was being performed in the host device 10 using the data replicated to the backup site storage device 30. Note that, in the replication processing scene where the data written to the main site storage device 20 is replicated to the backup site storage device 30, the backup site host device 10a may or may not exist. Therefore, in FIG. 1, the rectangular frame showing the backup site host device 10a and the line connecting the backup site host device 10a and the backup site storage device 30 are shown by dashed lines.

[0021] (Internal configuration of the host device) As shown in FIG. 2, the host device 10 includes business processing units 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, ..., a storage unit 12, a business processing control unit 14, a buffer accumulation amount monitoring unit 15, an input / output unit 16, and an operation unit 17. Each of the business processing units 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, ... performs processing related to a business determined for each. In this embodiment, as an example, the business processing unit 11-1 performs processing related to "business A", the business processing unit 11-2 performs processing related to "business B", and the business processing unit 11-3 performs processing related to "business C". Hereinafter, any one of the multiple business processing units 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, ... is referred to as a business processing unit 11. The state of the business processing unit 11 is expressed in three states: a "not started" state where the business processing unit is not started, a "running" state where the business processing unit is started and running, and a "stopped" state where the business processing unit is started but stopped.

[0022] The storage unit 12 stores application programs of the business processing units 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, ... and a business processing unit table 13 shown in Fig. 3. The business processing unit table 13 has a data format formed from the items of "Table No.", "Table Valid", "Business Type", "Data Accumulation Amount Threshold", and "Operation Status" as shown in Fig. 3. In the business processing unit table 13, one record is generated for each of the business processing units 11 that are running.

[0023] In the "Table No." field, consecutive numbers starting from 1 and ending with N are written in order from the first record. Here, N is the maximum number of business processing units 11 that can be started in the host device 10, and is an integer of at least 2.

[0024] A value of "1" or "0" is written in the "Table Valid" item. "1" indicates that the record in which "1" is written is valid, that is, one business processing unit 11 corresponding to the record is running. "0" indicates that the record in which "0" is written is invalid, that is, the record is not being used.

[0025] In the "task type" field, identification information indicating which task is being processed by the task processing unit 11 corresponding to the record is written. Here, as an example, the identification information of each of the task processing units 11 is assumed to be the above-mentioned "task A", "task B", and "task C". It is assumed that each of the task processing units 11 is previously assigned with corresponding identification information, and that the application program of the task processing unit 11 includes the assigned identification information.

[0026] In the "data accumulation threshold" field, a data accumulation threshold is written according to a priority appropriately determined for the task written in the "task type" field. The data accumulation threshold is expressed as a percentage value indicating the ratio of the capacity of the in-order buffer 23 to the total capacity of the in-order buffer 23, for example, assuming that the total capacity of the in-order buffer 23 in the main site storage device 20 is 100%.

[0027] In the "operation status" field, information is written that indicates either "operating" or "stopped" of the status of the business processing unit 11. Note that a record in which the "Table Valid" field is "0" is invalid, and therefore the "business type", "data accumulation threshold", and "operation status" fields of the record are left blank with nothing written in them.

[0028] The operation unit 17 includes an input device that receives operations by the user of the host device 10 and a display device such as a display, and receives the user's operation via the input device to display the contents of the business processing unit table 13 on the display device or write information to the business processing unit table 13. In addition, the operation unit 17 receives the user's operation to output to the business processing control unit 14 a start instruction signal for starting a new business processing unit 11 or an end instruction signal for ending the business processing unit 11.

[0029] The buffer accumulation amount monitor 15 requests and acquires information indicating the amount of data accumulated for each business processing unit 11 in the in-order guarantee buffer 23 of the main site storage device 20 from the main site storage device 20 .

[0030] When the operation processing control unit 14 receives the start instruction signal, it reads from the storage unit 12 an application program of the operation processing unit 11 corresponding to the identification information included in the start instruction signal, and starts the operation processing unit 11. When the operation processing control unit 14 receives the end instruction signal, it ends the operation processing unit 11 corresponding to the identification information included in the end instruction signal.

[0031] The business processing control unit 14 changes the operating state of a business processing unit 11, such as stopping an operating business processing unit 11 or operating a stopped business processing unit 11, based on the data accumulation amount for each business processing unit 11 in the sequence guarantee buffer 23 acquired by the buffer accumulation amount monitoring unit 15 and the data accumulation amount threshold stored in the business processing unit table 13.

[0032] The input / output unit 16 is connected to the main site storage device 20. The input / output unit 16 and the main site storage device 20 may be connected via a wired line or a wireless line, or may be connected via a communication network such as a SAN (Storage Area Network). The input / output unit 16 takes in various signals output by the processing units 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, ... and the buffer accumulation amount monitoring unit 15, and outputs the taken-in signals to the main site storage device 20. The input / output unit 16 takes in various signals output by the main site storage device 20, and distributes the taken-in signals to the buffer accumulation amount monitoring unit 15 and the processing units 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, ... based on the type of the taken-in signal and the identification information included in the taken-in signal, and outputs the signals.

[0033] (Internal configuration of backup site host device) The internal configuration of the backup site host device 10a is a device equipped with business processing units 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, ..., a memory unit 12, a business processing control unit 14, an input / output unit 16, and an operation unit 17. The input / output unit 16 of the backup site host device 10a is connected to the backup site storage device 30.

[0034] The backup site host device 10a does not include a buffer accumulation amount monitoring unit 15. Therefore, the input / output unit 16 does not perform input / output processing related to the buffer accumulation amount monitoring unit 15. Furthermore, the business process control unit 14 of the backup site host device 10a does not perform processing based on the data accumulation amount acquired by the buffer accumulation amount monitoring unit 15 among the processing performed by the business process control unit 14 of the host device 10 described above, that is, processing to stop the business processing unit 11 in operation or to operate the business processing unit 11 that is stopped.

[0035] Accordingly, the storage unit 12 of the backup site host device 10a does not store the business processing unit table 13 of Fig. 3. Therefore, the business processing control unit 14 and the operation unit 17 do not perform processing related to the business processing unit table 13.

[0036] (Internal configuration of the main site storage device) As shown in FIG. 4, the main site storage device 20 includes an input / output unit 21, a main site storage unit 22, an in-order buffer 23, a data replication control unit 24, and a buffer accumulation amount detection unit 25.

[0037] The main site storage unit 22 is, for example, a physical storage medium such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SDD). The main site storage unit 22 may be a storage medium formed by combining a plurality of physical storage media, or may be a storage medium divided into logical storage areas. The main site storage unit 22 may include, for example, a storage area of ​​a cache memory secured in a random access memory (RAM), and may have a mechanism for reading and writing data via the cache memory.

[0038] The input / output unit 21 is connected to the input / output unit 16 of the host device 10. The input / output unit 21 inputs and outputs various signals between the input / output unit 16. The input / output unit 21 performs processing to read data from and write data to the main site storage unit 22.

[0039] For example, assume that any one of the business processing units 11 of the host device 10 reads out data corresponding to that business processing unit 11 stored in the main site storage unit 22. In this case, the input / output unit 21 receives a read request signal from the business processing unit 11 via the input / output unit 16. The read request signal received by the input / output unit 21 includes information specifying the data to be read out, such as information such as a file name, and identification information identifying the business processing unit 11 that has output the read request signal. Here, the identification information is information such as "Business A", "Business B", "Business C", etc., as described above.

[0040] When the input / output unit 21 receives a read request signal, it reads data from a storage area of ​​the main site storage unit 22 linked to information identifying the data to be read that is included in the read request signal. The input / output unit 21 outputs a read response signal including the identification information included in the read request signal and the read data to the input / output unit 16. This allows the business processing unit 11 that output the read request signal to obtain the read response signal via the input / output unit 16 and obtain the data stored in the main site storage unit 22 from the obtained read response signal.

[0041] In contrast, let us consider a case where the business processing unit 11 writes data to the main site storage unit 22. Here, writing data to the main site storage unit 22 does not only mean writing new data to the main site storage unit 22, but also means rewriting data stored in the main site storage unit 22 with other data, or deleting data stored in the main site storage unit 22. Hereinafter, the process of writing new data, the process of rewriting data with other data, and the process of deleting data are collectively referred to as update processes.

[0042] When the business processing unit 11 writes data to the main site storage unit 22, the input / output unit 21 receives a write request signal from the business processing unit 11 via the input / output unit 16. The write request signal received by the input / output unit 21 includes information specifying the data to be written, such as information such as a file name, the data to be written, and identification information for identifying the business processing unit 11 that has output the write request signal. The input / output unit 21 detects a storage area of ​​the main site storage unit 22 that is linked to the information specifying the data to be written, which is included in the write request signal received from the input / output unit 16.

[0043] When the input / output unit 21 detects a storage area in the main site storage unit 22 that is linked to the information identifying the data to be written, the input / output unit 21 rewrites the data stored in the storage area to the data to be written included in the write request signal. If the storage area is insufficient for the rewrite, the input / output unit 21 adds a storage area in the main site storage unit 22 that is linked to the information identifying the data to be written, and if the storage area is surplus for the rewrite, the input / output unit 21 releases the surplus storage area in the main site storage unit 22 from among the storage areas linked to the information identifying the data to be written. This results in the rewriting of the data corresponding to the information identifying the data to be written stored in the main site storage unit 22.

[0044] If the write request signal does not include the data to be written, the data is to be deleted, and so the input / output unit 21 releases the link between the information specifying the data to be written, which is included in the write request signal, and the storage area of ​​the main site storage unit 22 in the main site storage unit 22. As a result, the storage area of ​​the main site storage unit 22 linked to the information specifying the data to be written is released, and the data corresponding to the information specifying the data to be written is deleted.

[0045] In response to this, it is assumed that the input / output unit 21 was unable to detect data corresponding to the information identifying the data to be written that is included in the write request signal. In this case, the write request signal becomes a request to write new data. Therefore, the input / output unit 21 secures a storage area in the main site storage unit 22 with a capacity equivalent to the capacity of the data to be written that is included in the write request signal. The input / output unit 21 links the secured storage area to the information identifying the data to be written that is included in the write request signal. The input / output unit 21 writes the data to be written that is included in the write request signal to the linked storage area. As a result, data corresponding to the information identifying the new data to be written is added to the main site storage unit 22.

[0046] The input / output unit 21 writes information included in the write request signal received from the input / output unit 16 (hereinafter, this information is referred to as duplication request information) into the order assurance buffer 23. When the input / output unit 21 receives a buffer accumulation amount acquisition request signal from the buffer accumulation amount monitoring unit 15 via the input / output unit 16, it outputs the received buffer accumulation amount acquisition request signal to the buffer accumulation amount detection unit 25. When the input / output unit 21 receives a buffer accumulation amount acquisition response signal, which is a response signal to the buffer accumulation amount acquisition request signal, from the buffer accumulation amount detection unit 25, it outputs the signal to the buffer accumulation amount monitoring unit 15 via the input / output unit 16.

[0047] The order assurance buffer 23 is an order assurance storage means for storing the duplication request information written by the input / output unit 21 while maintaining the order in which it was written, and is a so-called queue-type buffer in which the information written first can be read out first.

[0048] When the buffer accumulation amount detection unit 25 receives the buffer accumulation amount acquisition request signal, it detects the data accumulation amount for each identification information in the order guarantee buffer 23. Here, as an example, the buffer accumulation amount detection unit 25 detects the ratio of the capacity occupied by data corresponding to each identification information to the entire capacity of the order guarantee buffer 23 as the data accumulation amount for each identification information. Note that the order guarantee buffer 23 stores not only the data to be written, but also duplication request information including the data to be written. Therefore, specifically, the buffer accumulation amount detection unit 25 detects the ratio of the total capacity of the duplication request information for each identification information to the entire capacity of the order guarantee buffer 23 as the data accumulation amount for each identification information.

[0049] The data replication control unit 24 is connected to a replication line 41 and is connected to a communication network 40 via the replication line 41. Here, in the order assurance buffer 23, information written first is referred to as old information, and information written later is referred to as new information. In this case, the data replication control unit 24 reads out the duplication request information written first, i.e., the oldest duplication request information, from the order assurance buffer 23, and transmits a duplication request signal including the read duplication request information to the backup site storage device 30. When the backup site storage device 30 has performed duplication of data in accordance with the duplication request signal, the data replication control unit 24 deletes the duplication request information corresponding to the duplication request signal from the order assurance buffer 23.

[0050] (Internal configuration of backup site storage device) As shown in FIG. 5, the back-up site storage device 30 includes a data replication control unit 31, an order guarantee buffer 32, a back-up site storage unit 33, and an input / output unit .

[0051] The backup site storage unit 33 is a storage medium of the same configuration as the main site storage unit 22, and the main site storage unit 22 is the source storage unit, whereas the backup site storage unit 33 is the destination storage unit. The order guarantee buffer 32 is a buffer of the same configuration as the order guarantee buffer 23 provided in the main site storage device 20. However, the capacity of the order guarantee buffer 32 and the order guarantee buffer 23 may be the same or different. In the order guarantee buffer 32, as in the case of the order guarantee buffer 23, information written earlier is referred to as old information, and information written later is referred to as new information.

[0052] The data replication control unit 31 is connected to a replication line 42, and is connected to a communication network 40 via the replication line 42. The data replication control unit 31 receives a replication request signal transmitted by the main site storage device 20 via the communication network 40 and the replication lines 41, 42. The data replication control unit 31 writes replication request information included in the replication request signal to the order assurance buffer 32. When writing of the replication request information is completed, the data replication control unit 31 transmits a replication response signal including identification information included in the written replication request information and information indicating replication completion to the main site storage device 20 via the communication network 40 and the replication lines 41, 42.

[0053] The data replication control unit 31 reads out the oldest replication request information from the order assurance buffer 32. The data replication control unit 31 performs data update processing in the backup site storage unit 33 in accordance with the read out replication request information.

[0054] The input / output unit 34 is connected to the input / output unit 16 of the backup site host device 10a. The input / output unit 34 and the input / output unit 16 of the backup site host device 10a may be connected via a wired line or a wireless line, or may be connected via a communication network such as a SAN. The input / output unit 34 performs processing between the backup site storage unit 33 and the input / output unit 16 of the backup site host device 10a similar to the processing performed between the main site storage unit 22 and the input / output unit 16 of the host device 10 by the input / output unit 21 of the main site storage device 20 described above when it receives a read request signal and a write request signal.

[0055] (Hardware configuration) 6 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a host device 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The host device 10 is a computer including, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 111, a RAM 112, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 113, an auxiliary storage device 114, an interface module 115, and an input / output module 116. The CPU 111, the RAM 112, the ROM 113, the auxiliary storage device 114, the interface module 115, and the input / output module 116 are connected to each other by a bus 117. The auxiliary storage device 114 is, for example, a HDD or an SDD. The interface module 115 is included in an input / output unit 16. The input / output module 116 is included in an operation unit 17.

[0056] The application programs stored in advance in the ROM 113 or the auxiliary storage device 114 are executed by the CPU 111 to configure the business processing control unit 14, the buffer accumulation amount monitoring unit 15, and the business processing units 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, ..., configure the software parts of the input / output unit 16 and the operation unit 17, and allocate a storage area for the business processing unit table 13 stored in the storage unit 12 in the RAM 112 or the auxiliary storage device 114. The storage area for storing the application programs of the business processing units 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, ... in the storage unit 12 is allocated in the ROM 113 or the auxiliary storage device 114.

[0057] The hardware configuration of the backup site host device 10a is the same as that of the host device 10. The hardware configuration of each of the main site storage device 20 and the backup site storage device 30 includes a CPU 111, a RAM 112, a ROM 113, an auxiliary storage device 114, and an interface module 115 as shown in FIG. 6. The interface module 115 is included in the input / output units 21, 34, and the data replication control units 24, 31. Note that the interface module 115 has a separate module for each of the input / output units 21, 34 and the data replication control units 24, 31. The storage areas of each of the main site storage unit 22 and the backup site storage unit 33 are allocated in the auxiliary storage device 114, and as described above, when each of the main site storage unit 22 and the backup site storage unit 33 includes a cache memory, the storage area of ​​the cache memory is allocated, for example, in the RAM 112. When an application program pre-stored in ROM 113 or auxiliary storage device 114 is executed by CPU 111, a buffer accumulation detection unit 25 is configured, and the software portions of input / output units 21, 34 and data replication control units 24, 31 are configured, and memory areas for sequence guarantee buffers 23, 32 are allocated in RAM 112.

[0058] (Replication process) 7 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of replication processing performed by the host device 10, the main site storage device 20, and the back-up site storage device 30 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Here, it is assumed that the business processing unit 11-1 performing processing corresponding to "business A" has been started and is in operation in the host device 10. Also, here, the replication processing performed when the business processing unit 11-1 rewrites data stored in the main site memory unit 22 of the main site storage device 20 with other data will be described.

[0059] The business processing unit 11-1 outputs a write request signal including information for identifying the data to be written, the data to be written, and its own identification information "Business A" to the input / output unit 16. The input / output unit 16 receives the write request signal output by the business processing unit 11-1, and outputs the received write request signal to the main site storage device 20 (Sa1).

[0060] The input / output unit 21 of the main site storage device 20 receives a write request signal output by the input / output unit 16. The input / output unit 21 detects a storage area of ​​the main site storage unit 22 linked to information identifying the write target included in the received write request signal. The input / output unit 21 rewrites the data stored in the detected storage area to the write target data included in the write request signal by the above-mentioned procedure. When the input / output unit 21 completes rewriting the data in the main site storage unit 22, it writes the information included in the write request signal to the order guarantee buffer 23 as duplication request information (Sb1).

[0061] When the input / output unit 21 completes writing to the in-order guarantee buffer 23, it outputs a write response signal including the identification information "Task A" included in the write request signal and information indicating the completion of writing to the host device 10 (Sb2). The input / output unit 16 of the host device 10 captures the write response signal output by the input / output unit 21. The input / output unit 16 outputs a write response signal to the business processing unit 11-1 corresponding to the identification information "Task A" included in the captured write response signal. The business processing unit 11-1 captures the write response signal output by the input / output unit 21. Here, since the write response signal captured by the business processing unit 11-1 includes information indicating the completion of writing, the business processing unit 11-1 determines that the write request has been successful and ends the processing related to the write request signal sent in the processing of Sa1 (Sa2).

[0062] The data replication control unit 24 of the main site storage device 20 reads out the oldest replication request information stored in the order assurance buffer 23, and transmits a replication request signal including the read replication request information to the backup site storage device 30 via the communication network 40 and the replication lines 41 and 42 (Sb3).

[0063] The data replication control unit 31 of the backup site storage device 30 receives the duplication request signal transmitted by the data replication control unit 24 via the communication network 40 and the replication lines 41, 42. The data replication control unit 31 writes duplication request information contained in the received duplication request signal to the order assurance buffer 32 (Sc1). Upon completing writing of the duplication request information to the order assurance buffer 32, the data replication control unit 31 transmits a duplication response signal including identification information contained in the written duplication request information and information indicating duplication completion to the main site storage device 20 via the communication network 40 and the replication lines 41, 42 (Sc2).

[0064] The data replication control unit 24 of the main site storage device 20 receives the replication response signal sent by the data replication control unit 31 via the communication network 40 and the replication lines 41 and 42. If the received replication response signal contains information indicating replication completion, the data replication control unit 24 deletes the oldest replication request information corresponding to the identification information contained in the replication response signal from the order assurance buffer 23 (Sb4).

[0065] After the process of Sb4, if other copy request information is stored in the order assurance buffer 23, the data replication control unit 24 performs the process of Sb3 again. Furthermore, at the timing of the process of Sb4, the data replication control unit 24 may not receive a copy response signal even after a certain period of time has elapsed. Furthermore, even if the data replication control unit 24 receives a copy response signal in the process of Sb4, the copy may not be completed in the backup site storage device 30, and the copy response signal may contain information indicating that the copy has not been completed. In these cases, the data replication control unit 24 performs the process of Sb3 again and resends the copy request information without deleting the copy request information from the order assurance buffer 23.

[0066] The data replication control unit 31 of the backup site storage device 30 reads out the oldest replication request information from the order assurance buffer 32. The data replication control unit 31 detects a storage area of ​​the backup site storage unit 33 that is linked to information that specifies the write target data included in the replication request information. The data replication control unit 31 rewrites the data stored in the detected storage area to the write target data included in the replication request information by a procedure similar to that performed by the input / output unit 21 in the process of Sb1 (Sc3). The process of Sc3 is repeatedly performed by the data replication control unit 31 while the replication request information is stored in the order assurance buffer 32.

[0067] As a result, in the processing of Sa1, in accordance with the write request signal output by the business processing unit 11-1, the same data update processing as that performed on the main site storage unit 22 is performed on the back-up site storage unit 33. Therefore, consistency is guaranteed between the data stored in the main site storage unit 22 and the data stored in the back-up site storage unit 33.

[0068] Note that in Figure 7, the replication process that is performed when data stored in the main site storage unit 22 is rewritten with other data is explained. However, when new data is written to the main site storage unit 22 or when data is deleted from the main site storage unit 22, the replication process is performed in a similar manner to that shown in Figure 7.

[0069] (Priority control processing) Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of priority control processing performed by the host device 10 and the main site storage device 20 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Before the processing shown in Fig. 8 is started, the following is performed. The user of the host device 10 operates the operation unit 17 to perform an operation to start up the business processing units 11-1, 11-2, and 11-3. Upon receiving this operation, the operation unit 17 outputs to the business processing control unit 14 start-up instruction signals for starting up the business processing units 11-1, 11-2, and 11-3, i.e., three start-up instruction signals including each of the identification information for "business A", "business B", and "business C".

[0070] When the operation processing control unit 14 receives these start-up instruction signals, it reads out from the storage unit 12 the application programs of the operation processing units 11-1, 11-2, and 11-3 corresponding to the identification information included in each of the start-up instruction signals. The operation processing control unit 14 starts up the operation processing units 11-1, 11-2, and 11-3 using the read application programs of the operation processing units 11-1, 11-2, and 11-3. The operation processing control unit 14 selects three rows in the operation processing unit table 13 in the storage unit 12 where the "Table Valid" item is "0". Here, it is assumed that the operation processing control unit 14 selected the rows with "Table No." of "1", "2", and "3".

[0071] The business process control unit 14 rewrites the values ​​of the "Table Valid" items of the selected three rows to "1". For example, the business process control unit 14 writes "Business A", which is the identification information of the business processing unit 11-1, in the "Business Type" item of the row with the "Table No." item being "1", and writes "In Operation" in the "Operation Status" item. Similarly, the business process control unit 14 writes "Business B", which is the identification information of the business processing unit 11-2, in the "Business Type" item of the row with the "Table No." item being "2", and writes "In Operation" in the "Operation Status" item. The business process control unit 14 writes "Business C", which is the identification information of the business processing unit 11-3, in the "Business Type" item of the row with the "Table No." item being "3", and writes "In Operation" in the "Operation Status" item.

[0072] The user of the host device 10 operates the operation unit 17 to display the contents of the business processing unit table 13 on the display device of the operation unit 17. The user appropriately sets priorities for "business A", "business B", and "business C". Here, it is assumed that the user sets the priority of "business B" higher than "business C", and the priority of "business A" higher than "business B". In this case, the user performs an operation to write a data accumulation amount threshold in the "data accumulation amount threshold" field of the records corresponding to each of "business A", "business B", and "business C" in the business processing unit table 13 via the operation unit 17 so that the data accumulation amount threshold value is larger for the business with a higher priority. Here, it is assumed that the user performs an operation to write "100%" as the data accumulation amount threshold for "business A", "70%" as the data accumulation amount threshold for "business B", and "20%" as the data accumulation amount threshold for "business C". As a result, the contents of the business processing unit table 13 will be those shown in FIG. 3, with the “Operation Status” field of the records with the “Table No.” fields “2” and “3” being “In Operation”.

[0073] In parallel with the process shown in Fig. 8, each of the business processing units 11-1, 11-2, and 11-3 performs a process. When a process of outputting a write request signal is performed in the process of each of the business processing units 11-1, 11-2, and 11-3, the replication process described with reference to Fig. 7 is performed.

[0074] The process shown in Fig. 8 will be described below. The process in Fig. 8 is started when the buffer accumulation amount monitoring unit 15 of the host device 10 outputs a buffer accumulation amount acquisition request signal to the input / output unit 16. Upon receiving the buffer accumulation amount acquisition request signal from the buffer accumulation amount monitoring unit 15, the input / output unit 16 outputs the received buffer accumulation amount acquisition request signal to the buffer accumulation amount detection unit 25 via the input / output unit 21 of the main site storage device 20.

[0075] When the buffer accumulation amount detection unit 25 receives the buffer accumulation amount acquisition request signal, it detects the amount of data accumulated for each identification information in the sequence assurance buffer 23. The buffer accumulation amount detection unit 25 outputs a buffer accumulation amount acquisition response signal including the detected amount of data accumulated for each identification information to the input / output unit 21. When the input / output unit 21 receives the buffer accumulation amount acquisition response signal from the buffer accumulation amount detection unit 25, it outputs the received buffer accumulation amount acquisition response signal to the buffer accumulation amount monitoring unit 15 via the input / output unit 16 of the host device 10.

[0076] The buffer accumulation amount monitor 15 receives the buffer accumulation amount response signal output by the input / output unit 16, and obtains the amount of data accumulated for each piece of identification information included in the received buffer accumulation amount response signal. The buffer accumulation amount monitor 15 outputs the amount of data accumulated for each piece of identification information obtained to the business process control unit 14 (Sd1).

[0077] When the operation processing control unit 14 receives the data accumulation amount for each identification information output by the buffer accumulation amount monitoring unit 15, it initializes a counter n provided in an internal storage area to "1" (Sd2). The operation processing control unit 14 refers to the operation processing unit table 13 and selects a record whose "Table No." field value matches the value of the counter n (Sd3). The operation processing control unit 14 determines whether the "Table Valid" field value of the selected record is "1" (Sd4).

[0078] If the business process control unit 14 determines that the value of the "Table Valid" field of the selected record is not "1" (Sd4, No), it proceeds to processing in Sd11. On the other hand, if the business process control unit 14 determines that the value of the "Table Valid" field of the selected record is "1" (Sd4, Yes), it reads out the value of the "Data Accumulation Amount Threshold" field of the selected record (Sd5). The business process control unit 14 determines whether the status indicated in the "Operation Status" field of the selected record is "Operating" or "Stopped" (Sd6).

[0079] When the business process control unit 14 determines that the "operation status" field of the selected record is "operating" (Sd6, operating), it reads out information in the "business type" field of the selected record, i.e., the identification information of the business process unit 11. The business process control unit 14 selects the data accumulation amount corresponding to the read-out identification information from the data accumulation amount for each identification information acquired in the process of Sd1. The business process control unit 14 performs a threshold determination process to determine whether the selected data accumulation amount is equal to or greater than the data accumulation amount threshold read in the process of Sd5 (Sd7).

[0080] Assume that the operation process control unit 14 determines that the selected data accumulation amount is equal to or greater than the data accumulation amount threshold read in the process of Sd5 (Sd7, Yes). In this case, the operation process control unit 14 stops the operation process unit 11 corresponding to the selected record, in other words, the operation process unit 11 corresponding to the identification information read in the process of Sd7, and rewrites the "operation status" field of the selected record to "stopped" (Sd8). After the process of Sd8, the operation process control unit 14 advances the process to the process of Sd11.

[0081] On the other hand, if the business process control unit 14 determines that the selected data accumulation amount is not equal to or greater than the data accumulation amount threshold read in the process of Sd5 (Sd7, No), the business process control unit 14 advances the process to the process of Sd11.

[0082] In the process of Sd6, if the business process control unit 14 determines that the "operation status" field of the selected record is "stopped" (Sd6, stopped), it reads out information in the "business type" field of the selected record, i.e., the identification information of the business process unit 11. The business process control unit 14 selects the data accumulation amount corresponding to the read identification information from the data accumulation amount for each identification information acquired in the process of Sd1. The business process control unit 14 performs a threshold determination process to determine whether the selected data accumulation amount is less than the data accumulation amount threshold read in the process of Sd5 (Sd9).

[0083] Assume that the operation process control unit 14 determines that the selected data accumulation amount is less than the data accumulation amount threshold read in the process of Sd5 (Sd7, Yes). In this case, the operation process control unit 14 resumes the operation of the operation processing unit 11 corresponding to the selected record, in other words, the operation processing unit 11 corresponding to the identification information read in the process of Sd9, and rewrites the "operation status" item of the selected record to "operating" (Sd10). After the process of Sd10, the operation process control unit 14 advances the process to the process of Sd11.

[0084] On the other hand, if the business process control unit 14 determines that the selected data accumulation amount is not less than the data accumulation amount threshold read in the process of Sd5 (Sd9, No), the business process control unit 14 advances the process to the process of Sd11.

[0085] The business process control unit 14 increments the value of counter n provided in an internal storage area, that is, adds 1 to the value of counter n at that time, and sets the value of counter n as the value of counter n (Sd11). The business process control unit 14 judges whether or not counter n matches N+1 (Sd12). If the business process control unit 14 judges that counter n does not match N+1 (Sd11, No), it performs the process of Sd3 again. On the other hand, if the business process unit 11 judges that counter n matches N+1 (Sd11, Yes), it ends the process.

[0086] As a result, the processes Sd5 to Sd10 are performed on the records whose "Table Valid" field is "1" stored in the business processing unit table 13. The buffer accumulation amount monitoring unit 15 of the host device 10 periodically and repeatedly outputs a buffer accumulation amount acquisition request signal to the input / output unit 16, so that the process of FIG.

[0087] (Action and effect) For example, at a certain timing, the data accumulation amount for each identification information detected from the sequence guarantee buffer 23 by the buffer accumulation amount detection unit 25 of the main site storage device 20 is "2%" for "task A", "73%" for "task B", and "25%" for "task C". The data accumulation amount threshold corresponding to "task A" is "100%". Therefore, for "task A", the task processing control unit 14 determines "operating" in the process of Sd6, and then determines "No" in the process of Sd7. As a result, the task processing unit 11-1 corresponding to "task A" maintains the operating state.

[0088] On the other hand, the data accumulation threshold corresponding to "business B" is "70%", and the data accumulation threshold corresponding to "business C" is "20%". Therefore, for "business B" and "business C", the business process control unit 14 judges "operating" in the process of Sd6, and then judges "Yes" in the process of Sd7. As a result, the business process control unit 14 stops the business processing unit 11-2 corresponding to "business B" in the process of Sd8, and rewrites the "operating status" of the second row record corresponding to "business B" in the business processing unit table 13 to "stopped" as shown in FIG. 3. Similarly, the business process control unit 14 stops the business processing unit 11-3 corresponding to "business C" in the process of Sd8, and rewrites the "operating status" of the third row record corresponding to "business C" in the business processing unit table 13 to "stopped" as shown in FIG. 3.

[0089] By stopping the business processing units 11-2 and 11-3, write request signals are no longer transmitted from the business processing units 11-2 and 11-3, and therefore, replication request information including "business B" or "business C" as identification information is no longer added to the order assurance buffer 23 of the main site storage device 20. The order assurance buffer 23 has room to spare by the amount of replication request information including "business B" or "business C" as identification information that is no longer added. Therefore, it becomes possible to write more replication request information corresponding to the write request signal output by the business processing unit 11-1, which has a higher priority than the business processing units 11-2 and 11-3, into the order assurance buffer 23. As a result, the replication process for "business A", which has a higher priority than "business B" and "business C", is given priority.

[0090] At another timing after the above timing, it is assumed that the data accumulation amount for each identification information detected from the sequence guarantee buffer 23 by the buffer accumulation amount detection unit 25 of the main site storage device 20 is "49%" for "task A", "30%" for "task B", and "21%" for "task C". In this case, for "task A", the task processing control unit 14 judges "operating" in the process of Sd6, and then judges "No" in the process of Sd7. As a result, the task processing unit 11-1 corresponding to "task A" maintains the operating state. For "task C", the task processing control unit 14 judges "stopped" in the process of Sd6, and then judges "No" in the process of Sd9. As a result, the task processing unit 11-1 corresponding to "task C" maintains the stopped state.

[0091] For "business B", the data accumulation amount is "30%" and the data accumulation amount threshold is "70%". Therefore, the business process control unit 14 judges "stopped" in the process of Sd6, and then judges "Yes" in the process of Sd9. As a result, the business process control unit 14 resumes the operation of the business processing unit 11-2 corresponding to "business B" in the process of Sd10, and rewrites the "operation state" of the record in the second row corresponding to "business B" in the business processing unit table 13 to "operating". As a result, the duplication request information including "business B" as identification information is written to the in-sequence buffer 23 again.

[0092] In this way, by setting the data accumulation amount threshold according to the priority of the business in the business processing unit table 13, even if the data accumulation amount in the order guarantee buffer 23 becomes large, the replication process for the business processing unit 11 corresponding to the business with high priority is maintained. Furthermore, even if the business processing unit 11 corresponding to the business with low priority is stopped by the business processing control unit 14, the operation is resumed when the data accumulation amount in the order guarantee buffer 23 becomes less than the data accumulation amount threshold. In this case, the business processing control unit 14 only stops the business processing unit 11 with low priority, and does not delete the duplication request information corresponding to the business processing unit 11 from the order guarantee buffer 23. Therefore, the duplication request information written in the order guarantee buffer 23 is not wasted, and the duplication request information written in the order guarantee buffer 23 is all subjected to the replication process. Therefore, the stopped business processing unit 11 does not need to resend the duplication request information when the operation is resumed, so that the amount of data to be resent can be suppressed overall compared to the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, and the efficiency of data transfer in the replication process can be improved.

[0093] In addition, in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, when a certain group is stopped, the data of the group is deleted from the order guarantee buffer. Therefore, if some kind of failure occurs in the source storage device corresponding to the main site storage device 20 before the data is resent to the destination storage device corresponding to the backup site storage device 30, the destination storage device will not have the data deleted from the order guarantee buffer, resulting in a data lost state. In contrast, in this embodiment, the low priority business processing unit 11 is simply stopped, and the replication request information written to the order guarantee buffer 23 is all subjected to replication processing, so there is no need to resend the data to the backup site storage device 30. Therefore, the configuration of this embodiment makes it possible to reduce the possibility of data being lost, compared to the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1.

[0094] (Other configuration examples) In the above embodiment, the buffer accumulation amount detection unit 25 detects, as the data accumulation amount for each identification information, the ratio of the total capacity of the copy request information for each identification information to the entire capacity of the order guarantee buffer 23. Alternatively, the buffer accumulation amount detection unit 25 may detect, as the data accumulation amount for each identification information, the ratio of the total capacity of the write target data included in the copy request information for each identification information to the entire capacity of the order guarantee buffer 23.

[0095] In the above embodiment, the data accumulation threshold written in the business processing unit table 13 and the data accumulation amount detected by the buffer accumulation amount detection unit 25 are values ​​indicating the ratio of capacity to the entire capacity of the sequence guarantee buffer 23. Alternatively, the data accumulation threshold written in the business processing unit table 13 and the data accumulation amount detected by the buffer accumulation amount detection unit 25 may be values ​​expressed in units of data capacity such as megabytes.

[0096] In the above embodiment, as an example of the process of FIG. 8, the business process control unit 14 starts three business process units 11-1, 11-2, and 11-3, but it may start up to N business process units 11-1 to 11-N.

[0097] In the above embodiment, in the process of Sc1 in FIG. 7, the data replication control unit 31 of the backup site storage device 30 writes the copy request information included in the received copy request signal to the order guarantee buffer 32. In contrast, in the process of Sc3, the data replication control unit 31 uses the information for identifying the write target data included in the copy request information and the write target data, but does not use the identification information. Therefore, in the process of Sc1, the data replication control unit 31 may write the information for identifying the write target data included in the copy request information and the write target data in association with each other to the order guarantee buffer 32. In this way, the amount of data stored in the order guarantee buffer 32 can be reduced, and the order guarantee buffer 32 can be used more effectively.

[0098] In the above embodiment, the input / output unit 21 of the main site storage device 20 writes information included in the write request signal received from the input / output unit 16 as duplication request information to the order guarantee buffer 23. Alternatively, the input / output unit 21 may write control information indicating the range of changes made to the main site storage unit 22 based on the write request signal, the changed data within the range of changes, and the identification information to the order guarantee buffer 23 as duplication request information. Here, the control information is, for example, information indicating a specific range in the main site storage unit 22, such as a logical disk number, a logical block address, and a data length. As described above, since the main site storage unit 22 and the backup site storage unit 33 have the same configuration, the control information can specify the range of the backup site storage unit 33 corresponding to the range changed in the main site storage unit 22.

[0099] Generally, the control information indicating the range of the change and the capacity of the data after the change within the range of the change are smaller than the information for identifying the data to be written included in the write request signal and the capacity of the data to be written. Therefore, writing the copy request information including the control information indicating the range of the change, the data after the change within the range of the change, and the identification information into the order guarantee buffer 23 can increase the number of copy request information that can be written into the order guarantee buffer 23, and can reduce the amount of data to be transferred from the main site storage device 20 to the backup site storage device 30 for data copy.

[0100] In the above embodiment, the input / output unit 16 of the host device 10 and the input / output unit 21 of the main site storage device 20 are configured to relay signals exchanged between the buffer accumulation amount monitor 15 and the buffer accumulation amount detector 25. Alternatively, the buffer accumulation amount monitor 15 and the buffer accumulation amount detector 25 may be connected by a line different from the line connecting the input / output unit 16 and the input / output unit 21.

[0101] In the above embodiment, as an example, the target to be operated or stopped is categorized as business processing, but it is not necessary to limit it to business processing, and any processing that can be classified into categories such as business may be the target.

[0102] In the configuration of the above embodiment, a judgment process using an inequality sign or an inequality sign with an equal sign is performed in the processes shown in Sd7 and Sd9 of Fig. 8. However, this disclosure is not limited to the embodiment, and the judgment processes of "greater than or equal to" and "less than or equal to" are merely examples, and may be replaced with judgment processes of "exceeding or not" and "equal or not" depending on how the data accumulation amount threshold is defined.

[0103] Fig. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a host device 200 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, and Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing performed by the host device 200. As shown in Fig. 9, the host device 200 includes an operation state changing means 201, and category processing means 202-1, 202-2, 202-3, .... Here, a category is, for example, "business" shown in the above embodiment.

[0104] 10, in the host device 200, each of the category processing means 202-1, 202-2, 202-3, ... performs processing related to a category that is predetermined for each of them (S201). The operation state change means 201 changes the operation state of each of the category processing means 202-1, 202-2, 202-3, ... based on the data accumulation amount for each category stored in the order assurance storage means that stores the data that each of the category processing means 202-1, 202-2, 202-3, ... writes to the source storage means and that is transmitted to the destination storage device and replicated, while maintaining the writing order, until the data is transmitted to the destination storage device, and based on the data accumulation amount threshold for each category that is determined according to the priority of the category (S202).

[0105] The host device 10, the main site storage device 20, the backup site storage device 30, and the backup site host device 10a, which are an embodiment of this disclosure, have a computer system inside. The process described with reference to Figures 7 and 8 is stored in a computer-readable recording medium in the form of a program, and the computer system reads and executes this program to perform the process described with reference to Figures 7 and 8. In other words, the program for realizing the functions of the functional units provided in the host device 10, the main site storage device 20, the backup site storage device 30, and the backup site host device 10a is recorded in a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded in the recording medium is read and executed by the computer system to perform the process described with reference to Figures 7 and 8.

[0106] In this context, the term "computer system" includes hardware such as an OS (Operating System) and peripheral devices. The term also includes a WWW (World Wide Web) system equipped with a homepage provision environment (or display environment). The term "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, magnetic disks, optical magnetic disks, ROMs, CD (Compact Disc)-ROMs, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROMs, and semiconductor memories, as well as storage devices such as HDDs and SSDs built into computer systems. Furthermore, the term "computer-readable recording medium" also includes devices that hold a program for a certain period of time, such as volatile memory (RAM) inside a computer system that serves as a server or client when a program is transmitted via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line.

[0107] Furthermore, the above-mentioned "program" may be transmitted from a computer system in which the program is stored in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium or by transmission waves in the transmission medium, and the computer system to which the program is transmitted may execute the program. Here, the "transmission medium" that transmits the program refers to a medium that has the function of transmitting information, such as a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a communication line (communication line) such as a telephone line. The above-mentioned "program" may also be one that realizes part of the above-mentioned functions. Furthermore, it may be one that can realize the above-mentioned functions in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system, a so-called difference file (difference program).

[0108] Although the replication system 1 of this disclosure has been described above, this disclosure is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. Various modifications that can be understood by a person skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of this disclosure within the scope of this disclosure. Furthermore, each embodiment can be appropriately combined with other embodiments.

[0109] Note that some or all of the above-described embodiments can be described as, but are not limited to, the following supplementary notes.

[0110] (Supplementary Note 1) A host device (e.g., host device 10) comprising: a plurality of category processing means (e.g., business processing units 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, ...), each performing processing related to a category predetermined for each of the category processing means; and an operation state changing means (e.g., business processing control unit 14) for changing the operation state of each of the category processing means based on the data accumulation amount for each category stored in an order assurance storage means (e.g., order assurance buffer 23) that stores the data, which is written by each of the category processing means to a source storage means (e.g., main site storage unit 22) and is transmitted to a destination storage device (e.g., backup site storage device 30) and replicated therein, while maintaining the writing order until the data is transmitted to the destination storage device, and a data accumulation amount threshold for each category determined according to the priority of the category.

[0111] (Appendix 2) The operating state change means performs a first threshold judgment process (e.g., threshold judgment process Sd7) for each category to determine whether the data accumulation amount is equal to or greater than the data accumulation amount threshold based on the data accumulation amount of the category and the data accumulation amount threshold, and if it is determined in the first threshold judgment process that the data accumulation amount is equal to or greater than the data accumulation amount threshold, stops the category processing means corresponding to the category that is the subject of judgment in the first threshold judgment process. (Appendix 1) The host device described in

[0112] (Appendix 3) The host device described in (Appendix 2), wherein the operating state change means determines whether the state of the category processing means corresponding to the category to be judged in the first threshold judgment process is operating or stopped before performing the first threshold judgment process, and if it is determined to be operating, performs the first threshold judgment process.

[0113] (Appendix 4) The operating state change means performs a second threshold judgment process (e.g., threshold judgment process Sd9) for each category to determine whether the data accumulation amount is less than the data accumulation amount threshold based on the data accumulation amount of the category and the data accumulation amount threshold, and if it is determined in the second threshold judgment process that the data accumulation amount is less than the data accumulation amount threshold, resumes operation of the category processing means corresponding to the category that is the subject of judgment in the second threshold judgment process. The host device described in any one of (Appendix 1) to (Appendix 3).

[0114] (Appendix 5) The host device described in (Appendix 4), wherein the operating state change means determines whether the state of the category processing means corresponding to the category to be judged in the second threshold judgment process is operating or stopped before performing the second threshold judgment process, and if it is determined to be stopped, performs the second threshold judgment process.

[0115] (Appendix 6) A host device described in any one of (Appendix 1) to (Appendix 5), wherein the data accumulation amount and the data accumulation amount threshold are expressed as a percentage of the capacity of the total capacity of the order assurance storage means, or are expressed in units of data capacity.

[0116] (Supplementary Note 7) The host device according to any one of (Supplementary Note 1) to (Supplementary Note 6), wherein the category is a business, and the category processing means is a business processing means.

[0117] (Appendix 8) A storage device (e.g., main site storage device 20) including a plurality of category processing means (e.g., business processing units 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, ...) provided in a host device (e.g., host device 10), each of which includes a source storage means (e.g., main site storage unit 22) to which data is written by each of the category processing means performing processing related to a category predetermined for each of the category processing means, an order assurance storage means (e.g., order assurance buffer 23) for storing data to be written in the source storage means and transmitted to a destination storage device (e.g., backup site storage device 30) and replicated therein while maintaining the order of writing until the data is transmitted to the destination storage device, and a detection means (e.g., buffer accumulation amount detection unit 25) for detecting a data accumulation amount for each of the categories stored in the order assurance storage means, which is compared with a data accumulation amount threshold for each of the categories determined according to the priority of the category, and for detecting a data accumulation amount at which an operation state of each of the category processing means is changed based on a result of the comparison.

[0118] (Appendix 9) A storage device as described in (Appendix 8), wherein the data accumulation amount and the data accumulation amount threshold are expressed as a percentage of the capacity of the entire capacity of the order assurance memory means, or are expressed in units of data capacity.

[0119] (Supplementary Note 10) The storage device according to (Supplementary Note 8) or (Supplementary Note 9), wherein the category is a business, and the category processing means is a business processing means.

[0120] (Appendix 11) A host device (e.g., host device 10) having a plurality of category processing means (e.g., business processing units 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, ...) each performing processing related to a category previously determined for each of them, a source storage means (e.g., main site storage unit 22) to which data is written by each of the category processing means, and an order guarantee storage means (e.g., order guarantee storage unit 23) for storing data written in the source storage means and transmitted to a destination storage device (e.g., backup site storage device 30) and replicated therein while maintaining the order of writing until the data is transmitted to the destination storage device. a source storage device (e.g., a main site storage device 20) having an order assurance buffer 23) and a detection means (e.g., a buffer accumulation amount detection unit 25) for detecting the data accumulation amount for each of the categories stored in the order assurance memory means, wherein the host device has an operation state change means (e.g., a business process control unit 14) for changing the operation state of each of the category processing means based on the data accumulation amount for each of the categories detected by the detection means and a data accumulation amount threshold for each of the categories determined according to the priority of the category.

[0121] (Appendix 12) The source storage device has a transmitting means (e.g., a data replication control unit 24) that reads the earliest written data from the data stored in the order assurance storage means and transmits the read data to the destination storage device, and the destination storage device has a destination storage means (e.g., a backup site storage unit 33) and a receiving means (e.g., a data replication control unit 31) that receives the data transmitted by the transmitting means and writes it to the destination storage means (the replication system described in Appendix 11).

[0122] (Appendix 13) The replication system described in (Appendix 11) or (Appendix 12), wherein the operating state change means performs a first threshold judgment process (e.g., threshold judgment process Sd7) for each category to determine whether the data accumulation amount is equal to or greater than the data accumulation amount threshold based on the data accumulation amount of the category and the data accumulation amount threshold, and if it is determined in the first threshold judgment process that the data accumulation amount is equal to or greater than the data accumulation amount threshold, stops the category processing means corresponding to the category that is the subject of judgment in the first threshold judgment process.

[0123] (Appendix 14) The replication system described in (Appendix 13) wherein, before performing the first threshold judgment processing, the operation status change means determines whether the state of the category processing means corresponding to the category to be judged in the first threshold judgment processing is operating or stopped, and if it is determined to be operating, performs the first threshold judgment processing.

[0124] (Appendix 15) The replication system described in any one of (Appendix 11) to (Appendix 14), wherein the operating state change means performs a second threshold judgment process (e.g., threshold judgment process of Sd9) for each category to determine whether the data accumulation amount is less than the data accumulation amount threshold based on the data accumulation amount of the category and the data accumulation amount threshold, and if it is determined in the second threshold judgment process that the data accumulation amount is less than the data accumulation amount threshold, resumes operation of the category processing means corresponding to the category that is the subject of judgment in the second threshold judgment process.

[0125] (Appendix 16) The replication system described in (Appendix 15) wherein, before performing the second threshold judgment processing, the operating status change means determines whether the status of the category processing means corresponding to the category to be judged in the second threshold judgment processing is operating or stopped, and if it is determined to be stopped, performs the second threshold judgment processing.

[0126] (Appendix 17) A replication system described in any one of (Appendix 11) to (Appendix 16), wherein the data accumulation amount and the data accumulation amount threshold are expressed as a percentage of the capacity of the total capacity of the order assurance storage means, or are expressed in units of data capacity.

[0127] (Supplementary Note 18) The replication system according to any one of (Supplementary Note 11) to (Supplementary Note 17), wherein the category is a business, and the category processing means is a business processing means.

[0128] (Addendum 19) A priority control method including: a processing step in which each of a plurality of category processing means (e.g., business processing units 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, ...) performs processing related to a category predetermined for each of the category processing means; and an operation state changing step in which each of the category processing means changes an operation state of each of the category processing means based on a data accumulation amount for each of the categories stored in an order assurance storage means (e.g., order assurance buffer 23) that stores data to be written to a source storage means (e.g., main site storage unit 22) by each of the category processing means and transmitted to a destination storage device (e.g., backup site storage device 30) and replicated therein while maintaining the writing order until the data is transmitted to the destination storage device, and a data accumulation amount threshold for each of the categories that is determined according to the priority of the category.

[0129] (Appendix 20) The priority control method described in (Appendix 19), wherein the operation state change step performs a first threshold judgment process (e.g., threshold judgment process Sd7) for each category to judge whether the data accumulation amount is equal to or greater than the data accumulation amount threshold based on the data accumulation amount of the category and the data accumulation amount threshold, and if it is judged in the first threshold judgment process that the data accumulation amount is equal to or greater than the data accumulation amount threshold, stops the category processing means corresponding to the category that is the subject of judgment in the first threshold judgment process.

[0130] (Supplementary Note 21) The priority control method described in (Supplementary Note 20), wherein the operation state change step determines whether the state of the category processing means corresponding to the category to be judged in the first threshold judgment process is in operation or stopped before performing the first threshold judgment process, and if it is determined to be in operation, performs the first threshold judgment process.

[0131] (Appendix 22) The priority control method described in any one of (Appendix 19) to (Appendix 21), wherein the operation state change step performs a second threshold judgment process (e.g., threshold judgment process of Sd9) for each category, based on the data accumulation amount of the category and the data accumulation amount threshold, to judge whether the data accumulation amount is less than the data accumulation amount threshold, and if it is judged in the second threshold judgment process that the data accumulation amount is less than the data accumulation amount threshold, resumes operation of the category processing means corresponding to the category that is the subject of judgment in the second threshold judgment process.

[0132] (Appendix 23) The priority control method described in (Appendix 22), wherein the operation state change step determines whether the state of the category processing means corresponding to the category to be judged in the second threshold judgment process is operating or stopped before performing the second threshold judgment process, and if it is determined to be stopped, performs the second threshold judgment process.

[0133] (Appendix 24) A priority control method according to any one of (Appendix 19) to (Appendix 23), wherein the data accumulation amount and the data accumulation amount threshold are expressed as a percentage of the capacity of the entire capacity of the order assurance storage means, or are expressed in units of data capacity.

[0134] (Supplementary Note 25) The priority control method according to any one of (Supplementary Note 19) to (Supplementary Note 24), wherein the category is a business, and the category processing means is a business processing means.

[0135] (Addendum 26) A priority control method including: a plurality of category processing means (e.g., business processing units 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, ...) provided in a host device (e.g., host device 10), each of which performs processing related to a category predetermined for each of the category processing means, a write step in which each of the category processing means writes data to a source storage means (e.g., main site storage unit 22); a storage step in which the data written to the source storage means and transmitted to a destination storage device (e.g., backup site storage device 30) and transmitted to the destination storage device is stored in an order assurance storage means (e.g., order assurance buffer 23) while maintaining the order of writing until transmitted to the destination storage device; and a detection step in which the data accumulation amount for each of the categories stored in the order assurance storage means is compared with a data accumulation amount threshold for each of the categories determined according to the priority of the category, and an operation state of each of the category processing means is changed based on a result of the comparison.

[0136] (Appendix 27) A priority control method as described in (Appendix 26), wherein the data accumulation amount and the data accumulation amount threshold are expressed as a percentage of the capacity of the order assurance storage means relative to the total capacity, or are expressed in units of data capacity.

[0137] (Supplementary Note 28) The priority control method according to (Supplementary Note 25), wherein the category is a business, and the category processing means is a business processing means.

[0138] (Appendix 29) A program for causing a computer (e.g., host device 10) to function as a plurality of category processing means (e.g., business processing units 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, ...), each of which performs processing related to a category predetermined for each of the category processing means, and an operation state changing means (e.g., operation processing control unit 14) for changing the operation state of each of the category processing means, based on the data accumulation amount for each category stored in an order assurance storage means (e.g., order assurance buffer 23) that stores the data, which is written by each of the category processing means to a source storage means (e.g., main site storage unit 22) and is transmitted to a destination storage device (e.g., backup site storage device 30) and replicated therein, while maintaining the writing order until the data is transmitted to the destination storage device, and on a data accumulation amount threshold for each of the categories determined according to the priority of the category.

[0139] (Appendix 30) The program described in (Appendix 29), wherein the operating state change means performs a first threshold judgment process (e.g., threshold judgment process Sd7) for each category to determine whether the data accumulation amount is equal to or greater than the data accumulation amount threshold based on the data accumulation amount of the category and the data accumulation amount threshold, and if it is determined in the first threshold judgment process that the data accumulation amount is equal to or greater than the data accumulation amount threshold, stops the category processing means corresponding to the category that is the subject of judgment in the first threshold judgment process.

[0140] (Appendix 31) The program described in (Appendix 30), wherein the operation status change means determines whether the state of the category processing means corresponding to the category to be judged in the first threshold judgment process is operating or stopped before performing the first threshold judgment process, and if it is determined that the state is operating, performs the first threshold judgment process.

[0141] (Appendix 32) The operating state change means performs a second threshold judgment process (e.g., threshold judgment process Sd9) for each category to determine whether the data accumulation amount is less than the data accumulation amount threshold based on the data accumulation amount of the category and the data accumulation amount threshold, and if it is determined in the second threshold judgment process that the data accumulation amount is less than the data accumulation amount threshold, resumes operation of the category processing means corresponding to the category that is the subject of judgment in the second threshold judgment process. The program described in any one of (Appendix 29) to (Appendix 31).

[0142] (Appendix 33) The program described in (Appendix 32), wherein the operation state change means determines whether the state of the category processing means corresponding to the category to be judged in the second threshold judgment process is operating or stopped before performing the second threshold judgment process, and if it is determined to be stopped, performs the second threshold judgment process.

[0143] (Appendix 34) The program described in any one of (Appendix 29) to (Appendix 33), wherein the data accumulation amount and the data accumulation amount threshold are expressed as a percentage of the capacity of the total capacity of the order assurance storage means, or are expressed in units of data capacity.

[0144] (Supplementary Note 35) The program described in any one of (Supplementary Note 29) to (Supplementary Note 34), wherein the category is a business, and the category processing means is a business processing means.

[0145] (Appendix 36) A program for causing a computer (e.g., the main site storage device 20) to function as a host device (e.g., the host device 10) including a plurality of category processing means (e.g., business processing units 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, ...), each of which includes a source storage means (e.g., the main site storage unit 22) into which data is written by each of the category processing means performing processing related to a category predetermined for each of the category processing means, an order assurance storage means (e.g., the order assurance buffer 23) for storing data written to the source storage means and transmitted to a destination storage device (e.g., the backup site storage device 30) and replicated therein while maintaining the order of writing until the data is transmitted to the destination storage device, and a detection means (e.g., the buffer accumulation amount detection unit 25) for detecting a data accumulation amount for each of the categories, which is a data accumulation amount for each of the categories stored in the order assurance storage means, and which is compared with a data accumulation amount threshold for each of the categories determined according to the priority of the category, and which changes the operating state of each of the category processing means based on the result of the comparison.

[0146] (Appendix 37) The program described in (Appendix 36), wherein the data accumulation amount and the data accumulation amount threshold are expressed as a percentage of the capacity of the order assurance storage means relative to the total capacity of the order assurance storage means, or are expressed in units of data capacity.

[0147] (Supplementary Note 38) The program described in (Supplementary Note 36) or (Supplementary Note 37), wherein the category is a business, and the category processing means is a business processing means. [Explanation of symbols]

[0148] 1...replication system, 10...host device, 10a...backup site host device, 11-1, 11-2, 11-3...business processing unit, 12...storage unit, 13...business processing unit table, 14...business processing control unit, 15...buffer accumulation amount monitoring unit, 16...input / output unit, 17...operation unit, 20...main site storage device, 21...input / output unit, 22...main site storage unit, 23...order guarantee buffer, 24...data replication control unit, 25...buffer accumulation amount detection unit, 30...backup site storage device, 31...data replication control unit, 32...order guarantee buffer, 33...backup site storage unit, 34...input / output unit, 40...communication network, 41, 42...replication line

Claims

1. a plurality of category processing means each performing processing related to a category previously defined for said category processing means; an operation state changing means for changing the operation state of each of the category processing means based on the data accumulation amount for each of the categories stored in an order assurance storage means that stores the data, which is written by each of the category processing means to the source storage means and is transmitted to the destination storage device and replicated, while maintaining the writing order until the data is transmitted to the destination storage device, and a data accumulation amount threshold for each of the categories that is determined according to the priority of the category; A host device comprising:

2. The operating state changing means is performing a threshold determination process for each of the categories, based on the data accumulation amount of the category and the data accumulation amount threshold, to determine whether or not the data accumulation amount is equal to or greater than the data accumulation amount threshold, and when it is determined in the threshold determination process that the data accumulation amount is equal to or greater than the data accumulation amount threshold, stopping the category processing means corresponding to the category that is the subject of the threshold determination process; The host device of claim 1 .

3. The operating state changing means is performing a threshold determination process for each of the categories, based on the data accumulation amount of the category and the data accumulation amount threshold, to determine whether or not the data accumulation amount is less than the data accumulation amount threshold, and when it is determined in the threshold determination process that the data accumulation amount is less than the data accumulation amount threshold, restarting the operation of the category processing means corresponding to the category that is the subject of the threshold determination process; The host device of claim 1 .

4. The data accumulation amount and the data accumulation amount threshold are expressed as a ratio of a capacity to a total capacity of the order assurance storage means, or are expressed in units of data capacity.

4. The host device according to claim 1.

5. a storage unit to which data is written by each of a plurality of category processing means included in the host device, the category processing means performing processing related to a category that is predetermined for each of the category processing means; an order guarantee storage means for storing data to be written in the source storage means and transmitted to a destination storage device and replicated therein while maintaining the order in which the data was written until the data is transmitted to the destination storage device; a detection means for detecting a data accumulation amount for each of the categories stored in the order assurance storage means, the data accumulation amount being compared with a data accumulation amount threshold for each of the categories determined according to the priority of the category, and for changing an operation state of each of the category processing means based on a result of the comparison; A storage device comprising:

6. a host device having a plurality of category processing means each performing processing relating to a category that is predefined for each of the category processing means; a source storage means into which data is written by each of said category processing means; an order guarantee storage means for storing data to be written in the source storage means and transmitted to a destination storage device and replicated therein while maintaining the order in which the data was written until the data is transmitted to the destination storage device; a source storage device having a detection unit for detecting an amount of data stored for each category in the order assurance storage unit; The host device includes: an operation state changing means for changing an operation state of each of the category processing means based on the data accumulation amount for each of the categories detected by the detection means and a data accumulation amount threshold for each of the categories determined according to the priority of the category; A replication system having

7. a processing step in which each of a plurality of category processing means performs processing related to a category that is predetermined for each of the category processing means; an operation state changing step of changing the operation state of each of the category processing means based on the data accumulation amount for each of the categories stored in an order assurance storage means that stores data to be written by each of the category processing means to the source storage means and transmitted to the destination storage device and replicated, while maintaining the writing order, until the data is transmitted to the destination storage device, and based on a data accumulation amount threshold for each of the categories that is determined according to the priority of the category; A priority control method including:

8. a write step in which each of a plurality of category processing means included in the host device, each of the category processing means performing processing related to a category that is predetermined for each of the category processing means, writes data into a storage means that is a source of duplication; a storage step of storing the data to be written in the source storage means and transmitted to the destination storage device and replicated in an order assurance storage means while maintaining the write order until the data is transmitted to the destination storage device; a detection step of detecting a data accumulation amount for each of the categories stored in the order assurance storage means, the data accumulation amount being compared with a data accumulation amount threshold for each of the categories determined according to the priority of the category, and changing an operation state of each of the category processing means based on a result of the comparison; A priority control method including:

9. Computer, a plurality of category processing means each performing processing relating to a category predetermined for each of the category processing means; an operation state changing means for changing the operation state of each of the category processing means based on the data accumulation amount for each of the categories stored in an order assurance storage means that stores data, which is written by each of the category processing means to the source storage means and is transmitted to the destination storage device and replicated, while maintaining the writing order until the data is transmitted to the destination storage device, and based on a data accumulation amount threshold for each of the categories that is determined according to the priority of the category; A program to function as a

10. Computer, a storage unit to which data is written by each of a plurality of category processing means included in the host device, the category processing means performing processing related to a category that is predetermined for each of the category processing means; an order guarantee storage means for storing data to be written in the source storage means and transmitted to a destination storage device and replicated therein while maintaining the order in which the data was written until the data is transmitted to the destination storage device; a detection means for detecting a data accumulation amount for each of the categories stored in the order assurance storage means, the data accumulation amount being compared with a data accumulation amount threshold for each of the categories determined according to the priority of the category, and for changing an operation state of each of the category processing means based on a result of the comparison; A program to function as a

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