Copy Controller Logical-Physical Segmentation for Storage Load Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional storage devices experience performance deterioration due to heavy load on controllers and magnetic disk devices during periodic physical copying of data, leading to increased copying times and resource utilization.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a copy controller that records update sections in the storage device and only copies data differences between the source and destination areas upon subsequent copy requests, reducing the need for full-range physical copying and minimizing the load on the storage device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If physical copying of the entire designated range is executed at every booting up time, then data consistency between source and destination is ensured, but the load to the controller and magnetic disk device becomes heavy causing performance deterioration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the copying process into two independent parts: logical copying (instantaneous metadata operation) and physical copying (actual data transfer). This segmentation allows the system to immediately respond to copy requests while performing the heavy physical copying operation in the background, thus ensuring data consistency without blocking other storage operations and maintaining device performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary logical copying by updating metadata and copy management information before actual physical copying occurs. This preliminary action establishes the copy relationship and ensures data consistency immediately, while the actual data transfer is deferred to background processing, preventing performance deterioration during the copy operation.
2Reliability
If full-range physical copying is performed periodically, then updated data is synchronized to destination, but copying time and resource utilization increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential function of data synchronization to a background process, separating it from the main copy operation. The controller immediately responds to copy requests by updating metadata, while the actual data transfer is extracted and performed asynchronously in the background, dramatically reducing copying time and allowing other operations to proceed uninterrupted.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements periodic background copying where updated data is transferred from source to destination at scheduled intervals rather than all at once. This periodic action distributes the copying load over time, preventing resource bottlenecks while ensuring data synchronization is maintained between source and destination.
Data Source
AI summary
After a first copy request is received and copy operation from a copy source area to a copy destination area is activated, information indicating an update section is recorded when a data update of at least one of either the copy source area or the copy destination area is generated. When a second copy request is received, data in the copy source area corresponding to the update section is copied to the copy destination area, in accordance with the recorded information.