Storage Management Apparatus for Stable Remote Copy
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Solution Overview
Problem
In hybrid cloud configurations, the instability of network connections and uncertainty in data transfer rates make it difficult to maintain stable remote copy operations, leading to increased data loss and failure in replication systems.
Innovation Solution
A management apparatus and method that monitors replication delay times and adjusts data transfer limits to ensure stable remote copy operations by managing multiple storage apparatuses via a network, using a processor to control data transfer based on performance objectives and limiting data writes to maintain replication delay times.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If data transfer speed is increased to reduce replication delay time, then replication performance is improved, but network stability deteriorates and data loss increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic adjustment of data transfer rates based on real-time monitoring of replication delay times and network conditions. The management apparatus continuously adapts the transfer speed to match current network capacity and replication requirements, transforming the static transfer rate into a dynamic parameter that responds to changing conditions, thereby resolving the contradiction between speed and stability
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes a feedback loop where replication delay times are continuously monitored and used to adjust data transfer rates. This closed-loop control mechanism ensures that transfer speeds are automatically reduced when delays increase, preventing data loss while maintaining optimal performance when conditions allow, thus resolving the contradiction between high speed and network stability
2Reliability
If data transfer rate is limited to ensure network stability, then replication reliability is improved, but replication delay time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the data transfer rate dynamic rather than fixed, allowing it to be adjusted in real-time based on replication delay measurements and network conditions. This dynamic adjustment enables the system to maintain reliability through rate limiting while minimizing replication delay by increasing rates when conditions permit
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of data transfer rate based on monitored conditions. By adjusting this critical parameter in response to replication delay times and network status, the system optimizes the balance between reliability and speed, resolving the contradiction between limiting transfer rates for stability and maintaining acceptable replication delays
3Reliability
If multiple remote copies are maintained simultaneously, then data redundancy is improved, but network resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by selectively limiting data transfer rates for specific remote copies based on their priority and current network conditions. Instead of uniformly reducing all transfers or maintaining full speed for all, the system applies rate limiting selectively to non-critical replications, maintaining data redundancy while conserving network resources
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies different quality levels of data transfer to different remote copies. High-priority replications receive full bandwidth and aggressive transfer rates, while lower-priority replications receive rate-limited transfers. This local differentiation of transfer quality allows multiple remote copies to coexist with optimized network resource consumption
Data Source
AI summary
To provide a management apparatus, a management method, and a storage system in which even in an environment where a connection speed and an amount of data written from a host are uncertain, remote copy can be stably operated. A management apparatus includes a processor and manages a plurality of storage apparatuses communicating with one another via a network and having a respective volume. In the management apparatus, a remote copy transferred from a replication source volume of a plurality of volumes to a replication destination volume via the network and duplicated is set for a combination of a plurality of replication source volumes and replication destination volumes. The management apparatus monitors a replication delay time, which a time required for duplicating a remote copy, and exercises control to limit an amount of transferred data of other remote copies based on the replication delay time.