Storage Pool Manager for Heterogeneous Subsystems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Managing multiple heterogeneous storage subsystems in a loosely coupled environment is challenging due to independent resource management, leading to resource waste and inefficiency, especially when high-performance storage subsystems are connected, making it difficult to share resources and optimize storage system performance.
Innovation Solution
Implementing integrated storage pool management that allows storage subsystems to access and rebalance resources across multiple tiers, using standard I/O interfaces, and employing a management server to dynamically allocate resources, migrate data, and adjust tier configurations based on load requirements, thereby optimizing resource utilization and avoiding circular allocation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple heterogeneous storage subsystems are managed independently in a loosely coupled environment, then each subsystem maintains its own resource control and independence, but resource sharing becomes difficult and leads to resource waste and inefficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a storage pool manager as an intermediary component that sits between multiple storage subsystems and hosts. This manager abstracts the heterogeneous storage resources into a unified pool, enabling efficient resource allocation and sharing while preserving the independence of individual subsystems. The pool manager handles resource requests, performs load balancing, and manages data migration between subsystems, thus resolving the contradiction between subsystem independence and resource sharing efficiency.
2Speed
If high performance storage subsystems are connected to each other, then storage performance is improved, but resource waste occurs due to inability to share resources effectively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple high-performance storage subsystems into a unified storage pool under centralized management. By combining the resources of multiple subsystems while maintaining their high-performance characteristics, the system enables effective resource sharing and load balancing. The pool manager dynamically allocates resources across subsystems, ensuring that high-performance resources are utilized efficiently and preventing resource waste that would occur in isolated subsystem configurations.
3Productivity
If integrated storage pool management is implemented across multiple subsystems, then resource sharing and rebalancing are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The storage pool manager is designed as a universal management component that handles multiple functions including resource allocation, load balancing, data migration, and subsystem coordination. By consolidating these diverse management tasks into a single multi-functional entity, the system achieves efficient resource sharing across subsystems while avoiding the complexity that would arise from implementing separate management mechanisms for each function. The universal pool manager abstracts the complexity from individual subsystems and presents a simplified interface to hosts.
Data Source
AI summary
A system comprises a first storage system including a first storage controller, which receives input/output commands from host computers and provides first storage volumes to the host computers; and a second storage system including a second storage controller which receives input/output commands from host computers and provides second storage volumes to the host computers. A first data storing region of one of the first storage volumes is allocated from a first pool by the first storage controller. A second data storing region of another one of the first storage volumes is allocated from a second pool by the first storage controller. A third data storing region of one of the second storage volumes is allocated from the first pool by the second storage controller. A fourth data storing region of another one of the second storage volumes is allocated from the second pool by the second storage controller.