Storage System Volume Partitioning for I/O Performance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Migrating data from normal volumes to Thin provisioning volumes can lead to a drop in storage system I/O performance due to the load placed on the storage system during the migration process, and it requires allocation of physical storage area to the entire volume regardless of free space availability.
Innovation Solution
The storage system partitions the normal volume into real pages, manages these pages as a storage pool, and creates a virtual volume by allocating only valid real pages to virtual pages, thereby avoiding unnecessary allocation and reducing the load on the storage system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If data is migrated from normal volume to Thin provisioning volume, then physical storage area consumption is reduced, but storage system I/O performance drops due to migration load
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the volume into multiple pages (first pages and second pages) and applies different storage management strategies to each segment. First pages contain valid data and are managed with full allocation, while second pages are identified as invalid/free and managed differently to reduce physical storage consumption without requiring data migration.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of migrating all data from normal volume to Thin provisioning volume, the patent applies partial action by only managing invalid pages (second pages) differently while keeping valid data (first pages) in place. This avoids the performance penalty of full data migration while still achieving storage optimization.
2Adaptability or versatility
If physical storage area is allocated to entire Thin provisioning volume, then volume capacity is available, but storage area is wasted in areas where user data is not stored
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic storage management where the allocation of physical storage to pages is not fixed but changes based on whether the page contains valid user data. Valid pages (first pages) maintain full allocation for immediate access, while invalid pages (second pages) have reduced or no allocation, allowing the system to adapt storage usage to actual data needs.
Solution Approach 2:
Different quality of storage allocation is applied to different parts of the volume based on local conditions. Pages containing user data receive full physical storage allocation with high availability, while pages without user data receive minimal or no allocation. This local differentiation optimizes both capacity availability and storage efficiency.
3Quantity of substance
If normal volume is converted to Thin provisioning volume, then storage efficiency is improved, but data migration load increases system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary identification and classification of pages into first pages (valid data) and second pages (invalid/free) before applying storage optimization. This preliminary action allows the system to prepare the volume structure in advance, avoiding complex migration operations later while still achieving storage efficiency improvements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the management of invalid pages (second pages) from the traditional Thin provisioning model by identifying and separately managing pages that do not contain user data. This extraction allows the system to apply optimized storage management only where needed, reducing complexity compared to migrating entire volumes.
Data Source
AI summary
A storage system comprises multiple first storage apparatuses, and a controller which provides a first logical volume corresponding to a storage area of the multiple first storage apparatuses to a host computer. The controller partitions a storage area corresponding to the first logical volume into multiple first physical storage areas, manages the partitioned multiple first physical storage areas as physical storage areas of a storage pool, creates a first virtual volume which is provided to the host computer, and associates, from among the multiple first physical storage areas, a physical storage area in which user data is stored, with the first virtual volume.