Storage System Volume Pool Merging for Capacity Utilization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing storage systems face inefficiencies in utilizing volume pools due to uneven utilization and performance disparities between storage systems, requiring time-consuming data replication and volume management procedures to achieve balanced resource allocation.
Innovation Solution
A storage system architecture that allows for the external connection and merging of volume pools between storage apparatuses, using configuration information to reassign and manage logical volumes, enabling efficient utilization of storage capacity by integrating virtual volumes and physical storage areas across systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If data replication and volume management procedures are performed to achieve balanced resource allocation, then storage capacity utilization is improved, but processing time is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the volume pool configuration information rather than physically replicating all data. The second storage system acquires configuration information (logical volume mappings, physical disk assignments) from the first storage system and reconstructs the volume pool structure virtually, enabling balanced resource allocation without time-consuming data replication.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces configuration information as an intermediary between storage systems. Instead of directly replicating data, the system transfers and processes configuration information that describes the logical and physical structure of volumes, allowing the second storage system to assume the role of the first without copying actual data.
2Quantity of substance
If virtual volumes are externally connected between storage systems, then storage capacity is extended, but system complexity is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the volume pool of the first storage system with the volume pool of the second storage system by having the second system acquire and integrate configuration information from the first. This unified management approach extends storage capacity while avoiding the complexity of separate external connection systems, as both volumes are managed through a single integrated configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal volume pool management mechanism that can handle both local and externally connected volumes through a single configuration information structure. The second storage system uses the same configuration information handling for both its own native volumes and the externally connected first storage system's volumes, simplifying management despite the extended capacity.
Data Source
AI summary
In a storage system 1, a storage apparatus A having a first pool 1430 including segments as unit storage areas and a storage apparatus B having a second pool 1430 having the same configuration are communicably connected to each other. In the storage system, an external volume identifier is associated with a logical volume 1420 included in the first pool 1430, the external volume identifier being used by a controller 1500 in the storage apparatus B to identify and manage the logical volume 1420 as an external volume 1425 that is a virtual volume in the storage apparatus B. Moreover, a volume identifier 5110 of the logical volume 1420 included in the first pool 1430 is rewritten into the external volume identifier in order to enable the storage apparatus B to utilize the logical volume 1420 created from the first pool 1430.