Virtual Volume Copy Pair for Hybrid Cloud Storage Recovery

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing storage systems fail to reduce on-premises storage capacity, maintain high access performance, and enable seamless operation resumption in the cloud upon failure, due to inefficient data transfer and lack of data structure recognition across on-premises and cloud storage.

Innovation Solution

A storage system that creates a virtual volume with a copy pair, transferring write data to a second volume via a network, and storing Hot Data on-premises and Cold Data in the cloud, ensuring quick and accurate operation resumption during failures.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If data is periodically transferred from on-premises storage to cloud storage, then cloud backup is achieved, but data loss may occur when on-premises failure happens

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata safetyVSAvoiddata transfer delay
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by continuously maintaining a copy pair between on-premises storage and cloud storage, ensuring data is synchronized before any failure occurs. This eliminates the need for periodic transfers and prevents data loss, as the cloud storage already holds current data copies.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The copy pair mechanism ensures continuous data synchronization between on-premises and cloud storage, maintaining an up-to-date replica at all times. This continuous action eliminates gaps where data loss could occur during periodic transfer intervals.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #20Continuity of useful action

2Quantity of substance

If device virtualization function maps cloud storage to on-premises storage, then on-premises capacity is reduced, but access performance becomes extremely low

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestorage capacityVSAvoidaccess performance
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSSpeed

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies local quality by keeping hot data (frequently accessed data) on high-performance on-premises storage while storing cold data in cloud storage. The copy pair ensures that critical data remains locally available for fast access, while still utilizing cloud capacity for overall storage reduction.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

Data is segmented into different categories based on access patterns, with hot data retained on-premises and cold data moved to the cloud. The copy pair mechanism segments the storage architecture into primary on-premises storage and secondary cloud storage, allowing differentiated access performance for different data types.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Reliability

If copy of data is stored in cloud as backup, then data redundancy is achieved, but on-premises storage capacity cannot be reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata redundancyVSAvoidon-premises storage capacity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses copying to create a copy pair between on-premises storage and cloud storage. The cloud storage holds a copy of the data, providing redundancy, while the on-premises storage can be optimized by reducing local capacity since the cloud copy serves as a reliable backup.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentUS12554401B2Storage system, computer system, and control method for storage system
Publication Date: 2026.02.17 HITACHI LTD
  • US12554401B2 patent drawing
  • US12554401B2 patent drawing
  • US12554401B2 patent drawing

AI summary

Saving a capacity of an on-premises storage apparatus, a high access performance of the on-premises storage apparatus, and resuming an operation quickly and accurately by using data on a cloud when a resource in the on-premises fails are achieved.A processor provides a first volume which is a virtual volume, and configures a copy pair of the first volume and a second volume provided from another storage system. Write data to the first volume is transferred to the second volume via a network, based on the copy pair. The processor writes to the memory a part of data written to the second volume, and writes to the storage device the data written to the memory.