U.S. patent application number 10/663687 was filed with the patent office on 2004-04-15 for computer system using a storage area network and method of handling data in the computer system.
This patent application is currently assigned to HITACHI, LTD. Invention is credited to Honma, Shigeo, Matsushima, Hiroyuki, Morishima, Hiroshi, Oeda, Takashi, Tomono, Yoji, Tsukiyama, Tokuhiro.
Application Number | 20040073677 10/663687 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32070141 |
Filed Date | 2004-04-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040073677 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Honma, Shigeo ; et
al. |
April 15, 2004 |
Computer system using a storage area network and method of handling
data in the computer system
Abstract
In order to construct an integrated storage system by
reinforcing collaboration of components or functions of a storage
system in which a storage area network (SAN) is used, in a computer
system comprising multiple client computers, multiple various
servers, multiple various storages which keep data, a local area
network (LAN) which connects the computers and the servers, a
storage area networks (SAN) which lies between the servers and said
storages, the SAN forms a switched circuit network which is capable
of connecting any servers and any storages through fiber channel
switches, and the computer system further comprises a terminal
which is equipped with operation and management software which
performs storage management including management of logical volumes
in the various storages, data arrangement, and error monitoring,
management of setting up said FC switches, and backup operation for
data in said storages.
Inventors: |
Honma, Shigeo; (Odawara,
JP) ; Morishima, Hiroshi; (Yokohama, JP) ;
Tsukiyama, Tokuhiro; (Nakagun, JP) ; Matsushima,
Hiroyuki; (Yokohama, JP) ; Oeda, Takashi;
(Sagamihara, JP) ; Tomono, Yoji; (Hiratsuka,
JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MATTINGLY, STANGER & MALUR, P.C.
1800 DIAGONAL ROAD
SUITE 370
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22314
US
|
Assignee: |
HITACHI, LTD,
|
Family ID: |
32070141 |
Appl. No.: |
10/663687 |
Filed: |
September 17, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10663687 |
Sep 17, 2003 |
|
|
|
09606050 |
Jun 29, 2000 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
709/226 ;
707/999.202; 707/999.204; 707/E17.032; 714/5.11 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 29/06 20130101;
G06F 3/067 20130101; G06F 3/0629 20130101; H04L 67/1097 20130101;
H04L 69/329 20130101; G06F 3/0604 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
709/226 ;
714/005; 707/204 |
International
Class: |
G06F 015/173; G06F
017/30; G06F 012/00 |
Claims
1. A computer system which has plural client computers, plural
various servers, plural various storages which keep data, a local
area network (LAN) which connects said computers and said servers,
and a storage area network (SAN) which lies between said servers
and said storages, wherein said SAN forms a switched circuit
network which is capable of connecting any said servers and any
said storages through fiber channel switches (FC switches), said
computer system comprising a terminal having operation and
management software which performs storage management comprising
management of logical volumes in said plural storages, data
arrangement and error monitoring, management of setting up said FC
switches, and a backup operation for data in said storages.
2. The computer system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said SAN is
connected to SAN in other computer system via a wide area network
(WAN).
3. The computer system as claimed in claim 1, wherein when data in
a primary volume in said storage is backed up to a backup device in
a non-disruptive manner, a secondary volume corresponding to said
primary volume is created in said storage by an internal function,
a copy is made from said primary volume to said secondary volume,
and said copy is transferred to said backup device via said SAN
without passing said LAN.
4. A computer system which has plural client computers, plural
various servers, plural various storages which keep data, a local
area network (LAN) which connects said computers and said servers,
a storage area network (SAN) which lies between said servers and
said storages wherein: wherein said SAN forms a switched circuit
network which is capable of connecting any said servers and any
said storages through fiber channel switches (FC switches), and
wherein when data in said storage is backed up to a backup device
in a non-disruptive manner, said storage has function of receiving
instruction of a volume split from said server, function of
assuming as if data in a primary volume were kept in a secondary
volume at the time of said instruction, and function of backing up
said data from said secondary volume to a backup device.
5. A method for managing a system having servers, a storage which
keeps data of said servers, a network which connects said servers
and said storage, and a backup device which is connected with said
network and backs up said data, said method comprising: a first
step of obtaining information to identify data to be executed; a
second step of obtaining specification of processing a data denoted
by said information; a third step of instructing said storage which
keeps the data denoted by said information to execute said
specification of processing; and a fourth step of receiving of
processing the data denoted by said information from said storage
result.
6. The method for managing said system as claimed in claim 5,
wherein said specification of processing is to transfer said data
from said storage to said backup device.
7. The method for managing said system as claimed in claim 5,
wherein said specification of processing is to create a copy of the
data denoted by said information, and to transfer said created copy
data to said backup device.
8. The method for managing said system as claimed in claim 5,
further comprising a fifth step of obtaining a timing at which said
specification of processing is executed and a sixth of controlling
execution timing of said third step according to said timing.
9. The method for managing a system as claimed in claim 5, wherein
said server in said system is connected with an internet, and said
data is sent out to said internet.
10. The method for managing said system as claimed in claim 6,
wherein said server in said system is connected with an internet,
and said data is sent out to said internet.
11. The method for managing said system as claimed in claim 7,
wherein, said server in said system is connected with an internet,
and said data is sent out to said internet.
12. The method for managing said system as claimed in claim 8,
wherein said server in said system is connected with an internet,
and said data is sent out to said internet.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to storage systems for storing
data, in particular, a technique relating to methods for the data
protection of handled data, the data sharing, the storage resource
management, and the data handling.
[0002] At present, environment in which the information processing
is performed has been changing drastically as a result of
development of the Internet and Intranets, and expansion of such
applications as data warehouse, electronic commerce, and
information service, and this change has resulted in rapid increase
in the amount of handled data.
[0003] For example, while the performance of CPUs has improved 100
times for the last five years, the input and output performance of
disk drives has been held in about 10 times improvement. That is,
the limit of the input and output performance compared with rapid
increase in traffic has come to give rise to apprehensions. In
addition, as applications such as enterprise resource planning
(ERP), which processes a mass of data, and data warehouse have come
to wide use, and information to be processed (documents, drawings,
visual contents, etc.) has been diversified and communicated in
Multimedia, demands of enterprises for a total disk capacity has
increased two times a year on an average. Further, as storage
capacities used in enterprises and others have increased and use of
storages has been diversified, the running cost of storages has
also increased. Furthermore, backbone data in main frames has been
shared and utilized by individual departments.
[0004] Described below is the situation of the information
processing environment resulting from increase in the amount of
handled data by using FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, relations between
servers and storages are established in such a way that, for
example, a main frame (MF) as a server for a large-scale computer,
a UNIX server as a server for a medium-scale computer, and a PC
server as a server for a small-scale computer are connected with
their respective exclusive storages, for example, RAIDs (Redundant
Arrays of Inexpensive Disks) and magnetic tapes (MTs), and client
computers give instructions to their respective servers via a LAN
and perform data processing by using an exclusive storage for the
relevant server.
[0005] Recently, proposed was a Storage Area Network (SAN)
environment in which a SAN is constructed between the various
servers and storages described above, and individual servers are
allowed to access to any of the storages. Here, the SAN means a
network that connects multiple servers and multiple storages
through fiber channels, and is used only for input to and output
from storages, and a SAN realizes the sharing of various storages,
high-speed data processing between servers and storages, and long
distance connection.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] As described above, an SAN is being introduced into
environments, in which the information processing is performed, in
order to improve the input and output performance, to expand a
total disk capacity, to reduce the running cost of storages, and to
expand data sharing. The SAN, as shown in FIG. 2, is a new type of
networks that connect multiple servers and multiple storages
through a high-speed network (for example, fiber channels). In this
environment, storages which are connected with their respective
servers and are controlled by the servers are given independence
from the servers, and at first a SAN used only for storages is
constructed. In addition, all users that have an access right are
enabled to share storage information on the SAN network.
[0007] In addition, connecting multiple storages enables to improve
the input and output performance of the storages very
significantly. That is, as merits, drastic improvement in the input
and output performance of the storages (improvement in the
performance), setting up and expanding flexibly a storage
environment independently of server environments (improvement in
scalability), unified storage operation (improvement in the storage
management function), disaster measures by expanding the connection
distance drastically (improvement in the data protection
capability), etc. have been achieved.
[0008] However, existing proposals of SAN networks did not always
disclose clearly concrete configurations or embodiments to realize
these SAN network.
[0009] An object of the present invention is, in order to ensure
the various merits and usability obtained by employing an SAN, to
provide a integrated storage system in which collaboration over the
entire storage system is reinforced by devising concrete functions
of a storage system and corresponding concrete configurations, and
in addition, another object is to provide a method for handling
data more usefully at an Internet data center (abbreviated to
"iDC"), which connects storages to the Internet and keeps and makes
use of a large volume of data, by applying an integrated storage
system to iDC.
[0010] In order to solve the issues described above, the present
invention employs mainly the following configuration of a computer
system and the following management method.
[0011] A computer system that is provided with multiple client
computers, multiple various servers, multiple storages storing
data, local area networks (LANs) connecting said computers and said
servers, and a storage area network (SAN) lying between said
servers and said storages, wherein said SAN forms circuit switched
networks by fiber channel switches (FC switches) to make a mutual
connection between any of said servers and any of said storages,
and said SAN is equipped with terminals in which management and
operation software has been installed to perform the storage
management including management of logical volumes in said various
storages, data arrangement, and error monitoring, the management of
setup of said FC switches, and the data backup operation for data
in said storages.
[0012] In addition, the management method is a method for managing
a system comprising servers, storages storing data of said servers,
and a network connecting said servers and said storages, and the
method works in such a way that it obtains the information to
identify data to be processed, obtains a specification of
processing the data denoted by said information, gives said
specification of processing to said storages keeping the data
denoted by said information, and receives the result of processing
the data denoted by said information from said storages.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the basic overall
configuration of an integrated storage system relating to a
preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0014] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the overall
configuration of a storage system according to a prior art.
[0015] FIG. 3 is a diagram describing the primary functions of an
integrated storage system relating to a preferred embodiment of the
present invention.
[0016] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the basic system
configuration about the non-disruptive backup in accordance with a
preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0017] FIG. 5a and FIG. 5b are a diagram describing functions or
actions about the non-disruptive backup in accordance with a
preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration in
which mirroring software is used about the non-disruptive backup in
accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present
invention.
[0019] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the preparations done in
advance in a backup system and an example of system
construction.
[0020] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating examples of various system
configurations for backup by sharing tape units, relating to a
preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0021] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration for tape
unit-shared backup in which multiple servers share one tape
library.
[0022] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration for
asynchronous remote copying in disaster recovery, relating to a
preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration for
high-speed DB replication between servers in data sharing, relating
to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0024] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating error monitoring and
backup operation in integrated system operation and management,
relating to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0025] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating centralized management of
the storage performance in integrated system operation and
management, relating to a preferred embodiment of the present
invention.
[0026] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating storage management, in
particular, the LUN manager and LUN security in integrated system
operation and management, relating to a preferred embodiment of the
present invention.
[0027] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating storage management, in
particular, hierarchical control in a subsystem in integrated
system operation and management, relating to a preferred embodiment
of the present invention.
[0028] FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating switch management; in
particular, setting of zonings in integrated system operation and
management, relating to a preferred embodiment of the present
invention.
[0029] FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating outline of a system
configuration of an Internet data center in which an integrated
storage system is used, relating to a preferred embodiment of the
present invention.
[0030] FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating storage integration in an
Internet data center in accordance with a preferred embodiment of
the present invention.
[0031] FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration for
non-disruptive backup in an Internet data center in accordance with
a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0032] FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration for
ensuring security in an Internet data center in accordance with a
preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0033] FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of system
configurations of a large-scale computer system in which individual
computer systems of multiple enterprises are connected
mutually.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0034] The following describes a computer system in which a storage
area network (SAN) is used and a method by which data is handled,
referring to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram
illustrating the basic overall configuration of said computer
system relating to a preferred embodiment of the present
invention.
[0035] In FIG. 1, the computer system in which the SAN is used
consists of a main site and a remote site, and these sites are
connected via a Wide Area Network (WAN). At the main site, multiple
client computers and various servers, for example, a main frame
(MF) as a server for large-scale computers, a UNIX server as a
server for medium-scale computers, and a PC server as a server for
small-scale computers, are connected via a LAN. In addition, a
dedicated terminal in which operation and management software on
integrated storage system has been installed is connected with the
LAN, and the whole of the integrated storage system is operated,
managed, and monitored by using the terminal. This operation and
management software can be installed in any of the client terminals
instead of the dedicated terminal and the relevant client terminal
is used for operation and management of the integrated storage
system.
[0036] Further, storages such as a RAID, a tape library, and a
DVD-RAM library/library array are connected with the server such as
the main frame (MF) server, the UNIX server, and the PC server via
a Storage Area Network (SAN) consisting of network switches such as
a fiber channel switch (FC-Switch) and a fiber channel hub (FC-Hub)
not shown in the figure. In addition, the main site is connected
with the remote site consisting of the same components as those of
the main site via a wide area communication network such as
WAN.
[0037] Here, since the servers and the storages are connected
through channel switches in the SAN, the servers and the storages
which are connected through channel switches are enabled to be
added, detached, and changed optionally. Therefore, firstly
storages are enabled to be added and detached optionally to suit
the storage capacity and the kind and object (access speed, cost,
etc.) of data to be stored. The server sides are also enabled to
access these storages without any restriction via the channel
switches.
[0038] In addition, since the main site is connected with the
remote site via a WAN, data can be shared between the sites, and a
great amount of data can be shared worldwide. In addition, if a
copy of data at the main and remote sites is retained at each other
site, even when either site fails due to a disaster, etc., jobs can
continue to run using the data at the other site. In this case,
storages for backup data at the remote site are not limited to the
same type of storage as at the main site, for example, not limited
to copying from a RAID on the main side to a RAID on the remote
side, and hence cost reduction and simplified management may be
achieved by copying from a RAID on the main side to a DVD-RAM or
tape library, etc., on the remote side. In this case, the operation
and management software on a terminal for managing a SAN manages
the copy source, copy destination, etc., of these data.
[0039] In addition, in a prior art shown in FIG. 2, clients are
connected with an application-specific server, for example, a main
frame, a UNIX server, and a PC server, individually through
communication lines such as a LAN, and individual servers are also
connected via a LAN. Storages are connected with their respective
servers. Therefore, data stored in the storages could be accessed
only through their respective servers.
[0040] On the other hand, in the preferred embodiment of the
present invention, data stored in storages connected with
individual servers are managed in an integrated manner via a SAN.
Firstly individuals of multiple servers are connected to various
storages (such as a RAID disk drive, a tape library, and a DVD-RAM
library/library array) via fiber channel switches (FC-Switches) of
which the SAN is comprised. Thereby, data stored in individual
storages are enabled to be accessed directly from individual
servers without passing a LAN. For example, access to a great
amount of data, etc., is simplified. In addition, since storages
for data are consolidated into an integrated storage system,
management of data and equipment is simplified.
[0041] In addition, in order to make backup and remote copies,
etc., of data against a disaster, individual storages corresponding
to each server must be installed and the data must be copied via a
LAN according to a prior art, however, in the preferred embodiment
of the present invention, an integrated storage system consisting
of a SAN and various storages is introduced, and hence the
integrated storage system enables to back up data, and furthermore
remotely and more efficiently.
[0042] As a computer system to which a SAN is applied is outlined
above, the computer system must be an information system that is
intended primarily for making any information about the data to be
handled available at any time, for anyone, and from anywhere.
[0043] The integrated storage system relating to a preferred
embodiment of the present invention, as disclosed in FIG. 3,
firstly has as one of the basic functions the data protection that
provides the backup as a measure against disk drive failures and
the disaster recovery as a measure against a disaster such as an
earthquake and fire, secondly has as one of the basic functions the
data exchange and sharing among main frames, UNIX servers, and PC
servers and the data sharing in which many types and forms of
information such as a database (DB), documents, drawings,
multi-media contents are handled, and lastly has as one of the
basic functions the storage management (storage resource
management) that provides unified management of storages that each
server operated and managed separately, and the environment set-up
and storage operation/management by standardized operations.
[0044] Concretely described below are details of individual basic
functions according to the present invention. These functions are
realized by installing a program (software), which describes these
functions, and necessary data in memory of devices such as a
storage, a switch, a server (computer), and a management unit
(realized by a computer, etc.), and executing the program on a
central processing unit (CPU) in theses devices individually. In
addition, a data center in which a SAN-applied computer system
consisting of a system group of a large capacity of storages and
various servers is connected to the Internet and is equipped with
data storage service functions, namely Internet data center
(abbreviated to "iDC"), is constructed, and an inventive device
relating to a method for processing a mass of data at that iDC is
one of features of the present invention.
[0045] First the data protection is described. Functions of the
data protection are intended for backup of DBs during online
operation, reduction in the management cost by sharing storage
resources, improvement in system availability by means of disaster
recovery, etc., and assurance of data security, and thereby, enable
to back up data without stopping a job (non-disruptive backup) for
24-hour-per-day, 365-day-per-year operation that is expected to
increase in the years ahead, enable to share a tape library at the
time of backup (tape unit-shared backup), resulting in reduction in
the cost as well, and further enable to restore the system rapidly
in the event of a disaster by ensuring data security in copying
remotely at long distance (remote copying). To put it concretely,
the details of the data protection are three techniques of the
non-disruptive backup, the tape unit-shared backup, and the
asynchronous remote copying as described above.
[0046] Firstly functions or actions of the non-disruptive backup
enable applications to run even during backup operation by the
backup using a replica of data, and prevent application servers
from being affected by using servers for backup only.
[0047] FIG. 4, FIG. 5a, and FIG. 5b illustrate a configuration for,
and a function of the non-disruptive backup in detail. An outline
of this function is to back up DBs without affecting online jobs
via a SAN without passing a LAN by collaboration between internal
functions in storages and database management system (DBMS) in
application servers.
[0048] FIG. 4 illustrates a series of a flow of the non-disruptive
backup. First, by using said internal functions in storages,
copying from the volumes to be backed up (primary volumes) to the
secondary volumes with a capacity equal to or larger than that of
the primary volume in a storage unit is executed to make a copy of
the primary volumes. Next, during execution of applications, the
status of the database management system (DBMS) in an application
server is changed to a backup-allowable state to prevent online
jobs from being affected, and then the backup server makes a backup
copy of data in the secondary volumes to tape units.
[0049] FIG. 5a and FIG. 5b illustrate an outline of the processing
by the volume copy function that is an internal function of a
storage unit, in a process of the non-disruptive backup illustrated
in FIG. 4. According to a prior backup technique not shown in the
figure, originally, after stopping the jobs which a server performs
to a database (DB), a backup copy of the DB is made to other
storages, and after the relevant backup processing is complete,
said online jobs to the DB is restarted. According to the prior
art, online jobs to a DB must be in stop during backup
operation.
[0050] In contrast to this, in one example of preferred embodiment
of the present invention as illustrated in FIG. 5a, a replica for
backup, namely Logical Volume B (Logical VOLB), is secured in a
storages and a copy is made in advance. When backing up data in
Logical Volume A (Logical VOLA), the data in Logical VOLA is copied
to Logical VOLB in advance too. To put it concretely, if Logical
VOLA is a backup target, two logical volumes of Logical VOLA and
Logical VOLB are prepared in advance and duplication is
directed.
[0051] While data in Logical VOLA is being copied to Logical VOLB
sequentially in the storage unit, when data is written to the
storage unit from an online job (JOBA in the figure) concurrently
with the copying, the duplicated writing of the data from the job
is automatically performed on both Logical VOLA and Logical VOLB in
the storage unit. After completion of copying sequentially from
Logical VOLA to Logical VOLB, if data is written from JOBA,
duplicated writing is also performed to keep individual data of
Logical VOLA and Logical VOLB identical.
[0052] When performing backup, the backup server instructs the
storage unit to perform pair split by using a means for controlling
disk drives. After the split instruction, although data is written
from JOBA, the storage unit writes the data to Logical VOLA only,
and not to Logical VOLB. Thereby, data present in Logical VOLA when
the split instruction is given is left in Logical VOLB as it is.
After the split instruction, the backup software on the backup
server reads data from the secondary volume, Logical VOLB, and
makes a backup copy of the data to a backup device such as a tape
unit.
[0053] However, for the volume duplication scheme illustrated in
FIG. 5a, a duplicated volume must be prepared before a time when
backup is performed. Therefore, in order to perform backup, volume
duplication must be started further the duplication time before a
backup time by taking into consideration the time taken to
duplicate a volume. A function of a storage unit illustrated in
FIG. 5b solves this problem.
[0054] In the case of FIG. 5b, Logical VOLB to which a copy of
Logical VOLA is made must be prepared in the same way as for FIG.
5a. Before starting backup, the backup server instructs the storage
unit to perform pair split by using a means for controlling disk
drives in the same way as for the case of FIG. 5a. However, at this
time, data in Logical VOLA does not need to have been copied to
Logical VOLB. After the split instruction, the backup software on
the backup server starts reading data from the secondary volume,
Logical VOLB. While data in Logical VOLA is being copied to Logical
VOLB sequentially in the storage unit, if there in no data present
in Logical VOLB when the backup server attempts to read data from
the secondary volume, Logical VOLB, the disk drive reads out data
from Logical VOLA and hands the data over to the backup server, or
copies data from Logical VOLA to Logical VOLB once and then hands
the data over to the backup server. As a result of this processing,
although there is no data present in Logical VOLB at the time of
splitting, it appears from view of the backup server that a copy of
data in Logical VOLA is present in Logical VOLB.
[0055] However, data may be written from the application server
into a certain area of Logical VOLA during the backup processing.
Since data in Logical VOLA is being copied to Logical VOLB
sequentially in the storage unit, if the data from the application
server is written into Logical VOLB by the processing of copying,
data after the split is also written into Logical VOLB. To prevent
this, the storage unit reads Logical VOLA's data currently present
in the area for which a write demand is made and writes the data
out into Logical VOLB. After that, the storage unit writes into
Logical VOLA the data which the application server demanded to
write. As a result of this processing, data present in Logical VOLA
only at the time of the split instruction is copied to Logical
VOLB. With this method, data in the primary volume (Logical VOLA)
does not need to have been copied to the secondary volume (Logical
VOLB) when the backup processing starts, that is, system operation
in which a copy of volumes must be prepared in advance is not
required, resulting in improvement of system operational
ability.
[0056] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of installing a system
constructed for the non-disruptive backup illustrated in FIGS. 4,
5a, and 5b. The application server is equipped with DBMS and a
means for controlling disk drives, and the backup server is
equipped with backup software and a means for controlling disk
drives. As an advance preparation, the means for controlling disk
drives is installed, its configuration is set up, and operation of
the means for controlling disk drives is checked. After that, when
constructing an non-disruptive backup system, first a DBMS script
(Logging in, Setting the backup mode, Terminating the backup mode,
and Logging out) is created, a script (Pair split, Pair event wait,
and Resynchronization) of the means for controlling disk drives in
the application server is created, collaborated operation with the
backup software is checked, and parameters for allocation of
logical unit and the means for controlling disk drives are set.
[0057] In addition, in the case of another example of
non-disruptive backup configurations illustrated in FIG. 6, the
primary and secondary volumes created with the mirroring software
are mirror split according to an instruction from the collaborating
tool in the application server, and while backup is performed by
using one volume (secondary volume), jobs are enabled to continue
by using the other volume (primary volume). Then, after the backup
terminates, resynchronization is performed. To put it concretely,
the duplicated writing to the primary and secondary volumes is
performed with the mirroring software in the application server,
accessing a DB is stopped with the collaborating tool (software) in
the application server, and accessing the DB is restarted after
mirror split is directed. Next, the backup copying of data in the
secondary volume is started to a backup device such as a tape unit
connected with the backup server by use of the collaborating tool
(software) in the backup server. After that, the collaborating tool
in the application server that is notified of completion of the
backup from the collaborating tool (software) in the backup server
directs mirror resynchronization and performs duplicated writing
again.
[0058] Next, FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 illustrate the details of a
configuration and function of the tape unit-shared backup. This
function outlined is intended for reduction in the management cost
of data that are scattered among many servers, and reduction in the
load of a LAN with the result that high-speed backup is achieved.
Further, by enabling a tape library to be shared among many server
sides, the expansive library can be made the effective use of
(compared with the case where a backup tape unit is installed for
each disk drive), and by sharing a single tape library among
multiple servers, backup data can be output directly to a tape unit
via a SAN without passing a LAN, resulting in achievement of
high-speed backup.
[0059] The left one of FIG. 8 illustrates conventional tape unit
backup. Backup data is copied from each disk drive of individual
servers via a LAN, through the backup server, to a tape unit, and
hence data passes a LAN every backup case, a load is put on the
LAN. Further, a load is also put on the backup server every backup
case.
[0060] In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present
invention, in the case of LAN-free backup illustrated in the middle
one of FIG. 8, the backup processing can be speeded up by copying
data from a disk drive to a tape unit via a SAN, and backup is
achieved by use of servers without passing a LAN. When performing
backup, a single type of server can be used, and hence the load of
servers is reduced. In accordance with another preferred embodiment
of the present invention, since server-less backup illustrated in
the right one of FIG. 8 enables to copy data directly from disk
drives to a tape unit, the backup processing can be speeded up and
the load of servers can be reduced as well. In accordance with the
preferred embodiment of the present invention as illustrated in the
right one of FIG. 8, disk drives must be equipped with a capability
of writing into tape units, tape units must be equipped with a
capability of reading data from disk drives, FC switches must be
equipped with a capability of writing from disk drives into tape
units, or FC-SCSI multiplexers (described later in the explanation
of FIG. 9) must be equipped with a capability of writing from disk
drives into tape units if tape units are connected to the FC-SCSI
multiplexers.
[0061] FIG. 9 illustrates another example of configurations for
tape unit-shared backup. The configuration shown in FIG. 9
corresponds to LAN-free backup shown in the middle one of FIG. 8.
In this configuration example, two or more nodes share a tape
library concurrently and individual servers back up. In accordance
with FIG. 9, Server C is different in functions from Servers A and
B, has a backup manager installed for managing all over the backup,
in addition to a backup agent necessary to perform a backup
operation practically, and is equipped with functions of assigning
a backup drive, etc. Here, the backup drive, for example, has three
drives and assigns Drive 1 to Server A. When a backup demand is
made from Server A, the backup drive is controlled so that a tape
cartridge for storing is loaded onto Drive A. In addition, drives
may be assigned to servers in such a way that the backup manager
manages the condition of drive usage, selects unused drives, and
assigns a proper drive of them. In the structure shown in FIG. 9, a
set of an FC-SCSI multiplexer and a backup drive corresponds to a
tape library shown in FIG. 8.
[0062] Concrete operation of the tape unit-shared backup shown in
FIG. 9 is described below. First, the agent on Server A demands the
backup manager to mount a tape cartridge. Next, the manager
receiving the demand mounts a tape cartridge onto any drive of a
tape library. Then, the managers goes on to inform the agent on
Server A of completion of mounting and the name of the drive onto
which a tape cartridge has been mounted. Then, the agent on Server
A performs backup actually. To put it concretely, Server A reads
data from a storage, and writes the data into the mounted tape
cartridge through an FC switch and an FC-SCSI multiplexer.
Following this, after completion of backing up, the agent on Server
A demands the manager to demount the tape cartridge. The manager
instructs to demount the tape cartridge, and all the processing
terminates.
[0063] Next, the following describes a configuration for and a
function of asynchronous remote copying in the disaster recovery as
a measure of data protection. This is intended for assurance of
data security by copying remotely at long distance, for quick
restoration of a system in the event of a disaster such as an
earthquake, for duplication of a database to a remote site without
affecting the performance of the main site, and for continuation of
a job at the remote site in the event of a disaster.
[0064] FIG. 10 illustrates a system configuration for asynchronous
remote copying. A main site and a remote site are located away long
enough from each other not to suffer from a disaster at the same
time in the event of it and are connected through communication
lines. When information is updated at the main site and the
updating is complete, completion of the update is reported to a
server (without waiting for reflecting information on the remote
site, that is, asynchronously). Next, updated data is copied
sequentially at a proper timing from the main site to the remote
site; however, if data is not transferred in the same order the
data was updated at the main site, updated data is sorted by the
time sequence in a system at the remote site and then the data is
copied with the sequence of update guaranteed (for example, if
update data of receipt and payment of money are stored in reverse
order, this can cause to force improper dealings in processing of
remains).
[0065] Next, the following describes a configuration for and a
function of high-speed replication between servers in data sharing.
As shown in FIG. 11, when loading data between a DB on a main frame
(backbone database with high reliability ensured) and a DB on
UNIX/NT servers (for example, a database for which easiness in data
handling is considered more important than reliability of data when
performing the statistical processing of data, and on which hence
source data necessary for the statistical processing is loaded from
the main frame DB), intermediate files as a file of the main frame
DB are set up, and the data is moved from the backbone DB to the
intermediate files once (because specifications of the data loader
of a UNIX server are not defined so as to read data directly from
the backbone DB). Since the data in the intermediate files is
converted to such a level that the data loader of a UNIX server can
read, a replication of data is made in the DB on the UNIX server
through pipes to prepare a DB for the required processing. At this
time, data replication from the backbone DB to the DB on the UNIX
server is done without passing a LAN, and hence high-speed
replication between servers can be achieved. Here, intermediate
files can be a virtual volume that is created temporarily on
semiconductor memory, namely cache memory, on the outside of
magnetic disk drives. With cache memory, data can be transferred at
a higher speed.
[0066] Furthermore, in order that UNIX servers or PC servers can
construct a data warehouse easily, by installing in the UNIX
servers or their attached units the software which is capable of
performing easily and quickly in GUI base a series of the
processing from extracting data from a variety of source DBs such
as backbone DB, through converting and consolidating data, up to
loading data, the time taken to transfer data can be shortened when
constructing a data warehouse.
[0067] Next, the following describes a configuration for and a
function of integrated operation and management of systems
including storages. For computer systems that are large in size and
is required to run 24-hour-per-day continuously, system management,
in particular, storage management is considered important.
[0068] As a typical function of storage management, listed is
monitoring for device failures, in particular, what part fails in a
device. In addition, required are system maintenance work such as
backing up data at each site periodically against a system crash,
system setting modification work when volumes are added, and
further data handling such as moving data in some volumes to other
volumes when the performance drops due to load congestion in a
particular volume. At that time, monitoring the condition of the
load is also important management work. In a conventional system,
one maintenance terminal is installed for each storage unit, and
individual storages must be managed from their respective
terminals.
[0069] In a means of storage integrated operation and management
relating to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, all
storage units can be managed by a single terminal.
[0070] FIG. 12 illustrates an example of backup operation and
failure monitoring in a large-scale office system. In ordinary
office environment, there are data used commonly within each
department and data used commonly by all departments. In this
example, there exist multiple client computers and multiple server
computers on floor A, floor B, and floor C individually, and a mail
server and a World Wide Web (WWW) server which are used commonly as
a enterprise general system by all departments are prepared to
provide their services to each department.
[0071] For a small-size data so that it is used by each department,
in many cases individual departments can make a copy of their
respective data for backup, so a backup device such as a tape unit
is installed in individual departments. In addition, multiple
large-scale storages to store a large-size data and a backup device
such as a tape library are installed at a computer center, and each
device at the center, each system on individual floor, and an
enterprise general system are connected mutually via a Storage Area
Network.
[0072] A centralized monitoring console monitors all devices on
individual floor, in the enterprise general system and at the
computer center, and all device failure reports are collected to
the centralized monitoring console. Service personnel can identify
easily what device a failure occurs in by seeing the console. When
data is destroyed due to failures, the data can be recovered
(restored) from a backup device. This restore processing can be
also initiated from the centralized monitoring console.
[0073] In addition, the centralized monitoring console has such a
function that service personnel leave the terminal unattended in
some cases, so in such a case a mail is sent to a cellular phone,
etc., of the service personnel from the centralized monitoring
console to notify them.
[0074] The centralized monitoring console also directs how to
operate backup and manages the backup. The frequency of backing up
and the requirement of a destination of backing up vary with the
kind of data individually. For example, data almost unnecessary to
back up (for example, data updated very rarely) and data accessed
by only a particular department or person do not need to be backed
up frequently. Or, even if attempting to make a backup copy of all
data at the same time zone, there is a limit to the number of
backup devices. The centralized monitoring console rearranges the
frequency of backing up, the time zone, or the destination of the
backing up in accordance with the data or volume depending on the
need of users, and automatically performs the backup processing
individually.
[0075] FIG. 14 illustrates a diagrammatic view of the processing of
setting up volumes. In the case of a large-scale storage unit,
multiple disk drives are grouped to one or multiple apparent
logical devices (LDEVs). In addition, the storage unit has multiple
ports to connect to hosts or fiber channel switches, and which
ports are allowed to access to individual LDEVs can be set and
changed for the storage unit. When a host references an LDEV, the
LDEV is recognized uniquely with the port identifier and logical
unit number (LUN) of the storage unit. Hereafter, this set of a
port identifier and an LUN is called the host address. In the
storage unit, this host address is assigned to individual LDEVs and
is made open to hosts.
[0076] From the centralized monitoring console, a host address is
assigned to LDEVs, and the type of hosts that can access individual
LDEVs is set. Since all hosts are connected to all storages via a
storage area network, there is the risk that a host which is not
allowed normally to access a storage gains an invalid access to the
storage, so the type of hosts that can access individual LDEVs can
be registered in the storage to prevent invalid access.
[0077] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of monitoring the performance
of storages. The centralized monitoring console can watch the
condition of the load of each volume. To put it concretely, the
load condition is the number of times per second I/O operations are
received, the ratio of read and write operations, the cache hit
rate, etc. Generally, a load is very seldom put on all volumes
evenly, and volumes with an extremely high load put on them or
volumes with nearly no load put on them may present. Since the
condition in which an one-sided load is put on particular multiple
volumes can be monitored on the centralized monitoring console all
at once, when watching this condition, a load is reallocated in
such a way that part of data on heavy-loaded volumes is moved to
light-loaded volumes, thereby operation plan can be drawn up easily
so as to prevent the performance of a overall system from being
dropped.
[0078] In addition, FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a case where
a storage unit has the functions of reallocating volumes. Some
storage units have a small capacity but a comparatively high speed
of volumes, and other storage units have a large capacity but a low
performance of volumes. In such a situation, it is better to move
data which has a low access frequency to a large capacity of
volumes, and data which has a high access frequency to a high speed
of volumes. In the disk drives involved in this case, individual
logical devices (LDEVs) can be moved to other areas.
[0079] In addition, reallocation of volumes is invisible from hosts
both during movement of the logical devices and after movement of
the logical devices, and volumes can be handled in the same as
before movement. Disk drives obtain the usage rate of logical
devices as statistical information, and send the information to a
centralized monitoring console. The centralized monitoring console
predicts how the usage rate of logical devices changes when a
logical device is moved based on the information, and presents the
prediction to service personnel. Service personnel can draw a
reallocation plan more easily than in the case of the previous
figure based on the prediction. In addition, from the centralized
monitoring console, service personnel can instruct to move the
logical devices actually or not, or set in advance detailed
conditions under which, when individual volumes are set in a
certain state, the volumes are automatically moved.
[0080] In addition, there is FC switch management as a part of
integrated system operation and management, and the FC switch
management enables to make various settings of FC switches and to
manage the status of zoning, etc. To put it concretely, it includes
management such as the displaying of a fabric topology, the setting
of FC switches' zoning, and the setting/displaying of various
parameters in FC switches, and these items can be watched on the
centralized monitoring console. FIG. 16 illustrates an example of
configurations of a fabric switch (FC) lying between servers and
storages with the switch divided into three zonings.
[0081] Next, on the whole configuration of a computer system
relating to a preferred embodiment of the present invention
described above, the following describes an concrete example of
cases where a terminal in which the operation and management
software illustrated in FIG. 1 has been installed, namely a
management terminal, manages and controls the whole configuration
of a computer system.
[0082] To back up (FIG. 4), which volume in a storage is to be
backed up must be determined. Usually, a server manages data which
an application stores in a storage in units of files. On the other
hand, a storage manages data in units of volumes.
[0083] Therefore, when backup is started, if the SAN management
unit (terminal shown in FIG. 1, in which operation and management
software has been installed) is asked to back up a file by a
server, the SAN management unit obtains information to identify a
file, information about a backup device (address on a SAN, etc.), a
backup time, etc., from servers. Further, the SAN management unit
obtains information to identify a volume in which the relevant
files have been stored from storages. Next, the SAN management unit
instructs a storage in which the relevant files have been stored to
create a replica (secondary volume) of a volume to be backed up
using the obtained two kinds of information. To put it concretely,
the SAN management unit instructs a storage which has a volume in
which the relevant files have been stored to assign another volume
(secondary volume) for creating a replica of the relevant volume
(primary volume) and to create the replica. In assigning the
secondary volume, considerations must be taken so that a volume of
at least the same capacity as that of the primary volume must be
assigned to the secondary volume, and the SAN management unit must
grasp how large capacity and what configuration of volumes
individual storages have. When the creating of the secondary volume
terminates, the SAN management unit, receiving this termination
report, instructs the storage to split a pair of volumes, and
instructs the backup server to make a backup copy of data from the
secondary volume to a backup device while keeping the primary
volume occupied in the normal processing from servers. The backup
server reads data in the secondary volume via the SAN, and
transfers the read data to the backup device. When the backup
processing terminates, this is reported to the SAN management unit
from the backup server, and then the SAN management unit reports
termination of the backup to an application that asked to back up.
Note that a time at which to split a pair of volumes is the backup
time described above. In addition, a destination on the SAN to
which to transfer backup data is said address of the backup device
on the SAN. Here, while communication of control information
between the SAN management unit and storages can be performed from
the SAN management unit, through a LAN, a server, and a SAN, to a
storage as illustrated in FIG. 1, the SAN management unit not shown
in the figure and storages are connected directly via a LAN, said
control information can be communicated through this
connection.
[0084] In the above description, the SAN management unit plays the
central role to control reception of a backup demand, creation and
split of a replica, the backup processing, and reporting of backup
termination, however, software in an application server and
software in a backup server exchange control information directly
via a LAN, and thereby can realize the backup system without making
use of a SAN management unit (FIG. 6). In this case, compared with
the case where a SAN management unit is used, individuals of
software in the two servers must collaborate, however, the SAN
management unit described above is not required, and hence this
scheme is considered to be suitable for a comparatively small-scale
system.
[0085] In the backup system described above, data is backed up by
transferring it to a backup device through a backup server,
however, backup can be controlled so that data is transferred
directly from the secondary volume in a storage to a backup device
via a SAN (direct backup) without passing a backup server. In the
case where a SAN management unit is used, this backup is achieved
by instructing a storage to transfer data in the secondary volume
to a backup device after the SAN management unit recognizes that a
replica has been created and split. This instruction includes the
address of the backup device on the SAN, etc.
[0086] In addition, in the backup system described above,
applications play the primary role to specify the backup file and
the volume, however, for files and volumes which are updated
frequently and require backup every day or every several hours, the
load of applications can be reduced by specifying periodical backup
for the management unit and the backup software in advance.
[0087] Next, the following describes an example of functions of a
SAN management unit in the tape unit-shared backup (FIG. 8). In the
case of the LAN-free backup, data backup related to individual
servers is almost the same in backup operation as the backup
described above. Differences from the above are that since data
associated with multiple servers must be backed up, conflict of the
backup processing among these multiple servers must be arbitrated,
and so functions of arbitrating this conflict are required from the
SAN management unit. For example, the SAN management unit is
required to have functions of preventing access congestion in a
tape library by instructing multiple servers to back up according
to the schedule made out in advance, etc.
[0088] The following describes an example of controlling the zoning
function illustrated in FIG. 16 as an example of operations of a
SAN management unit. In FIG. 16, cluster servers are connected to
storages through a fabric switch. Here, the fabric switch is
divided logically, that is, is treated as multiple switches.
Therefore, if the storage side output destination of the switch in
Zoning 1 and the storage side output destination of the switch in
Zoning 2 or Zoning 3 have been separated, cluster servers belonging
to the switch in Zoning 1 can not gain access to the switch in
Zoning 2 or Zoning 3, and invalid access to the storage side output
destination of the switch in Zoning 2 or Zoning 3 from cluster
servers belonging to the switch in Zoning 1 can be prevented.
[0089] Such set-up of zonings in the switch is enabled by
connecting a fabric switch and an SAN management unit not shown in
the figure through a LAN, etc. not shown in the figure, and setting
up said zonings in the fabric switch according to an instruction
from the SAN management unit, etc. In the case where a SAN
management unit is not used, zonings can be set up in the fabric
switch by using a dedicated console, etc., however, control
information for zoning must be set at the location of said
dedicated console each time cluster servers and storages are added,
changed, or detached, resulting in inefficient operation. By using
a SAN management unit and setting up zonings from the SAN
management unit through communication, the operability is
improved.
[0090] A few examples of operation of an SAN management unit are
described above, however, when providing various functions of the
data processing, the SAN management unit basically obtains from
servers and storages the information about files and volumes to be
processed, a operation timing, a destination to which to move data,
etc., and instructs the devices required based on these pieces of
information to process files and volumes (replica creation, data
copying, split of replica, backup copying, remote copying, etc.,)
according to the operation timing. Individual devices perform their
processing according to instructions from the SAN management unit,
and return the result of processing. On as needed base, they can
make the SAN management unit return the result to the client that
asked to process.
[0091] To put it in order, a preferred embodiment of the present
invention is considered to be composed of the following steps: step
1; an SAN management unit (terminal in which operation and
management software has been installed as shown in FIG. 1) accepts
a request for processing data in an integrated storage system from
applications which run on individual application servers (this step
can be replaced with another step at which the SAN management unit
creates a demand for data on its own accord according to a schedule
made out separately in advance), step 2; obtains information
(information to identify the data to be processed, a operation
time, a destination to which to move data, etc.,) necessary for
processing the relevant data, step 3; determines the order in which
the SAN management unit starts various kinds of functional software
(software to execute replica creation, data copying, separation of
replica, backup copying, remote copying, etc.,) which reside on
storages, network switches, and servers based on said obtained
information and makes out a schedule such as a start timing at
which to execute the functional software (this step is considered
to be a step for collaborating individuals of the functional
software), step 4; starts individuals of the functional software
actually according to the schedule, step 5; obtains results of
execution from the functional software on individual devices (this
result at step 4 may affect the result at step 3, namely a
schedule), step 6; reports a result at step 5 to an application
that asked to process data. Note that this process is divided to
these steps for convenience, and two steps of them can be combined,
or any step can be subdivided into several sub steps as a separate
step.
[0092] As described above, since a SAN management unit has
functions of collaborating multiple pieces of functional software
and operate them, the SAN management unit can realize easily
complex functions that individuals of the functional software
cannot achieve and the SAN management unit enables the more
accurate data processing in an integrated storage system. On the
other hand, complex functions can be achieved by creating a single
piece of large software without collaborating multiple pieces of
functional software, however, this leads to a situation in which
separate pieces of software must be developed for each kind of the
data processing, resulting in an inflexible system.
[0093] Next, the following describes how storage systems and
storage area network techniques are used in a large-scale computer
system, using a concrete example. FIG. 17 illustrates an example of
configurations of an Internet data center (abbreviated to "iDC"),
which has been expanding in the number of systems recently. The
Internet data center is entrusted with Internet service providers
(ISPs) and WWW servers of individual enterprises (this system is
called "housing"), and provides network management and server
operation and management. Further, it also provides value-added
services such as web design, construction of an electronic commerce
(EC) system, and addition of high-degree security. The Internet
data center provides solutions together that solve problems in
enterprises, which want to do Internet business, such as shortage
of system staffs and their skill, and preparation of server
installation places and networks.
[0094] Since high-priced equipment such as a high-speed network
line is shared in an Internet data center, there is a feature that
an Internet data center, in provider's place, can provide services
to many enterprises at a low cost. In addition, users and
enterprises which utilize an Internet data center are released from
burdensome work such as backup and maintenance and deal with a
business at a lower cost than running a system alone. However,
since iDC runs many Internet environments and many pieces of
application software that individual enterprises use, high-speed
Internet backbone lines and many high-performance servers must be
installed. In addition, these facilities must have high reliability
and high security. In these environments, high-speed and highly
functional storage systems are indispensable.
[0095] The following describes an example of applying storage area
network techniques to a large-scale system such as an Internet data
center.
[0096] FIG. 18 illustrates a schematic configuration diagram of an
Internet data center to which a large-scale storage area network
(SAN) is applied. Multiple server computers exist at each
enterprise, storages such as a disk drive and a tape unit are
consolidated to a few units, one or two-three units, and servers
and disk drives/tape units are connected mutually through fiber
channel switches. Although individual storage units must be
connected to individual server computers in an environment in which
a SAN does not exist, storage units can be shared by all computers
through a SAN, and hence can be consolidated and managed. In
addition, when adding storage units, the storage units can be added
while a host computer is in online (in operation), so the addition
does not affect jobs.
[0097] In addition, from the point of view of backup, storage
consolidation through a SAN plays an effective role. Here, FIG. 19
illustrates a schematic configuration diagram of an example of
non-disruptive backup under a SAN environment at an Internet data
center. In this figure, individual server computers, storages, and
backup libraries of multiple enterprises are connected mutually via
a storage area network. A management host exists on the SAN to
manage storage devices and to operate backup. Data in each server
computer, for example, Web contents on a WWW server and data used
by an application server, have been consolidated and stored in
storages on the SAN.
[0098] The demands for backup is considered to be varied depending
on the circumstances of each host computer. For example, there are
cases where it is desirable that a backup copy of data is taken
every day at a time when a load of access to a host computer drops,
that is, during a time zone such as midnight for which the number
of times access is made to disk drives decreases, or it is
desirable that in the case of a host computer which is very busy on
the processing of an update type of transactions, the host computer
determines a backup start time optionally according to the time and
circumstances, such as a time when a flow of transactions breaks.
The management host accepts those demands from individual host
computers and manages backup processing properly. In addition,
since 24-hour-per-day continuous operation is important at an
Internet data center, interruption of processing on the host
computer must be avoided and non-disruptive backup is mandatory.
Described below briefly is an example of backup processing.
[0099] For example, if individual server computers want to make a
backup copy at some timing once a day, the management host makes
out a schedule of the backup beginning and ending for individual
server computers. For example, a backup operation for a WWW server
of Company A begins at midnight, a backup operation for an
application server of Company B at one in the morning, a backup
operation for an application server of Company A at half past one
in the morning, a backup operation for a WWW server of Company B at
three in the morning, and so on. Time taken to perform the backup
processing depends on the amount of data that individual servers
keep, etc., and hence the management host manages what amount of
data individual server computers keep in storages, and calculates
the time taken for backup based on the amount of data and makes out
a schedule. In addition, if a tape library has multiple tape
drives, multiple backup jobs can be executed concurrently.
[0100] Taking as an example a case where a backup operation for
Company A begins at midnight, the following describes a flow of
processing. When midnight comes, the management host creates a
replica of data, present in disk drives, of a WWW server of Company
A. For that, the management host finds out a free disk (logical
volume) in a disk drive, assigns it to a volume for the replica of
a WWW server of Company A, and instructs the disk drive to create
the replica. A flow of the processing of creating a replica is that
as illustrated in detail in FIG. 5a and FIG. 5b.
[0101] Following this, a tape cartridge is mounted onto a tape
drive in a tape library. After that, the copying of backup data
begins from the replica volume to the tape library. The server
computer of Company A can perform the data backup processing,
however, if the direct backup function by which data is transferred
directly from the management host or a disk drive to a tape library
is supported (all right if at least any of a disk drive, a tape
library, and a FC switch supports), this function can actually be
used for backup processing.
[0102] In that case, while the server computer is not aware of
whether the backup processing is performed or not, a backup copy of
data is automatically made. When the backup processing is complete,
the tape cartridge is demounted from the tape drive, the replica
volume in the disk drive is placed out of use, the volume is set to
a free volume again, and the next backup processing follows.
[0103] In this case, since the tape library is shared and connected
mutually via the SAN, if the schedule of tape library utilization
is managed properly by the role of the management host, etc., one
tape library can cover all their backup volumes even for multiple
host computers. In addition, it is sufficient to prepare a replica
volume only at the time the backup processing is needed if the
management host assigns volumes properly, a replica volume does not
need to be always prepared in individual volumes, and hence the
number of tape library units and the number of volumes, etc., can
be reduced.
[0104] Next, though the merits of sharing of storage units through
a SAN are large in cost reduction, on the other hand, there are
considerations to be taken in an environment in which servers of
multiple enterprises coexist. One of them is security. All server
computers can gain access to all storage units on a SAN via the
SAN, so a server of Company C can look at data of Company A on the
same SAN. Next, described below are examples of means by which to
solve these problems.
[0105] FIG. 20 illustrates an environment in which server computers
and storages of multiple enterprises coexist on a SAN at an
Internet data center. Under the environment in which storages are
shared by Companies A, B, and C as illustrated in the figure, first
zonings of an FC switch are set so that server computers of
individual enterprises can gain access to a particular path only to
storage units. Next, LUs that server computers of individual
enterprises use are assigned to individual paths in the disk
drives. For example, if Company B uses two logical units of LU1 and
LU2, LUs 1 and 2 are assigned to the middle path, and if Company C
uses LU0, LU 0 is assigned to the right path.
[0106] Further, there are multiple LUs on the same path and the LUs
are shared by multiple servers, however, individual servers do not
want to share in some case. For example, Company B secures the path
to access LU 1 and LU 2 in FIG. 20, however, there may be a
requirement in which only some particular one of Company B's
servers is permitted to gain access to LU1. In that case, access
limitation is done by use of the LUN. The WWN of a particular
server of Company B is registered in a disk drive, and it can be
set so that only a server whose WWN has been registered can gain
access to LU1.
[0107] These zonings, path assignment, and access limitation in
units of LUs are set on the centralized monitoring console. The
topology of an FC switch is checked on the monitoring console,
zonings are set based on the topology, further as many LUs as
necessary are mapped on individual paths, and LUs that individual
companies can use are registered. Furthermore, for LUs to which
mutual access is not permitted within the same path, the
centralized monitoring console obtains the WWNs of host computers
that are permitted to access, sets them in a disk drive, and limits
access in units of LUs.
[0108] Next, described below is an example of applying a computer
system which uses an integrated storage system consisting of a SAN
and various storages. In recent years, merge and consolidation of
enterprises have increased. As a result, this gives rise to the
need to integrate computer systems among enterprises.
[0109] FIG. 21 illustrates an example of a large-scale computer
system in which computer systems of multiple enterprises are
connected mutually. Host computers among enterprises are connected
through the Internet, and mutual utilization of data is achieved.
In addition, by introducing storage area networks, storages in
individual enterprises are organized so that they are also
connected through a public switched network or leased lines.
[0110] From the point of view of computer system operation,
integration of data is important. Usually, application databases
that are used by individual enterprises are different, only
straightforward mutual connection among devices does not make
direct mutual use of data available. Therefore, generally,
individual data from multiple databases must be consolidated and
integrated to construct a new database.
[0111] In FIG. 21, Enterprises A and B individually have a backbone
database by which transaction processing such as account processing
is performed, and an database of information system by which
analysis processing is performed in offline using data in the
backbone database. In this example, the data of the backbone
databases of Enterprise A and Enterprise B are integrated to create
a data mart for various jobs. In some case, a large-scale data
warehouse is constructed once, and then a small-scale data mart for
various applications may be created from the data warehouse
individually. In the case where does not exist an environment in
which storages are connected mutually via a storage area network,
when integrating databases, data must be moved through a host
computer and a network. Usually, many databases which enterprises
want to share have a large capacity, and hence it takes a large
amount of time to transfer data.
[0112] In the example in FIG. 21, a replica of Enterprise B's data
is created by using a remote copying function in storages. A
replica volume is split once at a frequency of once a day or once a
week, etc., and a replication server reads data in the split
replica volume to create various data marts. Replication servers
exist separately from various types of DBMS of information system
which make use of data marts. Storages are combined mutually via a
storage area network, and a replica of a database can be created
without putting any load on a host by using the remote copying
function in storages. In addition, replication servers that creates
data marts, and DBMS of information system can be realized on
separate host computers individually, and hence the processing of
creating data marts does not affect jobs of a backbone DB and a DB
of information system.
[0113] According to the present invention, an integrated storage
system can be constructed by reinforcing collaboration of
components or functions of a storage system in which a SAN is used,
and all various functions illustrated in FIG. 3 can be
achieved.
[0114] Further, by connecting an integrated storage system to the
Internet and applying the system to an Internet data center that
keeps a large capacity of data and achieves utilization of the
data, Internet information services can be provided efficiently in
the cost and both of quantity and quality, and timely.
* * * * *