Storage system and method of storage system path control

Abstract

The present invention uses memory resources effectively and connects each storage device by a plurality of paths in a switchable manner, thus improving reliability and ease of use, by virtualizing external memory resources as internal memory resources. External storage 2 is connected to the main storage 1, and the actual volume 2 A is mapped onto the virtual volume 1 A. A plurality of paths is connected between the storage 1 and 2. When a failure occurs in a path in use (S 3 ), the path having the next highest priority is selected (S 4 ), and processing is continued using this path (S 5 ).

1 . A storage system, comprising: 
 a first storage device having a virtual volume used by a host;    a second storage device having an actual volume associated with the virtual volume and connected to the first storage device via a plurality of communications paths;    a mapping management section connecting the virtual volume and actual volume by communications paths, and mapping the actual volume as the data storage destination volume of the virtual volume; and    a control section processing access requests from the host to the virtual volume based on mapping information between the virtual volume and actual volume managed by the mapping management section,    wherein the control section selects at least one of the communications paths for processing of the access requests.    
   
   
       2 . A storage system as claimed in  claim 1  wherein: 
 the priority of each communications path is preset; and    the control section selects at least one of the usable communications paths based on the priority and uses the communications path.    
   
   
       3 . A storage system as claimed in  claim 1  wherein: 
 the control section further comprises a failure detector to detect whether or not a failure has occurred in any of the communications paths; and    at least one of the usable communications paths is selected and used when the failure detector detects occurrence of a failure in a communications path in use of the communications paths.    
   
   
       4 . A storage system as claimed in  claim 1  wherein mapping information managed by the mapping management section is associated with at least: 
 virtual volume identification information for identification of the virtual volume;    actual volume identification information for identification of the actual volume;    information on each path to access the actual volume from the virtual volume using the communications paths;    state information to indicate whether each communications path is in a usable or unusable state; and    priority information indicating the priority of each communications path.    
   
   
       5 . A storage system as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein: 
 the information on each path is configured by associating first port information for identification of each of the plurality of first ports of the first storage device; second port information for identification of each of the plurality of second ports of the second storage device; and logical unit numbers (LUN) associated with each of the second ports.    
   
   
       6 . A storage system as claimed in  claim 1  further comprising a management device connected to the first storage device to allow update of all or part of the mapping information with the management device.  
   
   
       7 . A storage system as claimed in  claim 6  wherein the management device allows all or part of the mapping information to be updated for each of at least one communications path connected to a preset prescribed connection point.  
   
   
       8 . A storage system as claimed in  claim 5  further comprising a management device connected to the first storage device, and wherein all or part of the mapping information can be updated for each of at least one communications path connected to the first port, the second port, or the actual volume, by this management device.  
   
   
       9 . A storage system as claimed in  claim 6  wherein the management device can update at least state information included in the mapping information, and when halting the first storage device, the second storage device, or both, in a planned manner, changes the state of the prescribed communications paths relating to this planned halt from usable to unusable, and when the planned halt is complete, changes again the state of the prescribed communications paths to usable.  
   
   
       10 . A storage system as claimed in  claim 9  wherein the control section further comprises a failure detector to detect whether or not a failure has occurred in each communications path, and when a failure is detected in any of the communications paths and the state of this communications path in which the failure occurred is set to the unusable state, the occurrence of this failure is ignored.  
   
   
       11 . A storage system as claimed in  claim 10  wherein the priority is fixed even when the management device changes the state of the prescribed communications path to the unusable state.  
   
   
       12 . A storage system as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the control section processes access requests while switching each communications path in sequence.  
   
   
       13 . A storage system as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the control section has a first mode for processing access requests using one of the communications paths, and a second mode for processing access requests while switching between communications paths in sequence.  
   
   
       14 . A storage system as claimed in  claim 13  further comprising a third storage device having another actual volume associated with another virtual volume of the first storage device, and connected to the first storage device via a plurality of other communications paths, and wherein the control section can apply the first mode or second mode in units of storage devices.  
   
   
       15 . A method of storage system path control comprising: 
 a first step of connecting a virtual volume of the first storage device and an actual volume of the second storage device via a plurality of communications paths, and managing mapping information indicating the association between the virtual volume and the actual volume;    a second step of processing access requests from the host to the virtual volume using one of the communications paths and based on mapping information;    a third step of detecting whether a failure has occurred or not in the communications paths;    a fourth step of selecting at least one usable communications path when a failure occurs in a communications paths while in use; and    a fifth step of processing access requests from the host using the selected communications path.    
   
   
       16 . A method of storage system path control as claimed in  claim 15  wherein the mapping information is associated with at least: 
 virtual volume identification information for identification of the virtual volume;    actual volume identification information for identification of the actual volume;    information on each path to access the actual volume from the virtual volume using the communications paths;    state information to indicate whether each communications path is in a usable or unusable state; and    priority information indicating the priority of each communications path; and    one communications path for which the highest priority is set of the communications paths in the usable state is selected in the fourth step.    
   
   
       17 . A method of storage system path control as claimed in  claim 16  further comprising a sixth step wherein all or part of the mapping information can be updated for each of at least one communications path connected to a preset prescribed connection point.  
   
   
       18 . A method of storage system path control as claimed in  claim 17 , wherein: 
 the first storage device further comprises a plurality of first ports and the second storage device further comprises a plurality of second ports,    path information is configured by associating the first port information for identifying each of the first ports with the second port information for identifying each of the second ports, and    all or part of the mapping information can be updated for each of at least one communications path connected to the first port or the second port in the sixth step.    
   
   
       19 . A storage system comprising: 
 a first storage device processing access requests from a host, a second storage device connected to this first storage device via a plurality of communications paths, and a management device connected to the first storage device, wherein the first storage device comprises;    a virtual intermediate memory device connected to the memory area of the memory device of the second storage device via the communications paths;    a virtual volume provided in the memory area of the virtual intermediate memory device;    a communications control section conducting data communications between the host and the second storage device;    a memory section used by the communications control section; and    a mapping table stored in the memory section, for mapping memory devices of the second storage device onto the virtual intermediate memory device; and    the control section execute:    a step of using one of the communications paths for processing access requests from the host to the virtual volume based on the mapping table;    a step of detecting whether a failure has occurred or not in each of the communications paths;    a step of selecting at least one usable communications paths when a failure occurs in a communications path in use; and    a step of processing access requests from the host using the selected communications path, and    the management device has a configuration management unit which updates all or part of the mapping table for each of at least one communications path connected to a preset prescribed connection point.