JP2003050724A - Method for operating storage and storage used for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for operating storage capable of making the proper number of backup storage units to be secured constantly in a storage in the storage, having on-demand functions. SOLUTION: In the method for operating the storage to be constituted, by providing a storage unit 11a at an operating state when it is first mounted and the backup storage unit 11b at an unused state, when it is first mounted and a function to expand a storage area to be provided by setting the backup storage unit as the operating state, it is constituted so that a server 20 to be connected with the storage by a communication means 30 is informed of the fact that consumption quantity of the storage area to be provided by the storage unit and the backup unit and states of their changes satisfy prescribed conditions, when the conditions are satisfied.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention comprises a storage unit which is in an operating state from the beginning of mounting, and a spare storage unit which is in a non-operating state at the beginning of mounting, and activates the spare storage unit by a predetermined operation. The present invention relates to an operation method of a storage having a so-called on-demand function capable of expanding a storage area by means of the method, and particularly to a technique for ensuring an appropriate number of spare storage units in the storage constantly.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Demand for storage is rapidly increasing with the progress of IT technology. Especially the recent ASP (Application Se
In a so-called data center that centrally manages operation management of related systems and Web systems, a large number of disk array devices are installed as storage for storing and managing a large amount of data handled by these systems. It is running.

A disk array device is generally provided with mounting slots for a plurality of disk units, and the required minimum required disk units are mounted in part of the mounting slots in advance. When the storage area is insufficient, a disk unit can be added to an empty mounting slot to expand the storage area.

[0004] The expansion of this disk unit is generally carried out by a business operator who is requested by the customer to dispatch a service person to the site, and the service person is dispatched to the site after the customer requests. There is a time lag before the work is completed. Therefore, if the amount of data handled increases sharply, the expansion may not be in time.

Therefore, a spare disk unit is mounted in a non-operating state in advance in a vacant mounting slot of the disk array device, and when the remaining amount of the storage area becomes insufficient, this is switched to the operating state and stored. A disk array device having a function called a so-called "on-demand function" that allows immediate expansion of an area has been developed (for example, see Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-295449).

[0006] By the way, the above-mentioned on-demand function works effectively only while the spare disk unit in the non-operational state naturally exists. Therefore, in order to be able to always use the on-demand function, it is necessary that a predetermined number of non-operating spare disk units are always present in the disk array device.

As a method for this, for example, it is possible to always install a large number of spare disk units in the disk array device. However, since the spare disk unit is usually provided in the operating mode that is charged for the first time when the spare disk unit is put into operation, it is unnecessary for the operator to install the spare disk unit more than necessary. You will have to bear the cost. Further, in today's remarkable technological innovation, a spare disk unit that has been removed from the disk array device after its service life has become obsolete and often cannot be used for other devices. Under such circumstances, the business operator has a desire to mount only a minimum number of spare disk units as necessary.

[0008]

However, the mode of consumption of the storage area of the current disk array device varies depending on the nature and scale of the system to which it is applied, and the on-demand unit to be prepared for the disk array device. It is very difficult to accurately estimate the number of the above, and it is often estimated by the intuition and experience of a service person or SE.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and in a storage having an on-demand function, an appropriate number of spare storage units can be constantly secured in the storage. The purpose is to provide a storage operation method.

[0010]

The main invention of the present invention comprises a storage unit which is in an operating state from the beginning of mounting, and a spare storage unit which is in a non-operating state at the beginning of mounting, and the spare storage unit is operated by a predetermined operation. A method of operating a storage configured to have a function of expanding a storage area by bringing the unit into an operating state, wherein the storage area consumption amount provided by the storage unit and the spare storage unit and its change When the aspect satisfies a predetermined condition, the server device connected to the storage by the communication means is notified of that fact.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a method of operating a storage (disk array device 10) described as an embodiment of the present invention. The business operator A sells to the customer B, and the IDC (Internet Data Ce
a disk array device 10 installed and operated in a predetermined place such as a server) and a server device 20 including a personal computer or a general-purpose machine operated in a service center operated by the business operator A It is connected through 30.

The disk array device 10 has the above-mentioned on-demand function, and has a standard disk unit (hereinafter referred to as "standard unit") 11a which is in an operating state from the beginning of mounting, and an unoperating state in the beginning of mounting. A predetermined number of spare disk units (hereinafter, referred to as “on-demand units”) 11b that are appropriately switched to an operating state by a predetermined operation of the customer B (hereinafter, this switching operation is referred to as “open”) are mounted. . The operating state of the disk units 11a and 11b means that they are available from the host computer 40.

FIG. 2 shows a specific hardware configuration of the disk array device 10. Disk units 11a and 11b mounted in the mounting slots, disk array device 1
A host interface 12 that controls various communications with the host computer 40 that accesses 0, a channel adapter (CHA) 13 that performs I / O control with the host computer 40, and a cache that functions as a data buffer during reading and writing. The memory 14, the disk adapter (DKA) 15 for staging or destaging the data to be read from or written to the disk unit in the cache memory 14, the common memory 16, the communication interface 17 having the above-mentioned communication function, and the disk array device 10. A terminal interface 2 that controls communication with the management terminal 60 that performs various operation settings and operation status monitoring
0, a service processor 19 for performing various controls of the disk array device 10, and the like. The management terminal 60 may be configured integrally with the disk array device 10 or may be configured separately. The management terminal 60 may be directly connected to the service processor 19.

The disk array device 10 grasps the mounting state of the disk units 11a and 11b for each mounting slot and the operating / non-operating state of the on-demand unit from the disk management table shown in FIG. This table is stored and managed in the common memory 16. In this figure, the disk units mounted in slot numbers 1 to 5 are standard units 11a, and the disk units mounted in slot numbers 6 to 10 are on-demand units 11b. The slot numbers 6 to 8 of the on-demand unit 11b are in the operating state, and the slot numbers 9 and 10 are in the non-operating state. The on-demand unit 11b is opened by the operator performing a predetermined setting operation on the management terminal 60, and the on-demand unit 11b in FIG.
The operating status column of is updated from "not in operation" to "in operation".

By the way, the disk array device 10 needs to add an on-demand unit to the server device 20 via the leased line 30 at an appropriate timing by monitoring the consumption amount of the storage area and the mode of its change. It has a function to notify. This function is, as shown in FIG. 1, a "status monitoring function" 100 for monitoring the real-time consumption (remaining amount) and usage status of the disk unit, and an on-demand unit expansion based on the usage status under predetermined conditions. "Extension required determination function" 101 for determining whether or not is necessary, "condition setting function" 102 for setting the predetermined condition,
When it is determined by this function that the on-demand unit needs to be added (hereinafter, referred to as “addition required notification”), the “notification function” 103 for notifying the server device 20 via the leased line 30. It is provided by various functions. These various functions are provided by various software installed in the disk array device 10 and executed by the service processor 19.

Each of the above functions will be described in detail. First of all, the "state monitoring function" 100 will be described. The disk array device 10 stores and manages the consumption amount of the storage area of each disk unit (including the released on-demand unit) mounted in the device 10 in the disk management table of FIG. 3 described above. Here, this consumption amount is one in which the disk array device 10 cumulatively counts the number of times the I / O command is issued to the disk unit, and is approximately grasped based on the cumulative value. Here, “approximately” means that the disk array device 10 deletes data whether the I / O command sent from the host computer 40 to the disk unit 11 is a data write command, a read command, or a data write command. It does not have a mechanism to understand whether it is an instruction, so
The I / O command also includes a command for erasing the data stored in the disk unit 11. Therefore, by simply accumulating the number of times the I / O command is issued, an accurate storage area of the disk unit can be obtained. This is because the consumption cannot be known. If the disk array device 10 is equipped with a mechanism for monitoring the contents of each issued I / O command and grasping whether the I / O command is a data read / write command or a delete command, Of course, it is possible to accurately grasp the remaining amount of the storage area.

Next, the "expansion required determination function" 101 will be described. This function uses the above-mentioned usage condition according to a predetermined condition 10
It is a function of judging whether or not it is necessary to add the on-demand unit 11b in light of item 5. Here, the predetermined condition 105 is, for example, as follows.

The condition is that the total remaining capacity of the storage area provided by the standard unit 11a and the on-demand unit 11b becomes less than or equal to a predetermined amount. This condition is an effective condition for determining the expansion time of the on-demand unit 11b when the disk units 11a and 11b are operated in such a manner that the order of consumption is not particularly determined. is there.

On-demand unit 1 installed
The condition is that the total remaining capacity of the storage area of 1b becomes a predetermined value or less. This condition is effective when it is desired to always have a predetermined amount of on-demand units 11b in the disk array device 10 in accordance with a customer's request or a request for the usage pattern of the disk array device 10.

The total remaining capacity of the storage area provided by the standard unit 11a and the on-demand unit 11b is divided by the consumption amount of the storage area per unit time, and the storage area is completely consumed. The condition is that the time until the storage ends is shorter than the predetermined time.
This condition is, so to speak, a condition focusing on the mode of change of the consumption amount, and for example, when it is difficult to predict the temporal change of the consumption amount of the storage area, an appropriate expansion time of the on-demand unit 11b is determined. Is effective for.

The on-demand unit 11b is calculated by dividing the total remaining capacity of the storage area of the on-demand unit 11b by the consumption amount of the storage area per unit time.
The condition is that the time until all the storage areas are completely consumed is shorter than a predetermined time. This condition is not concerned with the remaining capacity of the standard unit 11a like the condition of, and is intended for the remaining capacity of the storage area provided only by the on-demand unit 11b. This condition is, for example, each disk unit 11a, 11b.
There is a bias in the change in consumption of
This is effective in determining an appropriate time to add the on-demand unit 11b when the storage area of 1b is consumed preferentially.

The history of the date and time when each on-demand unit 11b is in the operating state is stored and managed, and an approximate expression is applied to the change in the date and time when each on-demand unit 11b is opened, which is obtained from this history, and is predicted by the approximate expression. The condition is that the time until all the on-demand units 11b included in the disk array device 10 are exhausted is shorter than a predetermined time. This condition is effective, for example, when it is desired to determine an appropriate time to add the on-demand unit 11b according to the usage pattern that differs for each disk array device 10.

The conditions shown in the above are as follows:
It is set by the "condition setting function" 102. In this function, the above-mentioned conditions are stored and managed in the disk array device 10 in the form of parameters or scripts. The operator can operate the management terminal 60 to edit parameters and scripts as appropriate. Further, the business operator A also connects the server device 20 to the disk array device 10 by using the dedicated line 30.
These parameters can be changed as appropriate by downloading parameters or setting via script or setting by remote operation. Further, the above-mentioned parameters and scripts are managed as data independent of the software that realizes the “addition required determination function” 101. Therefore, it is not necessary to recompile the software by changing the notification condition or the parameter, and even if the parameter or the script is set or changed, for example, one of the programs running on the disk array device 10 is used. It is not necessary to reboot the disk array device 10 as in the case where the disk array device 10 is incorporated into a part, and therefore, the operation of the disk array device 10 is not interrupted even if the parameters or scripts are changed.

When the "necessary addition determination function" 101 determines that the addition of the on-demand unit 11b is necessary, a message indicating that is transmitted to the server device 20 through the dedicated line 30 by the "notification function" 103. Here, in this message, the disk array device 10 for specifying the disk array device 10 which has transmitted the notification is sent.
Each device has a unique device ID.

When the server device 20 receives the message, the on-demand unit 11b is assigned to the device ID attached to the message and the device corresponding to this device ID.
Is displayed on the display of the server device 20. Then, the operator of the server device 20 who sees this arranges to dispatch a service person to the installation location of the disk array device 10 which has been notified of the addition required,
As a result, the on-demand unit 11b is added to the disk array device 10.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the disk array device 10 itself monitors the consumption amount of the storage area and the mode of its change and the storage area shortage is predicted, the service center is informed in advance. On-demand unit 11
A message to the effect that it is necessary to add b is notified, and the serviceman is dispatched to the site to add the on-demand unit 11b. Therefore, the minimum required number of on-demand units 11b is always secured in the storage. Can be placed, and the business operator A can use the on-demand unit 11b.
It is possible to minimize the cost generated by mounting the.

Since the customer can freely set the notification condition to the service center as described above, the storage area becomes insufficient depending on the nature and scale of the system to which the disk array device 10 is applied. Even if the process is different, it is possible to always determine the optimal time to add the on-demand unit 11b. Further, since the service center side can also set the above condition by downloading the data describing the above condition from the service center side, for example, the business operator A sets it based on the request content of the customer B. By downloading the conditions from the service center, the conditions can be set and managed without bothering the customer, and the customer service can be improved.

By the way, the above conditions (1) to (4) are merely examples, and various other conditions can be set by freely setting parameters and scripts. For example, the various functions provided by the disk array device 10 are basically realized by software installed in the disk array device 10, and between these software and the consumption amount of the storage area of the disk unit. , There are often some causal relationships. Therefore, what kind of software is installed in the disk array device 10 is stored and managed, and it is installed when it is determined whether or not an on-demand unit needs to be added according to the above conditions. It is also possible to perform weighting according to the type of software, and use this weight as a parameter so that the timing at which it is determined that additional expansion is required will be delayed.

The above-mentioned conditions 1 to 3 may be applied individually or in combination. For example, the opening time of the on-demand unit 11b usually has some causal relation with the remaining amount of the storage area, but whether or not to open the on-demand unit 11b is determined by the customer. When the on-demand units 11b are opened one after another at the customer's discretion and the remaining number of the on-demand units 11b decreases, the causal relationship will not be established. In such a case, for example, It is conceivable to apply both conditions simultaneously in parallel.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the consumption amount and the usage state thereof are monitored for each disk unit. However, each disk unit 11a, 11b mounted in the disk array device 10 is a so-called RAID.
In the case of one component of the (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks), the on-demand unit 1 is monitored by monitoring the storage area consumption amount and its usage status in RAID group units and applying the above-mentioned various conditions in RAID group units.
It may be possible to determine the time when the service center is notified of the message that the addition of 1b is necessary.

In the above embodiment, the disk array device 10 and the server device 20 are connected by the dedicated line 30, but they are connected by other communication means such as a telephone network, an ISDN network and the Internet. May be configured.

[0032]

As described above, according to the storage operating method of the present invention, in a storage having an on-demand function, a particularly appropriate number of spare storage units are constantly secured in the storage. be able to.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a concept of a storage operating method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a specific hardware configuration of a disk array device in a storage operating method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a disk management table according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Disk array device 11a Standard unit 11b On-demand unit 20 server equipment 30 dedicated line

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A storage area is expanded by comprising a storage unit which is in an operating state from the beginning of mounting and a spare storage unit which is in a non-operating state at the beginning of mounting, and which brings the spare storage unit into an operating state by a predetermined operation. A method of operating a storage configured to include a function to perform, when the consumption amount of a storage area provided by the storage unit and the spare storage unit or a mode of change thereof satisfies a predetermined condition, A method of operating a storage, characterized in that a server device connected to the storage by a communication means is notified of that fact. 2. The storage operating method according to claim 1, wherein the condition is that the total remaining capacity of the storage area provided by the storage unit and the spare storage unit is less than or equal to a predetermined amount. A storage operation method characterized by the fact that there is. 3. The storage operating method according to claim 1, wherein the condition is that the total remaining capacity of the storage area provided by the storage unit and the spare storage unit is the storage area per unit time. A method of operating a storage, characterized in that the time until the storage area is completely consumed, which is calculated by dividing by the amount of consumption, is shorter than a predetermined time. 4. The storage operating method according to claim 1, wherein the condition is that the total remaining capacity of the storage area provided only by the spare storage unit is divided by the consumption amount of the storage area per unit time. The storage operating method is characterized in that the time until the storage area provided only by the spare storage unit, which is calculated by the above, is exhausted is shorter than a predetermined time. 5. The storage operating method according to claim 1, wherein the condition is to store and manage a history of the date and time when each of the spare storage units is in an operating state, and obtain the spare storage unit from this history. Approximate expression is applied to the change of the time interval when is in the operating state, and under the condition that the time until all the spare storage units included in the storage predicted by this approximate expression are used up is shorter than the predetermined time. A storage operation method characterized by the fact that there is. 6. The storage operating method according to claim 1, wherein data describing the condition is downloaded from the server device to the storage, and the condition is set based on the data. Storage operation method characterized by. 7. The storage used in the operation method according to claim 1, wherein the storage is a unit for monitoring the consumption amount and a mode of change thereof, a unit for storing the condition, and the consumption. And a means for notifying the server device by the communication means when the amount or the mode of change thereof satisfies the condition, the storage operating method.