JP2014132457A - Method for reconfiguring storage system, variable structure storage system and variable structure storage device thereof, and executable software product and host - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a reconfiguring process which eliminates the need for correcting a configuration software with a host, in order to configure different storage devices in each of user requests.SOLUTION: A method for reconfiguring a storage system which reconfigures a storage system executed by at least one software element executed by at least one processor includes the steps of: receiving user request information for a storage device, and automatically generating characteristic setting of the storage device and a device profile of the storage device, from the user request information; and using the characteristic setting in order to automatically reconfigure the storage device to one or a plurality of logic devices having independent operational characteristics.

Description

The present invention relates to a storage system, and in particular to reconfigure a storage system that can provide a reconfiguration step that does not require modification of configuration software on a host in order to configure different storage devices for each user request. And a variable structure storage system, a variable structure storage device, an executable software product, and a host.

  Modern storage systems are generally passive and include a plurality of stand-alone storage devices whose operating characteristics are determined at the manufacturing stage. A processor (e.g., RAID controller) that executes software (firmware) needs to be given intelligence to allow non-smart storage devices to operate as a unit. Since storage devices such as solid state drives (SSDs) can be controlled through software or firmware, efforts have been made to control the operating characteristics of SSDs in a user environment.

The conventional approach to satisfy the user authentication test needs to provide a last minute engineering process for the producer to customize to the storage device tailored to each customer. Because storage device characteristics are of a wide variety of types, customers typically desire to retune their software system each time a new model of storage device is adopted.
However, the premise for one storage device is not always valid for other devices. As a result, producers' engineering costs increase with storage devices and customer requirements, so traditional customization approaches are not partially sustainable.

  Therefore, a system that can easily reconfigure a storage system on behalf of a customer is important. For example, solid state disk (SSD) optimization software, such as Samsung Magician®, adjusts SSD characteristics for customer systems. However, customer optimization options are very limited, optimization metrics are device-oriented, not user-oriented, and optimization cannot be controlled or quantified. Furthermore, a feature of storage devices is that they can degrade characteristics over time due to storage media degradation such as wear and fatigue. This can deviate from the customer's initial assumptions and cannot be easily detected until a malfunction occurs at the customer.

Another form of variable structure storage device process is an approach that allows the customer to select individual characteristics for setting the environment of the storage device. With this approach, instead of adjusting the customer's system with a new storage device, the variable structure storage device allows the customer to adjust the storage device to fit the customer's system, simplifying the maintenance and upgrade process can do.
Even though a variable structure storage device provides more flexibility in optimizing operation and allows customer customization, some challenges remain.
The first problem is that the recalibration process causes a combinatorial problem that increases exponentially as the number of characteristics for storage device customization increases. In other words, current approach approaches do not provide a systematic configuration for property selection. For example, if a customer changes three characteristic values, it may be difficult for the customer to determine how the combination of characteristics affects the operation of the storage device.

A related challenge is that the selection of characteristics by the customer is done through a software user interface where the customer manually selects the characteristics. Manual selection of characteristics in the absence of systematic configuration and operational guidelines results is basically a trial and error process.
Finally, the general reconfiguration process cannot explain the storage device's aging effect due to the degradation of storage media performance. Such a change has the potential to change the original selection of characteristics for a particular user environment into meaningless ones.

  Therefore, the trend of software-defined storage (SDS), where storage resources required by applications are automatically defined and provided by software, requires a more flexible and improved reconfigurable storage process There is a problem that.

US Pat. No. 6,487,562 US Pat. No. 7,568,037 US Pat. No. 8,112,582

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems in the conventional storage system, and the object of the present invention is to modify the configuration software on the host in order to configure different storage devices for each user request. It is to provide a reconstruction process that does not exist.

  A method for reconfiguring a storage system according to the present invention made to achieve the above object comprises: a method for reconfiguring a storage system executed by at least one software element executing on at least one processor; Receiving user request information for the storage device, automatically generating a characteristic setting of the storage device and a device profile of the storage device from the user request information, and independent characteristics of the storage device. Using the property settings to automatically reconfigure one or more logical devices.

  The variable structure storage system according to the present invention made to achieve the above object receives user request information for a storage device from a host, and stores the storage from the user request information and device profile for the storage device. A component that automatically generates a characteristic setting for the device; and in the storage device, the characteristic setting is received from the host, and the storage device is turned into one or more logical devices having independent operating characteristics. And a component that uses the property setting for automatic reconfiguration.

  A variable structure storage device according to the present invention made to achieve the above object is a variable structure storage device including a main storage, a processor connected to the main storage, and a software element executed by the processor. The processor receives a plan including at least one configuration command including a characteristic setting, determines availability and applicability of the characteristic setting in the plan based on a device profile, and the plan is valid. If not, reject the plan, roll back any changes made by the plan, authenticate the plan if all of the availability and applicability of the property settings are true, and Run the device profile New, by associating the executed plan storage space, characterized in that it is configured to generate one or more logical devices to the variable structure type storage device.

  An executable software product according to the present invention made to achieve the above object is an executable software product stored in a computer readable storage medium including program instructions for reconfiguring a storage system, wherein the program instructions Receiving user request information for the storage device, automatically generating a characteristic setting for the storage device and a device profile for the storage device from the user request information; and Using the characteristic settings to automatically reconfigure one or more logical devices having independent operating characteristics.

The host according to the present invention made to achieve the above object receives a user request including specifications of a memory, a processor connected to the memory, and a service level agreement (SLA), and based on a device profile, the host of the SLA Convert specifications to characteristic settings, determine an optimal combination of the characteristic settings, generate a plurality of plans including configuration commands from the optimal combination, and consider the performance and status of the storage device and the user request Receiving a first software element executed by a processor configured to select one of the plans, the selected plan, and transmitting the plan to a variable structure storage via a configuration channel; A response is received from the storage device and said storage A second software element executed by the processor configured to repeat the plan in the case of a negative response from a device, the device profile is collected, the device profile is transmitted to a configuration planner, and the storage device Monitor one or more logical devices generated in step 1, determine if all user requests are satisfied, and adjust the plan based on the device profile in case of SLA violation And a third software element executed by the processor configured to notify the configuration planner and reconfiguring the storage device.
Depending on the methods and systems described herein, an exemplary embodiment provides a reconfiguration step that eliminates the need to modify configuration software on the host to configure different storage devices for each user request ( A reconfiguration process is provided. In contrast to the general method, the exemplary embodiment requires that the configuration software at the host be modified to customize other storage devices. In addition, the exemplary embodiment automatically converts user request information into property settings so that the need for the user to manually select a combination of properties disappears when reconfiguring the storage device.

  According to the method for reconfiguring a storage system according to the present invention, its variable structure storage system and variable structure storage device, and executable software product and host, different storage devices are configured for each user request. Therefore, by providing a reconfigurable storage system that does not require modification of the configuration software on the host, the customer's required characteristics are automatically converted into characteristic settings, so that the customer can manually This brings about an effect that it becomes unnecessary to select a characteristic value.

1 is a block diagram showing a variable structure storage system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. (A) is a flowchart for explaining the reconfiguration of the storage system according to the embodiment of the present invention, and (B) is a flowchart for explaining the reconfiguration of the storage system according to the embodiment of the present invention. is there. 3 is a flowchart for explaining in detail a process for configuring a variable structure storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention; It is a flowchart which shows the conversion process performed by the structure planner which produces | generates the plan by embodiment of this invention. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a process of a component in the variable structure storage device according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the execution process of the structure advisor by embodiment of this invention. 1 is a block diagram showing a reconfigurable storage system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

Next, referring to the drawings, a specific example of a method for reconfiguring a storage system according to the present invention, a variable structure storage system, a variable structure storage device, an executable software product, and a host. While explaining.
However, the embodiments of the present invention can be modified in various forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed to be limited to the examples described later. The embodiments of the present invention are provided to explain the present invention more clearly.

  The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular implementations and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. In this specification, the terms used in the singular include the plural unless there is an explicit background to the singular. Also, as used herein, the term “including” identifies the presence of a feature, region, step, action, element, and / or component mentioned, but includes one or more other It does not exclude the presence or addition of features, regions, steps, actions, elements, components and / or groups.

  Terms such as “elements” or “modules” referred to herein are software or field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or application specific integrated circuits (i.e. application specific integrated circuits) that perform specific tasks; Hardware element such as, but not limited to, ASIC). An element or module can be advantageously configured to run on one or more processors in its own addressable storage medium. Thus, depending on the embodiment, an element or module may be a software element, an object-oriented software element, a class element and a work element, a process, a function, an attribute, a procedure, a subroutine, a segment of program code, a driver, firmware, microcode, a network, Elements such as data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables can be included. Functions provided for elements and elements or modules can be combined as fewer elements and elements or modules, or further separated as additional elements and elements or modules.

  Unless otherwise limited, all terms (technical and scientific terms) used herein have meanings that are commonly known to those skilled in the art. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be construed to have the same meaning as in the background of the relevant technical field and are ideal or excessive unless otherwise stated. Should not be interpreted.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a variable structure storage system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The system of FIG. 1 in one embodiment includes a host 100 and a variable structure storage device 102. The basic elements of the host 100 include at least one processor 104, a memory 106, and a host controller 108. In one embodiment, the basic elements of the variable structure storage device 102 include a storage controller 111, a main storage 112, at least one processor 114, and a memory 116.

  The main storage 112 realizes an original storage function and provides a storage space for the variable structure storage device 102. The main storage 112 includes flash, PCRAM, RRAM (registered trademark), STT-RAM, and similar non-volatile memory (FLT (Flash Translation Layer), garbage collector (implemented as a solid state drive (SSD), for example). Garbage Collector (GC), and similar storage management firmware (not shown), but is not limited thereto. One or more logical devices 121 may occupy a part of the main storage 112. The actual physical storage space allocated for the logical device 121 depends on space efficiency requirements. A logical device with thin provisioning occupies less physical storage space than a logical device with thick provisioning.

  During normal operation, the host controller 108 may issue commands 124 related to read / write operations so that the host 100 processes content stored in the main storage 112 or stores new content in the main storage 112. Output to the storage controller 111 for permission. Here, the content processing performed by the host 100 is performed by displaying the content in the form of an image and a document, executing the content in the form of audio and / or video, Such as installing or executing content in the form of an application.

  The storage controller 111 receives a command related to content from the host controller 108 and controls the content 126 stored in the main storage 112 in accordance with the received command. For example, when the received command is a read command, the storage controller 111 provides the content 126 stored in the main storage 112 to the host 100, and when the received command is a write command, the storage controller 111 The new content 126 is received from, and the received content is stored in the main storage 112.

As still another embodiment, the host controller 108 and the storage controller 111 may be separated, or the host controller 108 and the storage controller 111 may be mounted as one integrated unit.
As described above, a problem that a normal storage apparatus has is that it is a fixed device having built-in intelligence. As a result, the process of customizing storage devices for customer requirements is costly and time consuming.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the variable structure storage device 102 is provided with a component 118, a property set 120, and a device profile 122, while the host 100 is provided with a configuration deformation element 110.
In one embodiment, the configuration deformation element 110 of the host 100 receives a user request describing the operational characteristics of the variable structure storage device 102 and defines characteristic settings for the operational characteristics of the variable structure storage device 102. Convert to command 128. In one embodiment, the functionality of configuration deformation element 110 is performed by separate elements such as configuration planner 136, configuration advisor 138, and device programmer 140.

  As a result, the component 118 in the variable structure storage device 102 receives the configuration command 128 and executes the characteristic setting corresponding to the configuration command 128, thereby automatically operating the variable structure storage device 102. Configure. Thereafter, while the main storage 112 is driven based on the set operating characteristics, the storage controller 111 transmits or receives the content 126 to the host 100.

In other embodiments of the present invention, during operation of the variable structure storage device 102, the configuration deformation element 110 may receive feedback 130 from the variable structure storage device 102 regarding the operational characteristics of the variable structure storage device 102. And, based on the feedback 130, adjust the configuration command 128 (and consequently the property set).
In one embodiment, the component deformation element 110 and the component 118 are implemented as software elements. In other embodiments, the elements may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software. Although the component deformation element 110 and the component 118 are each shown as a single element, each function may be coupled to a smaller or greater number of modules / elements. For example, in one embodiment, the storage controller 111 and the host controller 108 are implemented in the host 100 as one integrated element or as a separate element.

In addition, although the user request information 123 is shown to be input to the host 100, in another embodiment, the variable structure storage device 102 receives the user request information 123 and provides the user request information 123 to the host 100. To do.
The variable structure storage system according to embodiments of the present invention can be applied to a wide range of storage markets from customers to enterprises (desktops, laptops, workstations, servers, and the like) A single stand-alone device (such as the one), storage array, SDS, application specific storage (VM), virtual machine infrastructure (VM), virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), similar to CDN (contentN It can be applied to discs for equipment.

For example, in one embodiment, the variable structure storage device 102 includes PCMCIA, CF (compact flash) (registered trademark), SM, SMC (smart media card) (registered trademark), memory stick (registered trademark), multimedia card. (MMC, RS-MMC, MMC-micro), SD card (SD, miniSD, microSD, SDHC), UFS (universal flash storage) device, and similar semiconductor devices for forming similar devices be able to.
For example, in one embodiment, the main storage 112 is composed of a plurality of nonvolatile memory chips (that is, a plurality of flash memories).
According to another embodiment, the main storage 112 is configured by other types of nonvolatile memory chips (eg, PRRAM, FRAM (registered trademark), MRAM, etc.) instead of the flash memory chips. Instead, the main storage 112 may be formed of a volatile memory (that is, DRAM or SRAM) or may have a form in which two or more types of memories are mixed.

2A and 2B are flowcharts for explaining reconfiguration of the storage system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2A is a flowchart showing a configuration process for reconfiguring a variable structure storage device for each user request, and FIG. 2B shows a variable structure during operation of the variable structure storage system. 5 is a flowchart showing a configuration process of the type storage device 102.

  Referring to FIG. 2A, the process receives user request information 123 for a storage device by the configuration variant 110, and from the user request information, sets characteristics for the storage device and the device for the storage device. The process starts by automatically generating a profile (step S200). Thereafter, the component 118 uses the characteristic settings for automatically reconfiguring the storage device into one or more logical devices 121 having independent operating characteristics (step S202).

  FIG. 2B illustrates a setting process of the variable structure storage device 102 during the operation of the variable structure storage system. In this embodiment, the configuration transformation element 110 receives feedback 130 from the storage device for runtime performance data 134 of at least one of the storage device and the logical device (step S204). In response to determining that the runtime performance data does not satisfy the user request information, the configuration variant 110 dynamically adjusts the configuration of the one or more logical devices to satisfy the user request information (steps). S206).

The first advantage of the variable structure storage system is that in the exemplary embodiment, the storage device specificity and reconfiguration complexity can be extracted, so that the configuration deformation element 110 on the new variable structure device 110 This means that storage management (ie user software) can be simplified.
The second advantage is that user software can dynamically define and generate its own logical device from a variable structure storage device for each user request, so user software that uses a new variable structure storage device. Means that it will remain virtually constant regardless of the storage device model.

  Referring again to FIG. 1, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the user request information 123 is a high-level operational characteristic of the variable structure storage device 102 as opposed to the actual value for the other characteristic. Includes level-description (high-level description). In one embodiment, the high-level description includes an SLA (service level agreement) for the variable structure storage device 102. SLA is a service contract concluded in common between a customer and a producer.

In other embodiments, the high level description further includes a Quality of Service (QoS) request, which in one embodiment is part of the SLA.
However, in other embodiments, QoS can be separated from SLA if the user is only interested in performance aspects. In the embodiment, QoS is a storage device for latency, IOPS (input / output operations per second), bandwidth (bandwidth), jitter, and WAF / RAF that define the user's detailed performance expectations. Includes performance characteristics. For example, after a virtual device is created, it may be desirable to adjust the QoS by creating a new logical device. As described herein, configuration can be performed quantitatively by automatically configuring the variable structure storage device 102 using SLA and QoS.

In one embodiment, the SLA can include specifications for any combination of attributes expressed in an XML format. Attributes can be storage device performance characteristics such as latency, IOPS, or non-performance characteristics such as capacity, addressing mode, protection.
The commitment specification is an average percentage of the QoS satisfaction rate of the operation. The response spec is what to expect if the host violates QoS. Capacity specs specify the amount of data space and space savings. The capacity specification indicates the amount of data in user space, not the actual storage space allocated to the device. In this case, the capacity specification is independent of the mechanism that the device actually uses to achieve this. However, what is needed is to guarantee the amount of data that can be stored at the user level.
For example, a device that employs thick provisioning technology allocates an actual area when a request is granted. On the other hand, a device adopting the thin provisioning technology can be made not to allocate an area in advance. Similarly, the actual physical space allocated by devices with space saving characteristics such as overcommitment, compression, and deduplication is very small compared to the data area requested by the user.

The addressing mode specification clearly indicates a method of positioning data in a storage having functions such as byte-addressable, word-addressable, and / or block-addressable. is there.
For example, a Peripheral Component Interconnect express (PCIe) device can be byte addressable as well as block addressable. Similarly, systems that operate in a single address space can emulate byte addressing on block addressable devices. QoS is interpreted in the context of a specific addressing mode.

  The protection specification specifies security and access control. The device can support encryption, and the user uses a specific encryption algorithm (eg, 128-bit RSA, 256AES) for each security requirement. When a user deletes data, the user may need to safely delete the data with the risk of an unrecoverable user. Furthermore, the user can define access control such as read only, writable, and write once at the device level. For example, a system recovery image is stored in a write-once logical device.

A performance specification specifies a measurement of latency, throughput, bandwidth and / or IOPS so that a user can have detailed performance requirements for the device.
For example, storage devices used to store video chips in video on demand servers require high sequential read performance. On the other hand, storage devices used to manage metadata require high IOPS (and low latency).

上述の例に示す、バイトアドレサブルである１００ＧＢのデバイスはユーザの興味を引くものである。さらに、４ＫＢページ読み出しレイテンシは１０ｍｓより小さくなければならず、４ＫＢ書き込みレイテンシも１０ｍｓより小さなければならない。最後に、デバイスのＩＯＰＳは、少なくとも１Ｋでなければならない。 An exemplary SLA includes content as shown in Samples 1 to 3 below.
[Sample 1]

The 100 GB device that is byte-addressable shown in the example above is of interest to the user. Furthermore, the 4 KB page read latency must be less than 10 ms and the 4 KB write latency must also be less than 10 ms. Finally, the IOPS of the device must be at least 1K.

[Sample 2]

[Sample 3]

  The variable structure storage device 102 further includes a plurality of operational characteristics associated with the characteristic set 120. In one embodiment, the property set 120 is non-consumable, hardware operations (eg, clock frequency, over-provisioning ratio), command schedule policies (eg, read overwrite, random access over sequential access). , Small request over big request, scheduling algorithm, read over GC), logical device characteristics (eg capacity, queue length, timeout control, protection), policies mapping logical addresses to physical addresses (eg , Page mapping, block mapping, hybrid mapping), background work execution policy (eg garbage collection algorithm) Including rhythm, the period and frequency of garbage collection, background TRIM, background compaction), and the like.

The configuration variant element 110 receives the user request information 123 and uses the user request information 123 to enable / disable a specific characteristic in the characteristic set 120 as well as to specify a variable value for the specific characteristic. Convert to a characteristic set.
The effect of the characteristics may be global for all logical devices 121 or local for a particular logical device. For example, the adjustment of the operating frequency of the device is global and changes the operation of all the logical devices 121 while the increase in the queue length of the logical device is limited to the device.

  According to an embodiment of the present invention, the configuration deformation element 110 generates a characteristic setting based on both the user request information 123 and the device profile 122. In one embodiment, the device profile 122 includes a specific performance range 131 (eg, an adjustable clock frequency range) in the storage device, performance model 132, and runtime performance data 134. Runtime performance data 134 includes runtime performance statistics measured by the device during operation.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the performance model 132 is generated and associated with the characteristics of the variable structure storage device 102 associated with device performance.
In one embodiment, the performance model 132 is a mathematical model (eg, linear, polynomial, logarithmic, exponential, or step function) for individual characteristics and / or a combination of characteristic settings, and / or to measure QoS. Contains ideal performance data measured in a controlled environment.

Table 1 shows an exemplary property set 120 and associated performance model. The model in the present invention is exemplary and depends on the vendor and device.

In one embodiment, any characteristic that can change the performance characteristics of the device has an associated performance model 132 and / or an ideal performance reference table if the model is not feasible. .
In one embodiment, any one of the component deformation element 110 or component 118 is a device profile 122 for determining whether the user request information 123 can be satisfied by the variable structure storage device 102 and Use performance model 132.
For example, the user can improve the response time of the operating time by increasing the clock rate of the physical device. However, the device's adjustable clock rate is limited. If the device has already reached the maximum clock rate, the clock adjustment characteristic is used to improve the latency time. Similarly, if the IOPS to clock rate is modeled as a linear function at a particular size, it can be determined, for example, how much the clock rate can be increased.

In one embodiment, the device profile 122 that includes the performance model 132 is made available to the configuration deformation element 110 by, for example, being reported as the configuration deformation element 110 by the variable structure storage device 102.
In other embodiments, the device profile 122 is stored on the host 100 or stored in a location accessible by the host 100 and / or the variable structure storage device 102.
In other embodiments, the performance model 132 is stored separately from the device profile 122 even though the performance model 132 is shown as being stored as part of the device profile 122.
If the vendor of the variable structure storage device 102 can present the device profile 122 to the host 100, the configuration transformation element 110 in the host 100 is affected by the performance range 131, the performance model 132, and the runtime performance data 134. . Otherwise, configuration variant 110 will need access to its own device profile 122 for each type of variable structure storage device 102.

  In one embodiment, the runtime performance data 134 of the device profile 122 is a typical performance index, minimum available through a standard interface such as SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) in the ATA spec. / Maximum / average read / write latency, minimum / maximum / average queue length and latency, minimum / maximum / average internal IOPS, read / write amplification ratio, garbage collection time, timeouts, and similar vendor-specific Includes runtime performance index.

In one embodiment, other information stored as part of the runtime performance data 134 includes, but is not limited to, device state, device background working state, host background working state.
The device status includes status information for the hardware and software of the variable structure storage device 102. This is not only the overall information such as the extent of storage media degradation (wear-level), supercapacitor status, device temperature, overprovisioning rate (or amount), and similar items, but also the device Local information such as size, device capacity, device usage, SLA, property set, property setting, data fragmentation, timeout, protection, addressing mode, etc.
The device background work state includes the device background work state determined by the device policy, but is not visible outside the device, such as background TRIM, background garbage collection, background compression, and so on.
The host background work state includes the state of the device background work triggered by the host, such as an offline test of the SMART self-test suite in the ATA spec.

The configuration modification element 110 of the host 100 shown in FIG. 1 converts the high-level user QoS request in the SLA into a device-specific configuration command in order to change the configuration of the variable structure storage device 102. The configuration transformation element 110 interprets the relationship between the user request information 123 and the behavior / policy of the variable structure storage device 102 having device-specific characteristics.
For example, storage devices require queues with large queue depths to satisfy specific IOPS requirements. Similarly, low cost devices require queues with large queue depths and read priorities to achieve short read latencies. On the other hand, expensive devices achieve similar latencies without read priority.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining in detail the process for configuring the variable structure storage device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
In one embodiment, the steps performed by the host 100 are performed by the component transformation element 110, and the steps performed by the variable structure storage device 102 are performed by the component 118.

  The process executed in the host 100 is started from the host 100 by receiving the device profile 122 and the SLA (step S300). The configuration transformation element 110 determines configurable characteristic settings based on the device profile 122 of the variable structure storage device 102 for each QoS request of the SLA (step S302), and determines possible combinations of characteristic settings of the SLA. Therefore, a determination is made (step S304) (QoS). Based on the device profile 122 for the variable structure storage device 102, priority is given to the combination of characteristic settings (step S306). A set of configuration commands is generated as a plan for each combination of characteristic settings (step S308). The plan or each configuration command of the plan is transmitted to the variable structure storage device 102 together with the transaction ID (step S310). Since the state of the device can change in the case of a race while generating the plan, the plan is rejected by a component at the device. Accordingly, the host 100 repeats the plan until one of the plans succeeds or all fail (step S312).

The process executed in the variable structure storage device 102 starts from the variable structure storage device 102 after receiving the plan from the host (step S320). The component 118 authenticates the plan by determining the availability and applicability of all characteristics based on the device profile 122 (step S322). All characteristics of the plan are set in detail, and if it fails, all changes are rolled back (step S324). One or more logical devices are generated based on the characteristic settings (step S326). The device profile 122 is updated for each plan configuration (step S328). Then, a completion response is transmitted to the host 100 (step S330).
During the operation of the variable structure storage device 102, the plan is compared with the device profile, in particular with real-time performance statistics (step S332). When the device profile does not satisfy the plan, a notification is transmitted as feedback 130 to the host. The configuration advisor 138 then uses the feedback to guide the configuration to make the appropriate adjustments (FIG. 6).

  In the following, not only the component 118 in the variable structure storage device 102 but also three components constituting the configuration deformation element 110 shown in FIG. 1, that is, the configuration planner 136, the configuration advisor 138, and the device programmer 140 will be described in detail. .

Configuration planner 136 may include user-requested information 123 (eg, SLA) and include policy-based configuration commands 128 that assist the device by being manifested in device profile 122 (eg, runtime performance data 134). Analyzing the configuration plan and generating a configuration plan as a recommendation. In particular, the configuration planner 136 includes a conversion algorithm that converts the SLA specs into characteristic settings based on the device profile 122, determines the optimal combination out of the converted characteristic settings, and generates a configuration command 128 from the optimal combination. Generate a plan that contains it.
For example, assuming that a storage device has the following device profile, deciding read overwrite priority will improve read latency by about z%, and increasing queue depth will reduce IOPS w While increasing to the% ratio, latency increases with encryption characteristics by x% and IOPS decreases by y%. If the user wants to achieve the same performance with the encryption option, the configuration planner 136 enables read priority and / or queues to offset the increased latency due to encryption. It is necessary to increase the depth.

The configuration planner 136 can generate a plurality of configuration plans from a user request, and selects the variable structure storage device 102 and an optimal plan that considers the performance and status of the user request. The configuration planner 136 evaluates each characteristic of the variable structure storage device, correlations and anti-correlations between the characteristics, and the performance model 132, and a plurality of performance models associated with a plurality of planning algorithms that generate the configuration plan. 132.
If the variable structure storage device 102 provides access to the performance profile (device profile 122), the configuration planner 136 shares the performance profile (device profile 122) with the variable structure storage device 102, and so on. For example, the host 100 has its own performance profile.

  Once the component 118 in the variable structure storage device 102 receives the plan, the component 118 rejects the plan if the plan exceeds the capacity that the device can support. For example, when capturing current performance characteristics, if the device cannot provide a performance profile, or if the device encounters some delay or races, the performance profile provided by the device will be invalid. In this case, the device will not receive the plan even if the decision is based on its performance profile 122. However, in one embodiment, component 118 executes the plan with its own risks.

The configuration plan includes a set of configuration commands, each of which is a predetermined vendor-specific command or standard command that the variable structure storage device 102 can understand.
For example, the configuration planner 136 needs to transmit two commands, one for a schedule policy that gives read overwrite priority, and the other one sets the queue size. This is for increasing queue characteristics. Optionally, the configuration planner 136 transmits a command for the entire plan along with the transaction ID. Depending on the settings and state of the variable structure storage device 102, the component 118 may or may not migrate configuration commands or plans.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary conversion process performed by the configuration planner 136 for generating a plan. The process corresponds to steps S300-308. When the SLA is received (step S400), it is determined whether there is a further QoS request to be resolved (step S402). If there are more requirements, the possible combinations of characteristic settings that can satisfy the current QoS requirements are identified (step S404). The decision at this stage varies depending on the device, but is a general guideline based on fixed information (or predetermined knowledge) that can reduce the search space of the next stage. Thereafter, it is determined whether the combination of characteristic settings can satisfy the current QoS requirements with the particular device involved based on the performance profile (step S406). If the QoS requirement cannot be satisfied, the next combination of characteristic settings is obtained (step S408). Thereafter, all possible combinations to be attempted in the case of a failure are confirmed, and it is determined whether or not the combination is empty (step S410). If the combination is vacant, an error is generated (step S412). If the combination is not empty, the process returns to step S406 and continues.

  If the combination of characteristic settings meets the current QoS requirements, determine whether the combination of characteristic settings is possible with pre-selected configurations for all SLA and QoS of this device ( Step S414). Again, in the case of a race, the combination will not work due to dynamic changes in device performance. In such a case, a configuration command for setting properties is added to the plan (step S416) to obtain the next unresolved QoS in the SLA (step S418). If it is determined that there are no more QoS request steps (step S402), the configuration planner 136 outputs the plan to the component 118 in the variable structure storage device 102 (step S420).

  Referring again to FIG. 1, the device programmer 140 receives the plan selected by the configuration planner 136 across the configuration command channel for the configuration of the plan and the storage device accordingly, and the variable structure storage device 102. Transmit the plan to Device programmer 140 receives a response from the variable structure storage device for execution of the plan.

  The configuration planner 136 indicates multiple plans (such as receiving instructions according to plan quality), so that the device programmer 140 can change until the plan is found to actually work with the variable structure storage device 102. In the case of a negative response from the structural storage device 102, it is necessary to repeat the plan. If device programmer 140 experiences any errors during the programming of the plan (eg, due to rejection from component 118), device programmer 140 may modify the changes created by the plan as necessary. Roll back.

  Configuration commands that monitor and collect device performance profiles and status and configuration command channels that implement feedback channels are standard host interfaces such as SATA, SAS, PCIe, and NVMe. Or it is a special interface designed for this purpose.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the processing steps of the components in the variable structure storage device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
This process corresponds to step S202 of FIG. 2A, and not only the steps S320 to 328 of FIG. 3 but also the variable structure storage device is configured to use the characteristic setting from the host 100. .
The process begins when the component 118 receives a plan from the device programmer 140 of the host 100 that includes at least one configuration command 128 that includes a property setting (step S500).

The component 118 first determines the availability and applicability of the characteristic settings in the plan based on the device profile (step S502). The determination of availability includes determining whether the storage device supports property settings by comparing plans to the device profile 122. Applicability determination includes measuring a measure of property adjustment based on the device profile 122, and controlling the property adjustment within the applicable boundary property based on the device profile 122. by.
The plan is authenticated when all of the availability and applicability of the property settings are true (step S504). Component 118 executes the plan (step S506) and, in one embodiment, executes the plan that includes executing individual configuration commands.

If the plan is not valid (step S504), component 118 rejects the plan and rolls back any changes made in connection with the plan and transmits a notification (eg, an error signal) to component deformer 110. (Step S508).
For example, if the current clock cycle is preset as the maximum clock rate, any plan that attempts to increase the clock speed will be rejected. Rollback is an inaccurate source in the performance profile of variable structure storage devices in the case of a race.
If execution of the plan is successful (step S510), one or more logical devices are created in the variable structure storage device according to the associated plan (ie, executed configuration command) along with the storage space (step S512). Finally, the component 118 updates the device profile 122 (step S514).

  According to an exemplary embodiment, a physical storage device can host multiple logical devices, and each logical device 121 can be configured independently and has its own characteristics. Accordingly, the variable structure storage system of the exemplary embodiment creates a logical device 121 that is QoS aware. The logical device 121 is a space partition (such as a general OS partition) with device-specific characteristics, a multi-queue (such as NVMe standard), and a multi-tenancy (such as Cloud PaaS). And respond to different technologies such as virtualization (such as SR-IOV) and the like.

  For example, suppose a user requires two 100 GB storage areas, one for a single device, one for a read intensive workload and the other one for a write intensive workload. . A simple variable structure storage device based on the space partition function with multi-queue allows the user to create two partitions on the device (eg / dev / sda [1,2]) for reading One partition associated with one queue (eg, / dev / sda1) as a logical device of the other queue and another partition associated with another queue (eg, / dev / sda2) as a logical device for writing Configure. The device then communicates sustained read performance through the logic device for read without degradation of performance due to writing. Typical storage devices exhibit long latencies with this scenario due to garbage collection due to writes.

  Referring back to FIG. 1, the configuration advisor 138 receives the device profile 122 as feedback 130 through a feedback channel (not shown). To reduce data transmission overhead, the actual information transmitted to the host may vary. The configuration advisor 138 monitors one or more logical devices across one or more physical storage devices to determine whether all user request information 123 is satisfied. The configuration advisor 138 also informs the configuration planner 136 to adjust the plan based on the device profile in case of SLA violation.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the execution process of the configuration advisor according to the embodiment of the present invention.
The configuration advisor 138 waits for the component 118 to collect and transmit the device profile 122, including the runtime performance data 134 of the logical device 121, as feedback 130 (step S600).
In one embodiment, the host 100 includes one or more feedback channels that include a standard interface for transmitting input / output traces captured by the variable structure storage device 102.
In other embodiments, the feedback channel includes a special interface that allows the configuration advisor 138 to monitor the performance of the variable structure storage device 102.

  In response to receiving the device profile 122, the configuration advisor 138 monitors the performance of the variable structure storage device 102 by comparing the feedback 130 with the user request information 123 (step S602). If the configuration advisor 138 determines that none of the logical device runtime performance data 134 violates the user request information 123 (step S604), the programming of the variable structure storage device 102 is completed (step S606). ). If any of the logical devices 121 fail to satisfy the user request information 123, the configuration advisor 138 may request a configuration planner 136 (eg, logical device) to provide a new configuration plan for the logical device. (By providing runtime performance data 134 corresponding to) (step S608). By doing so, the settings and characteristics of the variable structure storage device 102 are dynamically adjusted.

  In one embodiment, when a violation is sensed, the notification can simply include the performance of the logical device of interest, so the configuration advisor 138 can update the latest and overall performance for generating a new plan. In order to retrieve data, a device profile 122 is requested from the variable structure storage device 102.

  In one embodiment, the variable structure storage device 102 actively reports the device profile 122 periodically or whenever the state of the runtime performance data 134 changes. For example, if a user request is provided that all read requests must be provided within X milliseconds, the configuration advisor 138 logs the service time of the read operation or logs the service time to X milliseconds. When exceeded, instruct to set the red flag. By waiting for the device profile 122 transmitted from the variable structure storage device 102, the host 100 requests the device profile 122 from the variable structure storage device 102 periodically or upon request.

  In one embodiment, the configuration advisor 138 is in the event of the following: when new user request information 123 is submitted, when existing user request information 123 changes, or when runtime performance data 134 is updated. , Whenever the runtime performance data 134 is requested (due to a timeout) and / or whenever the variable structure storage device 102 cannot satisfy the user request information 123.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a reconfigurable storage system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In this embodiment, a single configuration variant 700 can not only manage multiple logical devices of a single physical variable structure storage device 702, but each of them includes multiple logical devices. Indicates that multiple other physical variable structure storage devices (704, 706, 708) that can be managed.

  A method and system for a variable structure storage system has been described. The present invention has been described with reference to the illustrated embodiments, and there can be various embodiments, and any variation is within the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, the exemplary embodiments can be implemented through hardware, software, computer readable media, or combinations thereof that include program instructions. Software according to embodiments of the present invention can be stored in the form of a computer readable medium such as memory, hard disk, or CD / DVD-ROM, and can be executed by a processor.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. Various modifications can be made without departing from the technical scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Host 102 Variable structure type storage device 104, 114 Processor 106, 116 Memory 108 Host controller 110 Configuration modification element 111 Storage controller 112 Main storage 118 Component 120 Property set 121 Logical device 122 Device profile 123 User request information 124 Command 126 Content 128 Configuration Command 130 Feedback 131 Performance Range 132 Performance Model 134 Runtime Performance Data 136 Configuration Planner 138 Configuration Advisor 140 Device Programmer

Claims (41)

In a method for reconfiguring a storage system executed by at least one software element executing on at least one processor,
Receiving user request information for a storage device and automatically generating a characteristic setting of the storage device and a device profile of the storage device from the user request information;
Reconfiguring the storage system comprising: automatically reconfiguring the storage device into one or more logical devices having independent operating characteristics; and using the characteristic settings. the method of. Receiving feedback from the storage device about runtime performance data of at least one of the storage device and the logical device;
Dynamically adjusting a configuration of one or more logical devices to satisfy the user request information in response to determining that the runtime performance data does not satisfy the user request information. The method for reconfiguring a storage system according to claim 1.   The method for reconfiguring a storage system according to claim 1, wherein the user request information includes a high-level description of operating characteristics of the storage device.   The method for reconfiguring a storage system of claim 3, wherein the high-level description includes at least one of a service level agreement (SLA) and a quality of service (QoS) request.   5. The method for reconfiguring a storage system of claim 4, wherein the SLA further includes specifications for any combination of attributes including capacity, addressing mode, protection, and performance.   The method of claim 1, further comprising using a device profile to determine whether the specifications of the user request information are satisfied by the storage device. the method of.   The method for reconfiguring a storage system of claim 6, wherein the device profile includes a performance model associated with characteristics of the storage device that correlates with device performance.   The method for reconfiguring a storage system according to claim 6, further comprising storing the device profile in the storage device and creating the device profile available to a host.   The storage system according to claim 6, further comprising storing the device profile in at least one of the host and a location accessible by the host or the storage device. How to configure. The step of automatically generating the property setting comprises using the property setting to enable or disable a particular property of the storage device and to specify a value for the particular property. Further including
The method for reconfiguring a storage system according to claim 1, wherein the effect of the characteristics is global to all logical devices or local to a specific logical device. The runtime performance data includes a portion of the device profile and is available through a self-monitoring analysis and reporting technology (SMART) interface;
Vendor-specific including minimum (maximum or average) read (or write) latency, minimum (maximum or average) queue length, minimum (maximum or average) internal IOPS, read (or write) amplification ratio, and garbage collection time The method for reconfiguring a storage system as recited in claim 2, including a runtime performance metric.   The method for reconfiguring a storage system of claim 11, wherein the runtime performance data further comprises a device state, a device background working state, and a host background working state. A configuration transformation element that receives user request information for a storage device from a host and automatically generates a characteristic setting for the storage device from the user request information and device profile for the storage device;
In the storage device, a component that uses the characteristic setting to receive the characteristic setting from the host and to automatically reconfigure the storage device into one or more logical devices having independent operating characteristics. And a variable structure storage system. The structural deformation element is:
Receiving feedback from the storage device about runtime performance data of at least one of the storage device and the logical device;
Responsive to determining that the runtime performance data does not satisfy the user request information, dynamically adjusting the one or more logical devices to satisfy the user request information. Item 14. The variable structure storage system according to Item 13.   14. The variable structure storage system according to claim 13, wherein the user request information includes a high level description of operating characteristics of the storage device.   16. The variable structure storage system according to claim 15, wherein the high-level description includes at least one of service level agreement (SLA) and quality of service (QoS) requirements.   The variable structure storage system of claim 16, wherein the SLA further includes specifications for any combination of attributes including capacity, addressing mode, protection, and performance.   The device of claim 13, wherein the configuration variant is further configured to use a device profile to determine whether a specification of the user request information is satisfied by the storage device. Variable structure storage system.   19. The variable structure storage system according to claim 18, wherein the device profile includes a performance model related to characteristics of the storage device having a correlation with device performance.   19. The variable structure storage system according to claim 18, wherein the device profile is stored in the storage device and is made available to the host.   19. The variable structure storage system according to claim 18, wherein the device profile is in at least one of the host and a location accessible by the host or the storage device. The configuration variant is further configured to use a property setting to enable or disable a particular property of the storage device and to specify a value for the particular property;
14. The variable structure storage system according to claim 13, wherein the influence of the characteristics is global to all logical devices or local to a specific logical device. The runtime performance data includes a portion of the device profile and is available through a self-monitoring analysis and reporting technology (SMART) interface;
Minimum (maximum or average) read (or write) latency, minimum (maximum or average) queue length and wait time, minimum (maximum or average) internal IOPS, read (or write) amplification ratio, garbage collection time, and timeout The variable structure storage system of claim 22 including a vendor specific runtime performance metric that includes a count.   24. The variable structure storage system according to claim 23, wherein the runtime performance data further includes a device state, a device background working state, and a host background working state. In an executable software product stored on a computer readable storage medium containing program instructions for reconfiguring a storage system,
The program instructions are:
Receiving user request information for the storage device, automatically generating a characteristic setting for the storage device and a device profile for the storage device from the user request information;
An executable software product characterized by using the property setting to automatically reconfigure the storage device into one or more logical devices having independent operating characteristics. Receiving feedback about runtime performance data of at least one of the storage device and the logical device from the storage device;
In response to determining that the runtime performance data does not satisfy the user request information, program instructions for dynamically adjusting a configuration of one or more logical devices to satisfy the user request information 26. The executable software product of claim 25, comprising:   The executable software product of claim 25, wherein the user request information includes a high level description of operating characteristics of the storage device.   28. The executable software product of claim 27, wherein the high-level description includes at least one of a service level agreement (SLA) and a quality of service (QoS) request.   29. The executable software product of claim 28, wherein the SLA further includes specifications for any combination of attributes including capacity, addressing mode, protection, and performance.   The executable software of claim 25, further comprising program instructions for using a device profile to determine whether a specification of the user request information is satisfied by the storage device. Product.   The executable software product of claim 30, wherein the device profile includes a performance model associated with characteristics of the storage device that correlates with device performance.   31. The executable software product of claim 30, further comprising program instructions for storing the device profile in the storage device and creating the device profile usable as a host.   The executable of claim 30, further comprising program instructions for storing the device profile in at least one of locations accessible by the host, the host or the storage device. Software product. Automatically generating the property setting to enable or disable a particular property of the storage device and to use the property setting to specify a value for the particular property Further comprising a program instruction,
26. The executable software product of claim 25, wherein the effect of the characteristics is global to all logical devices or local to a specific logical device. The runtime performance data includes a portion of the device profile and is available through a self-monitoring analysis and reporting technology (SMART) interface;
Minimum (maximum or average) read (or write) latency, minimum (maximum or average) queue length and latency, minimum (maximum or average) internal IOPS, read (or write) amplification ratio, garbage collection time and timeout count 35. The executable software product of claim 34, including a vendor-specific runtime performance metric comprising:   36. The executable software product of claim 35, wherein the runtime performance data further comprises a device state, a device background work state, and a host background work state. Memory,
A processor connected to the memory;
A user request including a service level agreement (SLA) specification is received, the SLA specification is converted into a characteristic setting based on a device profile, an optimal combination of the characteristic settings is determined, and a configuration from the optimal combination is determined. A first software element executed by a processor configured to generate a plurality of plans including commands and to select one of the plans considering storage devices and the performance and status of the user request;
Receiving the selected plan, transmitting the plan to a variable structure storage via a configuration channel, receiving a response from the storage device, and repeating the plan in the case of a negative response from the storage device A second software element executed by the configured processor;
Collect the device profile, transmit the device profile to a configuration planner, monitor one or more logical devices generated by the storage device, and determine whether all user requests are satisfied And a third software element executed by the processor configured to notify the configuration planner to adjust the plan based on the device profile in case of an SLA violation,
A host that reconfigures the storage device.   A plurality of performance models associated with each characteristic of the variable structure storage device, correlations and inverse correlations between characteristics, and a planning algorithm that evaluates the performance model and generates the configuration plan. 38. A host as claimed in claim 37. Main storage,
A processor connected to the main storage;
A variable structure storage device comprising software elements executed by the processor,
The processor is
Receive a plan containing at least one configuration command containing characteristic settings,
Determine the availability and applicability of the property settings in the plan based on the device profile;
If the plan is not valid, reject the plan, roll back any changes made by the plan,
Authenticate the plan if all of the availability and applicability of the property settings are true,
Execute the plan, update the device profile,
A variable structure storage device configured to create one or more logical devices in a variable structure storage device by associating the executed plan with a storage space.   The software element determines the availability of the property setting by determining whether the variable structure storage device supports the property setting by comparing the plan and the device profile. 40. The variable structure storage device according to claim 39, wherein:   The software element evaluates the degree of adjustment to a characteristic based on the device profile, and controls the adjustment of the characteristic within an applicable boundary characteristic based on the device profile. 41. The variable structure storage device according to claim 40, wherein the applicability of the variable structure storage device is determined.

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