JP5279041B2 - Information processing apparatus and control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that backs up a boot disk that stores a boot loader and the like, and a control method thereof.

  Conventionally, when a boot disk is backed up, for example, the information processing apparatus is once shut out and then started by another operating system (Operating System: OS) such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory). After that, the boot disk was backed up to another disk or tape. Further, for example, the information processing apparatus has mounted and backed up a boot disk backup disk as another disk that is not a boot disk but a simple data disk in another system.

  As an information processing apparatus that backs up a boot disk, for example, a computer system of Patent Document 1 is disclosed. The computer system of Patent Document 1 stores an operating system and system files in the C drive, and creates a clone by copying them to the G drive as a disk image.

JP 2002-244818 A

  However, the conventional information processing apparatus has a problem that the operation cannot be continued because the boot disk must be shut down once when the boot disk is backed up. Also, the conventional information processing apparatus requires manual work, such as booting with a device other than its own boot disk for backup, or moving its own boot disk to another system, and there is a risk of entering work mistakes. is there.

  Further, in the boot disk of the computer system of Patent Document 1, when the operating system is operating, control information in the boot disk is dynamically changed or SWAP information is dynamically updated. For this reason, if the computer system of patent document 1 backs up a boot disk when the operating system is operating, there is a possibility that the operating system cannot be operated normally at the start of booting.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and proposes an information processing apparatus capable of easily backing up a boot disk while continuing operation, and a control method thereof.

  In order to solve such a problem, the present invention is an information processing apparatus in which a controller unit and a boot disk are configured redundantly, and the controller unit is designated as a shutdown target at the time of boot disk backup. In this case, the redundant configuration of the controller unit is canceled, the boot disk other than the backup target is disconnected from the controller unit, and a shutdown control unit that executes a shutdown process using the backup target boot disk and the controller unit When it is specified as an operation continuation target at the time of boot disk backup, the redundant configuration of the controller unit is released, the boot disk to be backed up is disconnected from the controller unit, and a boot disk other than the backup target is disconnected. To monitor the shutdown process, start the controller unit designated as the shutdown target on the condition that the shutdown process is completed, restore the redundant configuration, and boot the backup target. And an operation continuation control unit for holding the disk as a backup.

  The present invention also relates to a method for controlling an information processing apparatus in which a controller unit and a boot disk are configured redundantly, and when the controller unit is designated as a shutdown target at the time of boot disk backup, the controller unit The first step of releasing the redundant configuration of the unit, disconnecting the boot disk other than the backup target from the controller unit, and executing the shutdown process using the boot disk of the backup target, and the controller unit at the time of boot disk backup When the controller is designated as the operation continuation target, the redundant configuration of the controller unit is released, the backup target boot disk is disconnected from the controller unit, and the operation is continued using the boot disk other than the backup target. A second process for monitoring the shutdown process, starting the controller unit designated as the shutdown target on condition that the shutdown process is completed, returning the redundant configuration, and holding the backup target boot disk as a backup; And a step.

  Therefore, since the backup of the boot disk is acquired after shutting down the controller unit designated as the shutdown target, it is possible to acquire the backup of the boot disk while continuing operation, and boot using the backup boot disk. The operating system can operate normally at the start.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to realize an information processing apparatus capable of easily backing up a boot disk while continuing operation and a control method thereof.

1 is an example of a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a storage system. It is an example of the conceptual diagram with which it uses for description of the program stored in a local memory. It is an example of the flowchart which shows a boot disk backup processing procedure. It is an example of the conceptual diagram with which it uses for description of the controller part which shuts down. It is an example of the conceptual diagram with which it uses for description of backup of a boot disk. It is an example of the conceptual diagram with which it uses for description of backup of the boot disk of other embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited thereby.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of the storage system 1 of this embodiment. The storage system 1 is configured by connecting a host device 2 and a storage device 3 (information processing device) via a network 4.

  The host device 2 is a computer device including information processing resources such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory, and is configured as a personal computer, for example.

  The host device 2 includes an information input device (not shown) such as a keyboard switch, a pointing device, and a microphone, and an information output device (not shown) such as a monitor display and a speaker. Further, the host device 2 includes, for example, an application program such as database software that uses a storage area provided by the storage device 3, an adapter (not shown) for accessing the storage device 3 via the network 4, and the like. Is provided.

  As the network 4, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network), a SAN (Storage Area Network), the Internet, a dedicated line, a public line, or the like can be used as appropriate according to circumstances. Data communication via the LAN is performed, for example, according to an iSCSI (Internet Small Computer System Interface) or TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) protocol.

  When the host device 2 is connected to the storage device 3 via the LAN, the host device 2 designates a file name and requests data input / output in units of files. On the other hand, when the host device 2 is connected to the storage device 3 via the SAN, it is a data management unit of a storage area provided by a plurality of disk storage devices (disk devices 7 (described later)) according to the fiber channel protocol. Requests data input / output in units of blocks.

  When the network 4 is a LAN, the adapter of the host device 2 is, for example, a LAN compatible network card. On the other hand, the adapter of the host device 2 is, for example, a host bus adapter when the network 4 is a SAN.

  The storage device 3 is configured as a disk array system, for example. In this case, the storage device 3 is configured by connecting the controller unit 5 (shutdown control unit, operation continuation control unit) to the storage unit 6. The storage apparatus 3 needs to include at least two controller units 5. In the present embodiment, two controller units 5 are provided to improve reliability (first controller unit 5A and second controller unit 5B). The controller unit 5 controls the entire storage apparatus 3. The controller unit 5 is configured by a motherboard or the like. The storage unit 6 includes a disk device 7 that stores data transmitted from the host device 2.

  The controller unit 5 includes a host interface 11, a CPU 12, a cache memory 13, a local memory 14, and a drive interface 15. Although not shown, the controller unit 5 includes a chip set such as a general mother board and other IO controllers.

  The host interface 11 is connected to the host apparatus 2 via the network 4 and controls transmission / reception of various commands and data transmitted from the host apparatus 2. As the upper interface 11, various interfaces corresponding to the type of the network 4 can be used.

  One CPU 12 is provided for each controller unit 5. The CPU 12 controls the entire controller unit 5, for example, interprets a command transmitted from the host interface 11 and transmits an instruction to each component.

  The CPU 12 includes a duplex control LSI (Large Scale Integration) 12A. The duplex control LSI 12A is connected to another duplex control LSI 12A and duplexes the plurality of CPUs 12 (controller unit 5). Thereby, the duplicated CPUs 12 perform the same operation. The duplex control LSI 12A duplexes the plurality of disk devices 7. That is, each CPU 12 writes the same data to the duplicated disk device 7. Thereby, the duplicated disk device 7 holds the same data. Further, the duplex control LSI 12A releases the duplex of the duplex CPU 12 and the duplex disk device 7. Duplexing is realized by, for example, a clock synchronization method called lockstep.

  The duplex control LSI 12A duplexes two disk devices 7 so as to have a mirroring configuration, but may multiplex two or more disk devices 7 so as to have a mirroring configuration. Further, the duplex control LSI 12A may include one or more disk devices 7 as backup disks.

  Further, the CPU 12 can improve the reliability, availability and performance of the storage apparatus 3 by performing RAID (Redundant Arrays of Independent Disks) control on the disk apparatus 7. In this case, the CPU 12 operates the disk device 7 by the RAID method. The CPU 12 sets one or a plurality of logical volumes (hereinafter referred to as volumes) on a physical storage area (RAID group) provided by one or a plurality of disk devices 7. Data is stored in units of logical blocks of a predetermined size in this volume.

  The cache memory 13 temporarily stores data received from the host device 2 and stores various tables used in the storage device 3. In this case, a part of the cache memory 13 is used as a shared memory with the other controller unit 5, and when one controller unit 5 is blocked (failed), information is sent to another normal controller unit 5. I can take over.

  The local memory 14 stores various programs used in the controller unit 5 and various tables. FIG. 3 shows an example of various programs and various tables stored in the local memory 14.

  The local memory 14 includes an operating system 21, a SCSI driver 22 for executing SCSI control, a RAID driver 23 for executing RAID control, and a disk device 7. A duplex control LSI driver 24 for executing duplex control, and a boot disk backup program 25 for backing up a boot disk (hereinafter referred to as boot disk 7), which is a disk device 7 for storing a boot loader and the like, are stored. The specific processing of the boot disk backup program 25 will be described later.

  The operating system 21, RAID driver 23, duplex control LSI driver 24, and boot disk backup program 25 are executed by the CPU 12. The SCSI driver 22 is executed by the drive interface 15.

  The drive interface 15 is connected to the disk device 7 of the storage unit 6 and controls transmission / reception of data transmitted from the host device 2. The drive interface 15 can use an interface such as SCSI (Small Computer System Interface). In addition, the drive interface 15 can use various interfaces according to the type such as Fiber Channel, SAS (Serial Attached SCSI), and SATA (Serial ATA).

  Next, the boot disk backup process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, when the CPU 12 of the first controller unit 5A or the second controller unit 5B receives a boot disk backup instruction based on an operator's operation, the boot disk backup processing procedure RT1 is executed by executing the boot disk backup program 25. Is started, and the time for backing up the boot disk 7 is set based on the boot disk backup instruction, and the process for continuing the operation of the storage system 1 is executed by itself or the process for shutting down the self is executed. Is determined (step SP1).

  For the following, the CPU 12 of the first controller unit 5A receives the boot disk backup instruction, and the CPU 12 of the first controller unit 5A continues the operation of the storage system 1 as shown in FIG. It is assumed that the CPU 12 of the controller unit 5B executes a process of shutting itself down.

  Subsequently, the CPU 12 of the first controller unit 5A and the second controller unit 5B, for example, cancels the duplexing of the duplexed boot disks 7 (the first boot disk 7A and the second boot disk 7B). In addition, in order to prevent the boot disk 7 from being degenerated due to a data mismatch of the duplexed boot disk 7, access to the duplexed boot disk 7 is stopped in advance (step SP2).

  Subsequently, the duplexing control LSI 12A of the CPU 12 of the first controller unit 5A releases the duplexing of the duplexed first controller unit 5A and second controller unit 5B (step SP3). As a result, the CPUs 12 of the first controller unit 5A and the second controller unit 5B start to operate independently.

  Subsequently, the CPUs 12 of the first controller unit 5A and the second controller unit 5B wait for the time for backup of the preset boot disk 7 to elapse (step SP4).

  Then, when the time for backing up the boot disk 7 has elapsed (step SP4: YES), the CPU 12 of the second controller unit 5B releases the duplexing of the first boot disk 7A and the second boot disk 7B. Then, the first boot disk 7A is disconnected, the access stop to the second boot disk 7B is released, and the own boot is started using the second boot disk 7B (step SP5). When the shutdown of the second controller unit 5B is completed, the second boot disk 7B is held as a backup disk of the boot disk 7 as shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, when the time for backing up the boot disk 7 has elapsed (step SP4: YES), the CPU 12 of the first controller unit 5A releases the duplexing of the first boot disk 7A and the second boot disk 7B. Then, the second boot disk 7B is disconnected, the access stop to the first boot disk 7A is released, and the operation of the storage system 1 is continued using the first boot disk 7A (step SP6).

  Subsequently, when the CPU 12 of the first controller unit 5A detects that the shutdown of the second controller unit 5B has been completed, the CPU 12 activates the second controller unit 5B again, and the first controller unit 5A and the second controller unit 5B The controller unit 5B is again duplexed to return to the redundant configuration (step SP7), and then the boot disk backup processing procedure RT1 is terminated (step SP8).

  Since the CPU 12 of the first controller unit 5A continues to operate the storage system 1 using the first boot disk 7A, the CPU 12 of the second controller unit 5B that is duplicated is also the first one. The operation of the storage system 1 is continued using the boot disk 7A. Further, the duplication of the first boot disk 7A and the second boot disk 7B is released. Therefore, the CPU 12 of the first controller unit 5A and the CPU 12 of the second controller unit 5B do not access the second boot disk 7B during operation.

  In this way, the storage system 1 of the present embodiment duplexes the first controller unit 5A and the second controller unit 5B, and the first boot disk 7A and the second boot disk 7B. When receiving the boot disk backup instruction, the first controller unit 5A and the second controller unit 5B cancel the duplexing of the first controller unit 5A and the second controller unit 5B. Then, the second controller unit 5B cancels the duplication of the first boot disk 7A and the second boot disk 7B, and executes its own shutdown process using the second boot disk 7B. Thus, the second boot disk 7B is retained as a backup when the shutdown process of the second controller unit 5B is completed.

  Therefore, using the duplicated configuration, the second controller unit 5B is shut down and the second boot disk 7B is backed up while the operation is continued with the first controller unit 5A being in the operating state. Thus, the backup of the boot disk can be acquired while continuing the operation, and the operating system can be operated normally at the start of booting using the backup boot disk.

  In addition, while using a duplexed configuration, the duplexed first controller unit 5A and second controller unit 5B are temporarily operated independently to automate backup of the boot disk 7. ing. Therefore, in order to back up the boot disk 7, for example, a different operating system is started with a CD-ROM to obtain a backup of the boot disk 7, or the boot disk to be backed up is mounted on another system and booted. This eliminates the need for complicated manual operations such as obtaining a backup of the disk 7 and eliminates the risk of manual error.

(Modification)
Further, in the storage system 1, as shown in FIG. 6, the boot disk 7 may have a quadruple mirroring configuration. In this case, each of the four boot disks 7 is configured by holding data having the same contents.

  In this case, the CPU 12 of the second controller unit 5B releases the quadruplet of the first to fourth boot disks 7A-7D and performs the third boot in step SP5 of the boot disk backup processing procedure RT1 described above. The access stop to the disk 7C and the fourth boot disk 7D is released, and the own shutdown is started using the third boot disk 7C and the fourth boot disk 7D.

  Further, the CPU 12 of the first controller unit 5A cancels the quadrupling of the first to fourth boot disks 7A-7D in step SP6 of the boot disk backup processing procedure RT1 described above, and also uses the first boot disk. The suspension of access to 7A and the second boot disk 7B is released, and the operation of the storage system 1 is continued using the first boot disk 7A and the second boot disk 7B.

  Thereby, in the storage system 1, the first boot disk 7A and the second boot disk 7B for continuing the operation, and the third boot disk 7C and the fourth boot disk 7D as the backup disks are both redundantly configured. Therefore, fault tolerance can be improved.

  In this embodiment, the case where a plurality of CPUs 12 and a plurality of disk devices 7 are duplexed has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a triple or quadruple may be used. The above redundant configuration may be adopted.

  A part or all of the above-described embodiment can be described as in the following supplementary notes, but is not limited thereto.

(Supplementary Note 1) An information processing apparatus in which a controller unit and a boot disk are configured redundantly, and the controller unit is configured so that when the controller unit is designated as a shutdown target at the time of boot disk backup, the controller unit Release the redundant configuration, disconnect the boot disk other than the backup target from the controller unit, and execute the shutdown process using the backup target boot disk, and the controller unit continues the operation at the time of boot disk backup When it is designated as a target, the redundant configuration of the controller unit is released, the boot disk to be backed up is disconnected from the controller unit, and the operation continues using a boot disk other than the backup target. The operation of monitoring the shutdown process, starting the controller unit designated as the shutdown target on the condition that the shutdown process is completed, restoring the redundant configuration, and holding the backup target boot disk as a backup An information processing apparatus comprising a continuation control unit.

(Supplementary Note 2) The shutdown control unit cancels the redundant configuration of the controller unit after stopping the access to the redundantly configured boot disk in advance, and sets the time to back up the boot disk to be backed up. 2. The information processing apparatus according to appendix 1, wherein after the elapse of time, the boot disk other than the backup target is disconnected from the controller unit, and the shutdown process is executed using the backup target boot disk.

(Supplementary Note 3) A method for controlling an information processing apparatus in which a controller unit and a boot disk are configured redundantly, and when the controller unit is designated as a shutdown target at the time of boot disk backup, the controller unit The first step of releasing the redundant configuration, disconnecting the boot disk other than the backup target from the controller unit, and performing the shutdown process using the backup target boot disk, and the controller unit operating at the time of boot disk backup When designated as a continuation target, the redundant configuration of the controller unit is released, the boot disk to be backed up is disconnected from the controller unit, the operation is continued using a boot disk other than the backup target, and the shutdown is performed. A second process of monitoring the down process, starting the controller unit designated as the shutdown target on the condition that the shutdown process is completed, returning the redundant configuration, and holding the backup target boot disk as a second backup And a step of controlling the information processing apparatus.

  The present invention can be applied to an information processing apparatus capable of redundant configuration that backs up a boot disk in addition to the storage apparatus described above.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Storage system, 2 ... Host apparatus, 3 ... Storage apparatus, 4 ... Network, 5A, 5B ... Controller part, 6 ... Memory | storage part, 7 ... Disk apparatus (boot disk), 7A-7D ... 1st to 4th boot disks, 11 ... Upper interface, 12 ... CPU, 13 ... Cache memory, 14 ... Local memory, 15 ... Drive interface, 21 ... Operating system, 22 ... SCSI Driver 23 ... RAID driver 24 ... Redundant control LSI driver 25 ... Boot disk backup program

Claims (3)

An information processing apparatus in which the controller unit and the boot disk are configured redundantly,
The controller unit is
When the controller unit is designated as the shutdown target at the time of boot disk backup, the redundant configuration of the controller unit is released, the boot disk other than the backup target is disconnected from the controller unit, and the backup target boot disk is used. A shutdown control unit for executing shutdown processing;
When the controller unit is designated as the operation continuation target at the time of boot disk backup, release the redundant configuration of the controller unit, disconnect the boot disk to be backed up from the controller unit, and use a boot disk other than the backup target And monitoring the shutdown process, and starting the controller unit designated as the shutdown target on the condition that the shutdown process is completed to restore the redundant configuration, the boot disk to be backed up An information processing apparatus comprising: an operation continuation control unit that holds as a backup. The shutdown controller is
After stopping access to the boot disk that has been configured in advance in advance, cancel the redundant configuration of the controller unit, and when the time to back up the boot disk to be backed up passes, The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is separated from the controller unit and performs a shutdown process using the boot disk to be backed up. A control method for an information processing apparatus in which a controller unit and a boot disk are configured redundantly,
When the controller unit is designated as the shutdown target at the time of boot disk backup, the redundant configuration of the controller unit is released, the boot disk other than the backup target is disconnected from the controller unit, and the backup target boot disk is used. A first step of executing shutdown processing;
When the controller unit is designated as an operation continuation target at the time of boot disk backup, the redundant configuration of the controller unit is released, the boot disk to be backed up is disconnected from the controller unit, and boot disks other than the backup target are removed. The operation is continued, and the shutdown process is monitored, the controller unit designated as the shutdown target is started on the condition that the shutdown process is completed, the redundant configuration is restored, and the boot disk to be backed up And a second step of holding as a backup. An information processing apparatus control method comprising:

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