Patents by Inventor Yoshiaki Eguchi

Yoshiaki Eguchi has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20150006817
    Abstract: Multiple storage area groups into which multiple storage areas provided by multiple storage devices are classified with reference to storage area attributes are managed. The multiple logical volumes to which, in accordance with a write request to at least one address included in multiple addresses in the logical volume, at least one storage area included in the multiple storage areas is allocated are provided. In accordance with the access condition of the at least one address in the logical volume, the data written to the at least one address by the write request is migrated from the at least one storage area included in one of the multiple storage area groups to at least one storage area in another storage area group included in the multiple storage area groups.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 12, 2014
    Publication date: January 1, 2015
    Inventors: Daisuke ORIKASA, Ken MATSUDA, Yutaka TAKATA, Yoshiaki EGUCHI, Ai SATOYAMA, Yoichi MIZUNO
  • Patent number: 8924637
    Abstract: A flash memory storage system has a plurality of flash memory devices comprising a plurality of flash memories, and a controller having an I/O processing control unit for accessing a flash memory device specified by a designated access destination in an I/O request received from an external device from among the plurality of flash memory devices. A parity group can be configured of flash memory devices having identical internal configuration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takashige Iwamura, Kazuhisa Fujimoto, Yoshiaki Eguchi, Shunji Kawamura
  • Publication number: 20140351513
    Abstract: The storage system includes a plurality of storage devices. A storage controller is configured to manage a plurality of pages in a pool provided by at least one of the plurality of storage devices, to provide a virtual storage area to a host by allocating one or more pages from the pool dynamically, in which the virtual storage area is formed with a data area and a control information area. The storage controller is further configured to expand the virtual storage area on a unit basis, where the unit is a set of a given size area of the data area and a given size area of the control information area. In response to a write request from the host, the storage controller is configured to store data into the data area and to store control information for accessing to the data into the control information area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 12, 2014
    Publication date: November 27, 2014
    Inventors: Kohei Tatara, Yoshiaki Eguchi, Hisaharu Takeuchi
  • Publication number: 20140351540
    Abstract: A computer system dynamically assigns the storage capacity from pool volumes to the access target in the higher-level system, and can immediately respond to the change of the status of the pool having the pool volumes. The control device provides a plurality of first pools, provides a second pool, allocates a storage area from one of the first pools to a logical area of the logical volume to store data to the logical area, and stores the data in the allocated storage area, adds at least one of the one or more pool volumes in the second pool to the first pool, according to the status of the first pool, and adds at least one pool volume provided by storage areas of at least one storage device to the second pool, according to the status of the second pool.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 13, 2014
    Publication date: November 27, 2014
    Inventors: Ai SATOYAMA, Yoshiaki EGUCHI
  • Patent number: 8892840
    Abstract: A computer system and data migration method capable of replacing a storage apparatus with another storage apparatus and avoiding stopping data transmission or reception between a host computer and the storage apparatuses without depending on the configuration of existing storage apparatuses and other devices is suggested.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hideo Saito, Yoshiaki Eguchi, Masayuki Yamamoto, Akira Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 8880810
    Abstract: A storage system includes a first storage apparatus and a second storage apparatus. The first storage apparatus includes a capacity pool that is partitioned into multiple pool pages and includes a storage area of an external logical volume provided by at least one storage apparatus. The second storage apparatus provides first virtual volume which is a virtual logical volume comprising multiple first virtual areas. In a case of receiving a write request from the computer to a virtual area in the first virtual volume to which a page is not allocated, an unallocated pool page of the external logical volume is allocated to the virtual area. An authority to allocate the unallocated pool page of the external logical volume is assigned to the first storage apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 4, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Akira Yamamoto, Noboru Morishita, Hideo Saito, Yoshiaki Eguchi, Masayuki Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 8862849
    Abstract: Multiple storage area groups into which multiple storage areas provided by multiple storage devices are classified with reference to storage area attributes are managed. The multiple logical volumes to which, in accordance with a write request to at least one address included in multiple addresses in the logical volume, at least one storage area included in the multiple storage areas is allocated are provided. In accordance with the access condition of the at least one address in the logical volume, the data written to the at least one address by the write request is migrated from the at least one storage area included in one of the multiple storage area groups to at least one storage area in another storage area group included in the multiple storage area groups.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Daisuke Orikasa, Ken Matsuda, Yutaka Takata, Yoshiaki Eguchi, Ai Satoyama, Yoichi Mizuno
  • Patent number: 8843724
    Abstract: A computer system dynamically assigns the storage capacity from pool volumes to the access target in the higher-level system, and can immediately respond to the change of the status of the pool comprising the pool volumes. A control device sets the access target for the host computer to access, each time a write to the access target occurs from the host computer, from the pool assigned to the access target to the write area of the access target. The control device performs the processing of assigning the storage capacity from the logical volume in the pool. The control device defines the logical volumes in advance, compiles the same into a management group as a preliminary for the pool and, in accordance with the change of the pool status, adds the logical volumes from the management group to the pool.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Ai Satoyama, Yoshiaki Eguchi
  • Publication number: 20140281339
    Abstract: The computer system, during the course of executing an operation of dynamically allocating a storage area to a virtual volume in response to an access from a host system, detects where a balance of a storage capacity among a plurality of logical areas is disrupted, and subsequently moves a storage area among a plurality of logical areas to maintain balance of the storage capacity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 30, 2014
    Publication date: September 18, 2014
    Applicant: HITACHI, LTD.
    Inventors: Ai SATOYAMA, Yoshiaki EGUCHI
  • Publication number: 20140281064
    Abstract: A shared device unit, which comprises a storage device, is coupled to a plurality of storage systems. The shared device unit provides a plurality of storage areas, which are based on the storage device, to the plurality of storage systems. Each storage system stores allocation management information which comprises an ID of a storage area provided to thereof among the plurality of storage areas, and provides the storage area corresponded to the ID included in the allocation management information to the host computer coupled thereto among the plurality of host computers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2013
    Publication date: September 18, 2014
    Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Miho Imazaki, Shigeo Homma, Hiroaki Akutsu, Yoshiaki Eguchi, Akira Yamamoto, Junji Ogawa
  • Patent number: 8832400
    Abstract: Improvement of read/write access performance with respect to a disk is proposed. A controller manages a first volume format LDEV, in which each distributed user data area and each distributed information area among a plurality of the distributed user data areas for storing a data part and a plurality of the distributed control information area for storing a control information part, are targets that capacity is changed. The controller also manages a second format LDEV, which include a plurality of groups each of which is formed from one distributed user data area and one distributed control information area, and in which each group is a unit that capacity is expanded in a real storage area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kohei Tatara, Yoshiaki Eguchi, Hisaharu Takeuchi
  • Patent number: 8832397
    Abstract: Availability of an information system including a storage apparatus and a host computer is improved. A host system includes a first storage apparatus provided with a first volume for storing data, and a second storage apparatus for storing the data sent from the first storage apparatus. In case of a failure occurring in the first storage apparatus, the host sends the data to be sent to the first storage apparatus to the second storage apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takashige Iwamura, Kenta Ninose, Yoshiaki Eguchi, Yasuo Watanabe, Hisao Homma, Yasutomo Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20140237179
    Abstract: Availability of an information system including a storage apparatus and a host computer is improved. A host system includes a first storage apparatus provided with a first volume for storing data, and a second storage apparatus for storing the data sent from the first storage apparatus. In case of a failure occurring in the first storage apparatus, the host sends the data to be sent to the first storage apparatus to the second storage apparatus. The same identification number is used by the host computer for accessing data stored in the first volume via a first virtual volume and for accessing data stored in a second volume of the second storage system via a second virtual volume.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 25, 2014
    Publication date: August 21, 2014
    Applicant: HITACHI, LTD.
    Inventors: Takashige Iwamura, Kenta Ninose, Yoshiaki Eguchi, Yasuo Watanabe, Hisao Homma, Yasutomo Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 8812779
    Abstract: A pool that is a storage area group composed of a plurality of real pages based on a plurality of RAID groups is managed. The storage system carries out the rebuild processing that includes the steps of copying each of data that has been stored into all allocated real pages among all real pages based on a specific RAID group to an unallocated real page based on at least one RAID group separate from the specific RAID group, allocating a real page of each copy destination to each virtual page of an allocated destination of an allocated real page of each copy source, and canceling an allocation of an allocated real page of each copy source to a virtual page.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Eguchi, Masayuki Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20140215482
    Abstract: In conventional unified storage systems, an I/O for block storage and an I/O for file storage are processed in a single OS without being distinguished, so that it was not possible to perform processes for speedy failure detection or for enhancing performances such as tuning of performance by directly monitoring hardware. The present invention solves the problem by having a block storage-side OS and an OS group managing multiple systems including a file system other than the block storage-side OS coexist within a storage system, wherein the OS group managing multiple systems including a file system other than the block storage-side OS is virtualized by a hypervisor, wherein a block storage micro-controller and the hypervisor can cooperate in performing processes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 12, 2013
    Publication date: July 31, 2014
    Applicant: HITACHI, LTD.
    Inventors: Ai SATOYAMA, Yoshiaki EGUCHI
  • Patent number: 8782354
    Abstract: Efficient data processing is implemented by using the functions of an external storage apparatus which is connected to the virtual storage apparatus. A storage apparatus which is connected to a host apparatus which requests data I/Os and to an external storage apparatus comprising a storage device respectively via a network, comprising a storage device storing data which is read and written by the host apparatus; and a control device which controls data writing to a storage area, wherein the control device provides a predetermined storage area of the storage device of the external storage apparatus to the host apparatus as one or more virtual volumes, and manages the virtual volumes and function information indicating the functions of the external storage apparatus in association with one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenta Ninose, Yoshiaki Eguchi, Akira Yamamoto, Ai Satoyama
  • Patent number: 8769235
    Abstract: Provided is a computer system capable equalizing the storage capacity immediately and reliably to multiple real logical areas dynamically providing storage capacity to virtual logical areas. This computer system is characterized by, during the course of executing an operation of dynamically allocating a storage area to a virtual volume in response to an access from a host system, detecting an occasion where balance of a storage capacity among a plurality of logical areas is disrupted; and subsequently moving the storage area among a plurality of logical areas to maintain balance of the storage capacity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Ai Satoyama, Yoshiaki Eguchi
  • Patent number: 8762768
    Abstract: A storage system including: a controller; and, a plurality of physical storage devices coupled to the controller and constituting a RAID group; wherein the controller provides one or more logical volumes belonging to the RAID group, each of the one or more logical volumes having a plurality of storage areas; and one or more virtual volumes, wherein, when receiving a write request to a virtual volume of the one or more virtual volumes, the controller is configured to: allocate a storage area in a logical volume to the virtual volume, as an allocated storage area, where reliability of the storage area is used as a criterion in a selection of the storage area for allocation to the virtual volume; and write data to the allocated storage area, wherein, the controller is configured to selectively perform a RAID allocation process to a storage area allocated to a virtual volume.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenta Ninose, Tomohiro Kawaguchi, Yoshiaki Eguchi
  • Patent number: 8762672
    Abstract: A storage system and storage migration method where migration may be carried out to an access destination of a host apparatus without stopping the exchange of data between the host apparatus and the storage apparatus. This system is provided with a host apparatus inputting and outputting requests for data, a migration source storage apparatus having logical unit(s) correlated to storage regions of physical devices for storing the data, a migration destination storage apparatus having logical unit(s). The system also has an editing unit for editing configuration control information relating to the logical unit(s) for the migration source so as to match with settings for the migration destination storage apparatus, an importing unit for importing edited configuration control information to the migration destination storage apparatus, and a mapping unit for mapping the logical unit(s) of the migration source to the logical unit(s) of the migration destination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Eguchi, Yasutomo Yamamoto, Ai Satoyama
  • Publication number: 20140164698
    Abstract: The present invention transfers replication logical volumes between and among storage control units in a storage system comprising storage control units. To transfer replication logical volumes from a storage control unit to a storage control unit, a virtualization device sets a path to the storage control unit. The storage control unit prepares a differential bitmap in order to receive access requests. When the preparation completes, the virtualization device makes access requests to the storage control unit. The storage control unit hands over the access requests to the storage control unit. The storage control unit performs a process so that the access requests are reflected in a disk device and performs an emergency destage of storing data in a cache memory into disk device. When the emergency destage ends, the storage control unit connects to an external storage control unit and hands over access requests to the external storage control unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 17, 2014
    Publication date: June 12, 2014
    Applicant: HITACHI, LTD.
    Inventors: Ai Satoyama, Yoshiaki Eguchi, Yasutomo Yamamoto