Abstract: A storage system that includes: a plurality of microprocessors; a plurality of storage areas to be formed to a drive group; an assignment section that assigns, to each of the microprocessors, an ownership of accessing any of the storage areas; a management section that manages, as an operating ratio, a proportion of a time to be taken for each of the microprocessors to execute a request issued to each of the storage areas; a search section that searches, for transferring the ownership assigned to an arbitrary one of the microprocessors to any of the another microprocessor determined based on the operating ratio, one or more of the storage areas under the ownership of the arbitrary microprocessor for a transfer-target storage area; and a transfer section that transfers, to the another microprocessor, the ownership of the transfer-target storage area that is assigned to the arbitrary microprocessor.

Abstract: A virtualization system, upon judging that a write operation from a higher-level device is an operation to write in the format of the virtual volume, even when the write position of the write operation is in a virtual area different from a virtual area to which an allocated actual area has been allocated, if there is an unused area in the allocated actual area, writes management information to the unused area according to the write operation, and if there is no unused area in the allocated actual area, newly allocates an unallocated actual area, and writes management information to the newly allocated actual area according to the write operation.

Abstract: A storage system that includes: a plurality of microprocessors; a plurality of storage areas to be formed to a drive group; an assignment section that assigns, to each of the microprocessors, an ownership of accessing any of the storage areas; a management section that manages, as an operating ratio, a proportion of a time to be taken for each of the microprocessors to execute a request issued to each of the storage areas; a search section that searches, for transferring the ownership assigned to an arbitrary one of the microprocessors to any of the another microprocessor determined based on the operating ratio, one or more of the storage areas under the ownership of the arbitrary microprocessor for a transfer-target storage area; and a transfer section that transfers, to the another microprocessor, the ownership of the transfer-target storage area that is assigned to the arbitrary microprocessor.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to integrally manage disk storage apparatuses through virtualization. Some physical storage apparatuses 14 connected to a host computer 10 via a communication network 12 are virtualized with a virtual switch 18, a control unit 20, and a virtual device 22. The physical storage apparatus specifies a command when receiving the command from the host computer 10, and accesses, if the command access has been made to its own physical storage apparatus, a real disk via the virtual control unit 20 and virtual device 22, and executes I/O processing. If the command access is not made to its own physical storage apparatus, the physical storage apparatus 14 directs the command to the transmission target via the virtual switch 18. The physical storage apparatuses 14 are integrally managed according to the command in the above described manner.

Abstract: A plurality of modules (1) and (2) comprise a plurality of virtual volumes with which the same volume identification number is associated. A module (2), which receives a write request from a computer, searches for an unallocated real area from among a plurality of real areas in the module (2) rather than from among a plurality of real areas in the other module (1) if a real area has not been allocated to a write-targeted virtual area in accordance with the write request. The module (2) allocates the real area retrieved from the module (2) to the write-targeted virtual area, and writes data according to the write request to this real area.

Abstract: A storage apparatus is provided in which the data amount of transfer data to a secondary disk controller from a primary disk controller at the event of remote copying can be reduced, and data integrity also can be assured. According to the storage apparatus, in the primary disk controller, overwriting update data in same records during a specified time between a preset first base point and a preset second base point on the update data that are stored in the second area of the cache memory and that are to be transferred to the secondary disk controller; and in the secondary disk controller, handling the update data between the first base point and the second base point as real data having consistency.

Abstract: A plurality of global LDEV managed by a plurality of controller modules are provided above local LDEV under the control of each controller module. Each global LDEV is correlated to any of the plurality of local LDEV. The controller modules judge whether or not a local LDEV correlated to a global LDEV specified by an I/O request received from a host device or a first other controller module is a management target itself, and if the result of that judgment is affirmative, the controller modules access the local LDEV correlated to the specified global LDEV, while if the result of the judgment is negative, the controller modules transfer the received I/O request to a second other controller module.

Abstract: A controller unit for the storage apparatus executes the following: giving each data block, which is a data constituent unit, an identification number indicating that the relevant data has been sent from a host computer in response to an arbitrary write request from the host computer; storing, in a memory unit, a storage location in a hard disk drive unit to store the data, as well as the identification number, as an expected value, for the data to be stored in the hard disk drive unit; and in response to a read request from the host computer, comparing the identification number given to each data block, the constituent unit of the data read from the hard disk drive unit, with the expected value of the read data, thereby verifying that the read data is the data written to the hard disk drive in response to the arbitrary write request.

Abstract: A host I/F unit has a management table for managing an MPPK which is in-charge of the control of input/output processing for a storage area of an LDEV, and if a host computer transmits an input/output request for the LDEV, the host I/F unit transfers the input/output request to the MPPK which is in-charge of the input/output processing for the LDEV based on the management table, an MP of the MPPK performs the input/output processing based on the input/output request, and the MP of the MPPK also judges whether the MPPK that is in-charge of the input/output processing for the LDEV is to be changed, and sets the management table so that an MPPK which is different from the MPPK that is in-charge is to be in-charge of the input/output processing for the LDEV.

Abstract: In a data processing system in which a host processing apparatus and a storage subsystem are connected via a channel interface, the present invention makes it possible to expand the number of logical device addresses in excess of the device address limitations of the channel interface, and also enhances the performance of parallel access processing for the same logical device. When an access request is generated for a logical device, the host processing apparatus stores the logical device address to be accessed in a prefix command of a channel command word (CCW) for the access request, sets this CCW in a device information block of a frame which complies with the channel interface, sets a parallel access identifier for identifying a plurality of accesses for the same device in a device address of this frame, and then sends this frame to the storage subsystem.

Abstract: For using a plurality of files contained in one logical device with a plurality of processing systems, sharing of a data storage unit among the plurality of processing systems is realized without need for a host processing system to check use states of the files in a server storage unit. Information concerning extent (extent range) of an input/output processing request issued by a host processor is stored in a control memory incorporated in a control unit for allowing the control unit to make decision as to overlap of the extents of the input/output processings to thereby effectuate exclusive control on an extent-by-extent basis.

Abstract: A virtualization system, upon judging that a write operation from a higher-level device is an operation to write in the format of the virtual volume, even when the write position of the write operation is in a virtual area different from a virtual area to which an allocated actual area has been allocated, if there is an unused area in the allocated actual area, writes management information to the unused area according to the write operation, and if there is no unused area in the allocated actual area, newly allocates an unallocated actual area, and writes management information to the newly allocated actual area according to the write operation.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to integrally manage disk storage apparatuses through virtualization. Some physical storage apparatuses 14 connected to a host computer 10 via a communication network 12 are virtualized with a virtual switch 18, a control unit 20, and a virtual device 22. The physical storage apparatus specifies a command when receiving the command from the host computer 10, and accesses, if the command access has been made to its own physical storage apparatus, a real disk via the virtual control unit 20 and virtual device 22, and executes I/O processing. If the command access is not made to its own physical storage apparatus, the physical storage apparatus 14 directs the command to the transmission target via the virtual switch 18. The physical storage apparatuses 14 are integrally managed according to the command in the above described manner.

Abstract: For using a plurality of files contained in one logical device with a plurality of processing systems, sharing of a data storage unit among the plurality of processing systems is realized without need for a host processing system to check use states of the files in a server storage unit. Information concerning extent (extent range) of an input/output processing request issued by a host processor is stored in a control memory incorporated in a control unit for allowing the control unit to make decision as to overlap of the extents of the input/output processings to thereby effectuate exclusive control on an extent-by-extent basis.

Abstract: A storage apparatus is provided in which the data amount of transfer data to a secondary disk controller from a primary disk controller at the event of remote copying can be reduced, and data integrity also can be assured. According to the storage apparatus, in the primary disk controller, overwriting update data in same records during a specified time between a preset first base point and a preset second base point on the update data that are stored in the second area of the cache memory and that are to be transferred to the secondary disk controller; and in the secondary disk controller, handling the update data between the first base point and the second base point as real data having consistency.

Abstract: In a data processing system in which a host processing apparatus and a storage subsystem are connected via a channel interface, the present invention makes it possible to expand the number of logical device addresses in excess of the device address limitations of the channel interface, and also enhances the performance of parallel access processing for the same logical device. When an access request is generated for a logical device, the host processing apparatus stores the logical device address to be accessed in a prefix command of a channel command word (CCW) for the access request, sets this CCW in a device information block of a frame which complies with the channel interface, sets a parallel access identifier for identifying a plurality of accesses for the same device in a device address of this frame, and then sends this frame to the storage subsystem.

Abstract: A storage apparatus is provided in which the data amount of transfer data to a secondary disk controller from a primary disk controller at the event of remote copying can be reduced, and data integrity also can be assured. According to the storage apparatus, in the primary disk controller, overwriting update data in same records during a specified time between a preset first base point and a preset second base point on the update data that are stored in the second area of the cache memory and that are to be transferred to the secondary disk controller; and in the secondary disk controller, handling the update data between the first base point and the second base point as real data having consistency.

Abstract: Writing in each sector of a series of sectors of a recording medium in which data is to be written caused by a single data write request location information which is information indicating a location of the sector in the series of sectors and common information which varies every time data writing to the series of sectors occurs and is information set relating to the series of sectors.

Abstract: The value relating to the average of the length of processing time required to process a plurality of information sets is reduced. In one embodiment, an information processing device comprises: a receiving component receiving information elements contained in respective information sets having one or more information elements; an information processing component carrying out processing of the information elements thus received; and a determining component determining a processing sequence for the two or more information sets or the plurality of information elements, and determining a processing sequence different from the reception sequence, in which a value relating to the average of the length of processing time for the two or more information sets becomes equal to or less than the value that would be obtained were the plurality of information elements or the two or more information sets to be processed in accordance with their reception sequence.

Abstract: A data look-ahead control is provided to realize a high cache hit rate and improves responsiveness in an information processing system. In the data look-ahead control, when it is determined that the current input/output request is an access to a specific database that was the subject of a recent input/output request and whose I/O count exceeds a predetermined value, and it is also determined that a cache memory can be occupied to some extent and that there would be no impact on other input/output requests, data including one or more blocks (logical tracks) larger than a block that is the subject of the current I/O request are loaded to the cache memory.