Patents by Inventor Mikio Fukuoka
Mikio Fukuoka 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).
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Patent number: 11941255Abstract: A storage apparatus includes a plurality of storage devices, and a control unit for providing a predetermined storage area of the plurality of storage devices to the host computer as a virtual volume group including one or more virtual volumes. The control unit configures one or more data sets having one or more redundancy levels from the plurality of storage devices, provides a storage area of a storage pool including the plurality of data sets to a part of a storage area of the virtual volume, limits a combination of the storage devices configuring the data sets to be assigned to the virtual volume to a given number of combinations of two combinations or more, uniformly distributes the storage devices, and uses a given number of different combinations of the storage devices to be assigned to the virtual volume in units of the virtual volume group.Type: GrantFiled: April 11, 2022Date of Patent: March 26, 2024Assignee: HITACHI, LTD.Inventors: Hiroaki Akutsu, Mikio Fukuoka, Eijyu Katsuragi
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Patent number: 11544005Abstract: In a storage system including a plurality of nodes that provide a storage area and a drive that physically stores data, a parity group is configured with a plurality of data including user data stored in the storage area and redundant data for protecting the user data, a plurality of data in the parity group are stored in a storage area within one predetermined range across a plurality of nodes, and processing for dividing the predetermined range or processing for merging a plurality of predetermined ranges is performed based on a state of the predetermined range.Type: GrantFiled: September 11, 2020Date of Patent: January 3, 2023Assignee: HITACHI, LTD.Inventors: Takahiro Yamamoto, Hiroto Ebara, Takeru Chiba, Yoshinori Ohira, Masakuni Agetsuma, Mikio Fukuoka
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Publication number: 20220236891Abstract: A storage apparatus includes a plurality of storage devices, and a control unit for providing a predetermined storage area of the plurality of storage devices to the host computer as a virtual volume group including one or more virtual volumes. The control unit configures one or more data sets having one or more redundancy levels from the plurality of storage devices, provides a storage area of a storage pool including the plurality of data sets to a part of a storage area of the virtual volume, limits a combination of the storage devices configuring the data sets to be assigned to the virtual volume to a given number of combinations of two combinations or more, uniformly distributes the storage devices, and uses a given number of different combinations of the storage devices to be assigned to the virtual volume in units of the virtual volume group.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 11, 2022Publication date: July 28, 2022Inventors: Hiroaki AKUTSU, Mikio FUKUOKA, Eijyu KATSURAGI
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Patent number: 11327661Abstract: A storage apparatus includes a plurality of storage devices, and a control unit for providing a predetermined storage area of the plurality of storage devices to the host computer as a virtual volume group including one or more virtual volumes. The control unit configures one or more data sets having one or more redundancy levels from the plurality of storage devices, provides a storage area of a storage pool including the plurality of data sets to a part of a storage area of the virtual volume, limits a combination of the storage devices configuring the data sets to be assigned to the virtual volume to a given number of combinations of two combinations or more, uniformly distributes the storage devices, and uses a given number of different combinations of the storage devices to be assigned to the virtual volume in units of the virtual volume group.Type: GrantFiled: January 6, 2020Date of Patent: May 10, 2022Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Hiroaki Akutsu, Mikio Fukuoka, Eijyu Katsuragi
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Publication number: 20210247934Abstract: In a storage system including a plurality of nodes that provide a storage area and a drive that physically stores data, a parity group is configured with a plurality of data including user data stored in the storage area and redundant data for protecting the user data, a plurality of data in the parity group are stored in a storage area within one predetermined range across a plurality of nodes, and processing for dividing the predetermined range or processing for merging a plurality of predetermined ranges is performed based on a state of the predetermined range.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 11, 2020Publication date: August 12, 2021Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Takahiro Yamamoto, Hiroto Ebara, Takeru Chiba, Yoshinori Ohira, Masakuni Agetsuma, Mikio Fukuoka
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Publication number: 20200142615Abstract: A storage apparatus includes a plurality of storage devices, and a control unit for providing a predetermined storage area of the plurality of storage devices to the host computer as a virtual volume group including one or more virtual volumes. The control unit configures one or more data sets having one or more redundancy levels from the plurality of storage devices, provides a storage area of a storage pool including the plurality of data sets to a part of a storage area of the virtual volume, limits a combination of the storage devices configuring the data sets to be assigned to the virtual volume to a given number of combinations of two combinations or more, uniformly distributes the storage devices, and uses a given number of different combinations of the storage devices to be assigned to the virtual volume in units of the virtual volume group.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 6, 2020Publication date: May 7, 2020Inventors: Hiroaki AKUTSU, Mikio FUKUOKA, Eijyu KATSURAGI
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Patent number: 10528274Abstract: A storage apparatus includes a plurality of storage devices, and a control unit for providing a predetermined storage area of the plurality of storage devices to the host computer as a virtual volume group including one or more virtual volumes. The control unit configures one or more data sets having one or more redundancy levels from the plurality of storage devices, provides a storage area of a storage pool including the plurality of data sets to a part of a storage area of the virtual volume, limits a combination of the storage devices configuring the data sets to be assigned to the virtual volume to a given number of combinations of two combinations or more, uniformly distributes the storage devices, and uses a given number of different combinations of the storage devices to be assigned to the virtual volume in units of the virtual volume group.Type: GrantFiled: December 21, 2018Date of Patent: January 7, 2020Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Hiroaki Akutsu, Mikio Fukuoka, Eijyu Katsuragi
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Publication number: 20190121554Abstract: A storage apparatus includes a plurality of storage devices, and a control unit for providing a predetermined storage area of the plurality of storage devices to the host computer as a virtual volume group including one or more virtual volumes. The control unit configures one or more data sets having one or more redundancy levels from the plurality of storage devices, provides a storage area of a storage pool including the plurality of data sets to a part of a storage area of the virtual volume, limits a combination of the storage devices configuring the data sets to be assigned to the virtual volume to a given number of combinations of two combinations or more, uniformly distributes the storage devices, and uses a given number of different combinations of the storage devices to be assigned to the virtual volume in units of the virtual volume group.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 21, 2018Publication date: April 25, 2019Inventors: Hiroaki AKUTSU, Mikio FUKUOKA, Eijyu KATSURAGI
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Patent number: 10168919Abstract: A storage apparatus includes a plurality of storage devices, and a control unit for providing a predetermined storage area of the plurality of storage devices to the host computer as a virtual volume group including one or more virtual volumes. The control unit configures one or more data sets having one or more redundancy levels from the plurality of storage devices, provides a storage area of a storage pool including the plurality of data sets to a part of a storage area of the virtual volume, limits a combination of the storage devices configuring the data sets to be assigned to the virtual volume to a given number of combinations of two combinations or more, uniformly distributes the storage devices, and uses a given number of different combinations of the storage devices to be assigned to the virtual volume in units of the virtual volume group.Type: GrantFiled: July 22, 2015Date of Patent: January 1, 2019Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Hiroaki Akutsu, Mikio Fukuoka, Eijyu Katsuragi
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Patent number: 9256490Abstract: The storage apparatus has a control unit that includes: an identification unit that is configured to determine that a first data element contained in the data is incorrect, when a first restoration calculation first data element, which is restored from the first data element using other data elements of the data excluding the first data element and a new redundancy code obtained from the data by a first calculation method, coincides with a second restoration calculation first data element, which is restored from the first data element using the other data elements and a new redundancy code obtained from the data by a second calculation method; and a restoration unit that is configured to correct the first data element in the storage devices that is determined to be incorrect by the identification unit, to either the first restoration calculation first data element or the second restoration calculation first data element.Type: GrantFiled: September 27, 2013Date of Patent: February 9, 2016Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Ai Satoyama, Hiroaki Akutsu, Mikio Fukuoka, Eiju Katsuragi
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Publication number: 20160004460Abstract: The present invention provides a computer system capable of ensuring a storage capacity to a virtual volume within a pool. According to the present invention, a pool capacity of a block storage is reserved in a specific address range of the virtual volume, and a reserved capacity is allocated during writing of data to a specific address range. Further, when the reserved capacity is not allocated for a given period of time, reservation is freed.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 29, 2013Publication date: January 7, 2016Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: KATSUYA SATO, Mikio FUKUOKA, Shintaro INOUE
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Publication number: 20150324145Abstract: A storage apparatus includes a plurality of storage devices, and a control unit for providing a predetermined storage area of the plurality of storage devices to the host computer as a virtual volume group including one or more virtual volumes. The control unit configures one or more data sets having one or more redundancy levels from the plurality of storage devices, provides a storage area of a storage pool including the plurality of data sets to a part of a storage area of the virtual volume, limits a combination of the storage devices configuring the data sets to be assigned to the virtual volume to a given number of combinations of two combinations or more, uniformly distributes the storage devices, and uses a given number of different combinations of the storage devices to be assigned to the virtual volume in units of the virtual volume group.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 22, 2015Publication date: November 12, 2015Inventors: Hiroaki AKUTSU, Mikio FUKUOKA, Eijyu KATSURAGI
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Publication number: 20150254128Abstract: The storage apparatus has a control unit that includes: an identification unit that is configured to determine that a first data element contained in the data is incorrect, when a first restoration calculation first data element, which is restored from the first data element using other data elements of the data excluding the first data element and a new redundancy code obtained from the data by a first calculation method, coincides with a second restoration calculation first data element, which is restored from the first data element using the other data elements and a new redundancy code obtained from the data by a second calculation method; and a restoration unit that is configured to correct the first data element in the storage devices that is determined to be incorrect by the identification unit, to either the first restoration calculation first data element or the second restoration calculation first data element.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 27, 2013Publication date: September 10, 2015Inventors: Ai Satoyama, Hiroaki Akutsu, Mikio Fukuoka, Eiju Katsuragi
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Patent number: 8874829Abstract: The device controller (a) executes a data I/O process with respect to a physical storage area in accordance with an I/O command, and (b) sends to the storage controller an I/O command-related response comprising status information subsequent to being changed in accordance with the I/O process. The storage controller (A) receives the response from the target physical storage device, and (B) based on the status information included in the response received in (A), makes a determination as to whether or not to execute internal processing, and in a case where the result of the determination is to execute internal processing, sends to the target physical storage device an internal processing execution command instructing the execution of internal processing. The device controller in the target physical storage device (c), upon receiving the internal processing execution command, executes internal processing in accordance with the internal processing execution command.Type: GrantFiled: March 30, 2012Date of Patent: October 28, 2014Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Yuta Yamasaki, Takeki Okamoto, Mikio Fukuoka
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Publication number: 20140258617Abstract: This storage apparatus for providing a dynamically expandable virtual volume to a host system to access the virtual volume comprises an allocation unit for configuring a group with a plurality of disks for providing a storage area to be allocated to the virtual volume, and allocating the storage area respectively from a plurality of the groups to the virtual volume; and a storage area arrangement unit for rearranging the storage area in each of the groups being used by the virtual volume to become optimal among each of the groups based on external operation.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 22, 2014Publication date: September 11, 2014Applicant: HITACHI, LTD.Inventors: Shintaro INOUE, Yutaka TAKATA, Mikio FUKUOKA, Eiju KATSURAGI
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Patent number: 8775730Abstract: This storage apparatus for providing a dynamically expandable virtual volume to a host system to access the virtual volume comprises an allocation unit for configuring a group with a plurality of disks for providing a storage area to be allocated to the virtual volume, and allocating the storage area respectively from a plurality of the groups to the virtual volume; and a storage area arrangement unit for rearranging the storage area in each of the groups being used by the virtual volume to become optimal among each of the groups based on external operation.Type: GrantFiled: January 23, 2008Date of Patent: July 8, 2014Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Shintaro Inoue, Yutaka Takata, Mikio Fukuoka, Eiju Katsuragi
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Publication number: 20130262750Abstract: The device controller (a) executes a data I/O process with respect to a physical storage area in accordance with an I/O command, and (b) sends to the storage controller an I/O command-related response comprising status information subsequent to being changed in accordance with the I/O process. The storage controller (A) receives the response from the target physical storage device, and (B) based on the status information included in the response received in (A), makes a determination as to whether or not to execute internal processing, and in a case where the result of the determination is to execute internal processing, sends to the target physical storage device an internal processing execution command instructing the execution of internal processing. The device controller in the target physical storage device (c), upon receiving the internal processing execution command, executes internal processing in accordance with the internal processing execution command.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 30, 2012Publication date: October 3, 2013Inventors: Yuta Yamasaki, Takeki Okamoto, Mikio Fukuoka
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Patent number: 8356157Abstract: 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.Type: GrantFiled: August 24, 2011Date of Patent: January 15, 2013Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Shintaro Inoue, Yutaka Takata, Mikio Fukuoka, Eiju Katsuragi, Hisaharu Takeuchi
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Publication number: 20110314240Abstract: 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.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 24, 2011Publication date: December 22, 2011Inventors: Shintaro Inoue, Yutaka Takata, Mikio Fukuoka, Eiju Katsuragi, Hisaharu Takeuchi
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Patent number: 8032731Abstract: 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.Type: GrantFiled: September 7, 2010Date of Patent: October 4, 2011Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Shintaro Inoue, Yutaka Takata, Mikio Fukuoka, Eiju Katsuragi, Hisaharu Takeuchi