Abstract: Data is placed in tiered storage with a suitable granularity according to application characteristics. The storage apparatus comprises a controller for managing storage areas, provided by storage media of a plurality of types of varying performance, as pools, and for assigning the storage areas in page units to a virtual volume from any tiered storage among a plurality of types of tiered storage which the pool comprises in response to a data write request from the host computer, wherein, for specific data which is managed by the host computer, the controller specifies an area with a high referencing frequency among the specific data on the basis of organization information of the specific data, and moves this area to another of the tiered storage with a higher performance than an already assigned tiered storage.

Abstract: According to the present invention, it is possible to construct a backup configuration of a particular application data, without influencing data of another application. A management computer is coupled to a host computer on which an application operates, and to a storage apparatus that includes a plurality of volume groups each having one or more logical volumes. At least one of the logical volumes is allocated to the application. The management computer includes a volume group overlapping use determination part and a backup policy determination part. When the backup of the volume group to which one logical volume belongs is configured, the volume group overlapping use determination part determines whether there is another application that uses the volume group. The backup policy determination part determines whether there is set, for another volume group, backup policy information same as that set for the application.

Abstract: An embodiment of this invention is a storage management system including a processor and a storage device to manage a storage system having one or more copy functions. The processor locates data designated to determine a backup method. The storage device stores copy function management information on the one or more copy functions of the storage system. The processor refers to the copy function management information to ascertain the unit of copy operation of each of the one or more copy functions. The processor determines a candidate for a copy function of the storage system to be used to back up the designated data depending on the data configuration in a volume holding the designated data and the unit of copy operation of the candidate for the copy function.

Abstract: A storage system assigns a real area from a pool to a virtual area in a virtual volume, and stores data into the real area. The pool comprises a plurality of real areas based on a plurality of types of storage devices with different characteristics, and the plurality of real areas are managed as a plurality of tiers depending on the characteristics of the storage devices. Moreover, the storage system moves the data from one tier to another tier in the pool, for each real area.

Abstract: A storage system, which comprises multiple memory cells and a storage controller, wherein the storage controller manages cell mode information, which either directly or indirectly denotes the number of bits to be stored in multiple memory cells. The cell mode information can be changed in accordance with a request from a management system.

Abstract: Data is placed in tiered storage with a suitable granularity according to application characteristics. The storage apparatus comprises a controller for managing storage areas, provided by storage media of a plurality of types of varying performance, as pools, and for assigning the storage areas in page units to a virtual volume from any tiered storage among a plurality of types of tiered storage which the pool comprises in response to a data write request from the host computer, wherein, for specific data which is managed by the host computer, the controller specifies an area with a high referencing frequency among the specific data on the basis of organization information of the specific data, and moves this area to another of the tiered storage with a higher performance than an already assigned tiered storage.

Abstract: An embodiment of this invention is a storage management system including a processor and a storage device to manage a storage system having one or more copy functions. The processor locates data designated to determine a backup method. The storage device stores copy function management information on the one or more copy functions of the storage system. The processor refers to the copy function management information to ascertain the unit of copy operation of each of the one or more copy functions. The processor determines a candidate for a copy function of the storage system to be used to back up the designated data depending on the data configuration in a volume holding the designated data and the unit of copy operation of the candidate for the copy function.

Abstract: An embodiment of this invention is a storage management system including a processor and a storage device to manage a storage system having one or more copy functions. The processor locates data designated to determine a backup method. The storage device stores copy function management information on the one or more copy functions of the storage system. The processor refers to the copy function management information to ascertain the unit of copy operation of each of the one or more copy functions. The processor determines a candidate for a copy function of the storage system to be used to back up the designated data depending on the data configuration in a volume holding the designated data and the unit of copy operation of the candidate for the copy function.

Abstract: A storage system which has flash memories constituting a storage area and a function of placing and handling the flash memories in on-line mode and off-line mode, and which stores and manages management information of the flash memories in on-line mode. The storage system includes: when some or all of flash memory in on-line mode is placed in off-line mode, creating a management area in off-line mode in the flash memories by moving existing data in an area used as the management area to an area other than the management area; writing the management information of the flash memories to the created management area; and placing the flash memories in off-line mode.

Abstract: A storage system, which comprises multiple memory cells and a storage controller, wherein the storage controller manages cell mode information, which either directly or indirectly denotes the number of bits to be stored in multiple memory cells. The cell mode information can be changed in accordance with a request from a management system.

Abstract: A storage system 300a that has a volume, manages the volume as a plurality of logical volumes, and can operate as a plurality of logical storage systems having at least one logical volume. The storage system comprises an IO transmission-reception unit 1320a that communicates with a management computer 100, a host computer 200, and a storage system 300b and a processor 1310a that causes the IO transmission-reception unit 1320a to perform transmission to the management computer 100 and storage system 300b by using an identifier of the storage system 300a as an identifier indicating a representative logical storage system that is one predetermined logical storage system from among a plurality of the logical storage system when the storage system operates as a plurality of the logical storage systems.

Abstract: Storage system arrangements having status information including both copy group summary status information providing a status of a group of the plurality of copy pairs, and detailed status information detailing a status of a copy pair included in the group; and wherein said status management unit monitors the status information of said plurality of copy pairs, wherein the management computer acquires, from the storage apparatus, the copy group summary status information as summary information for a group of the plurality of copy pairs having a failure status for the group, and displays said summary information on said display, if the summary information indicates a normal status, the management computer displays the summary information only; and if the summary information indicates a failure status, the management computer displays, upon receiving selection of said summary information, detailed status information of a copy pair that belongs to the group.

Abstract: Operation of an environment that supports both host-based replication and array-based replication is realized. According to the present invention, data in the first storage area is copied first to the second storage area using an array-based replication engine. In this case, the execution result of the replication is managed using a flag from which the copy timing can be known. In addition, data in the first storage area is copied to the third storage area using a host-based replication engine, and further, data in the third storage area is copied to the fourth storage area. Then, when data in the second storage area is restored to the first storage area, data in the fourth storage area is returned to the third storage area so that the third storage area has data of the same time as the second storage area (see FIG. 12).

Abstract: Conventionally, when a switch virtualizing a storage (storage virtualization switch) is installed in a computer system including an SAN, a host computer, and a storage device, since a port ID of a virtual storage and a port ID of a storage device assigned to the virtual storage are different, the computer system has to be suspended at the time of installation of the storage virtualization switch. The storage virtualization switch installed in the computer system assigns a port ID to a port of a virtual storage generated by the storage virtualization switch so as to be equivalent to a port ID of an existing storage device and, in the case in which the port ID is designated as an access destination by an access request from one computer to the storage device, sends the access request to the virtual storage.

Abstract: A backup is completed within a backup window designated by a user. When copying data in a first storage area, which is a backup target, to a second storage area, the capacity of a medium serving as a third storage area which is sufficient to complete a backup within the backup window, is calculated based on information about a differential bitmap describing an area in the second storage area to which the relevant data is copied from the first storage area, configuration information about a storage system where the storage areas are stored, and performance information about media constituting the storage areas; and differential data is copied using the second storage area and the third storage area; and the data written to the third storage area is copied to the second storage area.

Abstract: A storage device control method for operating a logical volume to which a control command cannot be issued directly from a host computer is provided. The host computer manages a storage device. The storage device includes a disk device which provides logical volumes and a disk control device which controls the disk device. The host computer issues a control command to a recognized volume in the disk control device. The disk control device operates a recognized volume which is an issue destination of the control command or an unrecognized volume contained in the control command. A logical volume to which the control command is to be issued from the host computer is determined by using definition information (a disk information table, a copy pair information table, or a copy group information table) concerning copy operation retained by storage control software which operates on the host computer.

Abstract: A storage system 300a that has a volume, manages the volume as a plurality of logical volumes, and can operate as a plurality of logical storage systems having at least one logical volume. The storage system comprises an IO transmission-reception unit 1320a that communicates with a management computer 100, a host computer 200, and a storage system 300b and a processor 1310a that causes the IO transmission-reception unit 1320a to perform transmission to the management computer 100 and storage system 300b by using an identifier of the storage system 300a as an identifier indicating a representative logical storage system that is one predetermined logical storage system from among a plurality of the logical storage system when the storage system operates as a plurality of the logical storage systems.

Abstract: In a storage system 1, a storage apparatus A having a first pool 1430 including segments as unit storage areas and a storage apparatus B having a second pool 1430 having the same configuration are communicably connected to each other. In the storage system, an external volume identifier is associated with a logical volume 1420 included in the first pool 1430, the external volume identifier being used by a controller 1500 in the storage apparatus B to identify and manage the logical volume 1420 as an external volume 1425 that is a virtual volume in the storage apparatus B. Moreover, a volume identifier 5110 of the logical volume 1420 included in the first pool 1430 is rewritten into the external volume identifier in order to enable the storage apparatus B to utilize the logical volume 1420 created from the first pool 1430.

Abstract: A management system for managing an acquisition of information on multiple resources by multiple information acquisition apparatuses configured to acquire information on the multiple resources based on an information acquisition indication, is configured. The management system stores information for specifying a resource group, which is a group of multiple resources targeted for acquiring information at the same time points. The management system sends to each of multiple information acquisition apparatuses, which acquire information on multiple resources of a certain resource group, an information acquisition indication defining a timing for acquiring information from the resource of the certain resource group so that the information acquired from the multiple resources of the certain resource group are information at approximately the same time points.

Abstract: A management computer collects a usage condition of a volume from a host computer and a storage apparatus at each site, consolidates management thereof, and prevents a volume from duplicating among applications as a copy source. This makes it possible to select a used volume in an application as a copy source without excess or deficiency and to create a copy pair configuration definition without duplication or incompatibility. If a replication environment is constructed in a large-scale storage system, the consolidated management of a usage condition of a volume collected from the host computer and the storage apparatus at each site makes it possible to create a copy pair configuration definition by a task constituted by a plurality of applications.