Abstract: An example of an information storage system includes physical storage drives for providing real storage areas to a pool which is tiered into tiers different in performance, and a controller. The controller monitors accesses in a first tier in the pool. The controller determines a loaded state of the first tier based on the accesses to the first tier. The controller holds management information relating loads to the first tier to relocation speeds and/or modes of moving data in data relocation between a second tier in the pool and the first tier. The controller determines at least one of a relocation speed and a mode of moving data in data relocation between the second tier and the first tier based on the determined loaded state of the first tier and the management information.

Abstract: If a monitor measurement cycle is set as a long cycle, promotion in a short cycle cannot be performed; and even if the number of I/Os is very large in response to fluctuations of the number of I/Os in several minutes to several hours of normal work, pages will be promoted after waiting for several weeks. As a result, I/Os which could have normally accepted by an upper tier will be accepted by a lower tier, which results in a problem of worsening the performance efficiency. A monitoring system capable of preventing demotion due to temporary reduction of the number of I/Os for specific pages from a viewpoint of a long cycle and enabling prompt promotion in response to an increase of the number of U/Os for 3 the specific pages is realized. A load index value defined from a viewpoint of a long cycle and a load index value defined from a viewpoint of a short cycle are updated based on the number of I/Os which is counted cyclically for each storage area.

Abstract: Proposed are a storage apparatus and its control method capable of restoring data of a virtual page to an appropriate device hierarchy according to its data value. This storage apparatus stores, in a backup-destination storage medium, data stored in the respective physical pages allocated with the virtual volume and management information of the virtual volume including information concerning the device hierarchy to which the respective physical pages belong according to a backup command of the virtual volume, and allocates a physical page of the same device hierarchy as the device hierarchy of the physical page that was allocated before the backup to each of the restoration-target virtual pages of the virtual volume, respectively, and writes corresponding data, which was read from the storage medium, into each of the allocated physical pages according to a restoration command of the virtual volume and based on the management information of the virtual volume stored in the storage medium.

Abstract: When a plurality of applications operating in a host computer or a storage system uses a same pool, actual data constantly allocated to an upper tier drive satisfying the required response performance will continue to increase. Therefore, when data is migrated by IOPS in page units, the access performance such as the response speed may not be satisfied. Therefore, according to the present invention, multiple virtual volumes used in applications are subjected to grouping. Relocation conditions corresponding to performances required for each group are set in advance, and reallocation of tiers according to the relocation conditions is performed.

Abstract: A storage system monitors the first access frequency of occurrence which is the access frequency of occurrence from a host device during a first period, and the second access frequency of occurrence which is the access frequency of occurrence from a host device during a second period shorter than the first period. Along with performing data relocation among the tiers (levels) in the first period cycle based on the first access frequency of occurrence, the storage system performs a decision whether or not to perform a second relocation based on the first access frequency of occurrence and the second access frequency of occurrence, synchronously with access from a host device. Here the threshold value utilized in a decision on whether or not to perform the first relocation is different from the threshold value utilized in a decision on whether or not to perform the second relocation.

Abstract: An example of an information storage system includes physical storage drives for providing real storage areas to a pool which is tiered into tiers different in performance, and a controller. The controller monitors accesses in a first tier in the pool. The controller determines a loaded state of the first tier based on the accesses to the first tier. The controller holds management information relating loads to the first tier to relocation speeds and/or modes of moving data in data relocation between a second tier in the pool and the first tier. The controller determines at least one of a relocation speed and a mode of moving data in data relocation between the second tier and the first tier based on the determined loaded state of the first tier and the management information.

Abstract: An example of an information storage system includes physical storage drives for providing real storage areas to a pool which is tiered into tiers different in performance, and a controller. The controller monitors accesses in a first tier in the pool. The controller determines a loaded state of the first tier based on the accesses to the first tier. The controller holds management information relating loads to the first tier to relocation speeds and/or modes of moving data in data relocation between a second tier in the pool and the first tier. The controller determines at least one of a relocation speed and a mode of moving data in data relocation between the second tier and the first tier based on the determined loaded state of the first tier and the management information.

Abstract: A storage system monitors the first access frequency of occurrence which is the access frequency of occurrence from a host device during a first period, and the second access frequency of occurrence which is the access frequency of occurrence from a host device during a second period shorter than the first period. Along with performing data relocation among the tiers (levels) in the first period cycle based on the first access frequency of occurrence, the storage system performs a decision whether or not to perform a second relocation based on the first access frequency of occurrence and the second access frequency of occurrence, synchronously with access from a host device. Here the threshold value utilized in a decision on whether or not to perform the first relocation is different from the threshold value utilized in a decision on whether or not to perform the second relocation.

Abstract: The storage control device of this invention allocates the physical storage area in RAID groups to virtual volumes in units of chunks including multiple pages. To the virtual volume 5, in accordance with write accesses from the host 20, the physical storage area in the pool is allocated. A RAID group 6 in the pool includes multiple chunks 7. Each chunk 7 includes multiple pages 8. To the virtual volume 5, the physical storage area is allocated in units of chunks 7. From the allocated chunks 7, the pages 8 required for writing write data are used.

Abstract: A storage system monitors the first access frequency of occurrence which is the access frequency of occurrence from a host device during a first period, and the second access frequency of occurrence which is the access frequency of occurrence from a host device during a second period shorter than the first period. Along with performing data relocation among the tiers (levels) in the first period cycle based on the first access frequency of occurrence, the storage system performs a decision whether or not to perform a second relocation based on the first access frequency of occurrence and the second access frequency of occurrence, synchronously with access from a host device. Here the threshold value utilized in a decision on whether or not to perform the first relocation is different from the threshold value utilized in a decision on whether or not to perform the second relocation.

Abstract: A storage system monitors the first access frequency of occurrence which is the access frequency of occurrence from a host device during a first period, and the second access frequency of occurrence which is the access frequency of occurrence from a host device during a second period shorter than the first period. Along with performing data relocation among the tiers (levels) in the first period cycle based on the first access frequency of occurrence, the storage system performs a decision whether or not to perform a second relocation based on the first access frequency of occurrence and the second access frequency of occurrence, synchronously with access from a host device. Here the threshold value utilized in a decision on whether or not to perform the first relocation is different from the threshold value utilized in a decision on whether or not to perform the second relocation.

Abstract: The storage control device of this invention allocates the physical storage area in RAID groups to virtual volumes in units of chunks including multiple pages. To the virtual volume 5, in accordance with write accesses from the host 20, the physical storage area in the pool is allocated. A RAID group 6 in the pool includes multiple chunks 7. Each chunk 7 includes multiple pages 8. To the virtual volume 5, the physical storage area is allocated in units of chunks 7. From the allocated chunks 7, the pages 8 required for writing write data are used.

Abstract: This invention is intended for the purpose of providing the storage system, the storage apparatus, and the storage system by which, even if the storage areas allocated to the virtual volume are managed in management units set by the RAID group, overhead for parity calculation does not become excessive. This invention, by releasing a specific management unit not fully utilized for page allocation from allocation to the virtual volume and migrating the allocated pages belonging to this specific management unit to the other management unit, makes the storage areas of the specific management unit available for the write accesses for the other virtual volumes from the host computer.

Abstract: When a plurality of applications operating in a host computer or a storage system uses a same pool, actual data constantly allocated to an upper tier drive satisfying the required response performance will continue to increase. Therefore, when data is migrated by IOPS in page units, the access performance such as the response speed may not be satisfied. Therefore, according to the present invention, multiple virtual volumes used in applications are subjected to grouping. Relocation conditions corresponding to performances required for each group are set in advance, and reallocation of tiers according to the relocation conditions is performed.

Abstract: An example of an information storage system includes physical storage drives for providing real storage areas to a pool which is tiered into tiers different in performance, and a controller. The controller monitors accesses in a first tier in the pool. The controller determines a loaded state of the first tier based on the accesses to the first tier. The controller holds management information relating loads to the first tier to relocation speeds and/or modes of moving data in data relocation between a second tier in the pool and the first tier. The controller determines at least one of a relocation speed and a mode of moving data in data relocation between the second tier and the first tier based on the determined loaded state of the first tier and the management information.

Abstract: The storage control device of this invention allocates the physical storage area in RAID groups to virtual volumes in units of chunks including multiple pages. To the virtual volume 5, in accordance with write accesses from the host 20, the physical storage area in the pool is allocated. A RAID group 6 in the pool includes multiple chunks 7. Each chunk 7 includes multiple pages 8. To the virtual volume 5, the physical storage area is allocated in units of chunks 7. From the allocated chunks 7, the pages 8 required for writing write data are used.

Abstract: A storage control device includes a controller managing a plurality of first storage areas provided with a plurality of storage devices and a plurality of second storage areas in a particular first storage area of the plurality of first storage areas. Each of the plurality of first storage areas having a first fixed area size and each of the second plurality of storage areas having a second fixed area size which is smaller than the first fixed area size. The controller is adapted to allocate the particular first storage area to the virtual volume so that data of the write command are written to a particular second storage area of the plurality of second storage areas when a write command to a virtual volume of a plurality of virtual volumes is received.

Abstract: There is provided a storage subsystem having a virtual volume and a page volume which has a page physical area allocated to the virtual volume. The storage subsystem divides an address space of the virtual volume into a plurality of pages, classifies each of the pages into one of a plurality of states including at least a first state and a second state, and further divide a page which is classified into the second state into a plurality of segments to managed the page classified into the second state. The first state is a state in which a page physical area is allocated to the page from the page volume, and the write data is stored in the page physical area. The second state is a state in which the predetermined pattern data and the segment are managed, in the memory, by correlating with each other.

Abstract: This invention is intended for the purpose of providing the storage system, the storage apparatus, and the storage system by which, even if the storage areas allocated to the virtual volume are managed in management units set by the RAID group, overhead for parity calculation does not become excessive. This invention, by releasing a specific management unit not fully utilized for page allocation from allocation to the virtual volume and migrating the allocated pages belonging to this specific management unit to the other management unit, makes the storage areas of the specific management unit available for the write accesses for the other virtual volumes from the host computer.

Abstract: There is provided a storage subsystem having a virtual volume and a page volume which has a page physical area allocated to the virtual volume. The storage subsystem divides an address space of the virtual volume into a plurality of pages, classifies each of the pages into one of a plurality of states including at least a first state and a second state, and further divide a page which is classified into the second state into a plurality of segments to managed the page classified into the second state. The first state is a state in which a page physical area is allocated to the page from the page volume, and the write data is stored in the page physical area. The second state is a state in which the predetermined pattern data and the segment are managed, in the memory, by correlating with each other.