Storage system and control software deployment method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10083100-B1
Application number	US-201815910063-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Mar 2, 2018
Priority date	Nov 30, 2017
Publication date	Sep 25, 2018
Grant date	Sep 25, 2018

Abstract

A storage system includes a plurality of storage nodes. The storage node includes: one or more storage devices which respectively provide a storage area; and one or more control software which read/write requested data from/into the corresponding storage device according to a request from a higher-level device, wherein each of the control software retains predetermined configuration information required for reading/writing requested data from/into the corresponding storage device according to a request from the higher-level device, wherein a plurality of the control software are managed as a redundancy group, and the configuration information retained in each of the control software belonging to the same redundancy group is synchronously updated, and wherein the plurality of control software configuring the redundancy group are each deployed in respectively different storage nodes so as to distribute a load of each of the storage nodes.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A storage system including a plurality of storage nodes,
wherein the storage node comprises:
one or more storage devices which respectively provide a storage area; and
one or more control software which read/write requested data from/into the corresponding storage device according to a request from a higher-level device,
wherein each of the control software retains predetermined configuration information required for reading/writing requested data from/into the corresponding storage device according to a request from the higher-level device,
wherein a plurality of the control software are managed as a redundancy group, and the configuration information retained in each of the control software belonging to the same redundancy group is synchronously updated, and
wherein the plurality of control software configuring the redundancy group are each deployed in respectively different storage nodes so as to distribute a load of each of the storage nodes.

2. The storage system according to claim 1 ,
wherein at least one of the control software among the plurality of control software configuring the same redundancy group is set to a first status of receiving a request from the higher-level device, and the remaining control software belonging to the corresponding redundancy group are set to a second status of not receiving a request from the higher-level device,
wherein the plurality of control software belonging to different redundancy groups are deployed in the same storage node, and
wherein a deployment destination of each of the control software is determined so that the plurality of control software set to the first status are not deployed in the same storage node to the extent possible.

3. The storage system according to claim 2 , further comprising:
a management unit which manages each of the control software in a cluster configured from a plurality of the storage nodes,
wherein, upon removing the storage node or when the storage node is subject to a failure, the management unit switches, to the first status, any one of the control software in the second status belonging to the same redundancy group as the control software in the first status deployed in the corresponding storage node.

4. The storage system according to claim 3 ,
wherein the storage node comprises:
a central processing unit which executes the control software; and
a memory which is used as a work memory of the central processing unit,
wherein, when there are a plurality of candidates of the control software to succeed processing of the control software set to the first status and deployed in the storage node that was reduced or subject to a failure, the management unit causes, among the plurality of candidates of the control software, the control software deployed in the storage node in which a current load of the central processing unit, a current unused capacity of the memory, and a currently available communication band of a network connected to the other storage nodes are respectively within a tolerance level of the load, the unused capacity and the communication band, to succeed the processing.

5. The storage system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a management unit which manages each of the control software in a cluster configured from a plurality of the storage nodes,
wherein, with regard to the redundancy group in which the number of control software has decreased due to the reduction or failure of the storage node, the management unit activates new control software to substitute the control software which was deployed in the storage node that was reduced or subject to a failure in the storage node in which the control software belonging to the corresponding redundancy group has not been deployed.

6. The storage system according to claim 5 ,
wherein the storage node comprises:
a central processing unit which executes the control software; and
a memory which is used as a work memory of the central processing unit,
wherein, when there are a plurality of storage nodes which may become a deployment destination of the new control software, to become the substitute of the control software which was deployed in the storage node that was reduced or subject to a failure, the management unit causes, among the plurality of storage nodes, the storage node in which a current load of the central processing unit, a current unused capacity of the memory, and a currently available communication band of a network connected to the other storage nodes are respectively within a tolerance level of the load, the unused capacity and the communication band, to become the deployment destination of the new control software, to become the substitute of the control software which was deployed in the storage node that was reduced or subject to a failure.

7. The storage system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a management unit which manages each of the control software in a cluster configured from a plurality of the storage nodes,
wherein, when the storage node is added in the cluster, the management unit redeploys certain control software, which were deployed in other storage nodes in the cluster, to the added storage node.

8. The storage system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a management unit which manages each of the control software in a cluster configured from a plurality of the storage nodes,
wherein, when the storage node is added in the cluster, the management unit generates a new redundancy group, deploys one of the control software, which belongs to the new redundancy group, to the new storage node, and deploys the other control software, which belong to the new redundancy group, to other storage nodes.

9. The storage system according to claim 8 ,
wherein the storage node comprises:
a central processing unit which executes the control software; and
a memory which is used as a work memory of the central processing unit,
wherein, when there are a plurality of storage nodes which may become a deployment destination of the other control software belonging to the new redundancy group, the management unit causes, among the plurality of storage nodes, the storage node in which a current load of the central processing unit, a current unused capacity of the memory, and a currently available communication band of a network connected to the other storage nodes are respectively within a tolerance level of the load, the unused capacity and the communication band, to become the deployment destination of the other control software belonging to the new redundancy group.

10. A control software deployment method of deploying, in a storage system including a plurality of storage nodes each equipped with one or more storage devices, one or more control software which read/write requested data from/into the corresponding storage device according to a request from a higher-level device,
wherein each of the control software retains predetermined configuration information required for reading/writing requested data from/into the corresponding storage device according to a request from the higher-level device,
wherein a plurality of the control software are managed as a redundancy group, and
wherein control software deployment method comprises:
a first step of deploying each of the plurality of control software configuring the redundancy group in respectively different storage nodes so as to distribute a load of each of the storage nodes; and
a second step of synchronously updating the configuration information retained in each of the control software belonging to the same redundancy group.

Assignees

• Hitachi Ltd

Inventors

• Agetsuma Masakuni
• Matsui Yuko
• Ito Shintaro
• Saito Hideo

Classifications

• G06F11/201

  between storage system components · CPC title

• G06F11/1662

  the resynchronized component or unit being a persistent storage device (re-synchronization of failed mirror storage G06F11/2082; rebuild or reconstruction of parity RAID storage G06F11/1008) · CPC title

• G06F11/1482

  using middleware or operating system [OS] functionalities · CPC title

• G06F11/3051

  Monitoring arrangements for monitoring the configuration of the computing system or of the computing system component, e.g. monitoring the presence of processing resources, peripherals, I/O links, software programs (verification or detection of system hardware configuration G06F11/2247) · CPC title

• G06F11/302

  where the computing system component is a software system · CPC title