Managing journaling resources with copies stored in multiple locations

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10824512-B2
Application number	US-201816051194-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 31, 2018
Priority date	Jul 31, 2018
Publication date	Nov 3, 2020
Grant date	Nov 3, 2020

Abstract

A storage system in one embodiment comprises a storage controller and a plurality of storage devices comprising a plurality of memory portions. The storage controller is configured to monitor a plurality of servers for a failure event. The servers store a plurality of copies of the memory portions. The storage controller is further configured to mark as invalid a copy of a memory portion on a failed server, search for and identify a location on an operational server for storing a new version of the copy, and communicate the copy invalidity and the identified location to a client device using the memory portion. The client device is configured to generate the new version of the copy for storage on the operational server, and the storage controller receives a notification from the client device regarding whether the new version of the copy was generated and stored on the operational server.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising:
a storage system comprising a storage controller and a plurality of storage devices comprising a plurality of memory portions;
the storage controller being configured:
to monitor a plurality of servers for a failure event, wherein the plurality of servers store a plurality of copies of the plurality of memory portions;
to mark as invalid at least one copy of a memory portion of the plurality of memory portions on a failed server of the plurality of servers;
to search for and identify at least one location on an operational server of the plurality of servers for storing a new version of the at least one copy;
to communicate the invalidity of the at least one copy and the identified at least one location to a client device using the memory portion;
wherein the new version of the at least one copy is associated with a generation value indicating a number of times copies of the memory portion have been generated;
wherein the client device is configured:
to determine whether the new version of the at least one copy can be validly generated for storage on the operational server based at least in part on whether the generation value satisfies a specified relationship to a last known generation value received from the storage controller; and
to generate the new version of the at least one copy for storage on the operational server responsive to an affirmative determination; and

to receive a notification from the client device regarding whether the new version of the at least one copy was generated and stored on the operational server;
wherein the storage controller comprises at least one processing device comprising a processor coupled to a memory.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the plurality of memory portions each comprise at least a part of a physical storage space of one or more of the storage devices.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the storage controller comprises a repository storing information associated with the memory portion corresponding to the at least one copy.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the storage controller is further configured to update the repository regarding progress of the search for and identification of the at least one location on the operational server for storing the new version of the at least one copy.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the storage controller is further configured to update the repository regarding the invalidity of the at least one copy.

6. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the information stored in the repository comprises an identification entry for the memory portion.

7. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the information stored in the repository comprises the generation value indicating the number of times copies of the memory portion have been generated.

8. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the information stored in the repository comprises a plurality of locations on one or more of the plurality of servers for storing the new version of the at least one copy, wherein the plurality of locations comprises the identified at least one location.

9. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the information stored in the repository comprises a value indicating a number of failed communication attempts between the storage controller and the client device.

10. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein in communicating the invalidity of the at least one copy and the identified at least one location to the client device, the storage controller is configured to communicate the information stored in the repository to the client device.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the storage controller is further configured to transmit a request to the client device to suspend all processes which will modify data stored in the memory portion corresponding to the at least one copy.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:
the storage controller is further configured to communicate to the client device a plurality of locations on one or more of the plurality of servers for storing the new version of the at least one copy in addition to the identified at least one location; and
the client device is further configured to eliminate one or more of the plurality of locations corresponding to one or more inaccessible servers.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:
the storage controller is further configured to communicate to the client device a plurality of locations on one or more of the plurality of servers for storing the new version of the at least one copy in addition to the identified at least one location; and
the client device is further configured to eliminate one or more of the plurality of locations associated with a given generation value in the memory portion indicating the number of times copies of the memory portion have been generated that fails to satisfy the specified relationship to a last known generation value received from the storage controller.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the client device is further configured to determine that the given generation value fails to satisfy the specified relationship when the given generation value is less than the last known generation value received from the storage controller.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the client device is further configured to determine that the given generation value fails to satisfy the specified relationship when the given generation value is greater than a sum of the last known generation value received from the storage controller and a number of failed communication attempts between the storage controller and the client device.

16. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the notification includes an updated generation value indicating the number of times copies of the memory portion have been generated.

17. A method comprising:
monitoring a plurality of servers for a failure event, wherein the plurality of servers store a plurality of copies of a plurality of memory portions;
marking as invalid at least one copy of a memory portion of the plurality of memory portions on a failed server of the plurality of servers;
searching for and identifying at least one location on an operational server of the plurality of servers for storing a new version of the at least one copy;
communicating the invalidity of the at least one copy and the identified at least one location from a storage controller to a client device using the memory portion;
wherein the new version of the at least one copy is associated with a generation value indicating a number of times copies of the memory portion have been generated;
wherein the client device is configured:
to determine whether the new version of the at least one copy can be validly generated for storage on the operational server based at least in part on whether the generation value satisfies a specified relationship to a last known generation value received from the storage controller; and
to generate the new version of the at least one copy for storage on the operational server responsive to an affirmative determination; and

receiving by the storage controller a notification from the client device regarding whether the new version of the at least one copy was generated and stored on the operational server;
wherein the method is implemented by at least one processing device comprising a processor coupled to a memory.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the notification includes an updated generation value indicating the number of times copies of the memory portion have been generated.

19. A computer program produ

Assignees

• Emc Ip Holding Co Llc

Inventors

• Resnik Inna
• Schneider Zvi
• Shemesh Dani

Classifications

• G06F16/2329

  using versioning · CPC title

• G06F11/1451 Primary

  by selection of backup contents · CPC title

• G06F16/1815

  Journaling file systems · 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

• G06F11/2094 Primary

  Redundant storage or storage space (G06F11/2056 takes precedence) · CPC title