Apparatus and method for managing storage copy services systems
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsKenneth F. Day, Robert B. Nicholson, Lee J. Sanders, William J. Scales
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Abstract
An apparatus for controlling a storage system having a data replication function, comprises: a storage array component being operable to send notification to a replication engine that a write of data to a primary storage location by a host is subject to data replication; the replication engine being operable to receive the notification and in response to instruct the storage array to copy the data to a secondary storage location; wherein the data is copied to the secondary storage location unmediated by the replication engine.
Claims15
An apparatus for controlling a storage system having a data replication function, comprising:
- a primary storage location;
- a secondary storage location;
- a replication engine;
- and
- a storage array component coupled to the primary storage location, the secondary storage location, and the replication engine, the storage array component configured to receive, from a host, a write command to write data to the primary storage location, write the data to the primary storage location, and to send only a command descriptor block (CDB) describing the write command, without sending any portion of the data, to the replication engine in response to receiving the write command, the CDB indicating that the data is subject to data replication in the secondary storage location, wherein:
- the replication engine is configured to receive the CDB and, in response thereto, generate metadata for protecting the data based on the CDB and transmit the generated metadata to the storage array component such that the metadata is generated after the data has been written to the primary storage location yet prior to replicating the data to the secondary storage location, and
- the storage array component is configured to add the generated metadata to the data as the data and the generated metadata is being written to the secondary storage location.
A method for controlling a storage system having a data replication function, comprising the steps of:
- receiving, by a storage array component, a write command to write data to a primary storage location from a host;
- writing the data, by the storage array component, to the primary storage location;
- sending, by the storage array component, only a command descriptor block (CDB) describing the write command, without sending any portion of the data, to a replication engine in response to receiving the write command, the CDB indicating that the data is subject to data replication in a secondary storage location;
- receiving the CDB by the replication engine;
- generating metadata for protecting the data based on the CDB and in response to receiving the CDB such that the metadata is generated after the data has been written to the primary storage location yet prior to replicating the data to the secondary storage location;
- transmitting the generated metadata from the replication engine to the storage array component;
- and
- adding, by the storage array component, the generated metadata to the data as the data and the generated metadata is being written to the secondary storage location.
A computer program product, stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising computer program code to, when loaded into a computer system and executed thereon, cause the computer system to control a storage system having a data replication function, said computer program code performing the steps of:
- receiving, by a storage array component, a write command to write data to a primary storage location from a host;
- writing the data, by the storage array component, to the primary storage location;
- sending, by the storage array component, only a command descriptor block (CDB) describing the write command, without sending any portion of the data, to a replication engine in response to receiving the write command, the CDB indicating that the data is subject to data replication in a secondary storage location;
- receiving the CDB by the replication engine;
- generating metadata for the data based on the CDB and in response to receiving the CDB such that the metadata is generated after the data has been written to the primary storage location yet prior to replicating the data to the secondary storage location;
- transmitting the generated metadata from the replication engine to the storage array component;
- and
- adding, by the storage array component, the generated metadata to the data as the data and the generated metadata is being written to the secondary storage location.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.