# US 2024/0201854 A1 · Storage operation support apparatus and storage operation support method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2024/0201854 A1 - Document ID: US20240201854A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 18/454,430 - Filed: 2023-08-23 - Published: 2024-06-20 - Earliest claimed: 2022-12-20 - Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd. - Applicants: Hitachi, Ltd. - Inventors: Shota KUKITA; Takahiro NAKANO - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20240201854A1 ## CPC - G06F 3/061: {Improving I/O performance} - G06F 3/0647: {Migration mechanisms} - G06F 3/0653: {Monitoring storage devices or systems} - G06F 3/067: {Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]} - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) ## Abstract A storage operation support apparatus includes a storage unit that stores storage device information that stores information on a state of a storage device and an evaluation unit that evaluates an evaluation target storage device to be evaluated. With reference to the storage device information, the evaluation unit calculates an environment score indicating a magnitude of a load on an environment of the evaluation target storage device, calculates a cost score indicating a magnitude of a cost of the evaluation target storage device, calculates a performance score indicating a slow speed of reading and writing data of the evaluation target storage device, and calculates a total score using the environment score, the cost score, and the performance score. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A storage operation support apparatus that evaluates a storage device, the storage operation support apparatus comprising: a storage unit that stores storage device information that stores information on a state of a storage device; and an evaluation unit that evaluates an evaluation target storage device to be evaluated, wherein with reference to the storage device information, the evaluation unit calculates an environment score indicating a magnitude of a load on an environment of the evaluation target storage device, calculates a cost score indicating a magnitude of a cost of the evaluation target storage device, calculates a performance score indicating a slow speed of reading and writing data of the evaluation target storage device, and calculates a total score using the environment score, the cost score, and the performance score. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The storage operation support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage device information includes information of power consumption per unit time of the storage device, and the evaluation unit acquires a carbon dioxide emission coefficient from a power supply source that supplies power to the evaluation target storage device, acquires power consumption per unit time of the evaluation target storage device with reference to the storage device information, and calculates the environment score based on the acquired carbon dioxide emission coefficient and the acquired power consumption per unit time of the evaluation target storage device. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The storage operation support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation unit calculates, as the total score, a sum of a product of an environment score weight and the environment score, a product of a cost score weight and the cost score, and a product of a performance score weight and the performance score. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The storage operation support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein every predetermined time, the evaluation unit sets each storage device in use as the evaluation target storage device, calculates the environment score, the cost score, the performance score, and the total score of each storage device in use, and generates storage device evaluation information in which the calculated environment score, cost score, performance score, and total score of each storage device in use, in-use storage device specific information capable of specifying each storage device in use, and a date and time when the total score is calculated are associated with each other, and stores the storage device evaluation information in the storage unit. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The storage operation support apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the evaluation unit generates data of a storage device time-series evaluation graph indicating a time-series change in at least one score of the environment score, the cost score, the performance score, and the total score for each storage device in use. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The storage operation support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation target storage device is at least one storage device in an on-premises environment and at least one storage device in a cloud environment. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The storage operation support apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a storage candidate evaluation unit, wherein the storage unit stores unused storage device usage information in which unused storage device specific information for specifying an unused storage device and unused storage device specification information stored in association with a specification of the unused storage device are associated with each other, the storage candidate evaluation unit, when requirement information for a new storage device to be newly used is input, acquires candidate storage device specific information capable of specifying a candidate storage device that satisfies a requirement included in the requirement information among the unused storage devices with reference to the unused storage device usage information, and the evaluation unit sets a candidate storage device associated with the candidate storage device specific information as the evaluation target storage device, calculates the environment score, the cost score, the performance score, and the total score of the evaluation target storage device, and generates candidate storage device evaluation information in which the calculated environment score, cost score, performance score, total score, and candidate storage device specific information are associated with one another. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The storage operation support apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the evaluation unit generates and outputs data of a score comparison graph indicating a magnitude of at least one score of the environment score, the cost score, the performance score, and the total score for each candidate storage device. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The storage operation support apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the unused storage device usage information includes information in which the unused storage device specific information, a storage capacity of the unused storage device, and a compression rate in a case where the unused storage device can compress and store data are associated with each other, the storage candidate evaluation unit, when the requirement information includes a storage capacity lower limit value of the new storage device to be newly used, calculates a value obtained by dividing the storage capacity of the unused storage device by the compression rate as a converted storage capacity with reference to the unused storage device specification information, determines whether the calculated converted storage capacity is larger than the storage capacity lower limit value, and, when it is determined that the converted storage capacity is not larger than the storage capacity lower limit value, determines that the unused storage device does not satisfy the requirement included in the requirement information. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The storage operation support apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a migration support unit, wherein the migration support unit acquires migration source volume specific information capable of specifying a migration source volume and migration destination volume specific information capable of specifying a migration destination volume to which the migration data stored in the migration source volume is to be saved, acquires a data reading speed of the migration source volume, a data writing speed of the migration destination volume, and a migration data amount of the migration data, determines whether immediate migration from the migration source volume to the migration destination volume is possible based on the acquired data reading speed of the migration source volume and the acquired data writing speed of the migration destination volume, and when it is determined that the immediate migration from the migration source volume to the migration destination volume is possible, generates migration possible volume information in which a migration time required to read migration data from the migration source volume and store the migration data in the migration destination volume, the migration source volume specific information, and the migration destination volume specific information are associated with each other, the migration time being calculated based on the acquired data reading speed of the migration source volume and the acquired data writing speed of the migration destination volume. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The storage operation support apparatus according to claim 10, wherein in a case where the migration source volume specific information, the migration destination volume specific information, information on presence or absence of an apparent migration time reduction function from the migration source volume to the migration destination volume are acquired, the migration support unit, when the acquired information on the presence or absence of the apparent migration time reduction function from the migration source volume to the migration destination volume indicates the presence of the apparent migration time reduction function, sets the migration time as a predetermined migration reduction time. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The storage operation support apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the storage unit stores migration source storage read speed information that stores information on a temporal change of a read speed of the migration source storage in which the migration source volume is created, and migration destination storage write speed information that stores information on a temporal change of a write speed of the migration destination storage in which the migration destination volume is created, and the migration support unit calculates, when it is determined that immediate migration from the migration source volume to the migration destination volume is not possible, a migration possible time at which migration of migration data from the migration source volume to the migration destination volume can be assumed to be possible with reference to the migration source storage read speed information and the migration destination storage write speed information, and generates migration hold information in which the migration source volume specific information, the migration destination volume specific information, and the calculated migration possible time are associated with each other. ### Claim 13 A storage operation support method in a storage operation support apparatus including a memory device that stores storage device information for storing information on a state of a storage device and a processor, in which the processor evaluates the storage device, the storage operation support method comprising causing the processor to execute evaluation processing of evaluating an evaluation target storage device to be evaluated, wherein the evaluation processing includes, with reference to the storage device information stored in the memory device, calculating an environment score indicating a magnitude of a load on an environment of the evaluation target storage device, calculating a cost score indicating a magnitude of a cost of the evaluation target storage device, calculating a performance score indicating a slow speed of reading and writing data of the evaluation target storage device, and calculating a total score using the environment score, the cost score, and the performance score.