US 8,145,865 B1 · Virtual ordered writes spillover mechanism

Abstract

Managing data transferred from a local storage device to a remote storage device includes maintaining the data in chunks in cache memory, where data writes to the local storage device begun during a particular time interval are associated with a chunk of data that is separate from other chunks of data and where data is transferred from the local storage device to the remote storage device by transferring a particular chunk after all data writes associated with the particular chunk have completed and after a previous chunk has been acknowledged as being received by the remote storage device and, in response to use of the cache memory exceeding a first threshold, storing data from a first chunk of the cache memory to a local disk. Data writes to the local storage device may be provided by a host coupled to the local storage device.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method of managing data transferred from a local storage device to a remote storage device, comprising:

maintaining the data in chunks in cache memory, wherein data writes to the local storage device begun during a particular time interval are associated with a chunk of data that is separate from other chunks of data and wherein data is transferred from the local storage device to the remote storage device by transferring a particular chunk after all data writes associated with the particular chunk have completed at the local storage device and after a previous chunk has been acknowledged as being received by the remote storage device;
and
in response to an amount of data in the cache memory exceeding a first threshold, storing data from a first chunk of the cache memory to a logical device of the local storage device that is specifically allocated to receive data stored from the cache memory, wherein data from the first chunk is not stored to the logical device when the amount of the data in the cache memory is less than the first threshold.

Computer software, provided in a computer readable storage medium, that manages data transferred from a local storage device to a remote storage device, the software comprising:

executable code that maintains the data in chunks in cache memory, wherein data writes to the local storage device begun during a particular time interval are associated with a chunk of data that is separate from other chunks of data and wherein data is transferred from the local storage device to the remote storage device by transferring a particular chunk after all data writes associated with the particular chunk have completed at the local storage device and after a previous chunk has been acknowledged as being received by the remote storage device;
executable code that stores data from a first chunk of the cache memory to a logical device of the local storage device that is specifically allocated to receive data stored from the cache memory in response to an amount of data in the cache memory exceeding a first threshold, wherein data from the first chunk is not stored to the logical device when the amount of the data in the cache memory is less than the first threshold.

A data storage device, comprising:

at least one disk drive that contains data;
at least one host adaptor, coupled to the at least one disk drive, that receives data to be stored on the at least one disk drive;
at least one cache memory that contains data writes to the data storage device begun during a particular time interval that are associated with a chunk of data that is separate from other chunks of data, wherein data is transferred by transferring a particular chunk after all data writes associated with the particular chunk have completed at the local storage device and after a previous chunk has been acknowledged as being received;
and
computer software, in a computer-readable medium, having executable code that stores data from a first chunk of the cache memory to a logical device of the data storage device that is specifically allocated to receive data stored from the cache memory in response to an amount of data in the cache memory exceeding a first threshold, wherein data from the first chunk is not stored to the logical device when the amount of the data in the cache memory is less than the first threshold.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Virtual ordered writes spillover mechanism

Life of this patent

Virtual ordered writes spillover mechanism

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20