Storage apparatus and interface expansion authentication method therefor
AssigneeHitachi, Ltd.
InventorsAkifumi Suzuki, Hiroshi Hirayama
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Degradation of data transfer performance is restrained during data transfer for mirroring between first and second controllers. The first and second controllers are connected with a first path for connecting a second port of a first switch unit on the first controller to a second port of a first switch unit on the second controller, and with a second path independent of the first path, for connecting a second port of a second switch unit on the first controller to a second port of a second switch unit on the second controller.
Claims13
A storage apparatus having first and second controllers for controlling data transfer between a host system and a storage device,
- the first and second controllers respectively comprising:
- a first switch unit and a second switch unit, each of the switch units is equipped with a first port for connecting either an interface unit for the host system or an interface unit for the storage device, and a second port for connecting the first controller with the second controller, and which permits or prohibits data transfer using each of the first port and the second port;
- a processor configured to control data transfer with the host system or the storage device via a respective of the first ports, while controlling data transfer between the first controller and the second controller via a respective second port, by controlling the first or the second switch unit;
- and
- a memory configured to store system configuration rules;
- wherein the first and second controllers are connected to each other via:
- a first path for connecting the second port of the first switch unit in the first controller to the second port of the first switch unit in the second controller;
- and
- a second path independent of the first path, for connecting the second port of the second switch unit in the first controller to the second port of the second switch unit in the second controller,
- wherein the system configuration rules set kinds of I/O modules which are physically positioned to respective of the first ports of the first and second switch units;
- wherein the processor is configured to verify the consistency of a current system configuration of each of the first ports of the first and second switch unit according to a currently set one of the system configuration rules.
An interface expansion authentication method for a storage apparatus having first and second controllers for controlling data transfer between a host system and a storage device,
- the interface expansion authentication method comprising:
- an acquisition step executed by respective processors of the first and second controllers, for obtaining a current connection configuration of an interface unit connected to respective first ports of first and second switch units where the respective first ports connect each interface unit of the host system and the storage device;
- a generation step executed by a respective of the processors, for generating system configuration information about a connection configuration of the interface units for all the first ports of the first and second controllers based on system configuration information about both the first and second controllers;
- a verification step executed by a respective of the processors, for verifying a current connection configuration by comparing system configuration rules, wherein the system configuration rules set kinds of I/O modules which are physically positioned to respective of the first ports of the first and second switch unit, about a specified connection configuration of the interface unit to be connected to each first port of the first or second switch unit with the system configuration information;
- and
- a control step executed by a respective of the processors, for permitting or prohibiting data transfer using each first port of the first or second switch unit based on the verification result in the verification step.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.