Storage array power management using lifecycle information

A method for managing a power consumption of a storage system comprising the steps of:

• activating at least one storage device of the storage system from a reduced power consuming state in response to a determination that a first parameter has crossed a first threshold, thereby indicating an increase in storage activity of the storage system, or in response to a pre-set transition time for activating the at least one storage device, the activated at least one storage device having previously comprised data redundant to data of at least one other storage device of the storage system that has remained in an active state while the at least one storage device that is being activated was in the reduced power consuming state;
• storing data on the activated at least one storage device reflective of changes to data stored on the at least one other storage device since the at least one storage device that is being activated was last placed into the reduced power consuming state, the storing is being performed with reference to lifecycle information associated with data stored on either of the at least one other storage device that has remained in the active state or one or more reduced power consuming storage devices of the storage system to which data of the at least one storage device that is being activated was copied before the at least one storage device that is being activated was last placed into the reduced power consuming state;
• deactivating at least one storage device of the storage system to the reduced power consuming state in response to a determination that a second parameter has crossed a second threshold, thereby indicating a decrease in the storage activity, or in response to a pre-set transition time for deactivating the at least one storage device, the deactivated at least one storage device comprising data redundant to data of at least one other storage device of the storage system that will remain in an active state while the at least one storage device that is deactivated remains in the reduced power consuming state;
• and
• copying data from the at least one storage device that is being deactivated, prior to its deactivation, to the one or more reduced power consuming storage devices of the storage system, the one or more reduced power consuming storage devices comprising data from additional storage devices that have also been placed into the reduced power consuming state;
• wherein the pre-set transition time for activating the at least one storage device and the pre-set transition time for deactivating the at least one storage device were set based on historical empirical information of storage activity derived from the lifecycle information;
• and
• wherein further the first threshold is associated with a minimum acceptable user experience of one or more users utilizing the storage system.

A storage system comprising:

• multiple storage devices arranged to provide redundant storage of data;
• at least one reduced power consuming storage device, consuming less power to store an equivalent amount of data as the multiple storage devices, and comprising a greater storage capacity than individual ones of the multiple storage devices;
• at least one processing unit;
• and
• instructions for execution by the at least one processing unit that cause the at least one processing unit to perform steps comprising:
• making a first determination that either a first parameter has crossed a first threshold indicating a decrease in storage activity associated with the storage system or a first pre-set transition time has been reached;
• changing, based on the first determination, a power consuming state of at least one storage device of the multiple storage devices from an active state to a reduced power consuming state, the at least one storage device comprising data redundant to data of at least one other storage device of the storage system that will remain in an active state while the at least one storage device is in the reduced power consuming state;
• copying data from the at least one storage device to at least one partition on the at least one reduced power consuming storage device prior to changing the power consuming state of the at least one storage device;
• assigning redundant data responsibilities of the at least one storage device to the at least one reduced power consuming storage device after the power consuming state of the at least one storage device has been changed to the reduced power consuming state;
• making a second determination that either a second parameter has crossed a second threshold indicating an increase in storage activity associated with the storage system or a second pre-set transition time has been reached;
• changing, based on the second determination, the power consuming state of the at least one storage device from the reduced power consuming state to the active state;
• and
• storing, on the at least one storage device, new data reflective of changes to data stored by the at least one other storage device since the at least one storage device was last placed into the reduced power consuming state, the storing being performed with reference to lifecycle information associated with data stored on either of the at least one other storage device or the at least one reduced power consuming storage device;
• wherein the first and second pre-set transition times were set based on historical empirical information of storage activity derived from lifecycle information.