US 8,819,338 B2Granted

Storage system and storage apparatus

AssigneeHitachi, Ltd.

InventorsGo Uehara, Shigeo Homma, Yoshiyuki Noborikawa

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A storage system comprises a first controller and a plurality of storage devices. The plurality of storage devices configure RAID, each of which includes one or more non-volatile memory chips providing storage space where data from a host computer is stored, and a second controller coupled to the non-volatile memory chips. In case where the first controller receives an update request to update first data to second data from the host computer, the second controller in a first storage device of the storage devices is configured to store the second data in an area different from an area where the first data has been stored, in the storage space of the first storage device; generate information that relates the first data and the second data; and generate an intermediate parity based on the first and the second data.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A storage system comprising:

a plurality of flash packages, each of which includes a plurality of flash chips to store data or parity, and a device controller configured to be coupled to the plurality of flash chips, and
a RAID controller configured to be coupled to the plurality of flash packages and to control the plurality of flash packages as a RAID group, the plurality of flash packages including a first flash package storing old data and a second flash package storing old parity;
wherein the storage system is configured to perform steps of:
generating first intermediate parity based on the old data stored in the first flash package and new data sent from a host computer by a first device controller of the first flash package;
transferring the first intermediate parity from the first flash package to a second flash package which is one of the plurality of flash packages and has stored old parity;
generating first new parity based on the first intermediate parity and the old parity stored in the second flash package by a second controller of the second flash package;
and
invalidating the old data by the first device controller after storing the first new parity on a flash chip of the second flash package.

5 more elements

A storage system comprising:

a plurality of flash packages, each of which includes a plurality of flash chips to store data or parity, and a device controller configured to be coupled to the plurality of flash chips, and
a RAID controller configured to be coupled to the plurality of flash packages and to control the plurality of flash packages as a RAID group, the plurality of flash packages including a first flash package storing old data and a second flash package storing old parity;
wherein a first device controller of a first flash package is configured to perform steps of:
storing new data which are received from the RAID controller while keeping old data which have been stored in the first flash package;
generating first intermediate parity based on the new data received from the RAID controller and the old data stored in the first flash package, the first intermediate parity is transferred to the second flash package;
and
invalidating the old data after first new parity, which is generated based on the old parity which has been stored on the second flash package and the first intermediate parity, is stored on a flash chip of the second flash package.

4 more elements

A storage system comprising:

a plurality of flash packages, each of which includes a plurality of flash chips to store data or parity, and a device controller configured to be coupled to the plurality of flash chips, and
a RAID controller configured to be coupled to the plurality of flash packages and to control the plurality of flash packages as a RAID group, the plurality of flash packages including a first flash package storing old data and a second flash package storing old parity;
wherein a second device controller of a second flash package is configured to perform steps of:
receiving first intermediate parity, which is generated by a first device controller of a first flash package based on new data, which are received from the RAID controller, and old data, which have been stored in the first flash package, from the first flash package;
generating first new parity based on the first intermediate parity and the old parity, which has been stored in the second flash package;
and
storing the first new parity on a flash chip of the second flash package before the old data are invalidated by the first device controller.

4 more elements

A storage system comprising:

a plurality of flash packages, each of which includes a plurality of flash chips to store data or parity, and a device controller configured to be coupled to the plurality of flash chips, and
a RAID controller configured to be coupled to the plurality of flash packages and to control the plurality of flash packages as a RAID group, the plurality of flash packages including a first flash package storing old data and a second flash package storing old parity;
wherein the RAID controller or the plurality of flash packages have parity operation parts configured to generate parity;
wherein when a first flash package and a second flash package have parity operation parts, the storage system is configured to perform steps of:
generating first intermediate parity based on the old data stored in the first flash package and new data sent from a host computer by a first device controller of the first flash package;
transferring the first intermediate parity from the first flash package to the second flash package;
generating first new parity based on the intermediate parity and the old parity stored in the second flash package by a second controller of the second flash package;
and
invalidating the old data after storing the new parity on a flash chip of the second flash package;
and
wherein when the first device controller and the second device controller do not have the parity operation parts and the RAID controller has the parity operation part, the storage system is configured to perform a step of:
generating third new parity by the RAID controller.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 13/867,375Filed 22 Apr 2013 · continuation
Published: US 2013/0290613 A131 Oct 2013
Granted: 26 Aug 2014
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification5 codes

G06F 12/0246
Memory management in non-volatile memory, e.g. resistive RAM or ferroelectric memory: in block erasable memory, e.g. flash memory
G06F 3/0688
Plurality of storage devices: non-volatile semiconductor memory arrays
G06F 11/108
Parity data used in redundant arrays of independent storages, e.g. in RAID systems: parity data distribution in semiconductor storages, e.g. in SSD
G06F 2211/1059
Indexing scheme relating to G06F11/1076: parity-single bit-RAID5, i.e. RAID 5 implementations

Family

PCT/JP2012/002937Parent of this continuation · filed 27 Apr 2012
US 2013/0290613 A1Pre-grant publication · published 31 Oct 2013
Application13/519,721Parent of this continuation
US 2013/0290629 A1Published application
US 9,684,591 B2Related patent
US 8,819,338 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.