Collaboration between discrete systems and a shared system to consolidate shared storage-related services

A computer program product for providing shared, consolidated storage-related services and high-availability, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium having program code stored thereon, which when executed performs operations comprising:

• pairing each of a plurality of discrete block storage virtualization modules to a shared block storage virtualization module, each of the discrete block storage virtualization modules and the shared block storage virtualization module respectively residing on separate application servers, each of the discrete block storage virtualization modules and the shared block storage virtualization module performing block storage virtualization functions that include presentation of a given virtual disk, the plurality of discrete block storage virtualization modules and the shared block storage virtualization module being distinct from dedicated physical storage resources;
• maintaining logical volume coherency locally by and among each of the plurality of discrete block storage virtualization modules, and globally by the shared block storage virtualization module;
• and
• allocating a set of the block storage virtualization functions to be performed between one of the plurality of discrete block storage virtualization modules and the shared block storage virtualization module according to the pairing,
• wherein the set of the block storage virtualization functions includes sharing the given virtual disk while maintaining logical volume coherency between a first discrete block storage virtualization module and a second discrete block storage virtualization module of the plurality of discrete block storage virtualization modules, using the shared block storage virtualization module as an intermediary.

An apparatus for providing shared, consolidated storage-related services and high-availability, the apparatus comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory, the memory storing program code executable to perform operations comprising:
• pairing each of a plurality of discrete block storage virtualization modules to a shared block storage virtualization module, each of the discrete block storage virtualization modules and the shared block storage virtualization module respectively residing on separate application servers, each of the discrete block storage virtualization modules and the shared block storage virtualization module performing block storage virtualization functions that include presentation of a given virtual disk, the plurality of discrete block storage virtualization modules and the shared block storage virtualization module being distinct from dedicated physical storage resources;
• maintaining logical volume coherency locally by and among each of the plurality of discrete block storage virtualization modules, and globally by the shared block storage virtualization module;
• and
• allocating a set of the block storage virtualization functions to be performed between one of the plurality of discrete block storage virtualization modules and the shared block storage virtualization module according to the pairing,
• wherein the set of the block storage virtualization functions includes sharing the given virtual disk while maintaining logical volume coherency between a first discrete block storage virtualization module and a second discrete block storage virtualization module of the plurality of discrete block storage virtualization modules, using the shared block storage virtualization module as an intermediary.

A system for hardware-independent storage virtualization and centralized storage management, the system comprising:

• a plurality of application servers that host one or more application programs, each application server respectively including a discrete block storage virtualization module;
• and
• a shared computer system hosting another application server that is separate from the plurality of application servers and including a shared block storage virtualization module, paired to each of the plurality of discrete block storage virtualization modules,
• each of the discrete block storage virtualization modules and the shared block storage virtualization module performing block storage virtualization functions that include presentation of a given virtual disk,
• the plurality of discrete block storage virtualization modules and the shared block storage virtualization module being distinct from dedicated physical storage resources,
• wherein logical volume coherency for each of the plurality of application servers is maintained locally by and among the respective discrete block storage virtualization modules, and is maintained globally by the shared block storage virtualization module,
• a set of the block storage virtualization functions to be performed is allocated between one of the plurality of discrete block storage virtualization modules and the shared block storage virtualization module according to the pairing, and
• the set of the block storage virtualization functions includes sharing the given virtual disk while maintaining logical volume coherency between a first discrete block storage virtualization module and a second discrete block storage virtualization module of the plurality of discrete block storage virtualization modules, using the shared block storage virtualization module as an intermediary.