Flash copy relationship management

An electronic system for combining storage array copy requests for a disk storage system, the electronic system comprising:

• a multi-volume disk storage system;
• a control unit adapter;
• a memory device;
• and
• one or more processor circuits configured to:
• receive a first BGC (background copy) request;
• determine that the first BGC request satisfies a set of background copy (BGC) criteria that at least includes a number of BGC relationships in a BGC queue, a number of BGC relationships corresponding to a source volume and a target volume, and a number of tracks in a current BGC relationship;
• add, based on the determining, the first BGC request to a sorted position in a wait accumulation queue (WAQ);
• combine, based on comparing a set of track combining data to a set of track combining criteria that at least includes, corresponding to BGC requests to be combined, sequential source tracks, sequential target tracks, a matching source volume and a matching target volume, the first BGC request and a first adjacent BGC request, selected from a plurality of BGC requests in the BGC queue, into a second BGC request, the second BGC request including data locations corresponding to the first BGC request and data locations corresponding to the first adjacent BGC request;
• replace, in a sorted position in the WAQ, the first BGC request and the first adjacent BGC request with the second BGC request;
• and
• move, based on the set of BGC criteria, the second BGC request to the BGC queue.

A computer program product for combining storage array copy requests for a disk storage system, the computer program product comprising:

• a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon:
• program instructions executable by one or more processor circuits to cause the one or more processor circuits to:
• receive a first BGC (background copy) request;
• determine that the first BGC request satisfies a set of background copy (BGC) criteria that at least includes a number of BGC relationships in a BGC queue, a number of BGC relationships corresponding to a source volume and a target volume, and a number of tracks in a current BGC relationship;
• add, based on the determining, the first BGC request to a sorted position in a wait accumulation queue (WAQ);
• combine, based on comparing a set of track combining data to a set of track combining criteria that at least includes, corresponding to BGC requests to be combined, sequential source tracks, sequential target tracks, a matching source volume and a matching target volume, the first BGC request and a first adjacent BGC request, selected from a plurality of BGC requests in the BGC queue, into a second BGC request, the second BGC request including data locations corresponding to the first BGC request and data locations corresponding to the first adjacent BGC request;
• replace, in a sorted position in the WAQ, the first BGC request and the first adjacent BGC request with the second BGC request;
• and
• move, based on the set of BGC criteria, the second BGC request to the BGC queue.