Patent ID: 7685361
Filing Date: 2010-03-23
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A storage system comprising a first storage apparatus and a second storage apparatus, the first storage apparatus being provided between a host apparatus and the second storage apparatus that is external to the host apparatus and the first storage apparatus and that provides one or more logical devices for storing data, the one or more logical devices provided by the second storage apparatus being virtualized as virtual volumes by the first storage apparatus as if internal logical devices thereof to the host apparatus, wherein upon a channel connected to the first storage apparatus coming on-line, the host apparatus sends via the channel a predetermined inquiry command to all logical devices defined as being connected to the channel; and the first storage apparatus: recognizes logical devices defined in the host apparatus as being connected to the channel, based on the inquiry command sent from the host apparatus, detects one or more logical devices among the logical devices defined in the host apparatus as being connected to the channel and located in the second storage apparatus, based on the recognized logical devices recognition result, sets, based on the detected one or more logical devices detection result, one or more virtual volumes in the first storage apparatus, respectively corresponding to the detected one or more logical devices which are connected to the channel and located in the second storage apparatus, and sets a first logical path between each of the set one or more virtual volumes and each of the corresponding one or more logical devices located in the second storage apparatus, executes link-initialization processing for a port in the first storage apparatus to be connected to the second storage apparatus, recognizes a port ID of the port of the first storage apparatus, a port ID of a corresponding port of the second storage apparatus and a manufacture number for the second storage apparatus, provides the second storage apparatus with a type of the host apparatus based on the port ID of the port of the first storage apparatus, the port ID of the port of the second storage apparatus, and the manufacture number of the second storage apparatus to establish the first logical path to the second storage apparatus, selects all the logical devices recognized by the first storage apparatus as being connected to the channel, sends the inquiry command to the selected logical devices via the first logical path, compares the logical devices recognized by the first storage apparatus as being connected to the channel with the logical devices detected as existing in the second storage apparatus to judge whether all of the logical devices recognized by the first storage apparatus as being connected to the channel exist in the second storage apparatus, if it is judged that not all of the logical devices recognized by the first storage apparatus as being connected to the channel exist in the second storage apparatus, recognizes the logical devices recognized by the first storage apparatus as being connected to the channel and existing in the second storage apparatus, obtains device configuration information for the first storage apparatus, judges whether any logical devices existing in the first storage apparatus, which include virtual volumes, have identical device numbers as the logical devices recognized by the first storage apparatus as being connected to the channel and existing in the second storage apparatus, and selects the logical devices recognized by the first storage as being connected to the channel and existing in the second storage apparatus as virtualization objects, and sets virtual volumes each having the identical device numbers as each of selected virtualization object logical devices in the first storage apparatus, and sets the first logical path between each of the set virtual volumes and each of the virtualization object logical devices, wherein the inquiry command is a command to seek device configuration information of said all logical devices defined as being connected to the channel for respectively storing therein: control unit type information indicating a type of the host apparatus that can access the detected one or more logical devices, control unit model information indicating a model of a control unit, device type information indicating a type of the detected one or more logical devices, and device model information indicating a model of the detected one or more logical devices, and the device IDs are managed on a port basis to allow only access to a device from a relevant port so as to separate the logical devices with the identical device numbers according to the respective accessible ports.