Patent ID: 8539178
Filing Date: 2013-09-17
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A computer system comprising: one or more primary storage systems; one or more secondary storage systems coupled to the one or more primary storage systems; and a plurality of computers coupled to the one or more primary storage systems, wherein one of the computers includes a storage managing unit and at least another one of the computers includes an Input/output (I/O) issuing unit, wherein the storage managing unit is configured to increment a time stamp number (TS#) and issue the incremented TS# to each of the one or more primary storage systems at intervals, wherein each of the one or more primary storage systems is configured to receive the incremented TS# issued from the storage managing unit at intervals, wherein the one or more primary storage systems include primary volumes and primary journal memory regions, wherein the one or more secondary storage systems include secondary volumes and secondary journal memory regions, wherein the primary volumes are respectively paired with the secondary volumes, wherein the I/O issuing unit is configured to issue a write command designating a primary volume among the primary volumes in the one or more primary storage systems, wherein each of the one or more primary storage systems is configured to: receive the write command designating its corresponding own primary volume among the primary volumes, write data according to the received write command in the own primary volume, prepare a journal including journal data, which is a replica of the data, and the TS# most recently received from the storage managing unit, store the prepared journal in its corresponding own primary journal memory region, and transmit the journal to a secondary storage system among the one or more secondary storage systems, which includes a secondary volume, among the secondary volumes, being paired with the own primary volume, wherein each of the one or more secondary storage systems is configured to: receive a journal, write the received journal in its corresponding own secondary journal memory region among the secondary journal memory regions, and write journal data, in its corresponding own secondary volume among the secondary volumes, included in journals a particular journal through an oldest non-written journal among non-written journals stored in the own secondary journal memory region, wherein each of the non-written journals is a journal of which journal data have not yet been written in a secondary volume among the secondary volumes, wherein the oldest non-written journal stored in the own secondary journal memory region is a non-written journal including the smallest TS# among TS#s included in the non-written journals stored in the own secondary journal memory region, wherein the particular journal stored in the own secondary journal memory region is a journal including an TS#, among TS#s included in the non-written journals stored in the own secondary journal memory region, which is an small TS# next to the smallest arrival completion TS# among arrival completion TS#s in the one or more secondary storage systems, and wherein, for each of the one or more secondary storage systems, an arrival completion TS# is the largest TS# among TS#s which are included in journals which have already been received.