Patent ID: 7305418
Filing Date: 2007-12-04
Classification: H04L,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A method for pairing source and target volumes for the purpose of copying data from the source volume to the target volume, comprising the steps: graphically depicting representations of storage resources in a single view, including the step of displaying said graphical depictions side-by-side with a multitude of source volumes depicted on a first side of the view and a multitude of target volumes depicted on a second side of the view; selecting a plurality of pairs of said storage resources using said single view, including, for each of said pairs, identifying one of said pair as the source volume from which data are to be copied, and identifying the other of said pair as the target volume to which the data are to be copied, including the steps of selecting a first source volume, then selecting a first target volume for said first source volume, then selecting a second source volume, then selecting a second target volume for the second source volume, and preventing the user from selecting the second source volume until the first target volume has been selected; after said plurality of pairs have been selected and before copying any data from the source volumes to the target volumes, implementing checks to determine if said selected pairs satisfy predefined rules; and sending alert messages regarding said selected pairs if said selected pairs do not satisfy said predefined rules; after selecting said pairs, displaying to the user a confirmation panel where the user is allowed to both view and change the volumes of said pairs, said confirmation panel comprises a table showing the source volumes on one side and the target volumes on another side; and the selecting step includes the further step of the user using said table to swap the target volume in one pair with the target volume in another pair within said confirmation panel; and the selecting step includes the step of a user manually identifying said source volumes and said target volumes; and wherein: said storage resources are logical subsystems; the user is allowed to only select volumes from one logical subsystem on a source side and one logical subsystem on a target side; and if the user tries to select volumes from more than one logical subsystem on the source side, the user receives an error message stating that the user cannot choose volumes from more than one logical subsystem.