Patent ID: 8161008
Filing Date: 2012-04-17
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. An information processing apparatus coupled to a storage apparatus providing a plurality of logical volumes, comprising: a file system managing the plurality of logical volumes by allocating the plurality of logical volumes to each P-VOL, each D-VOL and auxiliary volumes that are each additionally allocatable as the D-VOL, the file system being capable of accessing the each P-VOL, the P-VOL used for data input/output with an external device, the D-VOL used for storing difference data generated with update of data in the P-VOL to reproduce a snapshot that is a state of the P-VOL at a certain time; a communication interface with which the external device communicates with the file system; a data copying processing part implemented through executing a corresponding program by a processor of the information processing apparatus, that copies, at predetermined time intervals, the difference data of the D-VOL onto a different D-VOL disposed outside of the storage apparatus via the communication interface; and a failover processing part implemented through executing a corresponding program by a processor of the information processing apparatus, that acquires the number of other auxiliary volumes provided to be added to the different D-VOL as a new D-VOL when the data copying processing part completes a process of copying the difference data of the D-VOL onto the different D-VOL, comparing the acquired number of the other auxiliary volumes with the number of auxiliary volumes of its own, and performs a failover process of switching a function of a copy source in the data copying process by the data copying processing part, to a function of a copy destination thereof when the failover processing part determines that the acquired number of the other auxiliary volumes is larger than the number of auxiliary volumes of its own by a predetermined threshold value or more; wherein: the process of each of the data copying processing part and the failover processing part is performed in unit of a group of logical volumes which are used by the file system corresponding to each network address allocated in a communication network; logical volume groups used by the file system and corresponding to the respective network addresses are classified into different importance levels in accordance with a predetermined reference value, and the logical volume groups are subjected to different processing contents in the data copying and failover processes depending on the importance levels into which the groups are classified, with the different processing for each level being: Level 1: the D-VOL is repeatedly used while allowing overwriting and the remote copying is stopped when the capacity of the D-VOL is completely consumed; Level 2: the failover process is carried out to a site with more auxiliary volumes, and the remote copying is continued; and Level 3: the capacity of D-VOL is secured and the remote copying is continued.