Patent Abstract:
A method is provided for a destination storage system to handle SCSI-3 reservations. The method includes discovering a volume on a source storage system when the source storage system exports the volume to the destination storage system, exporting the volume to host computer systems, locally registering keys for first paths to the destination storage system, and registering with the source storage system the keys for second paths to the source storage system. When one of the host computer systems requests to reserve the volume, the method includes locally reserving the volume for paths to the destination storage system with registered keys and performing reservation forwarding to request the source storage system to reserve the volume for paths to the source storage system with registered keys.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    A storage array is a storage system that contains multiple drives. It has cache memory and functionalities such as RAID (redundant array of independent disks) and virtualization. A storage area network (SAN) is a network that can provide access to consolidated, block level data storage. It can be used to make storage devices, such as storage arrays, accessible to host computers (e.g., server computers) so that the storage devices appear as locally attached devices to the operating systems on the host computers. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0002]    In the drawings: 
           [0003]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a storage area network (SAN) in one example of the present disclosure; 
           [0004]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a volume presented by a source storage system and a destination storage system of  FIG. 1  in one example of the present disclosure; 
           [0005]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating a SAN with a source storage system and a destination storage system in one example of the present disclosure; 
           [0006]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart of a method for the destination storage system of  FIG. 3  to handle SCSI-2 reservations from host computers in one example of the present disclosure; 
           [0007]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart of a method for the destination storage system of  FIG. 3  to handle SCSI-2 reservations from host computers in another example of the present disclosure; 
           [0008]      FIG. 6  is a block diagram illustrating a SAN with a source storage system and a destination storage system in another example of the present disclosure; 
           [0009]      FIG. 7  is a flowchart of a method for the destination storage system of  FIG. 6  to handle SCSI-3 reservations from the host computers in  FIG. 6  in one example of the present disclosure; 
           [0010]      FIGS. 8 and 9  form a flowchart of a method for the destination storage system of  FIG. 6  to handle SCSI-3 reservations from the host computers in  FIG. 6  in another example of the present disclosure; and 
           [0011]      FIG. 10  is a block diagram of a computing device for implementing the storage system in one example of the present disclosure. 
       
    
    
       [0012]    Use of the same reference numbers in different figures indicates similar or identical elements. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0013]    As explain above, a storage area network (SAN) is a network that can provide access to consolidated, block level data storage. It can be used to make storage devices, such as storage arrays, accessible to host computers (e.g., server computers) so that the storage devices appear as locally attached devices to the operating systems on the host computers. When multiple host computers access the same storage array, a reservation system is used to grant access among the servers to ensure data consistency. Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) reservations can provide a mechanism for hosts to restrict or fence off access to a volume on a storage array and are used by many host clustering technologies. 
         [0014]    SCSI-2 reservations can provide the ability for a single host/array path to be marked as reserved, preventing access to the volume from any other host/array path (even from the same host). 
         [0015]    SCSI-3 reservations can extend upon this to allow each host/array path to have a key registered against it. Typically a host will register the same key upon all of the paths it sees to the storage array and each host will have its own unique key. Once a key is registered along a path, all input/output requests on that path are treated as being associated with that key. Access to the volume can then be restricted to those hosts who have registered keys. Should a host be determined to have been given unrestricted access or gone rogue, its key can be revoked by any of the still active hosts, causing the rogue host to lose access to the volume. Once the host has taken appropriate action to become healthy again, it can register a new key and regain access. 
         [0016]    In one example, it may be necessary to migrate data from a source storage system (e.g., a source storage array) to a destination storage system (e.g., a destination storage array). To migrate data, the destination storage system is added as a host to the source storage system so the destination storage system can access the data in a volume on the source storage system. To avoid or reduce disrupting host access during data migration, destination storage system exports the volume to other host computers so they can access the volume via the destination storage system even when the paths between the host computers and the source storage system are later removed during the data migration. In an initial configuration phase of the data migration before the paths between the host computers and the source storage system are removed, the host computers have access to the volume via both the source storage system and the destination storage system. During this phase, both the source storage system and the destination storage system may receive competing SCSI reservations for the volume from different host computers. Thus, there is a need for techniques that allow the destination storage system to handle the competing SCSI reservations for the volume without disrupting host access to the volume. 
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is block diagram showing a Storage Area Network (SAN)  100  in one example of the present disclosure. The SAN  100  includes a source storage system  102  (e.g., a destination storage array) and a destination storage system  104  (e.g., a source storage array) coupled by two paths  106  which can include Fibre Channel, Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) links, or any other communication technique. The destination storage system  104  is defined as a host on source storage system  102  so destination storage system  104  may discover and access volumes on source storage system  102 . 
         [0018]    The destination storage system  104  has a virtual volume (VV) layer that creates external volumes presented to host computers  105 , and a logical disk (LD) layer that implements RAID functionality over the raw storage in the system&#39;s physical drives (PDs). A system manager  107  allows users to create VVs and export them (make visible and accessible) to hosts as logical unit numbers (LUNs). 
         [0019]    The destination storage system  104  includes a low-level migration engine  112 , also known as the region mover, at the LD level that copies and mirrors data between sets of LDs mapped to physical disks (PDs). The LD mirroring process duplicates any host writes to both locations, ensuring data consistency. In one example, a migration manager  108  on a host computer  110  uses migration engine  112  in a method to migrate volumes from source storage system  102  to destination storage system  104 . In another example, migration manager  108  uses migration engine  112  in methods to convert a fully-provisioned VV (FPVV) on storage system  104  to a thinly-provisioned VV (TPVV) and vice versa. The migration manager  108  may be implemented with executable instructions for a processor in host computer  110 . The executable instructions may be stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, or another type of nonvolatile memory. The host computer  110  is coupled to destination storage system  104 . 
         [0020]    The destination storage system  104  includes a full mesh backplane that joins multiple controller nodes to form a cache-coherent cluster. In one example, each controller node may contain processing complexes, memories, and network interface cards for data movement and control functions (e.g., an ASIC and associated memory for data movement, and central processing units and associated memory for control functions). Controller nodes are paired and each pair is connected to dual-ported drive chassis (or drive cages) owned by that pair. In addition, each controller node has one or more paths to hosts. The clustering of controller nodes enables data storage system  104  to present to hosts a single, highly available, high-performance storage system. Hosts can access VVs over any host-connected port even if the PDs for that data are connected to a different controller node. 
         [0021]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a volume presented by source storage system  102  and destination storage system  104  in one example of the present disclosure. The source storage system  102  has a volume  202  exported to hosts, including destination storage system  104  and host computers  105  ( FIG. 1 ). In one example, volume  202  is a VV mapped to a set of LDs  204 , which are mapped a number of PDs  206 . 
         [0022]    On destination storage system  104 , system manager  107  ( FIG. 1 ) admits VV  202  as a type of remote PD called a physical disk virtual volume (PDVV)  208 . In one example, a PVDD is a data structure created by system manager  107  to present VV  202  as a PD to the LD layer on destination storage system  104  so that LDs can map to PDVV  208 . The system manager  107  then creates a set of RAID  0  (RO) LDs  210  on PDVV  208 , and creates an admitted VV  212  on RO LDs  210  so hosts coupled to destination storage system  104  can access VV  202  on source storage system  102 . The RO LDs  210  are assigned to a set of node pairs to distribute workload among the primary nodes and allow a backup node to take over when the primary node is offline. The primary and backup nodes in the node pairs are those in communication with source system  102  (e.g., nodes  0  and  1 ). The RO LDs  210  are RAID level  0  as they are mapped to a single PDVV  208 . The admitted VV  212  is similar to a fully-provisioned VV except it has no data in destination storage system  104  and cannot be tuned (change layout of a VV), grown, setvv&#39;ed (modify a VV to use a new name, to change CPG, set allocation warnings, or use new policies), exported, or snapped. 
         [0023]    To avoid disrupting host access during a data migration from source storage system  102  to destination storage system  104 , destination storage system  104  exports admitted VV  212  to host computers  105  so host computers  105  may access VV  202  via destination storage system  104  after the paths between source storage system  102  and host computers  105  are removed during the data migration. In the initial configuration phase of the data migration before the paths between source storage system  102  and host computers  105  are removed, host computers  105  have access to VV  202  via both source storage system  102  and destination storage system  104 . During this phase, both source storage system  102  and destination storage system  104  may receive competing SCSI reservations from different host computers  105  for exclusive control of VV  202 . Thus, there is a need for techniques that allow source storage system  102  and destination storage system  104  to handle the competing SCSI reservations for VV  202  without disrupting host access to VV  202 . 
         [0024]    In one example of the present disclosure, a destination storage system can operate in a pass-through state during an initial configuration phase of a data migration from a source storage system to the destination storage system. In this state, the destination storage system forwards I/O requests, including SCSI-2 reservations, from host computers to the source storage system, as well as performs its normal internal processing of these reservations, to ensure that the requesting host computer gains the exclusive access it is requesting against all other host computers, whether the host computers are connected to the source or the destination storage system. 
         [0025]    If the source storage system has an outstanding reservation against it, the reservation is faithfully reported back to any host computer attempting to access data via the destination storage system, ensuring the requesting application on the host computer is aware of the reason for the request failure and is able to perform its retry logic. 
         [0026]    After the initial configuration phase, the data migration may be started on the destination storage system. At this point it is not necessary to forward SCSI-2 reservation to the source storage system and the host computers are disconnected from the destination storage system. 
         [0027]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating a SAN  300  with a source storage system  302  and a destination storage system  304  in one example of the present disclosure. The source storage system  302  and destination storage system  304  may be implemented like source storage system  102  ( FIG. 1 ) and destination storage system  104  ( FIG. 1 ), respectively. The host computers  306 - 1 ,  306 - 2 , and  306 - 3  (referred to as “host computers  306 ” collectively or “host computer  306 ” for a generic individual host computer) may be initially coupled to source storage system  302  before destination storage system  304  is added to SAN  300 . Each host computer  306  is coupled by one or more paths to source storage system  302 . For example, host computer  306 - 1  is coupled by paths  308 - 1 ,  308 - 2  to source storage system  302 , host computer  306 - 2  is coupled by paths  308 - 3 ,  308 - 4  to source storage system  302 , and host computer  306 - 3  is coupled by paths  308 - 5 ,  308 - 6  to source storage system  302 . The host computers  306  are defined as hosts on source storage system  302 , which allows source storage system  302  to export a volume  310  (e.g., a virtual volume) to host computers  306 . Once host computers  306  discover the exported volume  310 , they are able to access volume  310  via source storage system  302 . 
         [0028]    When destination storage system  304  is added to SAN  300 , each host computer  306  is coupled by one or more paths to destination storage system  304 . For example, host computer  306 - 1  is coupled by paths  312 - 1 ,  312 - 2  to destination storage system  304 , host computer  306 - 2  is coupled by paths  312 - 3 ,  312 - 4  to destination storage system  304 , and host computer  306 - 3  is coupled by paths  312 - 5 ,  312 - 6  to destination storage system  304 . The host computers  306  are defined as hosts on destination storage system  304 . 
         [0029]    The destination storage system  304  is also coupled by one or more paths to source storage system  302 . For example, destination storage system  304  is coupled by paths  308 - 7  and  308 - 8  to source storage system  302 . The destination storage system  304  is defined as a host on source storage system  302 , which allows source storage system  302  to export volume  310  to destination storage system  304 . Once destination storage system  304  discovers the exported volume  310 , it is able to access volume  310  via source storage system  302 . The destination storage system  304  admits volume  310  and exports an admitted volume  314  to host computers  306 . The destination storage system  304  assigns the exported admitted volume  314  the same unique identifier (e.g., the same World Wide Name) as volume  310  so host computers  306  believes it is accessing the same volume. Once host computers  306  discover the exported admitted volume  314 , they are able to access volume  310  via destination storage system  304  as well as source storage system  302 . 
         [0030]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart of a method  400  for destination storage system  304  ( FIG. 3 ) to handle SCSI-2 reservations from host computers  306  ( FIG. 3 ) in one example of the present disclosure. The method  400  may be implemented by a system manager on destination storage system  304 . The system manager may be implemented by instructions stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, or another type of nonvolatile memory, and executed by processors in controller nodes of destination storage system  304 . The method  400  may begin in block  402 . 
         [0031]    In block  402 , destination storage system  304  discovers volume  310  ( FIG. 3 ) on source storage system  302  ( FIG. 3 ). For destination storage system  304  to discover volume  310 , source storage system  302  exports volume  310  to destination storage system  304 . Once destination storage system  304  discovers volume  310 , destination storage system  304  is able to access volume  310  via source storage system  302 . The block  402  may be followed by block  404 . 
         [0032]    In block  404 , destination storage system  304  exports volume  310  to host computer systems  306  so host computers  306  are able to discover volume  310  on destination storage system  304 . Once host computers  306  discover volume  310 , host computer systems  306  are able to access volume  310  via destination storage system  304 . The block  404  may be followed by block  406 . 
         [0033]    In block  406 , when a host computer  306  requests to reserve volume  310 , destination storage system  304  determines locally if volume  310  is free (not reserved). The requesting host computer  306  requests to reserve volume  310  by sending a SCSI-2 reserve command for a particular path to destination storage system  304 . The block  406  may be followed by block  408 . 
         [0034]    In block  408 , when destination storage system  304  determines locally that volume  310  is free, destination storage system  304  reserves locally volume  310  for the requesting host computer  306  so only the requesting host computer  306  has permission to access volume  310  along the specified path. The block  408  may be followed by block  410 . 
         [0035]    In block  410 , destination storage system  304  performs reservation forwarding by requesting source storage system  302  to reserve volume  310  for the destination storage system  304 . The destination storage system  304  requests to reserve volume  310  by sending a SCSI-2 reserve command for a particular path to source storage system  302 . If destination storage system  304  is able to reserve volume  310 , then only the requesting host computer  306  can access volume  310  along the specified paths. 
         [0036]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart of a method  500  for destination storage system  304  ( FIG. 3 ) to handle SCSI-2 reservations from host computers  306  ( FIG. 3 ) in one example of the present disclosure. The method  500  may be implemented by a system manager on destination storage system  304 . The method  500  is a variation of method  400  ( FIG. 4 ). The method  500  may begin in block  502 . 
         [0037]    In block  502 , destination storage system  304  discovers volume  310  ( FIG. 3 ) on source storage system  302 . The destination storage system  304  is defined as a host on source storage system  302  and source storage system  302  exports volume  310  to destination storage system  304  so destination storage system  304  is able to discover and access volume  310  via source storage system  302 . The block  502  may be followed by block  504 . 
         [0038]    In block  504 , destination storage system  304  admits volume  310  so admitted volume  314  ( FIG. 3 ) may be exported to host computer systems  306 . The block  504  may be followed by block  506 . 
         [0039]    In block  506 , destination storage system  304  exports admitted volume  314  to host computers  306  so host computers  306  are able to discover and access volume  310  via destination storage system  304 . The destination storage system  304  exports admitted volume  314  with the same WWN as volume  310  so host computers  306  believes it is accessing the same volume. Block  506  may be followed by block  508 . 
         [0040]    In block  508 , destination storage system  304  determines if a host computer  306  has requested to reserve volume  310 . The requesting host computer  306  requests to reserve volume  310  by sending a SCSI-2 reserve command to destination storage system  304  for a particular path to destination storage system  304 . If a host computer  306  has requested to reserve volume  310 , block  508  may be followed by block  512 . Otherwise block  508  may be followed by block  524 . 
         [0041]    In block  512 , destination storage system  304  locally determines if volume  310  is free. If so, block  512  may be followed by block  514 . Otherwise block  512  may be followed by block  522 . 
         [0042]    In block  514 , destination storage system  304  locally reserves volume  310  for the requesting host computer  306  so only the requesting host computer  306  has permission to access volume  310  along the specified path to destination storage system  304 . The block  514  may be followed by block  516 . 
         [0043]    In block  516 , destination storage system  304  performs reservation forwarding by requesting source storage system  302  to reserve volume  310  for destination storage system  304 . The destination storage system  304  requests to reserve volume  310  by sending a SCSI-2 reserve command for a particular path to source storage system  302 . The block  516  may be followed by block  518 . 
         [0044]    In block  518 , destination storage system  304  determines if source storage system  302  has reported back that volume  310  is already reserved at source storage system  302  by another host computer  306 . If so, block  518  may be followed by block  522 . Otherwise block  518  may be followed by block  520 . 
         [0045]    In block  520 , destination storage system  304  reports back to the requesting host computer  306  that volume  310  has been reserved for the requesting host computer  306  (also called “the owner host computer  306 ”). The block  520  may be followed by block  524 . 
         [0046]    In block  522 , destination storage system  304  reports a reservation conflict back to the requesting host computer  306  as volume  310  has already been reserved either at source storage system  302  or destination storage system  304  by another host computer  306 . In response, the requesting host computer  306  performs it retry logic. The destination storage system  304  also cancels the local reservation for volume  310  by requesting host computer  306 . The block  522  may be followed by block  524 . 
         [0047]    In block  524 , destination storage system  304  handles I/O requests from host computer systems  306  to volume  310  and any release of volume  310 . When a reservation has been placed on volume  310  locally at destination storage system  304 , destination storage system  304  only allows I/O requests from the owner host computer  306  along the specified path. Other host computers  306  receive a reservation conflict message when they attempt to access volume  310  via destination storage system  304 . 
         [0048]    Similarly, when a reservation has been placed on volume  310  at source storage system  302 , source storage system  302  only allows I/O request from the owner host (destination storage system  304  or a host computer  306 ) along the specified path. If destination storage system  304  receives a reservation conflict message when it attempts to access volume  310  via source storage system  302 , it will report the reservation conflict back to the requesting host computer  306 . In response, the requesting host computer  306  performs retry logic. 
         [0049]    The destination storage system  304  may receive a request to release a volume  310  from the owner host computer  306 . If so, destination storage system  304  removes the reservation on volume  310  and allows all host computers  306  to access volume  310  via destination storage system  304 . The block  524  may be followed by block  526 . 
         [0050]    In block  526 , destination storage system  304  determines if it is to perform data migration. If so, block  526  may be followed by block  528 . Otherwise block  526  may be followed by block  508 . 
         [0051]    In block  528 , destination storage system  304  terminates reservation forwarding. At this time, source storage array  302  is disconnected from host computers  306  so host computer systems  306  can only access volume  310  via destination storage system  304 . The block  528  may be followed by block  530 . 
         [0052]    In block  530 , destination storage system  304  migrates data from source storage system  302 . 
         [0053]    As described herein, in one example, SCSI-3 persistent reservations may allow each host computer to register a key along multiple paths to a storage system in order to marshal access to storage and/or fence off host computers that are believed to no longer be part of the active cluster. As described above, in one example, a destination storage array is presented as a host to a source storage array during a data migration and the destination storage array forwards I/O requests for host computers that are in the process of migrating between arrays. The destination storage system cannot simply forward SCSI-3 persistent reservations from host computers to the source storage system like SCSI-2 reservations because the number of paths between the destination and the source storage systems may be less than the number of the host computers so there may not be a one-to-one correspondence between keys and paths. 
         [0054]    In one example of the present disclosure, the destination storage system instantiates a new profile or persona for each host computer that wishes to perform a SCSI-3 persistent reservation. When Fibre Channel is used to connect the storage systems, the destination storage system may use N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV) techniques to create multiple paths between virtual ports sharing a single physical port at the destination storage array and a physical port at the source storage array. When iSCSI is used to connect the storage systems, the destination storage array may crate multiple paths between virtual IP addresses sharing a single physical port at the destination storage array and a physical port at the source storage array. In one example, NPIV and the virtual IP addresses can be used on destination storage system  304  to present itself to source storage system  302  as multiple separate virtual paths over a single real physical path without changing anything at source storage system  304 . 
         [0055]    In another example, the destination storage system also internally processes the reservation requests so that its local state reflects the state of the source storage system with respect to outstanding reservations and registered keys. 
         [0056]    In one example, the use of individual personas for each host computer may allow the destination storage system to faithfully pass through any reservation conflict to the correct host computer, while allowing other host computers to continue to access data. Also host computers being masked or masqueraded by the destination storage system retain the ability to evict host computers still only connected to the source storage system from cluster membership. 
         [0057]    In another example, this continuity of access and reservation request processing may allow all host computers to move to the destination storage system without disrupting host access during the process. 
         [0058]      FIG. 6  is a block diagram illustrating a SAN  600  with source storage system  302  and destination storage system  304  in one example of the present disclosure. The SAN  600  is similar to SAN  300 . As shown in more detail, path  308 - 7  represents a nexus or link between a physical port  601  at destination storage system  304  and a physical port  602  at source storage system  302 , and path  308 - 8  represents a nexus or link between a physical port  603  at destination storage system  304  and a physical port  604  at source storage system  302 . Each physical port presents a single WWN. Using NPIV techniques, destination storage system  304  generates a collection of virtual ports sharing physical ports  601  and  603 , such as virtual ports  601 ( 1 ),  601 ( 2 ),  601 ( 3 ) at physical port  601  and virtual ports  603 ( 1 ),  603 ( 2 ), and  603 ( 3 ) at physical port  603 . The WWNs of the virtual ports may be based off the physical port WWN. 
         [0059]    Each host computer  306  registers its key across all paths it sees to volume  310 . For example, host computer  306 - 1  registers a key A along paths  308 - 1 ,  308 - 2  with source storage system  302  and along paths  312 - 1 ,  312 - 2  with destination storage system  304 . The host computer  306 - 2  registers a key B along paths  308 - 3 ,  308 - 4  with source storage system  302  and along paths  312 - 3 ,  312 - 4  with destination storage system  304 . The host computer  306 - 3  registers a key C along paths  308 - 5 ,  308 - 6  with source storage system  302  and along paths  312 - 5 ,  312 - 6  with destination storage system  304 . 
         [0060]    The destination storage system  304  performs its own internal processing to add the keys to its local state for the paths. After this succeeds, destination storage system  304  assigns new virtual ports to each host and registers their keys against source storage system  302  using both paths  308 - 7  and  308 - 8  with these virtual IDs of the virtual ports. Registration may fail if source storage system  302  no longer has available resources (systems may have a limit on the number of paths/keys that can be registered). 
         [0061]    The result is shown in  FIG. 6 , in one example, with all host computers  306  having registered their own unique keys against their paths, and destination storage system  304  having used a new virtual port to represent each registered key across both paths  308 - 7  and  308 - 8  destination storage system  304  has to source storage system  302 . For example, destination storage system  304  registers key A against paths  308 - 7 ( 1 ) and  308 - 8 ( 1 ) for computer  306 - 1 , key B against paths  308 - 7 ( 2 ) and  308 - 8 ( 2 ) for computer  306 - 2 , and key C against paths  308 - 7 ( 3 ) and  308 - 8 ( 3 ) for computer  306 - 3 . Access to all hosts is granted, and any other host that has not registered a key ends up using paths  308 - 7  and  308 - 8  directly and being blocked if there are reservations in place. 
         [0062]    If host  306 - 2  is determined to have unrestricted access or gone rogue, hosts  306 - 1  and  306 - 3  may remove or reject it out of the cluster and revoke key B via destination storage system  304 . The host  306 - 2  no longer has access to volume  310  as destination storage system  304  will update its local status to revoke key B and also forward the request along path  308 - 7  or  308 - 8  to revoke key B at source storage system  302 . It is important that destination storage system  304  represents or masquerades itself as host computer  306 - 1  for this revocation as host computer  306 - 2  may also remove or reject host computer  306 - 1  from the cluster but has send the revocation request via source storage system  302 . The destination storage system  304  may represent or masquerade itself as the host computer in question (i.e., the key owner) by sending the revocation command to source storage system  302  along the virtual path associated with that key. Therefore, if host computer  306 - 1  is revoking key B via destination storage system  304 , destination storage system will choose path  601 ( 1 ) or  603 ( 1 ) to forward the revocation to source storage system  302  so that the revocation comes along a path that has key A registered against it. 
         [0063]    In one example, whichever host computer can access storage system  302  first controls the reservation process as the local state of destination storage system  304  ultimately reflects the state of source storage system  302 . After this point, host computer  306 - 2  no longer has a key registered so it falls back to paths  308 - 7 ( 2 ) and  308 - 8 ( 2 ) for any access requests it makes. Paths  308 - 7 ( 2 ) and  308 - 8 ( 2 ) may become available when host computer  306 - 2  rejoins the cluster and registers a new key. 
         [0064]    Alternatively host  306 - 1  may revoke key B via source storage system  302 . At this point destination storage system  304  is unaware anything has changed, and continues to forward I/O requests for computer  306 - 2  over paths  312 - 3  and  312 - 4 . However, key B was also registered on paths  308 - 7 ( 2 ) and  308 - 8 ( 2 ) and is now revoked, source storage system  302  will reject these requests so computer  306 - 2  is still denied access. The destination storage system  304  may pick up the error response, as well as forwarding it to computer  306 - 2 , and use it to discover that it should rescan source storage system  302  to read the currently registered keys and update its own local state. 
         [0065]      FIG. 7  is a flowchart of a method  700  for destination storage system  304  ( FIG. 6 ) to handle SCSI-3 reservations from host computers  306  ( FIG. 6 ) in one example of the present disclosure. The method  700  may be implemented by a system manager on destination storage system  304 . The method  700  may begin in block  702 . 
         [0066]    In block  702 , destination storage system  304  discovers volume  310  on source storage system  302 . For destination storage system  304  to discover volume  310 , source storage system  302  first exports volume  310  to destination storage system  304 . Once destination storage system  304  discovers volume  310 , destination storage system  304  is able to access volume  310  via source storage system  302 . The block  702  may be followed by block  704 . 
         [0067]    In block  704 , destination storage system  304  exports volume  310  to host computers  306  so host computers  306  are able to discover volume  310  on destination storage and access volume  310  via destination storage system  304 . The block  704  may be followed by block  706 . 
         [0068]    In block  706 , destination storage system  304  registers internally keys for paths  308 - 1  to  308 - 6  between host computers  306  and destination storage system  304 . This occurs in response to host computers  306  requesting to register their keys to corresponding paths  308 - 1  to  308 - 6  between the respective host computers  306  and destination storage system  304 . The block  706  may be followed by block  708 . 
         [0069]    In block  708 , destination storage system  304  registers with source storage system  302  the keys for virtual paths  308 - 7 ( 1 ), ( 2 ), ( 3 ) and  308 - 8 ( 1 ), ( 2 ), ( 3 ). The block  708  may be followed by block  710 . 
         [0070]    In block  710 , when a host computer  306  requests to reserve volume  310 , destination storage system  304  reserves internally volume  310  only for paths that have registered keys. If another host computer  306  uses a revoked key to request access to volume  310  via destination storage system  304 , destination storage system  304  would report back a reservation conflict to the requesting host computer  306 . The block  710  may be followed by block  712 . 
         [0071]    In block  712 , destination storage system  304  performs reservation forwarding by requesting source storage system  302  to reserve volume  310  ( FIG. 3 ) only for paths that have registered keys. If another host computer  306  uses a revoked key to request access to volume  310  via source storage system  302 , source storage system  302  would report back a reservation conflict to the requesting host computer  306 . 
         [0072]      FIGS. 8 and 9  form a flowchart of a method  800  for destination storage system  304  ( FIG. 6 ) to handle SCSI-3 reservations from host computers  306  ( FIG. 6 ) in another example of the present disclosure. The method  800  may be implemented by a system manager on destination storage system  304 . The method  800  is a variation of method  700  ( FIG. 7 ). The method  800  may begin in block  802  on  FIG. 8 . 
         [0073]    In block  802 , destination storage system  304  discovers volume  310  on source storage system  302 . For this to occur, destination storage system  304  is defined as a host on source storage system  302  and source storage system  302  exports volume  310  to destination storage system  304  so destination storage system  304  is able to discover and access volume  310  via source storage system  302 . The block  802  may be followed by block  804 . 
         [0074]    In block  804 , destination storage system  304  admits volume  310  so volume  310  may be exported to host computer systems  306 . The block  804  may be followed by block  806 . 
         [0075]    In block  806 , destination storage system  304  exports volume  310  to host computer systems  306  so host computers  306  are able to discover volume  310  and access volume  310  via destination storage system  304 . The block  806  may be followed by block  808 . 
         [0076]    In block  808 , destination storage system  304  registers internally keys for paths  308 - 1  to  308 - 6  between host computers  306  and destination storage system  304 . This occurs in response to host computers  306  requesting to register their keys to corresponding paths  308 - 1  to  308 - 6  between the respective host computers  306  and destination storage system  304 . The block  808  may be followed by block  810 . 
         [0077]    In block  810 , destination storage system  304  registers with source storage system  302  the keys for virtual paths  308 - 7 ( 1 ), ( 2 ), ( 3 ) and  308 - 8 ( 1 ), ( 2 ), ( 3 ). The block  810  may be followed by block  812 . 
         [0078]    In block  812 , destination storage system  304  determines if a host computer  306  has requested to reserve volume  310 . If so, block  812  may be followed by block  814 . Otherwise block  812  may be followed by block  818 . 
         [0079]    In block  814 , destination storage system  304  internally reserves volume  310  for paths that have registered keys. The block  814  may be followed by block  816 . 
         [0080]    In block  816 , destination storage system  304  performs reservation forwarding by requesting source storage system  302  to reserve volume  310  for paths that have registered keys. The block  816  may be followed by block  818 . 
         [0081]    In block  818 , destination storage system  304  determines if a host computer  306  has requested to revoke a registered key. If so, block  818  may be followed by block  820 . Otherwise block  818  may be followed by block  824  on  FIG. 9 . 
         [0082]    In block  820 , destination storage system  304  requests source storage system  302  to revoke the registered key, thereby denying access to volume  310  along any path to source storage system  302  associated with the registered key. The block  820  may be followed by block  822 . 
         [0083]    In block  822 , destination storage system  304  internally revokes the registered key, thereby denying access to volume  310  along any path to destination storage system  304  associated with the registered key. The block  822  may be followed by block  824  on  FIG. 9 . 
         [0084]    In block  824 , destination storage system  304  determines if a host computer  306  has requested to access volume  310  along a particular path. If so, block  824  may be followed by block  826 . Otherwise block  824  may be followed by block  840 . 
         [0085]    In block  826 , destination storage system  304  internally determines if the incoming I/O requests along the particular path are associated with a registered key. If so, block  826  may be followed by block  830 . Otherwise block  826  may be followed by block  828 . 
         [0086]    In block  828 , destination storage system  304  reports back a reservation conflict to the requesting host computer  306  as the key has been revoked and access to volume  310  has been denied. The block  828  may be followed by block  840 . 
         [0087]    In block  830 , destination storage system  304  requests source storage system  302  to access volume  310  along a particular path associated with the key. The block  830  may be followed by block  832 . 
         [0088]    In block  832 , destination storage system  304  determines if source storage system  302  has reported a reservation conflict because the key is not registered at source storage system  302 . If so, block  832  may be followed by block  834 . Otherwise block  832  may be followed by block  838 . 
         [0089]    In block  834 , destination storage system  304  reports back a reservation conflict to the requesting host computer  306  as the key has been revoked and access to volume  310  has been denied. In one example, the reservation conflict causes destination storage system  304  to scan the state at source storage system  302 , including the registered keys and the current reservation status of volume  310 , and to update its local state to be consistent. The block  834  may be followed by block  840 . 
         [0090]    In block  838 , destination storage system  304  handles the I/O requests from the requesting host computer  306  to volume  310 . The block  838  may be followed by block  840 . 
         [0091]    In block  840 , destination storage system  304  handles any release of volume  310 . When a reservation has been placed on volume  310  internally at destination storage system  304 , destination storage system  304  may receive a request to release the reservation on volume  310  from a host computer  306 . If so, destination storage system  304  removes the reservation on volume  310  to allow access to volume  310  via destination storage system  304  without a registered key. The destination storage system  304  also forwards the release to source storage system  302  to allow access to volume  310  via source storage system  302  without a registered key. 
         [0092]    When a reservation has been placed on volume  310  at source storage system  302 , destination storage system  304  may periodically scan the states at source storage system  302  to determine if volume  310  has been released. The block  840  may be followed by block  842 . 
         [0093]    In block  842 , destination storage system  304  determines if it is to perform data migration. If so, block  842  may be followed by block  844 . Otherwise block  842  may be followed by block  844 . 
         [0094]    In block  844 , destination storage system  304  requests source storage array  302  to revoke all registered keys. Destination storage system  304  also requests source storage array  302  to reserve volume  310  to fence off access by all other hosts. At this time, source storage array  302  is disconnected from host computers  306 . The block  844  may be followed by block  812  on  FIG. 8 . 
         [0095]    In block  846 , destination storage system  304  migrates data from source storage system  302 . 
         [0096]      FIG. 10  is a block diagram of a computing device  1000  for implementing the techniques of the present disclosure including, for example, destination storage system  300  ( FIGS. 3 and 6 ) in one example of the present disclosure. Computing device  1000  includes processor executable instructions  1002  stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium  1004 , such as hard disk drive, a solid state drive, or another nonvolatile computer memory. A processor  1006  executes instructions  1002  to provide the described features and functionalities, which may be implemented by sending instructions and data to one or more network interface cards  1008  or a display  1010 . 
         [0097]    As described above, in one example, the present disclosure may allow a complete cluster of host computers to be migrated in a seamless fashion. This approach may allow all of the features of the cluster (failover, high availability, load balancing etc.) to continue to operate during the migration process, without requiring any outage period or extensive coordination of switchover for the cluster as a whole so the host computer systems retain access to their data. However, the methods for handling SCSI-2 and SCSI-3 reservations also have applications outside of data migration. An additional example for reservation forwarding may include handling geo-clustered arrays for failover scenarios. In this example, both arrays are handling the same data but consistency is required across them in case one fails so that the other can take over and have full knowledge of the current reservation state. 
         [0098]    Various other adaptations and combinations of features of the examples disclosed are within the scope of the invention.

Technology Classification (CPC): 6