Patent Abstract:
In a data processing environment, data is replicated to a remote or secondary storage device in a manner which reduces the adverse performance effects and inefficient bandwidth usage imposed by the conventional one-transaction-at-a-time process. Transactions to be transferred are grouped by a replication manager by selecting transactions having start times earlier than the completion time of a first transaction. Thus, no transaction in a group will be dependent upon any other transaction in the group. Once selected, all transactions in the group may then be transferred to the secondary storage device.

Full Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0001]     The present invention is directed generally to the storage of digital information and, in particular, to asynchronously replicating at a secondary storage site data transactions stored at a primary storage site.  
       BACKGROUND ART  
       [0002]     A typical data processing system includes one or more host computers and a data storage subsystem. Moreover, in many computing environments data integrity is important, if not necessary. Consequently, a secondary storage subsystem is provided to maintain a backup of data stored on a primary storage subsystem. It will be appreciated that the backup data must replicate as closely as possible the original data. The order in which data or “transactions” are stored may be important with certain transactions being dependent upon other, prior transactions. Thus consistency of data requires that the order of any dependent transactions be maintained during the replication. A conventional method by which consistency has been maintained is to transfer transactions to the secondary storage in the same order as they arrive from the host, waiting for each transaction to be acknowledged by the secondary site before beginning the transfer of the next transaction.  
         [0003]     However, a one-transaction-at-a-time process has an adverse effect on the performance of the replication system, particularly as the distance increases between the replication manager and the secondary site. And, such an inefficient use of bandwidth may even become cost prohibitive.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     The present invention provides a replication manager, methods, and computer program product to replicate data to a remote or secondary storage device in a manner which reduces the adverse performance effects and inefficient bandwidth usage imposed by the conventional one-transaction-at-a-time process. Transactions to be transferred are grouped by a replication manager such that no transaction is dependent upon any other transaction in the group. All transactions in the group may then be transferred to the secondary storage device.  
         [0005]     In one embodiment, data transactions are received from one or more host devices and the times at which each transaction was started and completed are logged. The transaction having the earliest start time is identified and a group is created comprising that transaction and all other transactions having a start time which is earlier than the completion time of the identified transaction. The transactions in the group are then transferred to a storage device. Preferably, any transaction having a start time which is later than the completion time of the transaction having the earliest completion time is removed from the group before being transferred, thereby further ensuring that dependencies are avoided.  
         [0006]     In another embodiment, a data replication manager is provided having interfaces through which data transactions are received from one or more host devices and through which the transactions are transferred to primary and secondary storage devices, a memory for storing a time at which receipt of each transaction was started and a time at which receipt of each transaction was completed and a processor operable to execute instructions. The instructions include directing the transmission of the transactions for storage in the primary storage device, identifying a transaction having the earliest start time of all received transactions, creating a group comprising the identified transaction and all other transactions having a start time which is earlier than the completion time of that transaction and directing the asynchronous transmission of the transactions in the group for storage on the secondary storage device. Preferably, the instructions further include removing from the group any transaction having a start time which is later than the completion time of the transaction having the earliest completion time of all transactions in the group, thereby further ensuring that dependencies are avoided.  
         [0007]     In still a further embodiment, a computer program product is provided having computer-readable coded embodied therein for copying data to a secondary data storage site. The code includes instructions for receiving a plurality of data transactions from one or more host devices, logging the times at which receipt of each transaction was started and completed, identifying a first transaction having the earliest start time of all received transactions, creating a first group comprising the first transaction and all other transactions having a start time which is earlier than the completion time of the first transaction, and asynchronously transferring the transactions in the first group to a storage device. Preferably, any transaction having a start time which is later than the completion time of the transaction having the earliest completion time is removed from the group before being transferred, thereby further ensuring that dependencies are avoided. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a data processing environment in which the present invention may be implemented;  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  is an illustration of a block of data transactions received by the replication device of the present invention;  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  is a flow chart of a method of the present invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 4  is an illustration of another block of data transactions received by the replication device of the present invention;  
         [0012]      FIGS. 5A and 5B  are a flow chart of an alternative method of the present invention; and  
         [0013]      FIG. 6  illustrates an alternative configuration of a data processing environment in which the present invention may be implemented. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0014]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a data processing environment  100  in which the present invention may be implemented. The environment includes one or most host computers or devices  102 , a data replication manager  110 , and primary and secondary storage devices  120  and  130 . In operation, a host  102  transmits data transactions to the replication manager  110  which directs that the transactions be stored on the primary storage device  120  and a copy of the transactions be stored on the secondary storage device  130 . For security and data integrity reasons, the secondary storage device  130  is preferably at a remote location relative to the replication manager  110  and the primary storage device  120  and connected to the replication manger  110  by way of a network communications link  104 . The replication manager  110  may be integrated into the primary storage device  120  or may be a separate unit.  
         [0015]     The replication manager  110  includes interfaces  112 A,  112 B and  112 C through which it communicates and exchanges data with the host(s)  102  and the primary and secondary storage devices  120  and  130 . The replication manager  110  further includes a memory  114  and a processor  116  for executing instructions stored in the memory  114 . As will be described below, the replication manager  110  may also include metadata  118  which may be stored in the memory  114 .  
         [0016]     Referring to  FIG. 2  and the flow chart of  FIG. 3 , an embodiment of the present invention will be described. A block  200  of data transactions is transferred from the host(s)  102  to the replication manager  110  for storage and replication storage (step  300 ). Five such transactions, TR 1 -TR 5 , are shown in  FIG. 2  although a larger number would typically be transferred. The replication manager  110  logs the time at which the beginning of each transaction (the “start time”) is received by the replication manager  110  (step  302 ). After the replication manager logs the start time of each data transaction, that transaction is transferred to the primary storage device ( 120 ) for storage (step  304 ). When the primary storage device ( 120 ) acknowledges that it has received the data transaction, the replication manager logs the time at which each transaction was completed (the “completion time”) (step  306 ).  
         [0017]     Rather than transfer the data transactions TR 1 -TR 5  to the secondary storage device  130  conventionally in the same order as they were received at the replication manager  110 , they are grouped for a transfer which more efficiently takes advantage of the available bandwidth of the communications link  104 . The transaction which has the earliest start time is identified (step  308 ), which is TR 1  in  FIG. 2  having start and completion times of to and t 7 , respectively. The replication manager  110  then identifies those of the other transactions having start times which are earlier than the completion time t 7  of the initially identified transaction TR 1  (step  310 ); these transactions are TR 2 -TR 5 .  
         [0018]     In order to validate that there are no dependencies among the transactions in the group, the replication manager  110  preferably identifies the earliest completion time of the transactions in the group (step  312 ). It then determines if any transaction has a start time which is later than the earliest completion time (step  314 ). If so, that transaction is removed from the group (step  316 ) and placed back onto the list of transactions waiting to be transferred to the secondary storage device  130 . In  FIG. 2 , transaction TR 3  has the earliest completion time (t 4 ) and the start time of transaction TR 5  (t 5 ) occurs later; thus, transaction TR 5  is removed from the group. After the transactions have been validated, the replication manager  110  initiates an asynchronous transfer of the remaining transactions through the interface  112 C and over the communications link  104  to the secondary storage device  130  (step  318 ). That is, the replication manager  110  begins to transfer a transaction without waiting to receive an acknowledgment that the previously transferred transaction was successfully received by the secondary storage device  130 . As each transaction is successfully received at the secondary storage device  130 , the secondary storage device  130  sends an acknowledgement back to the replication manager  110  (step  320 ). When the replication manager  110  has received acknowledgments for all transactions in the group, the replication manager  110  determines if there are more transactions to be transferred (step  322 ). If so, the replication manager  110  repeats the process to create a new group of transactions to transfer. Otherwise, the process ends (step  324 ).  
         [0019]     Referring now to  FIG. 4  and the flowchart of  FIGS. 5A and 5B , another embodiment of the present invention will be described. A block of transactions  400  is transferred from the host(s)  102  to the replication manager  110  for storage and replication storage (step  500 ). Fourteen such transactions, TR 1 -TR 14 , are shown in  FIG. 4  although a larger number would typically be transferred. As with the embodiment of  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the replication manager  110  logs the start time of each transaction (step  502 ). The data transactions TR 1 -TR 14  are transferred to and stored on the primary storage device  120  (step  504 ). The replication manager  110  then logs the completion time of each transaction (step  506 ) and also stores information as metadata  118  (step  508 ) as the transactions arrive from the host(s) and in the same order. The metadata preferably includes the starting and completion times of each of the transactions, which transactions are “in-flight” to the secondary storage  130  (none at this point), the starting and completion times of the transactions waiting to be transferred to the secondary storage  130  (all fourteen at this point), and the earliest starting time of the waiting transactions.  
         [0020]     As with the previous embodiment, an initial group of transactions is created by identifying the earliest start time (step  510 ), which is TR 1  in  FIG. 4 . From the metadata  118 , the replication manager  110  then identifies those of the other transactions having start times which are earlier than the completion time of transaction TR 1  (step  512 ); these transactions are TR 2 -TR 8 . The earliest completion time in the group is also identified (step  514 ), as are any transactions having a start time which is later than that time are identified (step  516 ). The latter transactions are removed from the group (step  518 ). Thus, transactions TR 7  and TR 8  are removed to ensure that the group does not include any possible dependencies. After the transactions in the initial group have been validated, the replication manager  110  initiates an asynchronous transfer of the remaining transactions through the interface  112 C and over the communications link  104  to the secondary storage device  130  (step  520 ). The metadata  118  is also updated (step  522 ) to reflect that transactions TR 1 -TR 6  are now in-flight, that the in-flight transaction with the earliest completion time is TR 5 , that transactions TR 7 -TR 14  are waiting, and that the waiting transaction with the earliest start time is TR 7 .  
         [0021]     In the previously described embodiment, a second group of transactions is created only after acknowledgements for all transaction in the initial group have been received by the replication manager  110  from the secondary storage device  130 . By contrast, in the currently described embodiment a next group is created after the first acknowledgement is received back from the secondary storage device  130  (step  524 ). In the present example, receipt of transaction TR 5  will be received by the replication manager  110  first. The remaining in-flight transactions are examined to determine if the earliest completion time of the in-flight transactions has changed (step  526 ). If not, the replication manager  110  waits to receive further acknowledgements (step  528 ). If so, the value for earliest completion time in the metadata  118  is updated to the newly determined value (step  530 ). The waiting transactions having a starting time that is earlier than the new earliest completion time are selected, TR 7 , (step  532 ) thus validating that there are no dependencies among transactions in the new group.  
         [0022]     Taking further advantage of available bandwidth across the communications link  104 , replication manager  110  initiates the asynchronous transfer to the secondary storage device  130  of the transactions in the new group (step  534 ) even as transactions in the first group remain in-flight. The replication manager  110  also updates the metadata  118  (step  536 ) to reflect that now transactions TR 1 -TR 4  and TR 6 -TR 7  are in-flight, that transaction TR 3  has the earliest completion time of the in-flight transactions, that transactions TR 8 -TR 14  are waiting and that transaction TR 8  has the earliest starting time of the waiting transactions. After the replication manager  110  receives an acknowledgment of the receipt of transaction TR 3  (step  538 ), if there are still waiting transactions (step  540 ), the process repeats by selecting transactions for a new group from among the waiting transactions. Otherwise, the process ends (step  542 ).  
         [0023]     In an alternative configuration of the data processing environment in which the present invention may be implemented, a remote or secondary replication manager  600  ( FIG. 6 ) is interposed between a local or primary replication manager  610  and the secondary storage device  130 . The local replication manager  610  is operable to groups transactions and transfers them to the remote replication manager  600 . Transaction dependencies are then eliminated by a processor, memory and metadata in the remote replication manager  600 . Thus, execution of the method of the present invention may be shifted to a remote replication manager  600  from a local replication manager  610 .  
         [0024]     It is important to note that while the present invention has been described in the context of a fully functioning data processing system, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the processes of the present invention are capable of being distributed in the form of a computer readable medium of instructions and a variety of forms and that the present invention applies regardless of the particular type of signal bearing media actually used to carry out the distribution. Examples of computer readable media include recordable-type media such as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a RAM, and CD-ROMs and transmission-type media such as digital and analog communication links.  
         [0025]     The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention, the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Moreover, although described above with respect to methods and systems, the need in the art may also be met with a computer program product containing instructions for asynchronously replicating data.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8