Patent ID: 6895485

Claim:
A method of creating a logical data volume in a consolidated storage array (CSA) which satisfies performance requirements for the logical data volume, the CSA comprising a plurality of storage arrays, each of the storage arrays having performance capabilities, the performance requirements for the logical data volume exceeding available performance capabilities of any single storage array, the CSA being connected to a host device executing data access software which uses the logical data volume, comprising the steps performed by the CSA of: designating anyone of the plurality of storage arrays as a primary device of the CSA; analyzing the storage arrays for their available performance capability in light of the performance requirements for the logical data volume; selecting at least some of the storage arrays, a combined available performance capability of which is at least equal to the performance requirements for the logical data volume; configuring the selected storage arrays for storage spaces for the logical data volume, the storage spaces of each selected storage array containing a portion of the logical data volume; forming volume information describing the logical data volume; sending the volume information from the CSA to the host device for configuring the data access software to access the logical data volume wherein the host device is a computing system capable of executing programmed instructions to perform the data access software where the data access software includes storage management processes or user application processes or both user application processes and storage management processes; monitoring whether currently utilized performance capabilities of each of the storage arrays are within a predetermined range of maximum performance capabilities for the storage arrays; and adjusting at least a portion of the one of the storage spaces for the logical data volume to maintain the performance capabilities of each of the storage arrays within the predetermined range, wherein the method is performed by a controller within the primary device, and wherein any of the storage arrays may take over as the primary device in response to sensing a failure of the primary device.