Patent ID: 8825603

Claim:
A method, comprising: receiving, by a data transfer application implemented in a first computational device, a request to copy a plurality of storage volumes that form a consistency group, wherein in the consistency group, dependent write operations do not generate an inconsistent state for a dataset stored in the plurality of storage volumes having a plurality of tracks, wherein a data structure maintains statistics information on how frequently the plurality of storage volumes and the plurality of tracks have been written into; determining that a first storage volume of the plurality of storage volumes is more likely to be written into than a second storage volume of the plurality of storage volumes if the data structure indicates that the first storage volume has been written into more frequently than the second storage volume prior to receiving the request to copy the plurality of storage volumes, in response to receiving the request to copy the plurality of storage volumes, wherein the first storage volume has a first plurality of tracks, and wherein the second storage volume has second plurality of tracks; subsequent to determining that the first storage volume is more likely to be written into than the second storage volume, determining that a first track of the first plurality of tracks of the first storage volume is more likely to be written into than a second track of the first plurality of tracks of the first storage volume, wherein the first track is more likely to be written into than the second track if the data structure indicates that the first track has been written into more frequently than the second track prior to receiving the request to copy the plurality of storage volumes; suspending write operations on the first track, and subsequent to suspending the write operations on the first track, copying the first track from the first computational device to a second computational device; subsequent to copying the first track from the first computational device to the second computational device, suspending write operations on the second track and copying the second track from the first computational device to the second computational device; and subsequent to copying all tracks of the first plurality of tracks of the first storage volume from the first computational device to the second computational device, copying the second plurality of tracks of the second storage volume from the first computational device to the second computational device.