Patent ID: 7330950

Claim:
A data migration method for a system including a first storage system having a first controller and a plurality of first disk devices coupled to the first controller, the method comprising steps of: (a) providing a plurality of storage areas, having various characteristics, by the plurality of first disk devices; (b) defining storage classes, being hierarchical attributes of storage areas, of the plurality of storage areas of the first storage system, based on the characteristics of the plurality of storage areas of the first storage system, by the first controller; (c) defining life cycle models, each having a plurality of stages associated with usage statuses of data and a condition of a stage change, for data objects to be stored in the system, by the first controller; (d) managing, by the first controller, a relation between the stages of the life cycle models and the storage classes; (e) applying a first life cycle model of the life cycle models to a certain data object to be stored in the system; (f) based on the relation managed by the first controller and the first life cycle model, storing the certain data object, by the first controller, in a first storage area of the plurality of storage areas of the first storage system, the first storage area being categorized in a first storage class of the storage classes, the first storage class being related to a first stage included in the first life cycle model, when the certain data object is in the first stage of the first life cycle model; (g) detecting, by the first controller, a second storage system having a second controller and a plurality of second disk devices coupled to the second controller, another plurality of storage areas being provided by the plurality of second disk devices, when the second storage system is coupled to the first storage system; (h) issuing a request to obtain characteristics information of the another plurality of storage areas of the second storage system from the first controller to the second controller; (i) defining, by the first controller, the storage classes of the another plurality of storage areas of the second storage system based on the characteristics information of the another plurality of storage areas of the second storage system obtained from the second controller in response to the request; (j) based on the relation managed by the first controller and the first life cycle model, selecting, by the first controller, a second storage area of the another plurality of storage areas of the second storage system as a migration target, the second storage area being categorized in a second storage class of the storage classes, the second storage class being related to a second stage included in the first life cycle model; (k) controlling, by the first controller, a migration operation of the certain data object from the first storage area to the second storage area, when the certain data object is in the second stage of the first life cycle model.