Patent Document

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a method, system, and article of manufacture for recovering from grouped logical path failures. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    In certain computing environments, a host computer may communicate with a storage control unit, where the storage control unit controls physical storage. The physical storage that is controlled by the storage control unit may be represented logically as a plurality of logical path resources within the storage control unit. Applications in the host computer may perform input/output (I/O) operations with respect to the logical path resources of the storage control unit. For example, an application in the host computer may write to logical path resources of the storage control unit. The storage control unit may maintain a correspondence between the logical path resources and storage media in the physical storage via logical and physical volumes. While data may be physically written to the storage media in the physical storage under the control of the storage control unit, as far as an application in the host computer is concerned, the application performs write operations with respect to the logical path resources in the storage control unit. 
         [0005]    Logical path resources may be added, deleted, or otherwise modified within the storage control unit. Certain modifications to the logical path resources of the storage control unit, such as addition of a logical path resource when no path resources are available, may cause a failure of I/O operations that are sent from the host computer to the storage control unit. 
         [0006]    It is known for a host to use logical paths to communicate with a storage controller. A host usually has multiple paths to access devices in a storage controller. The multiple path capability of a host comes into play after the host system performs an initial program load (IPL) operation, and the logical paths are grouped per each device in a logical subsystem. A host may group between two and eight logical paths to any given device of a logical subsystem of a storage controller. 
         [0007]    As long as the logical paths are available during a host input/output (I/O) operation, there is no problem. However, if a logical path failure occurs, the host enters into a path failure mode of operation. A logical path failure can be temporary or permanent. A temporary logical path failure may last between a few milliseconds to one or two seconds. In certain systems, for direct connect links, any error that lasts less than one and a half seconds is considered to be a nonpermanent error. When a loss of a light condition is detected, the channel starts a timer. If the link returns to operational within 1.5 seconds, the logical paths associated with that link are not removed. For switched links, the time-out period is the time needed for the state change to be propagated to the host from the switch. The hosts, such as a system  390  type host, then wait for 2 seconds before removing logical paths from the available paths. 
         [0008]    When a permanent logical path error is identified, this condition essentially lasts forever as far as the host is concerned. The consequence is thus removal of the logical path from the available logical paths. For direct connect links, if the link is in a failure condition for over one and half seconds, the channel removes all logical paths on that physical link. For switched links, the time-out period is approximately two seconds before the channel will begin removing logical paths. One result of a temporary or permanent failure is an inability of a host to access devices via the failed logical path. Because the host does not have any knowledge of the failure type, the host retries the I/O operation. For temporary failures, the host might be able to retry the I/O operation successfully and the host can continue performing I/O operations to the device. For temporary failures or for permanent failures, a host may exceed a predetermined number of allowed retries within the failure window, and the host removes the logical path from its working logical path mask. 
         [0009]    When a host detects a logical path failure, the host enters a path discovery mode of operation. If the host continues to detect a logical path failure while in the path discovery mode of operation, the host removes the logical path from its logical path mask, and the host does not use the logical path again. For each failure the host detects on a logical path, the host enters the path discovery mode of operation, and path removal from its mask if the logical path fails in the discovery process. It is possible, and it has been observed, that a loss of access to the device may occur because the host loses access to a device via all the logical paths of a path group. In a System  390  type environment this case is called boxed device. 
         [0010]    In a zSeries type environment, if a boxed device occurs on a system pack (for example the IPL device), this condition can result in an outage for the host and can result in requiring another IPL operation. The IPL operation also clears the boxed device condition if paths are physically available. If not, the IPL operation fails and can result in an extended outage of the computing environment. If the boxed device occurs on an application volume, often the device must be unboxed manually by the operator and the application must be recovered. Unboxing a device can be accomplished on a z/OS type system via, e.g., a VARY PATH or VARY ON-LINE command if the paths are physically available. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0011]    In accordance with the present invention, a system and method for recovering from logical path failures is set forth. More specifically, when a host detects a logical path failure, the host enters a path discovery mode of operation. If the host continues to detect a logical path failure while operating in the logical path discovery mode of operation, the host removes the logical path from a logical path mask, and the host does not use the removed logical path again. Additionally, the system and method facilitates recovery of the failed logical paths by using a plurality of logical path masks. A first mask is referred to as an intermediate failure logical path mask and a second mask is referred to as a permanent failure logical path mask. 
         [0012]    When a host detects a logical path failure, the host moves a logical path from its working mask to the intermediate failure mask. The logical path remains in the intermediate logical path mask until the host determines that it desires additional logical paths. Examples of reasons for desiring additional logical paths can include performance degradation, reaching a last logical path, completing an IPL operation and needing to group logical paths into a path group. When the host identifies a desire to recover a failed logical path, the host proceeds to a logical path discover operation for each logical path in the intermediate logical path mask. A logical path in the intermediate logical path that is successfully recovered is moved back to the working logical path mask. A logical path in the intermediate logical path that can not be recovered is moved to the permanent failure logical path. 
         [0013]    By preventing the immediate removal of a logical path, the path group integrity is maintained. When the host recovers logical paths by moving a failed logical path from the intermediate mask to the working mask, the host does not have to perform a path disband and path group reestablishment operation. The path group disband and reestablish operation can be a time consuming process that has been observed to degread performance among other effects. 
         [0014]    The above, as well as additional purposes, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed written description. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]    The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further purposes and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, where: 
           [0016]      FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram of a computing environment in accordance with certain embodiments; 
           [0017]      FIG. 2  illustrates a block diagram that shows how communications are preformed in the computing environment, in accordance with certain embodiments; 
           [0018]      FIG. 3  shows a flow diagram of the operation of a system for recovering from grouped logical path failures, in accordance with certain embodiments; 
           [0019]      FIG. 4  shows a flow diagram of the operation of a system for recovering from grouped logical path failures, in accordance with certain embodiments; 
           [0020]      FIG. 5  shows a flow diagram of the operation of a system for recovering from grouped logical path failures, in accordance with certain embodiments; and, 
           [0021]      FIG. 6  illustrates a system in which certain embodiments are implemented. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0022]    In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and which illustrate several embodiments. It is understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and operational changes may be made. 
         [0023]      FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram of a computing environment  100  in accordance with certain embodiments of the present invention. The computing environment  100  includes a storage control unit  102  that is coupled to a plurality of hosts  104   a ,  104   b  . . .  104   n  over one or more switches  106 . The storage control unit  102  includes logical path resources  108   a ,  108   b  . . .  108   m  that map to physical subsystems corresponding to a physical storage  110  that is controlled by the storage control unit  102 . The plurality of hosts  104   a  . . .  104   n  include a plurality of host applications  112   a ,  112   b  . . .  112   n  that perform I/O operations with the logical path resources  108   a  . . .  108   m.    
         [0024]    The plurality of hosts  104   a  . . .  104   n  may comprise any suitable computational device including for example, a personal computer, a workstation, a mainframe, a hand held computer, a palm top computer, a telephony device, a network appliance, a blade computer, a storage server, etc. The storage control unit  102  may include any suitable computational device that controls access to the physical storage  110 . The physical storage  110  may include any suitable data storage including for example disk drives, tape drives, etc. In certain embodiments, the one or more switches  106  that couple the plurality of hosts  104   a  . . .  104   n  to the storage control unit  102  may comprise Fiber Connectivity (FICON) switches. For example, FICON switches that use optical fiber technology may couple the hosts  104   a  . . .  104   n  comprising an IBM S/390 type computer or other computers to the storage control unit  102 . 
         [0025]    While  FIG. 1  shows a single host application per host, in alternate embodiments a greater or a fewer number of host applications may execute in each host. Additionally, the number of host applications  112   a  . . .  112   n  that run off the plurality of hosts  104   a  . . .  104   n  may be different from the number of hosts  104   a  . . .  104   n.    
         [0026]    A configuration of logical path resources  108   a  . . .  108   m  in the storage control unit  102  may change because of additions, removals, or modifications to the logical path resources  108   a  . . .  108   m . For example, an exemplary host, such as the host  104   a , may establish communication with exemplary logical path resources, such as the logical path resources  108   b . The logical path resources  108   a  . . .  108   m  may comprise any plurality of logical storage systems, where each logical storage system includes at least one logical storage volume corresponding to one or more physical volumes stored in the physical storage  110 . 
         [0027]    In certain embodiments, when a configuration change of the logical path resources  108   a  . . .  108   m  occurs within the storage control unit  102  that results in an out of resources condition, a path recovery application  114  implemented in the storage control unit  102  may be executed. The path recovery application  114  is also referred to as a path recovery system and may be implemented in software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. Executing the path recovery application  114  allows replacing logical path resources within the computing environment  100 . By executing the path recovery application  114 , a host may recover a logical path when a failure is detected. 
         [0028]      FIG. 2  illustrates a block diagram that shows how exemplary communications are performed in the computing environment  100 , in accordance with certain embodiments. More specifically, an exemplary host  104   a , selected from the hosts  104   a  . . .  104   n , may include an exemplary host application  112   a . The host application  112   a  may send an ‘establish logical path’ request  200  to the storage control unit  102 , where the ‘establish logical path’ request  200  seeks to access a logical path resource  108   a . . .  108   m  of the storage control unit  102 . The path recovery application  114  or some other application implemented in the storage control unit  102  enables the storage control unit  102  to recover from a logical path failure. 
         [0029]    Once a logical path between the host application  112   a  and a logical path resource has been established as a result of the successful completion of the ‘establish logical path’ request, the host application  112   a  may perform I/O operations  204  with respect to the logical path resources with which the logical path was established. 
         [0030]    In certain embodiments, the configuration of the logical path resources  108   a  . . .  108   m  may change via additions, removals, or modifications to the logical path resources  108   a  . . .  108   m . For example, new logical path resources may be added. If a host attempts to establish a logical path via an establish logical path message when no logical path resources are available, such an operation may result in generation of an out of resources condition. To prevent such an out of resources condition from occurring, in response to a change in the configuration of the logical path resources  108   a  . . .  108   m , the path recovery application  114  may perform a path recovery operation. 
         [0031]    Thus, the host application  112   a  can recover logical paths when a failure within a logical path is detected. More specifically, with the path recover application  114 , although a host  104  has not grouped its logical paths, the host  104  knows which logical paths it has available. When a host  104  detects a logical path failure, the host enters a path discovery mode of operation. If the host  104  continues to detect a logical path failure while operating in the logical path discovery mode of operation, the host  104  removes the logical path from a logical path mask, and the host  104  does not use the removed logical path again. In the case of grouped logical paths, the host  104  aborts the loading process because the host  104  does not have more paths available to continue the loading process. Thus, the path recovery application  114  allows the host  104  to continue a loading process even if the host  104  fails to recover a failed logical path. 
         [0032]    Additionally, in certain embodiments, a logical path remains in the intermediate logical path mask until and unless the host  104  determines that additional logical paths are desired. For example, additional logical paths may be desired due to completing IPL and needing to group logical paths into a path group. When the host  104  determines that recovery of the failed logical paths is desired, the host  104  performs a logical path discovery operation for each logical path in the intermediate logical path mask. A logical path in the intermediate logical that is successfully recovered is moved back to the working path group mask. A logical path in the intermediate logical path that cannot be recovered is moved to a permanent failure logical path. 
         [0033]      FIG. 3-5  illustrate examples of operations performed by the path recovery application  114  in the storage control unit  102 . In general, to recover a logical path, and to prevent a logical path failure, a host performs a plurality of operations. 
         [0034]    More specifically, referring to  FIG. 3 , an example of operations performed by the path recovery application  114  when four logical paths are present and a logical path failure has been detected is shown. More specifically, in one embodiment, the host  104  sends an establish logical path (ELP)  1  message at step  310 . Next, the control unit  102  accepts the establish logical path  1  message at step  312 . Next the host  104  sends an establish logical path  2  message at step  320 . Next, the control unit  102  accepts the establish logical path  2  message at step  322 . Next the host  104  sends an establish logical path  3  message at step  330 . Next, the control unit  102  accepts the establish logical path  3  message at step  332 . Next the host  104  sends an establish logical path  4  message at step  340 . Next, the control unit  102  accepts the establish logical path  4  message at step  342 . 
         [0035]    Next, the host  104  selects one path of the working path group and performs an input/output (I/O) operation to a device at step  350  and the control unit  112  responds to the I/O operation at step  352 . If, based upon the response, the host  104  detects a failure within the logical path to which the I/O operation was directed, then the host  102  performs a logical path discovery I/O operation at step  360 . If during the logical path discovery I/O operation the logical path to which discovery I/O operation is directed fails, as determined at step  362 , then the host moves a logical path from the working path group mask to an intermediate logical path mask at step  364 . The host  104  then selects another logical path from the working path group (i.e., the host replaces the logical path) to enable executing of the failed I/O operation at step  366 . 
         [0036]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , an example of operations performed by the path recovery application  114  when a host determines that recovery of a logical path is desirable and the host is able to recover logical paths is shown. When the host  104  detects a condition that will require accessibility to more logical paths, the host enters into the logical path recovery mode. In the logical path recovery mode of operation, the host  104  performs a logical path discovery operation for each logical path in the intermediate logical path mask. A logical path in the intermediate logical that is successfully recovered is moved back to the working logical path mask. A logical path in the intermediate logical path that cannot be recovered is moved to the permanent failure logical path. 
         [0037]    More specifically, if the host  104  determines a need for additional paths at step  410 , then the host  104  performs a logical path discovery I/O operation for logical paths that are include within the intermediate mask at step  412 . The control unit  102  responds to the I/O operation at step  414 . Based upon the response, the host determines that the discovery I/O operation was successful at step  420 . Next, the host moves the logical path from the intermediate mask to the working path group mask at step  430 . 
         [0038]    Referring to  FIG. 5 , an example of operations performed by path recovery application  114  when a host  104  determines that recovery of logical paths is desirable and the host is unable to recover logical paths is shown. For logical paths in the permanent failure logical mask, the host will send a remove Logical path frame to the storage controller 
         [0039]    More specifically, when a host determines a need for additional logical paths at step  510 , the host performs a logical path discovery I/O operation for logical paths in the intermediate mask at step  520 . By the control unit  102  not responding to the discovery I/O operation, the host can determine that the discovery I/O operation failed at step  530 . Net, the host  104  moves the logical path that caused the failed discovery I/O operation from the intermediate mask to the permanent mask at step  540 . Next, the host sends a remove logical path frame indication to the storage controller  102  at step  550 . 
         [0040]    The described techniques may be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture involving software, firmware, micro-code, hardware, and/or any combination thereof. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein refers to program instructions, code and/or logic implemented in circuitry (e.g., an integrated circuit chip, Programmable Gate Array (PGA), ASIC, etc.) and/or a computer readable medium (e.g., magnetic storage medium, such as hard disk drive, floppy disk, tape), optical storage (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, optical disk, etc.), volatile and non-volatile memory device (e.g., Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), flash, firmware, programmable logic, etc.). Code in the computer readable medium may be accessed and executed by a machine, such as, a processor. In certain embodiments, the code in which embodiments are made may further be accessible through a transmission medium or from a file server via a network. In such cases, the article of manufacture in which the code is implemented may comprise a transmission medium, such as a network transmission line, wireless transmission media, signals propagating through space, radio waves, infrared signals, etc. Of course, those skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the embodiments, and that the article of manufacture may comprise any information-bearing medium known in the art. For example, the article of manufacture comprises a storage medium having stored therein instructions that when executed by a machine results in operations being performed. 
         [0041]      FIG. 6  illustrates a block diagram of a system  600  in which certain embodiments may be implemented. In certain embodiments, the storage control unit  102  and the hosts  104   a  . . .  104   n  may be implemented in accordance with the system  600 . The system  600  may include circuitry  602  that may in certain embodiments include a processor  604 . The system  600  may also include a memory  606  (e.g., a volatile memory device), and storage  608 . Certain elements of the system  600  may or may not be found in the storage control unit  102  or the hosts  104   a  . . .  104   n . The storage  608  may include a non-volatile memory device (e.g., EEPROM, ROM, PROM, RAM, DRAM, SRAM, flash, firmware, programmable logic, etc.), magnetic disk drive, optical disk drive, tape drive, etc. The storage  608  may comprise an internal storage device, an attached storage device, and/or a network accessible storage device. The system  600  may include program logic  610  including code  612  that may be loaded into the memory  606  and executed by the processor  604  or circuitry  602 . In certain embodiments, the program logic  610  including code  612  may be stored in the storage  608 . In certain other embodiments, the program logic  610  may be implemented in the circuitry  602 . Therefore, while  FIG. 6  shows the program logic  610  separately from the other elements, the program logic  610  may be implemented in the memory  606  or the circuitry  602 . 
         [0042]    Certain embodiments may be directed to a method for deploying computing instruction by a person or automated processing integrating computer-readable code into a computing system, where the code in combination with the computing system is enabled to perform the operations of the described embodiments. In certain embodiments, different storage systems may be used in the computing environment, such as Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), just a bunch of disks (JBOD), Direct Access Storage Device (DASD), tape, etc. 
         [0043]    At least certain of the operations of  FIGS. 2-5  may be performed in parallel as well as sequentially. In alternative embodiments, certain of the operations may be performed in a different order, modified, or removed. 
         [0044]    Furthermore, many of the software and hardware components have been described in separate modules for purposes of illustration. Such components may be integrated into a fewer number of components or divided into a larger number of components. Additionally, certain operations described as performed by a specific component may be performed by other components. 
         [0045]    The data structures and components shown or referred to in  FIGS. 1-6  are described as having specific types of information. In alternative embodiments, the data structures and components may be structured differently and have fewer, more, or different fields or different functions than those shown or referred to in the figures. 
         [0046]    Therefore, the foregoing description of the embodiments has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching.

Technology Category: 3