Indian Patents
Title of Invention

METHOD OF ORDERING DATA WRITES AND DATA STORAGE DEVICE
Abstract The present invention relates to a method of ordering data writes, comprising at least some of a group of primary storage devices(24) receiving a first plurality of data writes(54) during a first cycle, initiating a cycle switch that causes a change to a second cycle for the group of primary storage devices(24), wherein the first plurality of data writes(54) are associated with the first cycle on each primary storage device in the group, at least some of the group of primary storage devices(24) receiving a second plurality of writes(52) after initiating the cycle switch, wherein all of the second plurality of writes(52) are associated with the second cycle, and after completion of the cycle switch, each of the primary storage devices(24) of the group initiating transfer of the first plurality of writes(54) to a corresponding secondary storage device(26).
Full Text VIRTUAL ORDERED WRITES FOR MULTIPLE STORAGE DEVICES
Background of the Invention
1. Technical Field
This application relates to computer storage devices, and more particularly to the
field of transferring data between storage devices.
2. Description of Related Art
Host processor systems may store and retrieve data using a storage device containing
a plurality of host interface units (host adapters), disk drives, and disk interface units (disk
adapters). Such storage devices are provided, for example, by EMC Corporation of
Hopkinton, Mass. and disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,206,939 to Yanai et al., U.S. Patent
No. 5,778,394 to Galtzur et al., U.S. Patent No. 5,845,147 to Vishlitzky et al., and U.S.
Patent No. 5,857,208 to Ofek. The host systems access the storage device through a
plurality of channels provided therewith. Host systems provide data and access control
information through the channels to the storage device and the storage device provides data
to the host systems also through the channels. The host systems do not address the disk
drives of the storage device directly, but rather, access what appears to the host systems as a
plurality of logical disk units. The logical disk units may or may not correspond to the
actual disk drives. Allowing multiple host systems to access the single storage device unit
allows the host systems to share data stored therein.
In some instances, it may be desirable to copy data from one storage device to
another. For example, if a host writes data to a first storage device, it may be desirable to
copy that data to a second storage device provided in a different location so that if a disaster
occurs that renders the first storage device inoperable, the host (or another host) may resume
operation using the data of the second storage device. Such a capability is provided, for
example, by the Remote Data Facility (RDF) product provided by EMC (RTM) Corporation
of Hopkinton, Massachusetts. With RDF, a first storage device, denoted

the "primary storage device" (or "R1") is coupled to the host One or more other
storage devices, called "secondary storage devices" (or "R2") receive copies of the data
that is written to the primary storage device by the host The host interacts directly with
the primary storage device, but any data changes made to the primary storage device
are automatically provided to the one or more secondary storage devices using RDF.
The primary and secondary storage devices may be connected by a data link, such as an
ESCON link, a Fibre Channel link, and/or a Gigabit Ethernet link. The RDF
functionality may be facilitated with an RDF adapter (RA) provided at each of the
storage devices.
RDF allows synchronous data transfer where, after data written from a host to a
primary storage device is transferred from the primary storage device to a secondary
storage device using RDF, receipt is acknowledged by the secondary storage device to
the primary storage device which then provides a write acknowledge back to the host
Thus, in synchronous mode, the host does not receive a write acknowledge from the
primary storage device until the RDF transfer to the secondary storage device has been
completed and acknowledged by the secondary storage device.
A drawback to the synchronous RDF system is that the latency of each of the
write operations is increased by waiting for the acknowledgement of the RDF transfer.
This problem is worse when there is a long distance between the primary storage device
and the secondary storage device; because of transmission delays, the time delay
required for-making the RDF transfer and then waiting for an acknowledgement back
after the transfer is complete may be unacceptable.
It is also possible to use RDF in an a semi-synchronous mode, in which case the
data is written from the host to the primary storage device which acknowledges the
write immediately and men, at the same time, begins the process of transferring the data
to the secondary storage device. Thus, for a single transfer of data, this scheme
overcomes some of the disadvantages of using RDF in the synchronous mode.

However for data integrity purposes, the semi-synchronous transfer mode does not allow the
primary storage device to transfer data to the secondary storage device until a previous
transfer is acknowledged by the secondary storage device. Thus, the bottlenecks associated
with using RDF in the synchronous mode are simply delayed by one iteration because
transfer of a second amount of data cannot occur until transfer of previous data has been
acknowledged by the secondary storage device.
Another possibility is to have the host write data to the primary storage device in
asynchronous mode and have the primary storage device copy data to the secondary storage
device in the background. The background copy involves cycling through each of the tracks
of the primary storage device sequentially and, when it is determined that a particular block
has been modified since the last time that block was copied, the block is transferred from the
primary storage device to the secondary storage device. Although this mechanism may
attenuate the latency problem associated with synchronous and semi-synchronous data
transfer modes, a difficulty still exists because there cannot be a guarantee of data
consistency between the primary and secondary storage devices. If there are problems, such
as a failure of the primary system, the secondary system may end up with out-of-order
changes that make the data unusable.
A proposed solution to this problem is the Symmetrix Automated Replication (SAR)
process, which is described in pending U.S. patent applications publications US2004-
0039959 and US2004-0039888, both of which were filed on August 21,2002. The SAR
uses devices (BCV's) that can mirror standard logical devices. A BCV device can also be
split from its standard logical device after being mirrored and can be resynced (i.e., re-
established as a mirror) to the standard logical devices after being split. In addition, a BCV
can be remotely mirrored using RDF, in which case the BCV may propagate data changes
made thereto (while the BCV is acting as a mirror) to the BCV remote mirror when the
BCV is split from the corresponding standard logical device.

However, using the SAR process requires the significant overhead of
continuously splitting and resyncing the BCV's. The SAR process also uses host
control and management, which relies on the controlling host being operational. In
addition, the cycle time for a practical implementation of a SAR process is on the order
of twenty to thirty minutes, and thus the amount of data that may be lost when an RDF
link and/or primary device fails could be twenty to thirty minutes worth of data.
Thus, it would be desirable to have an RDF system that exhibits some of the
beneficial qualities of each of the different techniques discussed above while reducing
the drawbacks. Such a system would exhibit low latency for each host write regardless
of the distance between the primary device and the secondary device and would
provide consistency (recoverability) of the secondary device in case of failure.
Summary of the Invention
According to the present invention, ordering data writes includes at least some
of a group of primary storage devices receiving a first plurality of data writes, causing a
i
cycle switch for the group of primary storage devices where the first plurality of data
writes are associated with a particular cycle on each primary storage device in the
group, and at least some of the group of primary storage devices receiving a second
plurality of writes after initiating the cycle switch where all of the second plurality of
writes are associated with a cycle different from the particular cycle on each primary
storage device. Writes to the group begun after initiating the cycle switch may not
complete until after the cycle switch has completed. Ordering data writes may also
include, after completion of the cycle switch, each of the primary storage devices of the
group initiating transfer of the first plurality of writes to a corresponding secondary
storage device. Ordering data writes may also include, following each of the primary
storage devices of the group completing transfer of the first plurality of writes to a
corresponding secondary storage device, each of the primary storage devices sending a
message to the corresponding secondary storage device. Ordering data writes may also
include providing the first plurality of data writes to cache slots of the group of primary
storage device. Receiving a first plurality of data writes may also include receiving a

plurality of data writes from a host. A host may cause the cycle switch. Ordering data
writes may also include waiting a predetermined amount of time, determining if all of
the primary storage devices of the group of storage devices is ready to switch, and, for
each of the primary storage devices of the group, sending a first command thereto to
cause a cycle switch. Sending a command to cause a cycle switch may also cause
writes begun after the first command to not complete until a second command is
received. Ordering data writes may also include, after sending the first command to all
of the primary storage devices of the group, sending the second command to all of the
primary storage devices to allow writes to complete.
According further to the present invention, computer software that orders data
writes to a group of primary storage devices includes executable code that causes a
cycle switch for the group of primary storage devices where the first plurality of data
writes are associated with a particular cycle on each primary storage device in the
group and executable code that, for a second plurality of writes provided after
initiating the cycle switch, associates all of the second plurality of writes with a cycle
different from the particular cycle on each primary storage device. Writes to the group
begun after initiating the cycle switch may not complete until after the cycle switch has
completed. The computer software may also include executable code that causes each
of the primary storage devices of the group to initiate transfer of the first plurality of
writes to a corresponding secondary storage device after completion of the cycle
switch. The computer software may also include executable code mat causes each of
the primary storage devices to send a message to the corresponding secondary storage
device following each of the primary storage devices of the group completing transfer
of the first plurality of writes to a corresponding secondary storage device. The
computer software may also include executable code that provides the first plurality of
data writes to cache slots of the group of primary storage device. The first plurality of
data writes may be from a host A host may run executable code mat causes the cycle
switch. Executable code that causes the cycle switch may include executable code that
waits a predetermined amount of time, executable code that determines if all of the
primary storage devices of the group of storage devices is ready to switch, and

executable code that sends a first command to each of the primary storage devices of
the group to cause a cycle switch. Executable code that sends a command to cause a
cycle switch may also cause writes begun after the first command to not complete until
a second command is received. The computer software may also include executable
code that sends the second command to all of the primary storage devices to allow
writes to complete after sending the first command to all of the primary storage devices
of the group.
Brief Description of Drawings
Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing a host, a local storage device, and a
remote data storage device used in connection with the system described herein.
Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing a flow of data between a host, a local
storage device, and a remote data storage device used in connection with the system
described herein.
Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating items for constructing and
manipulating chunks of data on a local storage device according to the system
described herein.
Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating a data structure for a slot used in connection
with the system described herein.
Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating operation of a host adaptor (HA) in response
to a write by a host according to the system described herein.
Figure 6 is a flow chart illustrating transferring data from a local storage device
to a remote storage device according to the system described herein.

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating items for constructing and
manipulating chunks of data on a remote storage device according to the system
described herein.
Figure 8 is a flow chart illustrating steps performed by a remote storage device
in connection with receiving a commit indicator from a local storage device according
to the system described herein.
Figure 9 is a flow chart illustrating storing transmitted data at a remote storage
device according to the system described herein.
Figure 10 is a flow chart illustrating steps performed in. connection with a local
storage device incrementing a sequence number according to a system described herein.
Figure 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating items for constructing and
manipulating chunks of data on a local storage device according to an alternative
embodiment of the system described herein.
Figure 12 is a flow chart illustrating operation of a host adaptor (HA) in
response to a write by a host according to an alternative embodiment of the system
described herein.
Figure 13 is a flow chart illustrating transferring data from a local storage
device to a remote storage device according to an alternative embodiment of the system
described herein.
Figure 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating a plurality of local and remote
storage devices with a host according to the system described herein.

Figure 15 is a diagram showing a multi-box mode table used in connection with
the system described herein.
Figure 16 is a flow chart illustrating modifying a multi-box mode table
according to the system described herein.
Figure 17 is a flow chart illustrating cycle switching by the host according to the
system described herein.
Figure 18 is a flow chart illustrating steps performed in connection with a local
storage device incrementing a sequence number according to a system described herein.
Figure 19 is a flow chart illustrating transferring data from a local storage
device to a remote storage device according to the system described herein.
Figure 20 is a flow chart illustrating transferring data from a local storage
device to a remote storage device according to an alternative embodiment of the system
described herein.
Figure 21 is a flow chart illustrating providing an active empty indicator
message from a remote storage device to a corresponding local storage device
according to the system described herein.
Figure 22 is a schematic diagram illustrating a plurality of local and remote
storage devices with a plurality of hosts according to the system described herein.
Figure 23 is a flow chart illustrating a processing performed by a remote storage
device in connection with data recovery according to the system described herein.

Figure 24 is a flow chart illustrating a processing performed by a host in
connection with data recovery according to die system described herein.
Detailed Description of Various Embodiments
Referring to Figure 1, a diagram 20 shows a relationship between a host 22, a
local storage device 24 and a remote storage device 26. The host 22 reads and writes
data from and to the local storage device 24 via a host adapter (HA) 28, which
facilitates the interface between the host 22 and the local storage device 24. Although
the diagram 20 only shows one host 22 and one HA 28, it will be appreciated by one of
ordinary skill in the art mat multiple HA's may be used and that one or more HA's may
have one or more hosts coupled thereto.
Data from the local storage device 24 is copied to the remote storage device 26
via an RDF link 29 to cause the data on the remote storage device 26 to be identical to
the data on the local storage device 24. Although only the one link 29 is shown, it is
possible to have additional links between the storage devices 24,26 and to have links
between one or both of the storage devices 24,26 and other storage devices (not
shown). Note thatthere may be a time delay between the transfer of data from the local
storage device 24 to the remote storage device 26, so that the remote storage device 26
may, at certain points in time, contain data that is not identical to the data on the local
storage device 24. Communication using RDF is described, for example, in U.S. Patent
No. 5,742,792, which is incorporated by reference herein.
The local storage device 24 includes a first plurality of RDF adapter units
(RA's) 30a, 30b, 30c and the remote storage device 26 includes a second plurality of
RA's 32a-32c. The RA's 30a-30c, 32a-32c are coupled to the RDF link 29 and are
similar to the host adapter 28, but are used to transfer data between the storage devices
24,26. The software used in connection with the RA's 30a-30c, 32a-32c is discussed
in more detail hereinafter.

The storage devices 24,26 may include one or more disks, each containing a
different portion of data stored on each of the storage devices 24,26. Figure 1 shows
the storage device 24 including a plurality of disks 33a, 33b, 33c and the storage device
26 including a plurality of disks 34a, 34b, 34c. The RDF functionality described herein
may be applied so mat the data for at least a portion of the disks 33a-33c of the local
storage device 24 is copied, using RDF, to at least a portion of the disks 34a-34c of the
remote storage device 26. It is possible mat other data of the storage devices 24,26 is
not copied between the storage devices 24,26, and thus is not identical.
Each of the disks 33a-33c is coupled to a corresponding disk adapter unit (DA)
35a, 35b, 35c that provides data to a corresponding one of the disks 33a-33c and
receives data from a corresponding one of the disks 33a-33c. Similarly, a plurality of
DA's 36a, 36b, 36c of the remote storage device 26 are used to provide data to
corresponding ones of the disks 34a-34c and receive data from conesponding ones of
the disks 34a-34c. An internal data path exists between the DA's 35a-35c, the HA 28
and the RA's 30a-30c of the local storage device 24. Similarly, an internal data path
exists between the DA's 36a-36c and the RA's 32a-32c of the remote storage device 26.
Note that, in other embodiments, it is possible for more man one disk to be serviced by
a DA and that it is possible for more than one DA to service a disk.
The local storage device 24 also includes a global memory 37 that may be used
to facilitate data transferred between the DA's 35a-35c, the HA 28 and the RA's 30a-
30c. The memory 37 may contain tasks that are to be performed by one or more of the
DA's 35a-35c, the HA 28 and the RA's 30a-30c, and a cache for data fetched from one
or more of the disks 33a-33c. Similarly, the remote storage device 26 includes a global
memory 38 mat may contain tasks that are to be performed by one or more of the DA's
36a-36c and the RA's 32a-32c, and a cache for data fetched from one or more of the
disks 34a-34c Use of the memories 37,38 is described in more detail hereinafter.

The storage space in the local storage device 24 that corresponds to the disks
33a-33c may be subdivided into a plurality of volumes or logical devices. The logical
devices may or may not correspond to the physical storage space of the disks 33a-33c.
Thus, for example, the disk 33a may contain a plurality of logical devices or,
alternatively, a single logical device could span both of the disks 33a, 33b. Similarly,
the storage space for the remote storage device 26 that comprises the disks 34a-34c
may be subdivided into a plurality of volumes or logical devices, where each of the
logical devices may or may not correspond to one or more of the disks 34a-34c.
Providing an RDF mapping between portions of the local storage device 24 and
the remote storage device 26 involves setting up a logical device on the remote storage
device 26 that is a remote mirror for a logical device on the local storage device 24.'
The host 22 reads and writes data from and to the logical device on the local storage
device 24 and the RDF mapping causes modified data to be transferred from the local
storage device 24 to the remote storage device 26 using the RA's, 30a-30c, 32a-32c and
the RDF link 29. In steady state operation, the logical device on the remote storage
device 26 contains data that is identical to the data of the logical device on the local
storage device 24. The logical device on the local storage device 24 that is accessed by
the host 22 is referred to as the "R1 volume" (or just "R1") while the logical device on
the remote storage device 26 that contains a copy of the data on the Rl volume is called
the "R2 volume" (or just "R2"). Thus, the host reads and writes data from and to the
Rl volume and RDF handles automatic copying and updating of the data from the Rl
volume to the R2 volume.
Referring to Figure 2, a path of data is illustrated from the host 22 to the local
storage device 24 and the remote storage device 26. Data written from the host 22 to
the local storage device 24 is stored locally, as illustrated by the data element 51 of the
local storage device 24. The data that is written by the host 22 to the local storage
device 24 is also maintained by the local storage device 24 in connection with being
sent by the local storage device 24 to the remote storage device 26 via the link 29.

In the system described herein, each data write by the host 22 (of, for example a
record, a plurality of records, a track, etc.) is assigned a sequence number. The
sequence number may be provided in an appropriate data field associated with the
write. In Figure 2, the writes by the host 22 are shown as being assigned sequence
number N. All of the writes performed by the host 22 that are assigned sequence
number N are collected in a single chunk of data 52. The chunk 52 represents a
plurality of separate writes by the host 22 that occur at approximately the same time.
Generally, the local storage device 24 accumulates chunks of one sequence
number while transmitting a previously accumulated chunk (having the previous
sequence number) to the remote storage device 26. Thus, while the local storage device
24 is accumulating writes from the host 22 mat are assigned sequence number NT, the
writes that occurred for the previous sequence number (N-1) are transmitted by the
local storage device 24 to the remote storage device 26 via the link 29. A chunk 54
represents writes from the host 22 that were assigned the sequence number N-1 that
have not been transmitted yet to the remote storage device 26.
The remote storage device 26 receives the data from the chunk 54
corresponding to writes assigned a sequence number N-1 and constructs a new clunk
56 of host writes having sequence number N-1. The data may be transmitted using
appropriate RDF protocol that acknowledges data sent across the link 29. When the
remote storage device 26 has received all of the data from the chunk 54, the local
storage device 24 sends a commit message to the remote storage device 26 to commit
all the data assigned the N-1 sequence number corresponding to the chunk 56.
Generally, once a chunk corresponding to a particular sequence number is committed,
that chunk may be written to the logical storage device. This is illustrated in Figure 2
with a chunk 58 corresponding to writes assigned sequence number N-2 (i.e., two
before the current sequence number being used in connection with writes by the host 22
to the local storage device 26). In Figure 2, the chunk 58 is shown as being written to a
data element 62 representing disk storage for the remote storage device 26. Thus, the
remote storage device 26 is receiving and accumulating the chunk 56 corresponding to

sequence number N-1 while the chunk 58 corresponding to the previous sequence
number (N-2) is being written to disk storage of the remote storage device 26
illustrated by the data element 62. In some embodiments, the data for the chunk 58 is
marked for write (but not necessarily written immediately), while the data for the chunk
56 is not
Thus, in operation, the host 22 writes data to the local storage device 24 that is
stored locally in the data element 51 and is accumulated in the chunk 52. Once all of
the data for a particular sequence number has been accumulated (described elsewhere
herein), the local storage device 24 increments the sequence number. Data from the
chunk 54 corresponding to one less than the current sequence number is transferred
from the local storage device 24 to the remote storage device 26 via the link 29. The
chunk 58 corresponds to data for a sequence number mat was committed by the local
storage device 24 sending a message to the remote storage device 26. Data from the
chunk 58 is written to disk storage of the remote storage device 26.
Note that the writes within a particular one of the chunks 52,54,56, 58 are not
necessarily ordered. However, as described in more detail elsewhere herein, every
write for the chunk 58 corresponding to sequence number N-2 was begun prior to
beginning any of the writes for the chunks 54,56 corresponding to sequence number N-
1. hi addition, every write for the chunks 54,56 corresponding to sequence number N-
1 was begun prior to beginning any of the writes for the chunk 52 corresponding to
sequence number N. Thus, in the event of a communication failure between the local
storage device 24 and the remote storage device 26, the remote storage device 26 may
simply finish writing the last committed chunk of data (the chunk 58 in the example of
Figure 2) and can be assured that the state of the data at the remote storage device 26 is
ordered in the sense that the data element 62 contains all of the writes that were begun
prior to a certain point in time and contains no writes that were begun after that point in
time. Thus, R2 always contains a point in time copy of R1 and it is possible to
reestablish a consistent image from the R2 device.

Referring to Figure 3, a diagram 70 illustrates items used to construct and
maintain the chunks 52,54. A standard logical device 72 contains data written by the
host 22 and corresponds to the data element 51 of Figure 2 and the disks 33a-33c of
Figure 1. The standard logical device 72 contains data written by the host 22 to the
local storage device 24.
Two linked lists of pointers 74,76 are used in connection with the standard
logical device 72. The linked lists 74,76 correspond to data that may be stored, for
example, in the memory 37 of the local storage device 24. The linked list 74 contains a
plurality of pointers 81-85, each of which points to a slot of a cache 88 used in
connection with the local storage device 24. Similarly, the linked list 76 contains a
plurality of pointers 91-95, each of which points to a slot of the cache 88. In some
embodiments, the cache 88 may be provided in the memory 37 of the local storage
device 24. The cache 88 contains a plurality of cache slots 102-104 that may be used
in connection to writes to the standard logical device 72 and, at the same time, used in
connection with the linked lists 74,76.
Each of the linked lists 74,76 may be used for one of the chunks of data 52,54
so that, for example, the linked list 74 may correspond to the chunk of data 52 for
sequence number N while the linked list 76 may correspond to the chunk of data 54 for
sequence number N-1. Thus, when data is written by the host 22 to the local storage
device 24, the data is provided to the cache 88 and, in some cases (described elsewhere
herein), an appropriate pointer of the linked list 74 is created. Note that the data will
not be removed ftom the cache 88 until the data is destaged to the standard logical
device 72 and toe data is also no longer pointed to by one of the pointers 81-85 of the
linked list 74, as described elsewhere herein.
In an embodiment herein, one of the linked lists 74,76 is deemed "active" while
the other is deemed "inactive". Thus, for example, when the sequence number N is
even, the linked list 74 may be active while the linked list 76 is inactive. The active

one of the linked lists 74, 76 handles writes from the host 22 while the inactive one of the
linked lists 74, 76 corresponds to the data that is being transmitted from the local storage
dcice 24 to the remote storage device 26.
While the data that is written by the host 22 is accumulated using the active one of
the linked lists 74, 76 (for the sequence number N), the data corresponding to the inactive
one of the linked lists 74, 76 (for previous sequence number N-1) is transmitted from the
local storage device 24 to the remote storage device 26. The RA's 30a-30c use the linked
lists 74-76 to determine the data to transmit from the local storage device 24 to the remote
storage device 26.
Once data corresponding to a particular one of the pointers in one of the linked lists
74, 76 has been transmitted to the remote storage device 26, the particular one of the
pointers may be removed from the appropriate one of the linked lists 74, 76. In addition, the
data may also be marked for removal from the cache 88 (i.e., the slot may be returned to a
pool of slots for later, unrelated, use) provided that the data in the slot is not otherwise
needed for another purpose (e.g., to be destaged to the standard logical device 72). A
mechanism may be used to ensure that data is not removed from the cache 88 until all
devices arc no longer using the data. Such a mechanism is described, for example, in U.S.
Patent No. 5,537,568 issued on July 16, 1996 and in U.S. Patent No. 6,594,742, both of
which are incorporated by reference herein.
Referring to Figure 4, a slot 120, like one of the slots 102-104 of the cache 88,
includes a header 122 and data 124. The header 122 corresponds to overhead information
used by the system to mange the slot 120. The data 124 is the corresponding data from the
disk that is being (temporarily) stored in the slot 120. Information in the header 122
includes pointers back to the disk, time stamp(s), etc.

The header 122 also includes a cache stamp 126 used in connection with the
system described herein. In an embodiment herein, the cache stamp 126 is eight bytes.
Two of the bytes are a "password" mat indicates whether the slot 120 is being used by
the system described herein. In other embodiments, the password may be one byte
while the following byte is used for a pad. As described elsewhere herein, the two
bytes of the password (or one byte, as the case may be) being equal to a particular value
indicates that the slot 120 is pointed to by at least one entry of the linked lists 74,76.
The password not being equal to the particular value indicates that the slot 120 is not
pointed to by an entry of the linked lists 74,76. Use of the password is described
elsewhere herein.
The cache stamp 126 also includes a two byte field indicating the sequence
number (e.g., N, N-1, N-2, etc.) of the data 124 of the slot 120. As described elsewhere
herein, the sequence number field of the cache stamp 126 may be used to facilitate the
processing described herein. The remaining four bytes of the cache stamp 126 may be
used for a pointer, as described elsewhere herein. Of course, the two bytes of the
sequence number and the four bytes of the pointer are only valid when the password
equals the particular value that indicates that the slot 120 is pointed to by at least one
entry in one of the lists 74,76.
Referring to Figure 5, a flow chart 140 illustrates steps performed by the HA 28
in connection with a host 22 performing a write operation. Of course, when the host 22
performs ft write, processing occurs for handling fha write in a normal fashion
irrespective of whether the data is part of an R1/R2 RDF group. For example, when the
host 22 writes data for a portion of the disk, the write occurs to a cache slot which is
eventually destaged to the disk. The cache slot may either be a new cache slot or may
be an already existing cache slot created in connection wim a previous read and/or
write operation to the same track.

Processing begins at a first step 142 where a slot corresponding to the write is
locked. In an embodiment herein, each of the slots 102-104 of the cache 88
corresponds to a track of data on the standard logical device 72. Locking the slot at the
step 142 prevents additional processes from operating on the relevant slot during the
processing performed by the HA 28 corresponding to the steps of the flow chart 140.
Following step 142 is a step 144 where a value for N, the sequence number, is
set As discussed elsewhere herein, the value for the sequence number obtained at the
step 144 is maintained during the entire write operation performed by the HA 28 while
the slot is locked. As discussed elsewhere herein, the sequence number is assigned to
each write to set the one of the chunks of data 52,54 to which the write belongs.
Writes performed by the host 22 are assigned the current sequence number. It is useful
that a single write operation maintain the same sequence number throughout
Following the step 144 is a test step 146 which determines if the password field
of the cache slot is valid. As discussed above, the system described herein sets the
password field to a predetermined value to indicate that the cache slot is already in one
of the linked lists of pointers 74,76. If it is determined at the test step 146 that the
password field is not valid (indicating that the slot is new and that no pointers from the
lists 74,76 point to the slot), then control passes from the step 146 to a step 148, where
the cache stamp of the new slot is set by setting the password to the predetermined
value, setting the sequence number field to N, and setting the pointer field to Null In
other embodiments, the pointer field may be set to point to the slot itself.
Following the step 148 is a step 152 where a pointer to the new slot is added to
the active one of the pointer lists 74,76. In an embodiment herein, the lists 74,76 are
circular doubly linked lists, and the new pointer is added to the circular doubly linked
list in a conventional fashion. Of course, other appropriate data structures could be
used to manage the lists 74,76. Following the step 152 is a step 154 where flags are
set At the step 154, the RDF_WP flag (RDF write pending flag) is set to indicate that

the slot needs to be transmitted to the remote storage device 26 using RDF. In addition,
at the step 154, the IN_CACHE flag is set to indicate that the slot needs to be destaged
to the standard logical device 72. Following the step 154 is a step 156 where the data
being written by the host 22 and the HA 28 is written to the slot Following the step
156 is a step 158 where the slot is unlocked. Following step 158, processing is
complete.
If it is determined at the test step 146 mat the password field of the slot is valid
(indicating mat the slot is already pointed to by at least one pointer of the lists 74,76),
then control transfers from the step 146 to a test step 162, where it is determined
whether the sequence number field of the slot is equal to the current sequence number,
N. Note that there are two valid possibilities for the sequence number field of a slot
with a valid password. It is possible for the sequence number field to be equal to N, the
current sequence number. This occurs when the slot corresponds to a previous write
with sequence number N. The other possibility is for the sequence number field to
equal N-1. This occurs when the slot corresponds to a previous write with sequence
number N-1. Any other value for the sequence number field is invalid. Thus, for some
embodiments, it may be possible to include error/validity checking in the step 162 or
possibly make error/validity checking a separate step. Such an error may be handled in
any appropriate fashion, which may include providing a message to a user.
If it is determined at the step 162 that the value in the sequence number field of
the slot equals the current sequence number N, then no special processing is required
and control transfers from the step 162 to the step 156, discussed above, where the data
is written to the slot Otherwise, if the value of the sequence number field is N-1 (the
only other valid value), then control transfers from the step 162 to a step 164 where a
new slot is obtained. The new slot obtained at the step 164 may be used to store me
data being written.

Following the step 164 is a step 166 where the data from the old slot is copied
to the new slot that was obtained at the step 164. Note that that the copied data
includes the KDF_WP flag, which should have been set at the step 154 on a previous
write when the slot was first created. Following the step 166 is a step 168 where the
cache stamp for the new slot is set by setting the password field to the appropriate
value, setting the sequence number field to the current sequence number, N, and setting
the pointer field to point to the old slot Following the step 168 is a step 172 where a
pointer to the new slot is added to the active one of the linked lists 74,76. Following
the step 172 is the step 156, discussed above, where the data is written to the slot
which, in mis case, is the new slot
Referring to Figure 6, a flow chart 200 illustrates steps performed in connection
with the RA's 30a-30c scanning the inactive one of the lists 72,74 to transmit RDF data
from the local storage device 24 to the remote storage device 26. As discussed above,
the inactive one of the lists 72,74 points to slots corresponding to the N-1 cycle for the
R1 device when the N cycle is being written to the R1 device by the host using the
active one of the lists 72,74.
Processing begins at a first step 202 where it is determined if there are any
entries in the inactive one of the lists 72,74. As data is transmitted, the corresponding
entries are removed from the inactive one of the lists 72,74. hi addition, new writes
are provided to the active one of the lists 72,74 and not generally to the inactive one of
the lists 72,74. Thus, it is possible (and desirable, as described elsewhere herein) for
the inactive one of the lists 72,74 to contain no data at certain times. If it is
determined at the step 202 that there is no data to be transmitted, then the inactive one
of the lists 72,74 is continuously polled until data becomes available. Data for sending
becomes available in connection with a cycle switch (discussed elsewhere herein)
where the inactive one of the lists 72,74 becomes the active one of the lists 72,74, and
vice versa.

If it is determined at the step 202 mat there is data available for sending, control
transfers from the step 202 to a step 204,-where the slot is verified as being correct
The processing performed at the step 204 is an optional "sanity check" that may include
verifying that the password field is correct and verifying that the sequence number field
is correct If mere is incorrect (unexpected) data in the slot error processing may be
performed, which may include notifying a user of the error and possibly error recovery
processing.
Following the step 204 is a step 212, where the data is sent via RDF in a
conventional fashion. In an embodiment herein, the entire slot is not transmitted.
Rather, only records within the slot that have the appropriate mirror bits set (indicating
the records have changed) are transmitted to the remote storage device 26. However, in
other embodiments, it may be possible to transmit the entire slot, provided mat the
remote storage device 26 only writes data corresponding to records having appropriate
mirror bits set and ignores other data for the track, which may or may not be valid.
Following the step 212 is a test step 214 where it is determined if the data that was
transmitted has been acknowledged by the R2 device. Ifnot me data is resent as
indicated by the flow from me step 214 back to the step 212. In other embodiments,
different and more involved processing may used to send data and acknowledge receipt
thereof. Such processing may include error reporting and alternative processing mat is
performed after a certain number of attempts to send the data have failed.
Once it is determined at the test step 214 that the data has been successfully
sent control passes from the step 214 to astep 216 to clear the RDF_WP flag (since the
data has been successfully sent via RDF). Following the step 216 is a test step 218
where it is determined if the slot is a duplicate slot created in connection with a write to
a slot already having an existing entryin the inactive one of me lists 72,74. This
possibility is discussed above in connection with the steps 162,164,166,168,172. If it
is determined at the step 218 that the slot is a duplicate slot then control passes from
the step 218 to a step 222 where the slot is returned to the pool of available slots (to be
reused). In addition, the slot may also be aged (or have some other appropriate

mechanism applied thereto) to provide for immediate reuse ahead of other slots since
the data provided in the slot is not valid for any other purpose. Following the step 222
or the step 218 if the slot is not a duplicate slot is a step 224 where the password field
of the slot header is cleared so that when the slot is reused, the test at the step 146 of
Figure 5 properly classifies the slot as a new slot
Following the step 224 is a step 226 where the entry in the inactive one of the
lists 72, 74 is removed. Following the step 226, control transfers back to the step 202,
discussed above, where it is determined if there are additional entries on the inactive
one of the lists 72,74 corresponding to data needing to be transferred.
Referring to Figure 7, a diagram 240 illustrates creation and manipulation of the
chunks 56, 58 used by the remote storage device 26. Data that is received by the
remote storage device 26, via the link 29, is provided to a cache 242 of the remote
storage device 26. The cache 242 may be provided, for example, in the memory 38 of
the remote storage device 26. The cache 242 includes a plurality of cache slots 244-
246, each of which may be mapped to a track of a standard logical storage device 252.
The cache 242 is similar to the cache 88 of Figure 3 and may contain data that can be
destaged to the standard logical storage device 252 of the remote storage device 26.
The standard logical storage device 252 corresponds to the data element 62 shown in
Figure 2 and the disks 34a-34c shown in Figure 1.
The remote storage device 26 also contains a pair of cache only virtual devices
254,256. The cache only virtual devices 254,256 corresponded device tables that may
be stored, for example, in the memory 38 of the remote storage device 26. Each track
entry of the tables of each of the cache only virtual devices 254,256 point to either a
track of the standard logical device 252 or point to a slot of the cache 242.

The plurality of cache slots 244-246 may be used in connection to writes to the
standard logical device 252 and, at the same time, used in connection with the cache
only virtual devices 254,256. In an embodiment herein, each of track table entry of me
cache only virtual devices 254,256 contain a null to indicate that the data for mat track
is stored on a corresponding track of the standard logical device 252. Otherwise, an
entry in the track table for each of the cache only virtual devices 254,256 contains a
pointer to one of the slots 244-246 in the cache 242.
Each of the cache only virtual devices 254,256 corresponds to one of the data
chunks 56,58. Thus, for example, the cache only virtual device 254 may correspond to
the data chunk 56 while the cache only virtual device 256 may correspond to the data
chunk 58. In an embodiment herein, one of the cache only virtual devices 254,256
may be deemed "active" while the other one of the cache only virtual devices 254,256
may be deemed "inactive'. The inactive one of the cache only virtual devices 254,256
may correspond to data being received from the local storage device 24 (i.e., the chunk
56) while the active one of the cache only virtual device 254,256 corresponds to data
being restored (written) to the standard logical device 252.
Data from the local storage device 24 that is received via the link 29 maybe
placed in one of the slots 244-246 of the cache 242. A corresponding pointer of the
inactive one of the cache only virtual devices 254,256 may be set to point to the
received data. Subsequent data having the same sequence number may be processed in
a similar manner. At some point, the local storage device 24 provides a message
committing all of the data sent using the same sequence number. Once the data for a
particular sequence number has been committed, the inactive one of the cache only
virtual devices 254,256 becomes active and vice versa. At that point, data from the
now active one of the cache only virtual devices 254,256 is copied to the standard
logical device 252 while the inactive one of the cache only virtual devices 254,256 is
used to receive new data (having a new sequence number) transmitted from the local
storage device 24 to the remote storage device 26.

As data is removed from the active one of the cache only virtual devices 254,
256 (discussed elsewhere herein), the corresponding entry in the active one of the cache
only virtual devices 254,256 may be set to null. In addition, the data may also be
removed from the cache 244 (i.e., the slot returned to the pool of free slots for later use)
provided that the data in the slot is not otherwise needed for another purpose (e.g.3 to be
destaged to the standard logical device 252). A mechanism may be used to ensure that
data is not removed from the cache 242 until all mirrors (including the cache only
virtual devices 254,256) are no longer using the data. Such a mechanism is described,
for example, in U.S. Patent No. 5,537,568 issued on July 16,1996 and in U.S. patent
; both of which are incorporated by
reference herein.
In some embodiments discussed elsewhere herein, the remote storage device 26
may maintain linked lists 258,262 like the lists 74,76 used by the local storage device
24. The lists 258,262 may contain information that identifies the slots of the
corresponding cache only virtual devices 254,256 that have been modified, where one
of the lists 258,262 corresponds to one of the cache only virtual devices 254,256 and
the other one of the lists 258,262 corresponds to the other one of the cache only virtual
devices 254,256. As discussed elsewhere herein, the lists 258,262 may be used to
facilitate restoring data from the cache only virtual devices 254,256 to the standard
logical device 252.
Referring to Figure 8, a flow chart 270 illustrates steps performed by the remote
storage device 26 in connection with processing data for a sequence number commit
transmitted by the local storage device 24 to the remote storage device 26. As
discussed elsewhere herein, the local storage device 24 periodically increments
sequence numbers. When this occurs, the local storage device 24 finishes transmitting
all of the data for the previous sequence number and then sends a commit message for
the previous sequence number.

Processing begins at a first step 272 where the commit is received. Following
the step 272 is a test step 274 which determines if the active one of the cache only
virtual devices 254,256 of the remote storage device 26 is empty. As discussed
elsewhere herein, the inactive one of the cache only virtual devices 254,256 of the
remote storage device 26 is used to accumulate data from the local storage device 24
sent using RDF while the active one of the cache only virtual devices 254,256 is
restored to the standard logical device 252.
If it is determined at the test step 274 that the active one of the cache only
virtual devices 254,256 is not empty, then control transfers from the test step 274 to a
step 276 where the restore for the active one of the cache only virtual devices 254,256
is completed prior to further processing being performed. Restoring data from the
active one of the cache only virtual devices 254,256 is described in more detail
elsewhere herein. It is useful that the active one of the cache only virtual devices 254,
256 is empty prior to handling the commit and beginning to restore date for the next
sequence number.
Following the step 276 or following the step 274 if the active one of the cache
only virtual devices 254,256 is determined to be empty, is a step 278 where the active
one of the cache only virtual devices 254,256 is made inactive. Following the step 278
is a step 282 where the previously inactive one of the cache only virtual devices 254,
256 (i.e., the one that was inactive prior to execution of the step 278) is made active.
Swapping the active and inactive cache only virtual devices 254,256 at the steps 278,
282 prepares the now inactive (and empty) one of the cache only virtual devices 254,
256 to begin to receive data from the local storage device 24 for the next sequence
number.
Following the step 282 is a step 284 where the active one of the cache only
virtual devices 254,256 is restored to me standard logical device 252 of the remote
storage device 26. Restoring the active one of the cache only virtual devices 254,256

to the standard logical device 252 is described in more detail hereinafter. However,
note that, in some embodiments, the restore process is begun, but not necessarily
completed, at the step 284. Following the step 284 is a step 286 where the commit that
was sent from the local storage device 24 to the remote storage device 26 is
acknowledged back to the local storage device 24 so that the local storage device 24 is
informed that the commit was successful. Following the step 286, processing is
complete.
Referring to Figure 9, a flow chart 300 illustrates in more detail the steps 276,
284 of Figure 8 where the remote storage device 26 restores the active one of the cache
only virtual devices 254,256. Processing begins at a first step 302 where a pointer is
set to point to the first slot of the active one of the cache only virtual devices 254,256.
The pointer is used to iterate through each track table entry of the active one of the
cache only virtual devices 254,256, each of which is processed individually.
Following the step 302 is a test step 304 where it is determined if the track of the active
one of the cache only virtual devices 254,256 that is being processed points to the
standard logical device 252. If so, then there is nothing to restore. Otherwise, control
transfers from the step 304 to a step a 306 where the corresponding slot of the active
one of the cache only virtual devices 254,256 is locked.
Following the step 306 is a test step 308 which determines if the corresponding
slot of the standard logical device 252 is already in the cache of the remote storage
device 26. if so, then control transfers from the test step 308 to a step 312 where the
slot of the standard logical device is locked. Following step 312 is a step 314 where the
data from the active one of the cache only virtual devices 254,256 is merged with the
data in the cache for the standard logical device 252. Merging the data at the step 314
involves overwriting the data for the standard logical device with the new data of the
active one of the cache only virtual devices 254,256. Note that, in embodiments that
provide for record level flags, it may be possible to simply OR the new records from
the active one of the cache only virtual devices 254,256 to the records of the standard
logical device 252 in the cache. That is, if the records are interleaved, then it is only

necessary to use the records from the active one of the cache only virtual devices' 254,
256 that have changed and provide the records to the cache slot of the standard logical
device 252. Following step 314 is a step 316 where the slot of the standard logical
device 252 is unlocked. Following step 316 is a step 318 where the slot of the active
one of the cache only virtual devices 254,256 that is being processed is also unlocked.
If it is determined at the test step 308 that the corresponding slot of the standard
logical device 252 is not in cache, then control transfers from the test step 308 to a step
322 where the track entry for the slot of the standard logical device 252 is changed to
indicate that the slot of the standard logical device 252 is in cache (e.g., an IN_CACHE
flag may be set) and needs to be destaged. As discussed elsewhere herein, in some
embodiments, only records of the track having appropriate mirror bits set may need to
be destaged. Following the step 322 is a step 324 where a flag for the track may be set
to indicate that the data for the track is in the cache.
Following the step 324 is a step 326 where the slot pointer for the standard
logical device 252 is changed to point to the slot in the cache. Following the step 326
is a test step 328 which determines if the operations performed at the steps 322,324,
326 have been successful. In some instances, a single operation called a "compare and
swap" operation may be used to perform the steps 322,324,326. If these operations
are not successful for any reason, then control transfers from the step 328 back to the
step 308 to reexamine if the corresponding track of the standard logical device 252 is in
the cache. Otherwise, if it is determined at the test step 328 that the previous operations
have been successful, men control transfers from the test step 328 to the step 318,
discussed above.
Following the step 318 is a test step 332 which determines if the cache slot of
the active one of the cache only virtual devices 254,256 (which is being restored) is
still being used. In some cases, it is possible that the slot for th z active one of the cache
only virtual devices 254,256 is still being used by another mirror. If it is determined at

the test step 332 that the slot of the cache only virtual device is not being used by
another mirror, then control transfers from the test step 332 to a step 334 where the slot
is released for use by other processes (e.g., restored to pool of available slots, as
discussed elsewhere herein). Following the step 334 is a step 336 to point to the next
slot to process the next slot of the active one of the cache only virtual devices 254,256.
Note that the step 336 is also reached from the test step 332 if it is determined at the
step 332 that the active one of the cache only virtual devices 254,256 is still being used
by another mirror. Note also that the step 336 is reached from the test step 304 if it is
determined at the step 304 that, for the slot being processed, the active one of the cache
only virtual devices 254,256 points to the standard logical device 252. Following the
step 336 is a test step 338 which determines if there are more slots of the active one of
the cache only virtual devices 254,256 to be processed. If not, processing is complete.
Otherwise, control transfers from the test step 338 back to the step 304.
In another embodiment, it is possible to construct lists of modified slots for the
received chunk of data 56 corresponding to the N-1 cycle on the remote storage device
26, such as the lists 258,262 shown in Figure 7. As the data is received, the remote
storage device 26 constructs a linked list of modified slots. The lists that are
constructed may be circular, linear (with a NULL termination), or any other appropriate
design. The lists may then be used to restore the active one of the cache only virtual
devices 254,256.
The flow chart 300 of Figure 9 shows two alternative paths 342,344 that
illustrate operation of embodiments where a list of modified slots is used. At the step
302, a pointer (used for iterating through the list of modified slots) is made to point to
the first element of the list Following the step 302 is the step 306, which is reached by
the alternative path 342. In embodiments that use lists of modified slots, the test step
304 is not needed since no slots on the list should point to the standard logical device
252.

Following the step 306, processing continues as discussed above with the
previous embodiment, except that the step 336 refers to traversing the list of modified
slots rather than pointing to the next slot in the COVD. Similarly, the test at the step
338 determines if the pointer is at the end of the list (or back to the beginning in the
case of a circular linked list). Also, ifit is determined at the step 338 that there are
more slots to process, then control transfers from the step 338 to the step 306, as
illustrated by the alternative path 344. As discussed above, for embodiments mat use a
list of modified slots, the step 304 may be eliminated.
Referring to Figure 10, a flow chart 350 illustrates steps performed in
connection with the local storage device 24 increasing the sequence number.
Processing begins at a first step 352 where the local storage device 24 waits at least M
seconds prior to increasing the sequence number. Inan embodiment herein, M is thirty,
but of course M could be any number. Larger values for M increase the amount of data
that may be lost if communication between the storage devices 24,26 is disrupted.
However, smaller values for M increase the total amount of overhead caused by
incrementing the sequence number more frequently.
Following the step 352 is a test step 354 which determines if all of me HA's of
the local storage device 24 have set a bit indicating mat the HA's have completed all of
the I/O's for a previous sequence number. When the sequence number changes, each
of the HA's notices the change and sets a bit indicating mat all I/O's of the previous
sequence number are completed. For example, if the sequence number changes from
N-1 to N, an HA will set the bit when the HA has completed all I/O's for sequence
number N-1. Note that, in some instances, a single I/O for an HA may take along time
and may still be in progress even after the sequence number has changed. Note also
that, for some systems, a different mechanism may be used to determine if all of the
HA's have completed their N-1 I/O's. The different mechanism may include
examining device tables in the memory 37.

If it is determined at the test step 354 that I/O's from the previous sequence
number have been completed, men control transfers from the step 354 to a test step 356
which determines if the inactive one of the lists 74,76 is empty. Note that a sequence
number switch may not be made unless and until all of the data corresponding to the
inactive one of the lists 74,76 has been completely transmitted from the local storage
device 24 to the remote storage device 26 using the RDF protocol Once the inactive
one of the lists 74,76 is determined to be empty, then control transfers from the step
356 to a step 358 where the commit for the previous sequence number is sent from the
local storage device 24 to the remote storage device 26. As discussed above, the
remote storage device 26 receiving a commit message for a particular sequence number
will cause the remote storage device 26 to begin restoring the data corresponding to die
sequence number.
Following the step 358 is a step 362 where the copying of data for the inactive
oae of the lists 74,76 is suspended. As discussed elsewhere herein, the inactive one of
the lists is scanned to send corresponding data from the local storage device 24 to the
remote storage device 26. It is useful to suspend copying data until the sequence
number switch is completed. In an embodiment herein, the suspension is provided by
sending a message to the RA's 30a-30c. However, it will be appreciated by one of
ordinary skill in the art that for embodiments mat use other components to facilitate
sending data using the system described herein, suspending copying may be provided
by sending appropriate messages/commands to the other components.
Following step 362 is a step 364 where the sequence number is incremented.
Following step 364 is a step 366 where the bits for the HA's mat are used in the test
step 354 are all cleared so that the bits may be set again in connection with the
increment of the sequence number. Following step 366 is a test step 372 which
determines if the remote storage device 26 has acknowledged the commit message sent
at the step 358. Acknowledging the commit message is discussed above in connection
with Figure 8. Once it is determined mat the remote storage device 26 has
acknowledged the commit message sent at the step 358, control transfers from the step

372 to a step 374 where the suspension of copying, which was provided at the step 362,
is cleared so that copying may resume. Following step 374, processing is complete.
Note that it is possible to go irom the step 374 back to the step 352 to begin a new cycle
to continuously increment the sequence number.
It is also possible to use COVD's on the Rl device to collect slots associated
with active data and inactive chunks of data. In that case, just as with the R2 device,
one CO VD could be associated with the inactive sequence number and another COVD
could be associated with the active sequence number. This is described below.
Referring to Figure 11, a diagram 400 illustrates items used to construct and
maintain the chunks 52,54. A standard logical device 402 contains data written by the
host 22 and corresponds to the data element 51 of Figure 2 and the disks 33a-33c of
Figure 1. The standard logical device 402 contains data written by the host 22 to the
local storage device 24.
Two cache only virtual devices 404,406 are used in connection with the
standard logical device 402. The cache only virtual devices 404,406 corresponded
device tables that may be stored, tor example, in the memory 37 of the local storage
device 24. Each track entry of the tables of each of the cache only virtual devices 404,
406 point to either a track of the standard logical device 402 or point to a slot of a cache
408 used in connection with the local storage device 24. In some embodiments, the
cache 408 may be provided in the memory 37 of the local storage device 24.
The cache 408 contains a plurality of cache slots 412-414 that may be used in
connection to writes to the standard logical device 402 and, at the same time, used in
connection with the cache only virtual devices 404,406. In an embodiment herein,
each track table entry of the cache only virtual devices 404,406 contains a null to point
to a corresponding track of the standard logical device 402. Otherwise, an entry in the

track table for each of the cache only virtual devices 404,406 contains a pointer to one
of the slots 412-414 in the cache 408.
Each of the cache only virtual devices 404,406 may be used for one of the
chunks of data 52,54 so that, for example, the cache only virtual device 404 may
correspond to the chunk of data 52 for sequence number N while the cache only virtual
device 406 may correspond to the chunk of data 54 for sequence number N-1. Thus,
when data is written by the host 22 to the local storage device 24, the data is provided
to the cache 408 and an appropriate pointer of the cache only virtual device 404 is
adjusted. Note that the data will not be removed from the cache 408 until the data is
destaged to the standard logical device 402 and the data is also released by the cache
only virtual device 404, as described elsewhere herein.
In an embodiment herein, one of the cache only virtual devices 404,406 is
deemed "active" while the other is deemed "inactive". Thus, for example, when the
sequence number N is even, the cache only virtual device 404 may be active while the
cache only virtual device 406 is inactive. The active one of the cache only virtual
devices 404,406 handles writes from the host 22 while the inactive one of the cache
only virtual devices 404,406 corresponds to the data mat is being transmitted from the
local storage device 24 to the remote storage device 26.
While the data that is written by the host 22 is accumulated using the active one
of the cache only virtual devices 404,406 (for the sequence number N), the data
corresponding to the inactive one of the cache only virtual devices 404,406 (for
previous sequence number N-1) is transmitted from the local storage device 24 to the
remote storage device 26. For this and related embodiments, the DA's 35a-35c of the
local storage device handle scanning the inactive one of the cache only virtual devices
404,406 to send copy requests to one or more of the RA's 30a-30c to transmit the data
from the local storage device 24 to the remote storage device 26. Thus, the steps 362,

374, discussed above in connection with suspending and resuming copying, may
include providing messages/commands to the DA's 35a-35c.
Once the data has been transmitted to the remote storage device 26, the
corresponding entry in the inactive one of the cache only virtual devices 404,406 may
be set to null. In addition, the data may also be removed from the cache 408 (i.e., the
slot returned to the pool of slots for later use) if the data in the slot is not otherwise
needed for another purpose (e.g., to be destaged to the standard logical device 402). A
mechanism may be used to ensure that data is not removed from the cache 408 until all
mirrors (including the cache only virtual devices 404,406) are no longer using the data
Such a mechanism is described, for example, in U.S. Patent No. 5.537,568 issued on
July 16,1996 and in U.S. patent- No. â–  6594742 both
of which are incorporated by reference herein.
Referring to Figure 12, a flow chart 440 illustrates steps performed by the
HA 28 in connection with a host 22 performing a write operation for embodiments
where two COVD's are used by the R1 device to provide the system described herein.
Processing begins at a first step 442 where a slot corresponding to the write is locked.
In an embodiment herein, each of the slots 412-414 of the cache 408 corresponds to a
track of data on the standard logical device 402. Locking the slot at the step 442
prevents additional processes from operating on the relevant slot during the processing
performed by the HA 28 corresponding to the steps of the flow chart 440.
Following the step 442 is a step 444 where a value for N, the sequence number,
is set. Just as with the embodiment that uses lists rather than COVD's on the Rl side,
the value for the sequence number obtained at the step 444 is maintained during the
entire write operation performed by the HA 28 while the slot is locked. As discussed
elsewhere herein, the sequence number is assigned to each write to set the one of the
chunks of data 52,54 to which the write belongs. Writes performed by the host 22 are

assigned the current sequence number. It is useful that a single write operation
maintain the same sequence number throughout
Following the step 444 is a test step 446, which determines if the inactive one of
the cache only virtual devices 404,406 already points to the slot that was locked at the
step 442 (the slot being operated upon). This may occur if a write to the same slot was
provided when the sequence number was one less than the current sequence number.
The data corresponding to the write for the previous sequence number may not yet have
been transmitted to the remote storage device 26.
If it is determined at the test step 446 that the inactive one of the cache only
virtual devices 404,406 does not point to the slot, then control transfers from the test
step 446 to another test step 448, where it is determined if the active one of the cache
only virtual devices 404,406 points to the slot It is possible for the active one of me
cache only virtual devices 404,406 to point to the slot if there had been a previous
write to the slot while me sequence number was the same as the current sequence
number. If it is determined at the test step 448 that the active one of the cache only
virtual devices 404,406 does not point to the slot, then control transfers from the test
step 448 to a step 452 where anew slot is obtained for the data. Following the step 452
is a step 454 where the active one of the cache only virtual devices 404,406 is made to
point to the slot
Following the step 454, or following the step 448 if the active one of the cache
only virtual devices 404,406 points to the slot, is a step 456 where flags are set At me
step 456, the RDF_WP flag (RDF write pending flag) is set to indicate that the slot
needs to be transmitted to the remote storage device 26 using RDF. In addition, at the
step 456, tiie IN_CACHE flag is set to indicate mat the slot needs to be destaged to the
standard logical device 402. Note that, in some instances, if the active one of the cache
only virtual devices 404,406 already points to the slot (as determined at the step 448) it
is possible that the RDF_WP and IN.CACHE flags were already set prior to execution


of the step 456. However, setting the flags at the step 456 ensures that the flags are set
properly no matter what the previous state.
Following the step 456 is a step 458 where an indirect flag in the track table that
points to the slot is cleared, indicating that the relevant data is provided in the slot and
not in a different slot indirectly pointed to. Following the step 458 is a step 462 where
the data being written by the host 22 and the HA 28 is written to me slot Following the
step 462 is a step 464 where the slot is unlocked. Following step 464, processing is
complete.
If it is determined at the test step 446 that the inactive one of the cache only
virtual devices 404,406 points to the slot, then control transfers from the step 446 to a
step 472, where a new slot is obtained. The new slot obtained at the step 472 may be
used for the inactive one of the cache only virtual devices 404,406 to effect the RDF
transfer while the old slot may be associated with the active one of the cache only
virtual devices 404,406, as described below.
Following the step 472 is a step 474 where the data from the old slot is copied
to me new slot that was obtained at the step 472. Following the step 474 is a step 476
where the indirect flag (discussed above) is set to indicate that
the inactive one of the cache only virtual devices 404,406 points to the old slot but that
the data is in the new slot which is pointed to by the old slot Thus, setting indirect flag
at the step 476 affects the track table of the inactive one of the cache only virtual
devices 404,406 to cause the track table entry to indicate mat the data is in the new
slot
Following the step 476 is a step 478 where the mirror bits for the records in the
new slot are adjusted. Any local mirror bits that were copied when the data was copied
from the old slot to the new slot at the step 474 are cleared since the purpose of the new
slot is to simply effect the RDF transfer for the inactive one of the cache only virtual

devices. The old slot will be used to handle any local mirrors. Following the step 478
is the step 462 where the data is written to the slot Following step 462 is the step 464
where the slot is unlocked. Following the step 464, processing is complete. -
Referring to Figure 13, a flow chart 500 illustrates steps performed in
connection with the local storage device 24 transmitting the chunk of data 54 to the
remote storage device 26. The transmission essentially involves scanning the inactive
one of the cache only virtual devices 404,406 for tracks that have been written thereto
during a previous iteration when the inactive one of the cache only virtual devices 404,
406 was active. In this embodiment, toe DA's 35a-35c of the local storage device 24
scan the inactive one of the cache only virtual devices 404,406 to copy the data lor
transmission to the remote storage device 26 by one or more of the RA's 30a-30c using
the RDF protocol.
Processing begins at a first step 502 where the first track of the inactive one of
the cache only virtual devices 404,406 is pointed to in order to begin the process of
iterating through all of the tracks. Following the first step 502 is a test step 504 where
it is determined if the RDF_WP flag is set As discussed elsewhere herein, the
RDF_WP flag is used to indicate that a slot (track) contains data that needs to be
traramitted via the RDF link. The RDF_WP flag being set indicates that at least some
data for the slot (track) is to be transmitted using RDF. In embodiment herein, the
entire slot is not transmitted. Rather, only records within the slot that have the
appropriate mirror bits set (indicating the records have changed) are transmitted to the
remote storage device 26. However, in other embodiments, it may be possible to
transmit the entire slot, provided mat the remote storage device 26 only writes data
corresponding to records having appropriate mirror bits set and ignores other data for
the track, winch may or may not be valid.
If it is determined at the test step 504 that the cache slot being processed has the
RDF_WP flag set, then control transfers from the step 504 to a test step 505, where it is

determinedif the slot contains the data or if the slot is an indirect slot that points to
another slot that contains the relevant data. In some instances, a slot may not contain
the data for the portion of the disk that corresponds to the slot Instead, the slot may be
an indirect slot that points to another slot that contains the data. If it is determined at
the step SOS that the slot is an indirect slot, men control transfers from the step S05 to a
step 506, where the data (from the slot pointed to by the indirect slot) is obtained.
Thus, if the slot is a direct slot, the data for being sent by RDF is stored in the slot while
if the slot is an indirect slot, the data for being sent by RDF is in another slot pointed to
by the indirect slot
Following the step 506 or the step 505 if the slot is a direct slot is a step 507
where data being sent (directly or indirectly from the slot) is copied by one of the DA's
35a-35c to be sent from the local storage device 24 to the remote storage device 26
using the RDF protocol Following the step 507 is a test step 508 where it is
determined if the remote storage device 26 has acknowledged receipt of the data. If
not, then control transfers from the step 508 back to the step 507 to resend the data. In
other embodiments, different and more involved processing may used to send data and
acknowledge receipt thereof. Such processing may include error reporting and
alternative processing that is performed after a certain number of attempts to send the
data have failed.
Once it is determined at the test step J508 that the data has been successfully
sent, control passes from the step 508 to a step 512 to clear the RDF_WP flag (since the
data has been successfully sent via RDF). Following the step 512 is a step 514 where
appropriate mirror flags are cleared to indicate that at least the RDF mirror (R2) no
longer needs the data, man embodiment herein, each record that is part of a slot
(track) has individual mirror flags indicating which mirrors use the particular record.
The E2 device is one of the mirrors for each of the records and it is the flags
corresponding to the R2 device that are cleared at the step 514.

Following the step 514 is a test step 516 which determines if any of the records
of the track being processed have any other mirror flags set (for other mirror devices).
If not, then control passes from the step 516 to a step 518 where the slot is released
(i.e., no longer being used). In some embodiments, unused slots are maintained in a
pool of slots available for use. Note that if additional flags are still set for some of the
records of the slot, it may mean that the records need to be destaged to the standard
logical device 402 or are being used by some other mirror (including another R2
device). Following the step 518, or following the step 516 if more mirror flags are
present, is a step 522 where the pointer that is used to iterate through each track entry of
the inactive one of the cache only virtual devices 404,406 is made to point to the next
track. Following the step 522 is a test step 524 which determines if there are more
tracks of the inactive one of the cache only virtual devices 404,406 to be processed. If
not, then processing is complete. Otherwise, control transfers back to the test step 504,
discussed above. Note that the step 522 is also reached from the test step 504 if it is
determined that the RDF_WP flag is not set for the track being processed.
Referring to Figure 14, a diagram 700 illustrates a host 702 coupled to a
plurality of local storage devices 703-705. The diagram 700 also shows a plurality of
remote storage devices 706-708. Although only three local storage devices 703-705
and three remote storage devices 706-708 are shown in the diagram 700, the system
described herein may be expanded to use any number of local and remote storage
devices.
Each of the local storage devices 703-705 is coupled to a corresponding one of
the remote storage devices 706-708 so that, for example, the local storage device 703 is
coupled to the remote storage device 706, the local storage device 704 is coupled to the
remote storage device 707 and the local storage device 705 is coupled to the remote
storage device 7.08. The local storage device is 703-705 and remote storage device is
706-708 may be coupled using the ordered writes mechanism described herein so that,
for example, the local storage device 703 may be coupled to the remote storage device
706 using the ordered writes mechanism. As discussed elsewhere herein, the ordered

writes mechanism allows data recovery using the remote storage device in instances
where the local storage device and/or host stops working and/or loses data.
In some instances, the host 702 may run a single application that simultaneously
uses more than one of the local storage devices 703-705. In such a case, the application
may be configured to insure that application data is consistent (recoverable) at the local
storage devices 703-705 if the host 702 were to cease working at any time and/or if one
of the local storage devices 703-705 were to fail. However, since each of the ordered
write connections between the local storage devices 703-705 and the remote storage
devices 706-708 is asynchronous from the other connections, then mere is no assurance
that data for the application will be consistent (and thus recoverable) at the remote
storage devices 706-708. That is, for example, even though the data connection
between the local storage device 703 and the remote storage device 706 (a first
local/remote pair) is consistent and the data connection between the local storage
device 704 and me remote storage device 707 (a second local/remote pair) is consistent,
it is not necessarily the case that the data on the remote storage devices 706,707 is
always consistent if there is no synchronization between the first and second
local/remote pairs.
For applications on the host 702 mat simultaneously use a plurality of local
storage devices 703-705, it is desirable to have the data be consistent and recoverable at
the remote storage devices 706-708. This may be provided by a mechanism whereby
the host 702 controls cycle switching at each of the local storage devices 703-705 so
that the data from the application running on the host 702 is consistent and recoverable
at the remote storage devices 706-708. This functionality is provided by a special
application that runs on the host 702 that switches a plurality of the local storage
devices 703 -705 into multi-box mode, as described in more detail below.
Referring to Figure 15, a table 730 has a plurality of entries 732-734. Each of
the entries 732-734 correspond to a single local/remote pair of storage devices so that,

for example, the entry 732 may correspond to pair of the local storage device 703 and
the remote storage device 706, the entry 733 may correspond to pair of the local storage
device 704 and the remote storage device 707 and the entry 734 may correspond to the
pair of local storage device 705 and the remote storage device 708. Each of the entries
732-734 has a plurality of fields where a first field 736a-736c represents a serial
number of the corresponding local storage device, a second field 738a-738c represents
a session number used by the multi-box group, a third field 742a-742c represents the
serial number of the corresponding remote storage device of the local/remote pair, and
a fourth field 744a-744c represents the session number for the multi-box group. The
table 730 is constructed and maintained by the host 702 in connection with operating in
multi-box mode. In addition, the table 730 is propagated to each of the local storage
devices and the remote storage devices that are part of the multi-box group. The table
730 may be used to facilitate recovery, as discussed in more detail below.
Different local/remote pairs may enter and exit multi-box mode independently
in any sequence and at any time. The host 702 manages entry and exit of local storage
device/remote storage device pairs into and out of multi-box mode. This is described in
more detail below.
Referring to Figure 16, a flowchart 750 illustrates steps performed by the host
702 in connection with entry or exit of a local/remote pair in to or out of multi-box
mode. Processing begins at a first step 752 where multi-box mode operation is
temporarily suspended. Temporarily suspending multi-box operation at the step 752 is
useful to facilitate the changes that are made in connection with entry or exit of a
remote/local pair in to or out of multi-box mode. Following the step 752, is a step 754
where a table like the table 730 of Figure 15 is modified to either add or delete an entry,
as appropriate. Following the step 754 is a step 756 where the modified table is
propagated to the local storage devices and remote storage devices of the multi-box
group. Propagating the table at the step 756 facilitates recovery, as discussed in more
detail elsewhere herein.

Following the step 756 is a step 758 where a message is sent to the affected
local storage device to provide the change. The local storage device may configure
itself to run in multi-box mode or not, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. As
discussed in more detail below, a local storage device handling ordered writes operates
differently depending upon whether it is operating as part of a multi-box group or not
If the local storage device is being added to a multi-box group, the message sent at the
step 758 indicates to the local storage device that it is being added to a multi-box group
so that the local storage device should configure itself to run in multi-box mode.
Alternatively, if a local storage device is being removed from a multi-box group, the
message sent at the step 758 indicates to the local storage device that it is being
removed from the multi-box group so that the local storage device should configure
itself to not run in multi-box mode.
Following step 758 is a test step 762 where it is determined if a local/remote
pair is being added to the multi-box group (as opposed to being removed). If so, men
control transfers from the test step 762 to a step 764 where tag values are sent to the
local storage device that is being added. The tag values are provided with the data
transmitted from the local storage device to the remote storage device in a manner
similar to providing the sequence numbers with the data. The tag values are controlled
by the host and set so that all of the local/remote pairs send data having the same tag
value during the same cycle. Use of the tag values is discussed in more detail below.
Following the step 764, or following the step 762 if a new local/remote pair is not being
added, is a step 766 where multi-box operation is resumed. Following the step 766,
processing is complete.
Referring to Figure 17, a flow chart 780 illustrates steps performed in
connection with the host managing cycle switching for multiple local/remote pairs
running as a group in multi-box mode. As discussed elsewhere herein, multi-box mode
involves having the host synchronize cycle switches for more than one remote/local pair to maintain data consistency among the remote storage devices. Cycle switching is

coordinated by the host rather than being generated internally by the local storage
devices. This is discussed in more detail below.
Processing for the flow chart 780 begins at a test step 782 which determines if
M seconds have passed. Just as with non-multi-box operation, cycle switches occur no
sooner than every M seconds where M is a number chosen to optimize various
performance parameters. As the number M is increased, the amount of overhead
associated with switching decreases. However, increasing M also causes the amount of
data that may be potentially lost in connection with a failure to also increase. In an
embodiment herein, M is chosen to be thirty seconds, although, obviously other values
for M may be used.
If it is determined at the test step 782 that M seconds have not passed, then
control transfers back to the step 782 to continue waiting until M seconds have passed.
Once it is determined at the test step 782 that M seconds have passed, control transfers
from the step 782 to a step 784 where the host queries all of the local storage devices in
the multi-box group to determine if all of me local/remote pairs are ready to switch.
The local/remote pairs being ready to switch is discussed in more detail hereinafter.
Following the step 784 is a test step 786 which determines if all of the
local/remote pairs are ready to switch. If not, control transfers back to the step 784 to
resume the query. In an embodiment herein, his only necessary to query local/remote
pairs that were previously not ready to switch since, once a local/remote pair is ready to
switch, the pair remains so until the switch occurs.
Once it is determined at the test step 786 that all of the local/remote pairs in the
multi-box group are ready to switch, control transfers from the step 786 to a step 788
where an index variable, N, is set equal to one. The index variable N is used to iterate
through all the local/remote pairs (i.e., all of the entries 732-734 of the table 730 of
Figure 15). Following the step 788 is a test step 792 which determines if the index

variable, N, is greater than the number of local/remote pairs in the multi-box group. If
not, then control transfers from the step 792 to a step 794 where an open window is
performed for the Nth local storage device of the Nth pair by the host sending a
command (e.g., an appropriate system command) to the Nth local storage device.
Opening the window for the Nth local storage device at the step 794 causes the Nth
local storage device to suspend writes so that any write by a host that is not begun prior
to opening the window at the step 794 will not be completed until the window is closed
(described below). Not completing a write operation prevents a second dependant
write from occurring prior to completion of the cycle switch. Any writes in progress
that were begun before opening the window may complete prior to the window being
closed.
Following the step 794 is a step 796 where a cycle switch is performed for the
Nth local storage device. Performing the cycle switch at the step 796 involves sending
a command from the host 702 to the Nth local storage device. Processing the command
from the host by the Nth local storage device is discussed in more detail below. Part of
the processing performed at the step 796 may include having the host provide new
values for the tags that are assigned to the data. The tags are discussed in more detail
elsewhere herein. In an alternative embodiment, the operations performed at the steps
794,796 may be performed as a single integrated step 797, which is illustrated by the
box drawn around the steps 794,796.
Following the step 796 is a step 798 where the index variable, N, is
incremented. Following step 798, control transfers back to the test step 792 to
determine if the index variable, N, is greater man the number of local/remote pairs.
If it is determined at the test step 792 mat the index variable, N, is greater than
the number of local/remote pairs, then control transfers from the test step 792 to a step
802 where the index variable, N, is set equal to one. Following the step 802 is a test
step 804 which determines if the index variable, N, is greater than the number of

local/remote pairs. If not, then control transfers from the step 804 to a step 806 where
the window for the Nth local storage device is closed. Closing the window of the step
806 is performed by the host sending a command to the Nth local storage device to
cause the Nth local storage device to resume write operations. Thus, any writes in
process that were suspended by opening the window at the step 794 may now be
completed after execution of the step 806. Following the step 806, control transfers to
a step 808 where the index variable, N, is incremented. Following the step 808, control
transfers back to the test step 804 to determine if the index variable, N, is greater than
the number of local/remote pairs. If so, then control transfers from the test step 804
back to the step 782 to begin processing for the next cycle switch.
Referring to Figure 18. a flow chart 830 illustrates steps performed by a local
storage device in connection with cycle switching. The flow chart 830 of Figure 18
replaces the flow chart 350 of Figure 10 in instances where the local storage device
supports both multi-box mode and non-multi-box mode. That is, the flow chart 830
shows steps performed like those of the flow chart 350 of Figure 10 to support non-
multi-box mode and, in addition, includes steps for supporting multi-box mode.
Processing begins at a first test step 832 which determines if the local storage
device is operating in multi-box mode. Note mat the flow chart 750 of Figure 16 shows
the step 758 where the host sends a message to the local storage device. The message
sent at the step 758 indicates to the local storage device whether the local storage
device is in multi-box mode or not Upon receipt of the message sent by the host at the
step 758, the local storage device sets an internal variable to indicate whether the local
storage device is operating in multi-box mode or not The internal variable may be
examined at the test step 832.
If it is determined at the test step 832 that the local storage device is not in
multi-box mode, then control transfers from the test step 832 to a step 834 to wait M
seconds for the cycle switch If the local storage device is not operating in multi-box

mode, then the local storage device controls its own cycle switching and thus executes
the step 834 to wait M seconds before initiating the next cycle switch.
Following the step 834, or following the step 832 if the local storage device is in
multi-box mode, is a test step 836 which determines if all of the HA's of the local
storage device have set a bit indicating that the HA's have completed all of the I/O's for
a previous sequence number. When the sequence number changes, each of the HA's
notices the change and sets a bit indicating that all I/O's of the previous sequence
number are completed. For example, if the sequence number changes from N-1 to N,
an HA will set the bit when the HA has completed all I/O's for sequence number N-1.
Note that, in some instances, a single I/O for an HA may take a long time and may still
be in progress even after the sequence number has changed. Note also that, for some
systems, a different mechanism may be used to determine if all HA's have completed
their N-1 I/O's. The different mechanism may include examining device tables. Once
it is determined at the test step 836 that all HA's have set the appropriate bit, control
transfers from the test step 836 to a step 888 which determines if the inactive chunk fox
the local storage device is empty. Once it is determined at the test step 888 that the
inactive chunk is empty, control transfers from the step 888 to a step 899, where
copying of data from the local storage device to the remote storage device is suspended.
It is useful to suspend copying data until the sequence number switch is complete.
Following the step 899 is a test step 892 to determine if the local storage device
is in multi-box mode. If it is determined at the test step 892 that the local storage
device is in multi-box mode, then control transfers from the test step 892 to a test step
894 to determine if the active chunk of the corresponding remote storage device is
empty. As discussed in more detail below, the remote storage device sends a message
to the local storage device once it has emptied its active chunk. In response to the
message, the local storage device sets an internal variable that is examined at the test
step 894.

Once it is determined at the test step 894 that The active chunk of the remote
storage device is empty, control transfers from the test step 894 to a step 896 where an
internal variable is set on a local storage device indicating that the local storage device
is ready to switch cycles. As discussed above in connection with the flow chart 780 of
Figure 17, the host queries each of the local storage devices to determine if each of the
local storage devices are ready to switch. In response to the query provided by the host,
the local storage device examines the internal variable set at the step 896 and returns
the result to the host
Following step 896 is a test step 898 where the local storage device waits to
receive the command from the host to perform the cycle switch. As discussed above in
connection with the flow chart 780 of Figure 17, the host provides a command to
switch cycles to the local storage device when the local storage device is operating in
multi-box mode. Thus, the local storage device waits for the command at the step 898,
which is only reached when the local storage device is operating in multi-box mode.
Once the local storage device has received the switch command from the host,
control transfers from the step 898 to a step 902 to send a commit message to the
remote storage device. Note that the step 902 is also reached from the test step 892 if it
is determined at the step test 892 that the local storage device is not in multi-box mode.
At the step 902, the local storage device sends a commit message to the remote storage
device, Ihresponse to receiving a commit message for a particular sequence number,
the remote storage device will begin restoring the data corresponding to the sequence
number, as discussed above.
Following the step 902 is a step 906 where the sequence number is incremented
and a new value for the tag (from the host) is stored. The sequence number is as
discussed above. The tag is the tag provided to the local storage device at the step 764
and at the step 796, as discussed above. The tag is used to facilitate data recovery, as
discussed elsewhere herein.

Following the step 906 is a step 907 where completion of the cycle switch is
confirmed from the local storage device to the host by sending a message from the local
storage device to the host In some embodiments, it is possible to condition performing
the step 907 on whether the local storage device is in multi-box mode or not, since, if
the local storage device is not in multi-box mode, the host is not necessarily interested
in when cycle switches occur.
Following the step 907 is a step 908 where the bits for the HA's that are used in
the test step 836 are all cleared so that the bits may be set again in connection with the
increment of the sequence number. Following the step 908 is a test step 912 which
determines if the remote storage device has acknowledged the commit message. Note
that if the local/remote pair is operating in multi-box mode and the remote storage
device active chunk was determined to be empty at the step 894, then the remote
storage device should acknowledge the commit message nearly immediately since the
remote storage device will be ready for the cycle switch immediately because the active
chunk thereof is already empty.
Once it is determined at the test step 912 that the commit message has been
acknowledged by the remote storage device, control transfers from the step 912 to a
step 914 where the suspension of copying, which was provided at the step 899, is
cleared so that copying from the local storage device to the remote storage device may
resume. Following the step 914, processing is complete.
Referring to Figure 19, a flow chart 940 illustrates steps performed in
connection with RA's scanning the inactive buffers to transmit RDF data from the local
storage device to the remote storage device. The flow chart 940 of Figure 19 is similar
to the flow chart 200 of Figure 6 and similar steps are given the same reference
number. However, the flow chart 940 includes two additional steps 942,944 which are
not found in the flow chart 200 of Figure 6. The additional steps 942,944 are used to
facilitate multi-box processing. After data has been sent at the step 212, control

transfers from the step 212 to a test step 942 which determines if the data being sent is
the last data in the inactive chunk of the local storage device. If not, then control
transfers from the step 942 to the step 214 and processing continues as discussed above
in connection with the flow chart 200 of Figure 6. Otherwise, if it is determined at the
test step 942 that the data being sent is the last data of the chunk, then control transfers
from the step 942 to the step 944 to send a special message from the local storage
device to the remote storage device indicating that the last data has been sent
Following the step 944, control transfers to the step 214 and processing continues as
discussed above in connection with the flow chart 200 of Figure 6. In some
embodiments, the steps 942,944 may be performed by a separate process (and/or
separate hardware device) that is different from the process and/or hardware device that
transfers the data.
Referring to Figure 20, a flow chart 950 illustrates steps performed in
connection with RA' s scanning the inactive buffers to transmit RDF data from the local
storage device to the remote storage device. The flow chart 950 of Figure 20 is similar
to the flow chart 500 of Figure 13 and similar steps are given the same reference
number. However, the flow chart 950 includes an additional step 952, which is not
found in the flow chart 500 of Figure 13. The additional steps 952 is used to facilitate
multi-box processing and is like the additional step 944 of the flowchart 940 of Figure
19. After it is determined at the test step 524 that nomore slots remain to be sent from
the local storage device to the remote storage device, control transfers from the step
524 to the step 952 to send a special message from the local storage device to the
remote storage device indicating that the last data for the chunk has been sent
Following the step 952, processing is complete.
Referring to Figure 21, a flow chart 960 illustrates steps performed at the
remote storage device in connection with providing an indication mat the active chunk
of the remote storage device is empty. The flow chart 960 is like the flow chart 300 of
Figure 9 except that the flow chart 960 shows a new step 962 that is performed after the
active chunk of the remote storage device has been restored. At the step 962, the

remote storage device sends a message to the local storage device indicating that the
active chunk of the remote storage device is empty. Upon receipt of the message sent
at the step 962, the local storage device sets an internal variable indicating that the
inactive buffer of the remote storage device is empty. The local variable is examined in
connection with the test step 894 of the flow chart 830 of Figure 18, discussed above.
Referring to Figure 22, a diagram 980 illustrates the host 702, local storage
devices 703-705 and remote storage devices 706-708, that are shown in the diagram
700 of Figure 14. The Diagram 980 also includes a fust alternative host 982 that is
coupled to the host 702 and the local storage devices 703-705. The diagram 980 also
includes a second alternative host 984 that is coupled to the remote storage devices
706-708. The alternative hosts 982,984 may be used for data recovery, as described in
more detail below.
When recovery of data at the remote site is necessary, the recovery may be
performed by the host 702 or, by the host 982 provided that the links between the local
storage devices 703-705 and the remote storage devices 706-708 are still operational.
If the links are not operational, then data recovery may be performed by the second
alternative host 984 that is coupled to the remote storage devices 706-708. The second
alternative host 984 may be provided in the same location as one or more of the remote
storage devices 706-708. Alternatively, the second alternative host 984 may be remote
from all of the remote storage devices 706-708. The table 730 that is propagated
throughout the system is accessed in connection with data recovery to determine the
members of the multi-box group.
Referring to Figure 23, a flow chart 1000 illustrates steps performed by each of
the remote storage devices 706-708 in connection with the data recovery operation.
The steps of the flowchart 1000 may be executed by each of the remote storage devices
706-708 upon receipt of a signal or a message indicating that data recovery is
necessary. In some embodiments, it may be possible for a remote storage device to

automatically sense that data recovery is necessary using, for example, conventional
criteria such as length of time since last write.
Processing begins at a first step 1002 where the remote storage device finishes
restoring the active chunk in a manner discussed elsewhere herein. Following the step
1002 is a test step 1004 which determines if the inactive chunk of the remote storage
device is complete (i.e., all of the data has been written thereto). Note mat a remote
storage device may determine if the inactive chunk is complete using the message sent
by the local storage device at the steps 944,952, discussed above. That is, if the local
storage device has sent the message at the step 944 or the step 952, then the remote
storage device may use receipt of mat message to confirm that the inactive chunk is
complete.
If it is determined at the test step 1004 that the inactive chunk of the remote
storage device is not complete, then control transfers from the test step 1004 to a step
1006 where the data from the inactive chunk is discarded. No data recovery is
performed using incomplete inactive chunks since the data therein may be inconsistent
with the corresponding active chunks. Accordingly, data recovery is performed using
active chunks and, in some cases, inactive chunks that are complete. Following the
step 1006, processing is complete.
If it is determined at the test step 1004 that the inactive chunk is complete, men
control transfers from the step 1004 to the step 1008 where the remote storage device
waits for intervention by the host If an inactive chunk, one of the hosts 702,982,984,
as appropriate, needs to examine the state of all of the remote storage devices in the
multi-box group to determine how to perform the recovery. This is discussed in more
detail below.
Following step 1008 is a test step 1012 where it is determined if the host has
provided a command to all storage device to discard the inactive chunk. If so, then

control transfers from the step 1012 to the step 1006 to discard the inactive chunk.
Following the step 1006, processing is complete.
If it is determined at the test step 1002 that the host has provided a command to
restore the complete inactive chunk, then control transfers from the step 1012 to a step
1014 where the inactive chunk is restored to the remote storage device. Restoring the
inactive chunk in the remote storage device involves making the inactive chunk an
active chunk and then writing the active chunk to the disk as described elsewhere
herein. Following the step 1014, processing is complete.
Referring to Figure 24, a flow chart 1030 illustrates steps performed in
connection with one of the hosts 702,982,984 determining whether to discard or
restore each of the inactive chunks of each of the remote storage devices. The one of
the hosts 702,982,984 that is performing the restoration communicate with the
remote storage devices 706-708 to provide commands thereto and to receive
information therefrom using the tags that are assigned by the host as discussed
elsewhere herein.
Processing begins at a first step 1032 where it is determined if any of the remote
storage devices have a complete inactive chunk. If not, then there is no further
processing to be performed and, as discussed above, the remote storage devices will
discard the incomplete chunks on their own without host intervention. Otherwise,
control transfers from the test step 1032 to a test step 1034 where the host determines if
all of the remote storage devices have complete inactive chunks. If so, then control
transfers from the test step 1034 to a test step 1036 where it is determined if all of the
complete inactive chunks of all of the remote storage devices have the same tag
number. As discussed elsewhere herein, tags are assigned by the host and used by the
system to identify data in a manner similar to the sequence number except that tags are
controlled by the host to have the same value for the same cycle.

If it is determined at the test step 1036 that all of the remote storage devices
have the same tag for the inactive chunks, then control transfers from the step 1036 to a
step 1038 where all of the inactive chunks are restored. Performing the step 1038
ensures that all of the remote storage devices have data from the same cycle. Following
the step 1038, processing is complete.
If it is determined at the test step 1034 that all of the inactive chunks are not
complete, or if it is determined that at the step 1036 that all of the complete inactive
chunks do not have the same tag, men control transfers to a step 1042 where the host
provides a command to the remote storage devices to restore the complete inactive
chunks having the lower tag number. For purposes of explanation, it is assumed that
the tag numbers are incremented so that a lower tag number represents older data. By
way of example, if a first remote storage device had a complete inactive chunk with a
tag value of three and a second remote storage device had a complete inactive chunk
with a tag value of four, the step 1042 would cause the first remote storage device (but
not the second) to restore its inactive chunk. Following the step 1042 is a step 1044
where the host provides commands to the remote storage devices to discard the
complete inactive buffers having a higher tag number (e.g., the second remote storage
device in the previous example). Following step 1044, processing is complete.
Following execution of the step 1044, each of the remote storage devices
contains data associated with the same tag value as data for the other ones of the remote
storage devices. Accordingly, the recovered data on the remote storage devices 706-
708 should be consistent
While the invention has been disclosed in connection with various
embodiments, modifications thereon will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art
Accordingly, the spirit and scope of the invention is set forth in the following claims.

WE CLAIM:
1. A method of ordering data writes, comprising:
at least some of a group of primary storage devices receiving a first plurality of data
writes during a first cycle;
initiating a cycle switch that causes a change to a second cycle for the group of
primary storage devices, wherein the first plurality of data writes are associated with the
first cycle on each primary storage device in the group;
at least some of the group of primary storage devices receiving a second plurality of
writes after initiating the cycle switch, wherein all of the second plurality of writes are
associated with the second cycle; and
after completion of the cycle switch, each of the primary storage devices of the
group initiating transfer of the first plurality of writes to a corresponding secondary storage
device.
2. A method as claimed in claim 1, which involves:
initiating a cycle switch operation;
following initiating the cycle switch operation, initiating a write to the group;
completing the cycle switch operation; and
following completing the cycle switch operation, completing the write to the group.
3. A method as claimed in claim 1, which involves:
following each of the primary storage devices of the group completing transfer of
the first plurality of writes to a corresponding secondary storage device, each of the
primary storage devices sending a message to the corresponding secondary storage device.
4. A method as claimed in claim 1, which involves:
providing the first plurality of data writes to cache slots of the group of primary
storage device.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein receiving a first plurality of data writes
comprises receiving a plurality of data writes from a host.
6. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a host initiates the cycle switch.
7. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein initiating the cycle switch comprises:
waiting a predetermined amount of time;
determining if all of the primary storage devices of the group of storage devices is
ready to switch; and
for each of the primary storage devices of the group, sending a first command
thereto to cause a cycle switch.
8. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein sending a command to initiate a cycle
switch also causes writes begun aller the first command to not complete until a second
command is received.
9. A method as claimed in claim 8, which involves:
after sending the first command to all of the primary storage devices of the group,
sending the second command to all of the primary storsgc devices to allow writes to
complete.
10. A data storage device, comprising:
a plurality of disk drives;
a plurality of disk adapters coupled to the disk drives;
a volatile first memory coupled to the plurality of disk adapters;
a plurality of host adapters, coupled to the disk adapters and the first memory that
communicate with host computers to send and receive data to and from the disk drives; and
at least one remote communications adapter that communicates with other storage
devices, wherein at least one of the disk adapters, host adapters, and the at least one remote
communications adapter comprises an operating system that perfoms the steps of:

receiving a first plurality of data writes that correspond to data other data writes
received by other related storage devices;
receiving a signal that causes a change to a new cycle, wherein the first plurality of
data writes are associates with a particular cycle;
receiving a second plurality of writes after the cycle switch wherein all of the
second plurality of writes are associated with a cycle different from the particular cycle; and
after completion of the cycle switch, initiating transfer of the first plurality of writes
to a corresponding secondary storage device.
11. A data storage device, as claimed in claim 10, wherein writes begun after initiating
the cycle switch do not complete until after the cycle switch has completed.


ABSTRACT

METHOD OF ORDERING DATA WRITES AND DATA STORAGE DEVICE
The present invention relates to a method of ordering data writes, comprising at least some
of a group of primary storage devices(24) receiving a first plurality of data writes(54) during
a first cycle, initiating a cycle switch that causes a change to a second cycle for the group of
primary storage devices(24), wherein the first plurality of data writes(54) are associated
with the first cycle on each primary storage device in the group, at least some of the group
of primary storage devices(24) receiving a second plurality of writes(52) after initiating the
cycle switch, wherein all of the second plurality of writes(52) are associated with the second
cycle, and after completion of the cycle switch, each of the primary storage devices(24) of
the group initiating transfer of the first plurality of writes(54) to a corresponding secondary
storage device(26).

Documents:

01492-kolnp-2006-abstract.pdf

01492-kolnp-2006-assignment.pdf

01492-kolnp-2006-claims.pdf

01492-kolnp-2006-correspondence other.pdf

01492-kolnp-2006-correspondence others-1.1.pdf

01492-kolnp-2006-correspondence-1.2.pdf

01492-kolnp-2006-description complete.pdf

01492-kolnp-2006-drawings.pdf

01492-kolnp-2006-form 1.pdf

01492-kolnp-2006-form 3.pdf

01492-kolnp-2006-form 5.pdf

01492-kolnp-2006-form-18.pdf

01492-kolnp-2006-form-3-1.1.pdf

01492-kolnp-2006-international publication.pdf

01492-kolnp-2006-international search report.pdf

01492-kolnp-2006-pct form.pdf

01492-kolnp-2006-priority document-1.1.pdf

01492-kolnp-2006-priority document.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-(09-12-2011)-ABSTRACT.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-(09-12-2011)-AMANDED CLAIMS.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-(09-12-2011)-AMANDED PAGES OF SPECIFICATION.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-(09-12-2011)-CORRESPONDENCE.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-(09-12-2011)-FORM-1.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-(09-12-2011)-FORM-2.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-(09-12-2011)-OTHERS.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-(09-12-2011)-PA.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-ABSTRACT 1.1.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-AMANDED CLAIMS.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-AMANDED PAGES OF SPECIFICATION.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-ASSIGNMENT.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-CORRESPONDENCE 1.1.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-CORRESPONDENCE 1.3.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-CORRESPONDENCE-1.2.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-DESCRIPTION (COMPLETE) 1.1.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-DRAWINGS 1.1.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-EXAMINATION REPORT REPLY RECIEVED.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-EXAMINATION REPORT.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-FORM 1 1.1.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-FORM 13.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-FORM 18.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-FORM 2.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-FORM 3 1.1.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-FORM 3 1.2.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-FORM 5 1.1.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-FORM 5 1.2.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-GPA.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-GRANTED-ABSTRACT.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-GRANTED-CLAIMS.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-GRANTED-DESCRIPTION (COMPLETE).pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-GRANTED-DRAWINGS.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-GRANTED-FORM 1.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-GRANTED-FORM 2.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-GRANTED-SPECIFICATION.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-OTHERS 1.1.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-OTHERS.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-PA.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-PETITION UNDER RULR 137.pdf

1492-KOLNP-2006-REPLY TO EXAMINATION REPORT.pdf


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Patent Number 255670
Indian Patent Application Number 1492/KOLNP/2006
PG Journal Number 11/2013
Publication Date 15-Mar-2013
Grant Date 13-Mar-2013
Date of Filing 01-Jun-2006
Name of Patentee EMC CORPORATION
Applicant Address 176, SOUTH STREET HOPKINTON, MA 01748
Inventors:
# Inventor's Name Inventor's Address
1 LECRONE, DOUGLAS, E. 10 BOWKER ROAD, HOPKINTON, MA 01748
2 LONGINOV, VADIM 43 AZALEA LANE, MARLBOROUGH, MA 01752
3 HALSTEAD, MARK J. 1545, HIGHLAND STREET, HOLLISTON, MA 01746
4 MEIRI, DAVID 392, FRANKLIN STREET 2, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02139
5 YODER, BENJAMIN, W. 1400, WORCESTER ROAD, APT.7209, FRAMINGHAM, MA 01702
6 THIBODEAU, WILLIAM P. 541, HILL ROAD PASCOAG, RI 02859
7 HEASLEY, KEVIN C. 120, BEECH STREET, FRANKLIN, MA 02038
PCT International Classification Number G06F 17/30
PCT International Application Number PCT/US2004/034330
PCT International Filing date 2004-10-19
PCT Conventions:
# PCT Application Number Date of Convention Priority Country
1 10/724,669 2003-12-01 U.S.A.
2 10/724,670 2003-12-01 U.S.A.