Technology is disclosed for recovering I/O modules in a storage system using in-band alternate control path (ACP) architecture (“the technology”). The technology enables a storage server to transmit control commands, e.g., for recovering an I/O module, to the I/O module over a data path that is typically used to transmit data commands. The control commands are typically transmitted using ACP that is separate from the data path. By enabling transmission of control commands over the data path, the technology eliminates the need for separate medium for ACP, at least in part, to transmit the control commands. The technology can be implemented in a pure in-band ACP mode, which supports recovering an I/O module of a storage shelf in which at least one I/O module is responsive, and/or in a mixed in-band ACP mode, which supports recovery of I/O modules of a storage shelf in which all I/O modules are non-responsive.

In one embodiment, a system for managing a virtualization environment includes a set of host machines, each of which includes a hypervisor, virtual machines, and a virtual machine controller, and a virtualized file server backup system configured to identify backup data, wherein the backup data comprises data stored on the virtual disks and VFS configuration information, and the first data is identified in accordance with a backup policy, send the backup data to one or more remote sites for storage, and, in response to detection of changes in the backup data, send the changes to the remote sites in accordance with a replication policy. The backup data may be identified based on a protection domain associated with the backup policy. The data stored on the VFS may include one or more storage objects. The storage objects may include shares, groups of shares, files, or directories.

A data storage network is provided. The network includes a client connected to the data storage network; a plurality nodes on the data storage network, wherein each data node has two or more RAID controllers, wherein a first RAID controller of a first node is configured to receive a data storage request from the client and to generate RAID parity data on a data set received from the client, and to store all of the generated RAID parity data on a single node of the plurality of nodes.

One or more performance parameters associated with data stored at a storage device of a plurality of storage devices are received by a storage controller. A first number of blocks of the storage device to a high resiliency portion and a second number of blocks of the storage device to a low resiliency portion of the storage device are allocated based on the one or more performance parameters.

A method for copying data from a primary thin-provisioned volume to a secondary thin-provisioned volume includes issuing a query to a primary storage system. The primary storage system hosts a thin-provisioned volume made up of multiple storage elements. The method returns, in response to the query, a reply indicating which storage elements in the thin-provisioned volume are backed by physical storage. In certain embodiments, the reply contains a bitmap having a bit for each storage element in the thin-provisioned volume. In other embodiments, the reply contains a starting address and ending address for each storage area that is backed, or not backed, by physical storage. The method then copies, from the primary storage system to a secondary storage system, data in only those storage elements that are backed by physical storage. A corresponding system and computer program product are also disclosed.

In one embodiment, a system for managing a virtualization environment comprises a plurality of host machines, one or more virtual disks comprising a plurality of storage devices, a virtualized file server (VFS) comprising a plurality of file server virtual machines (FSVMs), wherein each of the FSVMs is running on one of the host machines and conducts I/O transactions with the one or more virtual disks, and a virtualized file server self-healing system configured to identify one or more corrupt units of stored data at one or more levels of a storage hierarchy associated with the storage devices, wherein the levels comprise one or more of file level, filesystem level, and storage level, and when data corruption is detected, cause each FSVM on which at least a portion of the unit of stored data is located to recover the unit of stored data.

Utilities (e.g., methods, systems, apparatuses, etc.) for use in automatically identifying improper physical connections in storage networks and recommending particular actions (e.g., changes to existing physical connections) that seek to ensure symmetric and redundant connections from a data host through all associated storage enclosures and reduce the likelihood that single failures prevent access to storage system data.

A computer system has a storage system including a first port and a second port, and a relay apparatus which couples the first port to an initiator apparatus. The storage apparatus stores relay apparatus information indicating a relay apparatus, and initiator information indicating an initiator apparatus. The storage apparatus establishes communications between the first port and a first relay apparatus, and based on communications with the relay apparatus recognizes the initiator apparatus with which the first relay apparatus has established communications. The storage apparatus also stores, in pathway information, a first pathway containing the first port, the first relay apparatus and the initiator apparatus. The storage apparatus creates a virtual port, which is a virtual port to which the first port is allocated, and when an initiator apparatus establishes communications with the virtual port, this apparatus adds a first virtual port associated pathway, in which the virtual port is associated with the first pathway, to the pathway information.

A storage system includes a plurality of storage devices, including a first storage device and an information processor apparatus for managing the storage system. The first storage device is configured to select a second storage device coupled over a network with the information processor apparatus from among the plurality of storage devices, and assign a representative address such as an Internet Protocol (IP) address to be used for communication with the information processor apparatus to the selected second storage device. The second storage device is configured to receive a request addressed to the representative address from the information processor apparatus, and transfer the request to a third storage device among the plurality of storage devices to process the request. An assigned representative address may be canceled when a storage device fails and an internal IP address may be assigned. Storage devices may be selected based on load and the need for cable or hardwired connections may be reduced.

Embodiments are described for systems and methods that facilitate control of virtual endpoint failover/failback during an administrative SCSI target port disable or enable operation. In this case, SCSI target virtual endpoints may failover to a secondary SCSI target port when the primary port fails. When the primary port is corrected and enabled by the administrator the failover method pulls virtual endpoints on secondary ports back to the primary port under administrator control; and if an administrator wishes to manually disable a SCSI target port the failover operation pushes (failover) all virtual endpoints currently using the port as a primary to a secondary port.