Method and apparatus for processing a synchronizing marker for an asynchronous remote data copy

Claim 3

The method of claim 1 in which the event value of the token and previous token is selected from a set consisting of a time stamp and a sequential number.

Claim 4

The method of claim 1 in which step (a) comprises the steps of: (a1) issuing a marker synchronize request from the source; (a2) generating a marker token at the remote site responsive to the marker synchronize request; and (a3) processing the marker synchronize request at the remote site.

Claim 5

The method of claim 3 in which step (c) comprises the steps of: (c1) placing the marker request sequentially in a write operation storage area; (c2) returning an event complete message to the source; and (c3) posting the event complete message at the source.

Claim 6

The method of claim 4 which further comprises the step of releasing information as a result of the event complete message to a site outside of the source and the remote site.

Claim 7

The method of claim 5 in which the marker request does not update any write operation.

Claim 10

The system of claim 7 in which the event value of the token and previous token is selected from a set consisting of a time stamp and a sequential number.

Claim 11

The system of claim 7 in which the marker request providing means comprises: means for issuing a marker synchronize request from the source; means responsive to the issuing means for generating a marker token at the remote site responsive to the marker synchronize request; and means responsive to the generating means for processing the marker synchronize request at the remote site.

Claim 12

The system of claim 9 in which sending means comprises: means responsive to the transmitting means for placing the marker request sequentially in a write operation storage area; means responsive to the marker request placing means for returning an event complete message to the source; and means responsive to the returning means for posting the event complete message to the source.

Claim 13

The system of claim 10 which further comprises means responsive to the posting means for releasing information, as a result of the event complete message to a site outside of the source and the remote site.

Claim 14

The system of claim 11 in which the marker request does not update any write operation.

Claim 19

In a system in which asynchronously and independently executing applications on at least one processor at a primary site create a sequence of write operations against a local store coupling the processor at the primary site and updates copied from the local store to storage located within at least one remote processing site, which sequence of write operations are both enqueued and executed at different rates at the primary site resulting in a near random ordered copy sequence as applied to the remote site, embedding in the sequence of write operations at the primary site labeled tokens counterpart to the write operations including addresses and periodic checkpoint lists establishing thereby a totally ordered event sequence, a method for securing confirmation of a recording of a predetermined one of the application dependent write operations at the remote site, comprising the steps of: (a) embedding in the sequence of write operations at the primary site a synchronization request with a labeled token of an embedded predetermined event exceeding in magnitude a labeled token of a previously embedded predetermined event and transmitting the sequence of write operations with the embedded synchronization request to the remote site; and (b) responsive to receipt of the synchronization request at the remote site, sending a coded reply from the remote site to the primary site within a given time period or otherwise treating the embedded predetermined event as not having been received at the remote site.

Claim 20

In a system in which asynchronously and independently executing applications on at least one processor at a primary site create a sequence of write operations against a local store coupling the processor at the primary site and updates copied from the local store to storage located within at least one remote processing site, which sequence of write operations are both enqueued and executed at different rates at the primary site resulting in a near random ordered copy sequence as applied to the remote site, embedding in the sequence of write operations at the primary site labeled tokens counterpart to the write operations including addresses and periodic checkpoint lists establishing thereby a totally ordered event sequence, a method for securing confirmation of a recording of a predetermined one of the application dependent write operations at the remote site, comprising the steps of: (a) embedding in the sequence of write operations at the primary site a synchronization request with a labeled token of an embedded predetermined event exceeding in magnitude a labeled token of a previously embedded predetermined event and transmitting the sequence of write operations with the embedded synchronization request to the remote site; and (b) responsive to receipt of the synchronization request at the remote site, sending a coded reply from the remote site to the primary site within a given time period or otherwise treating the embedded predetermined event as not having been received at the remote site.

Claim 21

In a system in which asynchronously and independently executing applications on at least one processor at a primary site create a sequence of write operations against a local store coupling the processor at the primary site and updates copied from the local store to storage located within at least one remote processing site, which sequence of write operations are both enqueued and executed at different rates at the primary site resulting in a near random ordered copy sequence as applied to the remote site, embedding in the sequence of write operations at the primary site monotonically labeled tokens counterpart to the write operations including addresses and periodic checkpoint lists establishing thereby a totally ordered event sequence, a system for securing confirmation of a recording of a predetermined one of the application dependent write operations at the remote site, the system comprising: means for embedding in the sequence of write operations at the primary site a synchronization request with a labeled token of an embedded predetermined event exceeding in magnitude a labeled token of a previously embedded predetermined event and transmitting the sequence of write operations with the embedded synchronization request to the remote site; and means responsive to receipt of the synchronization request at the remote site for sending a coded reply from the remote site to the primary site within a given time period or otherwise treating the embedded predetermined event as not having been received at the remote site.

Claim 22

In a system in which asynchronously and independently executing applications on at least one processor at a primary site create a sequence of write operations against a local store coupling the processor at the primary site and updates copied from the local store to storage located within at least one remote processing site, which sequence of write operations are both enqueued and executed at different rates at the primary site resulting in a near random ordered copy sequence as applied to the remote site, embedding in the sequence of write operations at the primary site monotonically labeled tokens counterpart to the write operations including addresses and periodic checkpoint lists establishing thereby a totally ordered event sequence, a system for securing confirmation of a recording of a predetermined one of the application dependent write operations at the remote site, the system comprising: means for embedding in the sequence of write operations at the primary site a synchronization request with a labeled token of an embedded predetermined event exceeding in magnitude a labeled token of a previously embedded predetermined event and transmitting the sequence of write operations with the embedded synchronization request to the remote site; and means responsive to receipt of the synchronization request at the remote site for sending a coded reply from the remote site to the primary site within a given time period or otherwise treating the embedded predetermined event as not having been received at the remote site.

Claim 25

The method of claim 17 in which the event value of the token and previous token is selected from a set consisting of a time stamp and a sequential number.

Claim 26

The method of claim 17 in which step (a) comprises the steps of: (a1) issuing a marker synchronize request from the source; (a2) receiving the acknowledgement from the remote site; and (a3) processing the marker synchronize request at the source.

Claim 27

The method of claim 19 in which step (c) comprises the steps of: (c1) placing the marker request sequentially in a write operation storage area within the source; (c2) returning an event complete message to the source; and (c3) posting the event complete message at the source.

Claim 28

The method of claim 20 which further comprises the step of releasing information as a result of the event complete message to a site outside of the source and the remote site.

Claim 29

The method of claim 21 in which the marker request does not update any write operation.

Claim 32

The system of claim 23 in which the event value of the token and previous token is selected from a set consisting of a time stamp and a sequential number.

Claim 33

The system of claim 23 in which the marker request providing means comprises: means for issuing a marker synchronize request from the source; means responsive to the issuing means for providing the acknowledgment from the remote site; and means responsive to the issuing means for processing the marker synchronize request at the source.

Claim 34

The system of claim 25 in which the issuing means comprises: means responsive to the providing means for placing the marker request sequentially in a write operation storage area; means responsive to the marker request placing means for returning an event complete message to the source; and means responsive to the returning means for posting the event complete message to the source.

Claim 35

The system of claim 26 which further comprises means responsive to the posting means for releasing information as a result of the event complete message to a site outside of the source and the remote site.

Claim 36

The system of claim 27 in which the marker request does not update any write operation.

Claim 37

A computer readable medium containing program instructions for assuring the occurrence of an event at a site remote from a source of asynchronous sequence of write operations, the asynchronous sequence of write operations including a sequential number of special purpose messages, each special purpose message including a numerically ordered token that is an ordered event sequence, the program instructions comprising: providing a marker request with an event value exceeding in magnitude a previously predetermined event value in the sequence at the source; transmitting the sequence with the marker request to the remote site; and sending a reply indicating that the event is complete to the source from the remote site after the marker request is received at the remote site.

Claim 38

A computer readable medium containing program instructions for assuring the occurrence of an event at a site remote from a source of asynchronous sequence of write operations, the asynchronous sequence of write operations including a sequential number of special purpose messages, each special purpose message including a numerically ordered token that is an ordered event sequence, the program instructions comprising: providing a marker request with an event value exceeding in magnitude a previously predetermined event value in the sequence at the source; transmitting the sequence with the marker request to the remote site; and sending a reply indicating that the event is complete to the source from the remote site after the marker request is received at the remote site.