User interface architecture for storage area network

• US 20030146929A1
• Filed: 10/05/2001
• Published: 08/07/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Li, Raymond M., Yonker, William Roy, Baldwin, Duane Mark, Merbach, David Lynn, Heitman, Allen Robert, Knight, Gregory John
• Granted Patent: US 7,171,624 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/733
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10015 Access to distributed or replicated servers, e.g. using brokers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A digital data processor of the type used, e.g., in management of a storage area network (SAN), executes a process (a “manager” process) to maintain a representation of the SAN topology or at least an attribute thereof. A graphical output device displays the SAN representation. A further process (a “user interface” process) controls the output device for purposes of displaying that representation. An interface element effects retrieval of the SAN representation, for example, in response to a request from the user interface process. It transmits that representation to the user interface process for display on the graphical output device.

Claims

1. In a storage area network (SAN) comprising one or more host digital data processors in communication with a plurality of storage devices, the improvement comprising:

a manager process, in communication with at least the one or more host digital data processors, that maintains a representation of the SAN,

a graphical output device,

a user interface process, coupled to the graphical output device, the user interface process controlling the output device for purposes of displaying at least an attribute of the SAN,

an interface element, coupled to the manager process and to the user interface process, that effects retrieval of the representation maintained by the manager process and transmission of the retrieved representation to the output device for display.

2. The SAN of claim 1, wherein the interface element comprises a requester that receives a request from the user interface process for retrieval of the SAN representation from the manager process.

3. The SAN of claim 2, wherein the interface element further comprises a request handler in communication with the requester, the requester forwards the request received from the user interface element to the request handler for further processing.

4. The SAN of claim 3, wherein the interface element further comprises a manager daemon in communication with the request handler and the manager process, the request handler transmits the request to the manager daemon and the manager daemon effects retrieval of the SAN representation from the manager process in response to the request.

5. The SAN of claim 4, wherein the user interface process further comprises a daemon (hereinafter, “

user interface daemon”

) in communication with the manager daemon, the manager daemon transmits the retrieved SAN representation to the user interface daemon and the user interface daemon effects display of the SAN representation on the graphical output device.

6. In the SAN of claim 5, wherein the SAN representation provides a model of topology of the SAN.

7. In the SAN of claim 6, the further improvement wherein the manager daemon comprises a controller in communication with the request handler and the manager process, the daemon controller receives the request from the request handler and retrieves the SAN representation from the manager process in response to the request.

8. In the SAN of claim 7, the further improvement wherein the manager daemon segregates the retrieved topology representation into a plurality of sub-representations, and transmits the sub-representations to the user interface daemon.

9. In the SAN of claim 1, the further improvement wherein the user interface process communicates with the requester via a socket connection.

10. In the SAN of claim 1, the further improvement wherein the requester transmits the request to the request handler in a mark-up language format.

11. In the SAN of claim 3, the further improvement wherein the request handler maps the request received from the requester onto a generic format prior to effecting its transmission to the manager daemon.

12. In the SAN of claim 11, wherein the manager daemon utilizes an object request broker to communicate with the manager process and the request handler.

13. In the SAN of claim 1, the further improvement wherein the manager process comprises an element (hereinafter, “

discover engine”

) that obtains data regarding the SAN representation.

14. In the SAN of claim 12, the further improvement wherein the discover engine collates the data to generate the SAN representation.

15. In the SAN of claim 1, the further improvement wherein the manager process and the user interface process execute on one of the digital data processors.

16. In the SAN of claim 13, the further improvement comprising a agent process and a scanner process residing on at least one of the digital data processors, the scanner process obtaining SAN topology data and the agent process communicating the SAN topology data to the discover engine.

17. In a storage area network (SAN) comprising a plurality of digital data processors in communication with a plurality of storage devices, the improvement comprising:

a console having a display for presenting a model of topology of the SAN,

a user interface process coupled to the console that effects the display of the SAN topology on the console display,

a manager process that maintains a topological representation of the SAN, and

an element coupled to the user interface process and the manager process,

the element receives a request for SAN topology data from the user interface process, and effects retrieval, in response to the request, of the topology representation maintained by the manager, and the element further transmits the retrieved topology representation to the user interface element for presentation by the display.

18. In the SAN of claim 17, the further improvement wherein the element comprises a requester, a request handler, and a manager daemon.

19. In the SAN of claim 18, the further improvement wherein the requester receives a command from the user interface process and transmits the command to the request handler, the request handler interprets the command to generate a request for the SAN topology data and transmits the request to the manager daemon, and the manager daemon retrieves the SAN topology data from the manager process in response to the request.

20. In the SAN of claim 19, the further improvement wherein the manager process comprises an element that obtains data regarding SAN topology.