Failure hierarchy in a cluster filesystem

• US 20040153841A1
• Filed: 01/16/2003
• Published: 08/05/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/16/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Silicon Graphics International Corporation (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Silicon Graphics Incorporated (Graphics Properties Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Beck, Ken
• Application Number:
  US10/345,371
• Publication Number:
  US 20040153841A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/42
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0727 in a storage system, e.g. in a DASD or network based storage system drivers for digital recording or reproducing units G06F3/06; circuits for error detection or correction within digital recording or reproducing units G11B20/18; 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], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0793 Remedial or corrective actions recovery from an exception in an instruction pipeline G06F9/3861; by retry G06F11/1402; for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity H04L69/40

Abstract

A cluster of computer system nodes share direct read/write access to storage devices via a storage area network using a cluster filesystem. In response to the failure of a node, a pre-defined order of procedures is attempted, executing one procedure at a time in the order defined, until successful completion of one of the procedures. Preferably the order is based on input from a system administrator, or a default order when no input has been provided by the system administrator. The procedures may include hardware reset of a failed node, disabling access by the failed node to the storage devices shared by the nodes in the cluster, terminating shared filesystem services on the failed node and terminating shared filesystem services on all of the nodes in the cluster.

Claims

1. A method of responding to node failure in a cluster of computer system nodes sharing direct read/write access to storage devices via a storage area network, comprising:

defining an order of procedures to be attempted upon detection of a node failure; and

executing one procedure at a time in the order defined, until successful completion of the procedure.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said defining is based on input from a system administrator.

3. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein said defining is based on a default order when no input has been provided by the system administrator.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said defining includes ordering operations including at least two of a hardware reset of a failed node, disabling access by the failed node to the storage devices shared by the computer system nodes in the cluster, terminating shared filesystem services on the failed node and terminating shared filesystem services on all of the computer system nodes in the cluster.