Quick deployment method

• US 20060123386A1
• Filed: 01/13/2005
• Published: 06/08/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Takamoto, Yoshifumi, Tameshige, Takashi
• Granted Patent: US 7,653,901 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/63 Image based installation; Cloning; Build to order

Abstract

Provided is a deployment method for a server system that includes a storage system having logical disks where disk images are stored and plural servers connected to the storage system via a storage network, the method including the step of causing a deploy management module to copy the logical disks which store the disk images to a free area of the storage system before a deployment command is received. According to this invention, disk images are quickly deployed to servers.

Claims

1. A deployment method for a server system that comprises a storage system having logical disks where disk images containing operating systems are stored and plural servers connected to the storage system via a storage network, the method comprising the step of causing a deploy management module to copy the logical disks which store the disk images to a free area of the storage system before a deployment command is received in preparation for addition of a server to a service.

2. The deployment met hod according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

causing the deploy management module to receive the deployment command;

causing the deploy management module to set, upon reception of the deployment command, paths between the servers in which disk images are to be deployed by the command and copies of the logical disks that store the disk images; and

causing the deploy management module to set server-specific information to the copies of the logical disks.

3. The deployment method according to claim 1,

wherein the deploy management module has an LU management table to manage the copies of the logical disks, and

wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

causing the deploy management module to receive the deployment command;

causing the deploy management module to consult, upon reception of the deployment command, the LU management table in order to judge whether or not the copies of the logical disks that store disk images to be deployed by the command are in a free area of the storage system; and

causing the deploy management module to copy the logical disks that store the disk images to be deployed by the command to the free area of the storage system when the copies of the logical disks are not in the free area of the storage system.

4. The deployment method according to claim 1,

wherein the deploy management module has an LU management table which shows the capacity and priority of copies of the logical disks which store the disk images, and

wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

causing the deploy management module to consult, when there is a shortage of the free area of the storage system, the LU management table in order to select a logical disk copy of low priority; and

causing the deploy management module to delete the selected logical disk copy.

5. The deployment method according to claim 1,

wherein the deploy management module has a license management table to manage licenses of contents contained in the disk images, and

wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

causing the deploy management module to consult, prior to the step of copying the logical disks which store the disk images, the license management table in order to judge whether or not there are unused licenses of contents contained in the disk images;

causing the deploy management module to notify a shortage of license when there are no unused licenses; and

causing the deploy management module to copy the logical disks that store the disk images to the free area of the storage system when there are unused licenses.

6. The deployment method according to claim 1,

wherein the deploy management module has a policy table which shows timing of executing the step of copying the logical disks which store the disk images, and

wherein the method further comprises the step of causing the deploy management module to consult the policy table in order to judge whether or not the logical disks should be copied to the free area of the storage system.

7. The deployment method according to claim 6, wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

causing the deploy management module to obtain information on the servers; and

causing the deploy management module to change the policy table in accordance with the obtained information on the servers.

8. The deployment method according to claim 1,

wherein the deploy management module has a patch management table to manage patches related to the disk images, and

wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

causing the deploy management module to retrieve from the patch management table the disk images that have no patches applied; and

causing the deploy management module to apply patches to the logical disks that store the retrieved disk images.

9. A program to deploy a disk image in a server for a server system that comprises a storage system having logical disks where disk images containing operating systems are stored and plural servers connected to the storage system via a storage area network, the program causing a computer to execute the procedure of copying the logical disks which store disk images to a free area of the storage system before a deployment command is received in preparation for addition of a server to a service.

10. The program according to claim 9, further causing the computer to execute the procedures of:

causing the deploy management module to receive the deployment command;

causing the deploy management module to set, upon reception of the deployment command, paths between the servers in which disk images are to be deployed by the command and copies of the logical disks that store the disk images; and

causing the deploy management module to set server-specific information to the copies of the logical disks.

11. The program according to claim 9,

wherein the deploy management module has an LU management table to manage the copies of the logical disks, and

wherein the program further causes the computer to execute the procedures of:

causing the deploy management module to receive the deployment command;

causing the deploy management module to consult, upon reception of the deployment command, the LU management table in order to judge whether or not copies of the logical disks that store disk images to bc deployed by the command are in a free area of the storage system; and

causing the deploy management module to copy the logical disks that store the disk images to be deployed by the command to the free area of the storage system when copies of the logical disks are not in the free area of the storage system.

12. The program according to claim 9,

wherein the deploy management module has an LU management table which shows the capacity and priority of copies of the logical disks which store the disk images, and

wherein the program further causes the computer to execute the procedures of:

causing the deploy management module to consult, when there is a shortage of the free area of the storage system, the LU management table in order to select a logical disk copy of low priority; and

causing the deploy management module to delete the selected logical disk copy.

13. The program according to claim 9,

wherein the deploy management module has a license management table to manage licenses of contents contained in the disk images, and

wherein the program further causes the computer to execute the procedures of:

causing the deploy management module to consult, prior to the procedure of copying the logical disks which store the disk images, the license management table in order to judge whether or not there are unused licenses of contents contained in the disk images;

causing the deploy management module to notify a shortage of license when there are no unused licenses; and

causing the deploy management module to copy the logical disks that store the disk images to the free area of the storage system when there are unused licenses.

14. The program according to claim 9,

wherein the deploy management module has a policy table which shows timing of executing the procedure of copying the logical disks which store the disk images, and

wherein the program further causes the computer to execute the procedure of causing the deploy management module to consult the policy table in order to judge whether or not the logical disks should be copied to the free area of the storage system.

15. The program according to claim 14, further causing the computer to execute the procedures of:

causing the deploy management module to obtain information on the servers; and

causing the deploy management module to change the policy table in accordance with the obtained information on the servers.

16. The program according to claim 9,

wherein the deploy management module has a patch management table to manage patches related to the disk images, and

wherein the program further causes the computer to execute the procedures of:

causing the deploy management module to retrieve from the patch management table the disk images that have no patches applied; and

causing the deploy management module to apply patches to the logical disks that store the retrieved disk images.

17. A server system comprising:

a storage system having logical disks where disk images containing operating systems are stored;

plural servers connected to the storage system via a storage area network; and

a deploy management module to deploy the disk images in the servers,

wherein the deploy management module comprises;

a communication module which receives a deployment command; and

an LU management module which copies the logical disks storing the disk images to a free area of the storage system before a deployment command is received in preparation for addition of a server to a service.

18. The server system according to claim 17,

wherein the deploy management module sets, upon reception of the deployment command, paths between the servers in which disk images are to be deployed by the command and copies of the logical disks that store the disk images, and

wherein the deploy management module further sets server-specific information to the copies of the logical disks.

19. The server system according to claim 17,

wherein the LU management module has an LU management table to manage the copies of the logical disks,

wherein the LU management module consults, upon reception of the deployment command, the LU management table in order to judge whether or not copies of the logical disks that store disk images to be deployed by the command are in a free area of the storage system, and

the LU management module copies the logical disks that store the disk images to be deployed by the command to the free area of the storage system when copies of the logical disks are not in the free area of the storage system.

20. The server system according to claim 17,

wherein the LU management module has an LU management table which shows the capacity and priority of copies of the logical disks which store disk images,

wherein the LU management module consults, when there is a shortage of the free area of the storage system, the LU management table in order to select a logical disk copy of low priority, and

the LU management module deletes the selected logical disk copy.