Storage of administrative data on a remote management device

• US 20060200361A1
• Filed: 03/04/2005
• Published: 09/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NetApp, Inc.
• Original Assignee: NetApp, Inc.
• Inventors: Rubin, Michael, Insley, Mark, Gilson, Dan, Snyder, Peter, Kalra, Pradeep
• Granted Patent: US 7,899,680 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the invention, a remote management device is integrated into a processing system, such as a filer or other storage server, and the remote management device and administrative data (such as console data) generated by the processing system are accessible even if the processing system becomes inoperable. The processing system includes a console port that outputs administrative data in the form of administrative data during system operation. The remote management device is accessible remotely, for example through a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, or a combination of networks. The remote management device intercepts the administrative data output by the console port and stores the data into memory on the remote management device.

Claims

1. A method for remotely monitoring a processing system comprising:

receiving administrative data from the processing system at a remote management device, the remote management device being coupled locally to the processing system to allow remote management of the processing system;

storing at least a portion of the administrative data in a memory in the remote management device; and

making the administrative information in the memory remotely available.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein storing at least a portion of the administrative data comprises:

storing a first portion of the administrative data from a first source in a first partition of the memory; and

storing a second portion of the administrative data from a second source in a second partition of the memory.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first source is a firmware of the processing system and wherein the second source is an operating system of the processing system.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

appending first metadata to the first portion of the administrative data; and

appending second metadata to the second portion of the administrative data.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

identifying the first portion using the first metadata; and

identifying the second portion using the second metadata.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving administrative data comprises receiving console data from a console port of the processing system.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein receiving console information comprises receiving the console information through a serial universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter (UART) connection.

8. The method of claim 4:

wherein appending a first metadata to the first portion comprises appending a first metadata byte to a first console byte;

wherein appending a second metadata to the second portion comprises appending a second metadata byte to a second console byte;

wherein the first metadata byte indicates that the first console byte is from a firmware and wherein the second metadata byte indicates that the second console byte is from an operating system.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting the at least a portion of the administrative data to a remote server over a network.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein transmitting comprises e-mailing the at least a portion of the administrative data in response to the processing system rebooting.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein storing at least a portion of the administrative data comprises storing at least a portion of the administrative data when no terminal is monitoring the processing system.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein storing at least a portion of the administrative data comprises:

establishing a size limit for the administrative data in the memory; and

storing the administrative data in the memory.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

overwriting administrative data in the memory when the size limit is reached.

14. A remote management device to allow remote management of a processing system, the remote management device comprising:

a processor;

an interface coupled to the processing system;

a memory coupled to the processor to store administrative data generated by the processing system; and

a network connection to make the administrative data remotely available.

15. The remote management device of claim 14, wherein the memory includes at least one partition to store the administrative data, wherein the partition has a fixed size.

16. The remote management device of claim 14, wherein the administrative data is generated by a console port on the processing system.

17. The remote management device of claim 16, wherein the processing system is a storage server.

18. The remote management device of claim 14, wherein the apparatus operates on standby power generated by a power supply of the processing system.

19. The remote management device of claim 15, wherein the partition includes at least one first sub-partition and at least one second sub-partition, wherein the first sub-partition stores administrative data generated by a firmware of the processing system and wherein the second sub-partition stores administrative data generated by an operating system of the processing system.

20. The remote management device of claim 19, wherein the administrative data is transmitted over a serial connection between the interface and the processing system.

21. The remote management device of claim 20, wherein the administrative data is packetized by a packet layer when it is transmitted through the serial interface.

22. The remote management device of claim 21, wherein each packet generated by the packet layer includes a metadata byte and a console byte, and wherein the metadata byte indicates whether the console byte was generated by the firmware or by the operating system.

23. A method for storing administrative data comprising:

intercepting a portion of an administrative data outputted by a processing system;

determining a source of the portion of administrative data;

appending metadata to the portion of administrative data to create a packet, the metadata indicating the source of the portion of administrative data; and

transmitting the packet to a remote management device.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

storing the packet in a memory of the remote management device.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

determining the source of the portion of administrative data by examining the metadata;

wherein storing the packet in a memory comprises storing the packet in a partition of the memory corresponding to the source.

26. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

determining whether the processing system is operational; and

e-mailing a remote administrator if the processing system is not operational.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein determining whether the processing system is operational comprises monitoring a signal indicating that the processing system is operational.

28. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

determining whether the processing system has rebooted; and

e-mailing a remote administrator if the system has rebooted.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein determining whether the system has rebooted comprises examining the metadata to determine whether the portion of administrative data was generated by a firmware of the processing system.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein e-mailing a remote administrator comprises e-mailing stored administrative data to the remote administrator.

31. A machine readable medium having stored thereon executable program code which, when executed, causes a machine to perform a method for remotely monitoring a processing system, the method comprising:

receiving administrative data from the processing system at a remote management device, the remote management device being coupled locally to the processing system to allow remote management of the processing system;

storing at least a portion of the administrative data in a memory in the remote management device; and

making the administrative information in the memory remotely available.

32. The machine readable medium of claim 31, wherein storing at least a portion of the administrative data comprises:

storing a first portion of the administrative data from a first source in a first partition of the memory; and

storing a second portion of the administrative data from a second source in a second partition of the memory.

33. The machine readable medium of claim 32, wherein the first source is a firmware of the processing system and wherein the second source is an operating system of the processing system.

34. The machine readable medium of claim 32, the method further comprising:

appending first metadata to the first portion of the administrative data; and

appending second metadata to the second portion of the administrative data.

35. The machine readable medium of claim 34, the method further comprising:

identifying the first portion using the first metadata; and

identifying the second portion using the second metadata.

36. The machine readable medium of claim 34:

wherein appending a first metadata to the first portion comprises appending a first metadata byte to a first console byte;

wherein appending a second metadata to the second portion comprises appending a second metadata byte to a second console byte;

wherein the first metadata byte indicates that the first console byte is from a firmware and wherein the second metadata byte indicates that the second console byte is from an operating system.

37. The machine readable medium of claim 31, wherein storing at least a portion of the administrative data comprises:

establishing a size limit for the administrative data in the memory; and

storing the administrative data in the memory.