Method and an apparatus for managing access path

• US 20060215552A1
• Filed: 06/16/2005
• Published: 09/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Beniyama, Nobuo, Endo, Kenichi, Iwata, Morihiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,554,910 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/229
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/22 Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/125 by balancing the load, e.g. traffic engineering

Abstract

The present invention grasps in advance a portion in which traffic is concentrated and which may become a bottleneck and simplifies management of an access path. In a storage network system that forms multiple paths between a large-capacity data storage device and a host computer that employs the data storage device, and transfers data by means of a selected path, access paths are managed by a management server. The management server selects a second access path that can be used as a replacement of a first access path that connects the data storage device with the host computer, and calculates the quantity of traffic on the first access path which is associated with a device disposed on the first access path. Also, the management server calculates a variation of the quantity of traffic on the second access path which is associated with a device disposed on the second access path taking the calculated quantity of traffic into consideration. Then, the management server determines whether the device on the second access path causes a bottleneck or not, according to the calculated value of the variation of traffic on the second access path. The management server 11 transfers the determined result to the outside, for example, a display device, and notifies a manager of the determined result.

Claims

1. A method for managing an access path in a storage network system that forms multiple paths between a large-capacity data storage device and a host computer that employs the data storage device, and transfers data by means of a selected path, the method comprising:

selecting a second access path that can be used as a replacement of a first access path that connects the data storage device and the host computer;

calculating the quantity of traffic on the first access path which is associated with a device disposed on the first access path;

calculating a variation of the quantity of traffic on the second access path which is associated with a device disposed on the second access path taking the calculated quantity of traffic into consideration;

determining whether the device on the second access path causes a bottleneck or not, according to a calculated value of the variation of traffic on the second access path; and

notifying the outside of a determination result.

2. The method for managing an access path according to claim 1, wherein the first and second access paths include a plurality of ports of the data storage device, a plurality of adaptors of the host computer, and switches that switch over connection relationships between the ports and the adaptors, wherein information on identifiers indicative of those connection relationships is displayed on a display device in order to notify a manager of the information as path information of the bottleneck.

3. The method for managing an access path according to claim 1, wherein a value of the quantity of traffic on the first access path is reduced, and the reduced value is added to the quantity of traffic associated with the device on the second access path, to calculate the variation of the quantity of traffic in the respective devices on the second access path.

4. The method for managing an access path according to claim 3, wherein in the case where a plurality of second access paths exist with respect to the first access path, a value obtained by dividing the calculated value of the traffic quantity on the first access path by the number of second access paths is equally added in calculation of the variation of the traffic quantity in the respective devices on the second access path.

5. The method for managing an access path according to claim 1, wherein in the determination of the bottleneck, in the case where the calculated value of the variation of traffic is larger than 0, it is determined that there is a bottleneck.

6. The method for managing an access path according to claim 1, wherein in the determination of the bottleneck, in the case where a ratio of the calculated value of the variation of traffic and the calculated value of the traffic before switching is larger than a given value, it is determined that there is a bottleneck.

7. The method for managing an access path according to claim 1, wherein the determination of the bottleneck is conducted by comparing the calculated value of the traffic after switching which is a value obtained by adding the calculated value of the variation of the traffic to the calculated value of the traffic before switching with a value indicative of an allowable value of the traffic of the device on the second access path.

8. The method for managing an access path according to claim 1, wherein the bottleneck is determined, with the calculated value of the variation in the traffic as an input, according to a user'"'"'s defined function of a true-value representing whether there is a bottleneck or not.

9. The method for managing an access path according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of access paths for accessing at least one logical volume formed in the data storage device from the host computer are managed, and a traffic information table that stores the calculated quantity of traffic is prepared with respect to the device on the selected second access path and then stored in a storage device of a server that manages the access path.

10. The method for managing an access path according to claim 1, wherein an access path information table that stores information indicative of a host computer path adaptor of the host computer, a port of the data storage device, an identifier of the logical volume, and an application program stored in the logical volume, which exist on the access path, is stored in the storage device of the server that manages the access path in correspondence with an ID of the access path.

11. The method for managing an access path according to claim 10, wherein the determination result is notified to the application program registered in the table and the associated manager with reference to the access path information table.

12. An access path management program that is executed in a storage network system that can connect a host computer that processes information with a storage device that stores the information therein via multiple paths, the program comprising:

inputting a first device that constitutes a storage network;

acquiring a second device where access paths are concentrated and the traffic is increased in the case where all of the access paths that pass through the first device are switched over to other access paths through a multi-path managing process; and

transferring information related to the acquired second device to display the information on a display device.

13. The access path management program according to claim 12, further comprising:

acquiring an access path that passes through the second device; and

displaying the information on the access path on the display device.

14. A management server that manages an access path between a large-capacity data storage device and a host computer that employs the data storage device in a storage network system that forms multiple paths between the data storage device and the host computer to transfer data by means of a selected path, the management server comprising:

a main memory that stores an access path integration management program for integrally managing the access path, and holds temporal data associated with the execution of the program;

a processing device that executes the access path integration management program; and

a display device that displays a state in which the access path integration management program is executed,

wherein the processing device includes means for selecting a second access path that can be used as a substitute of a first access path that connects the data storage device with the host computer by execution of the access path integration management program;

means for calculating the quantity of traffic of the first access path which is associated with a device on the first access path;

means for calculating a variation of traffic quantity of the second access path which is associated with a device on the second access path taking the calculated quantity of traffic into consideration;

means for determining whether the device on the second access path is a bottleneck or not, according to the calculated variation of traffic of the second access path; and

means for notifying the outside of the determination result.

15. The management server according to claim 14, wherein the management server includes a storage device that stores a table that stores structural device information related to a device that constitutes an SAN collected from the host computer therein, a table that stores access path information related to a device or port which constitutes the access path, a table that stores the traffic information related to the traffic of the device and the port on the access port, and a table that stores traffic calculation information indicative of a calculated value related to the variation of traffic with respect to the device on the access path which is obtained by the execution of the access path integration management program.

16. The management server according to claim 15, further comprising:

a storage device that stores an access path information table which stores information indicative of a host bus adaptor of the host computer, a port of the data storage device, an identifier of a logical volume, and an application program stored in the logical volume,

wherein the determination result is notified to the application program registered in the table and the related manager with reference to the access path information table.