System and Method for Analyzing Input/Output Activity on Local Attached Storage

• US 20080010370A1
• Filed: 09/24/2007
• Published: 01/10/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Colleen Mclaughlin, Daniel Kyler, William Peake
• Original Assignee: Colleen Mclaughlin, Daniel Kyler, William Peake
• Inventors: Peake, William, McLaughlin, Colleen, Kyler, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US11/860,241
• Publication Number:
  US 20080010370A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3485 for I/O devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/81 Threshold
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

A system, method and computer program product for analyzing file I/O activity on local attached storage devices within a computer network is provided. In an embodiment, a software agent executes on one or more servers within the network, and monitors the I/O activity on the network'"'"'s local attached storage (e.g., SAN, NAS, and IDE and SCSI disks). A management interface is also provided for monitoring I/O activity-related data and for receiving reports on such I/O activity. In an embodiment, collected I/O-related data and any predefined I/O metrics are stored in a central repository (e.g., a relational database). The system, method and computer program product provide accurate metrics to assists system administrators in deciding, justifying and validating resource purchases for and allocations within the network.

Claims

1-22. -22. (canceled)

23. A computer readable medium comprising program instructions, wherein the instructions are computer-executable to:

identify a plurality of managed objects to be monitored in a network;

collect, for one or more pre-determined time intervals, one or more I/O metrics for each of the set of managed objects, wherein a first I/O metric of the one or more I/O metrics comprises a number of file open operations;

classify the file open operations into a plurality of categories, including a first category of file open operations that resulted in a file creation and a second category of file open operations that resulted in an overwrite of an existing file; and

generate a report summarizing the one or more I/O metrics, wherein the report includes a separate summary for each category of the plurality of categories of file open operations.

24. The computer readable medium as recited in claim 23, wherein the one or more I/O metrics include a second I/O metric comprising a number of read operations and a third I/O metric comprising a number of the read operations satisfied from a cache.

25. The computer readable medium as recited in claim 23, wherein the one or more I/O metrics include a second I/O metric comprising a number of file truncate operations and a third I/O metric comprising a number of file extend operations.

26. The computer readable medium as recited in claim 23, wherein the instruction are further computer-executable to:

identify a threshold value of at least one I/O metric of the one or more I/O metrics;

identify an action to be executed if the at least one I/O metric reaches the threshold value;

determine whether the at least one I/O metric reached the threshold value during the one or more pre-determined time intervals; and

in response to determining that the at least one I/O metric reached the threshold value, execute the action.

27. A method comprising:

identifying a plurality of managed objects to be monitored in a network;

collecting, for one or more pre-determined time intervals, one or more I/O metrics for each of the set of managed objects, wherein a first I/O metric of the one or more I/O metrics comprises a number of file open operations;

classifying the file open operations into a plurality of categories, including a first category of file open operations that resulted in a file creation and a second category of file open operations that resulted in an overwrite of an existing file; and

generating a report summarizing the one or more I/O metrics, wherein the report includes a separate summary for each category of the plurality of categories of file open operations.

28. The method as recited in claim 27, wherein the one or more I/O metrics include a second I/O metric comprising a number of read operations and a third I/O metric comprising a number of the read operations satisfied from a cache.

29. The method as recited in claim 27, wherein the one or more I/O metrics include a second I/O metric comprising a number of file truncate operations and a third I/O metric comprising a number of file extend operations.

30. The method as recited in claim 27, further comprising:

identifying a threshold value of at least one I/O metric of the one or more I/O metrics;

identifying an action to be executed if the at least one I/O metric reaches the threshold value;

determining whether the at least one I/O metric reached the threshold value during the one or more pre-determined time intervals; and

in response to determining that the at least one I/O metric reached the threshold value, executing the action.

31. A system, comprising:

one or more processors; and

a memory storing program instructions, wherein the instructions are executable by the one or more processors to;

identify a plurality of managed objects to be monitored in a network;

collect, for one or more pre-determined time intervals, one or more I/O metrics for each of the set of managed objects, wherein a first I/O metric of the one or more I/O metrics comprises a number of file open operations;

classify the file open operations into a plurality of categories, including a first category of file open operations that resulted in a file creation and a second category of file open operations that resulted in an overwrite of an existing file; and

generate a report summarizing the one or more I/O metrics, wherein the report includes a separate summary for each category of the plurality of categories of file open operations.

32. The system as recited in claim 31, wherein the one or more I/O metrics include a second I/O metric comprising a number of read operations and a third I/O metric comprising a number of the read operations satisfied from a cache.

33. The system as recited in claim 31, wherein the one or more I/O metrics include a second I/O metric comprising a number of file truncate operations and a third I/O metric comprising a number of file extend operations.

34. The system as recited in claim 31, wherein the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to:

identify a threshold value of at least one I/O metric of the one or more I/O metrics;

identify an action to be executed if the at least one I/O metric reaches the threshold value;

determine whether the at least one I/O metric reached the threshold value during the one or more pre-determined time intervals; and

in response to determining that the at least one I/O metric reached the threshold value, execute the action.