Topology static zones

• US 20080162681A1
• Filed: 12/28/2006
• Published: 07/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Computer Associates Think Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Computer Associates Think Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Yellapragada, Subrahmanya Sarma V., Natarajan, Sankar, Reddy, Narasimha C.
• Granted Patent: US 8,069,229 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/082 the condition being updates or upgrades of network functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5012 determining service availability, e.g. which services are available at a certain point in time
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0805 by checking availability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 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]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display

Abstract

Systems and techniques are provided for Topology-Static (TS) architecture within a computer system, and more particularly to the management of a Topology-Static architecture incorporating a storage area network (SAN). A SAN management system for monitoring and controlling zone integrity of a SAN. The SAN management system includes a monitoring module coupled to a SAN zone that includes at least one loop and optionally at least one fabric switch. When the status of the SAN zone changes, the monitoring manager sends an intimating signal to a zone manager. The zone manager determines whether such intimating signal is associated with a change pertaining to a node of any TS-Zone in “I” mode. If so, the zone manger sends a request to a switch manager for execution. After the execution, the zone manager further updates information stored in an internal storage relating to the change event.

Claims

1. A storage area network (SAN) management system for controlling a SAN, comprising:

an internal storage that stores status information regarding zoning of the SAN;

a monitoring module coupled to the SAN that monitors a status of the SAN and that provides a signal when the status of the SAN changes;

a zone manager module that receives a signal from the monitoring module, and that updates the internal storage based on a status change from the monitoring module; and

a switch manager module that receives a request from the zone manager module for provisioning operations including zone management and discovering operations including zone configuration of the SAN.

2. The SAN management system of claim 1, further comprising an interface module coupled with a graphic user interface (GUI) that receives requests from an end user and that displays messages back to the end user.

3. The SAN management system of claim 2, wherein the zone manager module further receives requests from the interface module.

4. The SAN management system of claim 3, wherein the requests include at least one of:

discovering a topology static-zone (ts-zone);

creating a ts-zone;

deleting a ts-zone;

renaming a ts-zone;

adding a member entity to a ts-zone;

deleting a member entity to a ts-zone;

adding a ts-zone to a zone collection; and

deleting a ts-zone to a zone collection.

5. The SAN management system of claim 4, wherein the zone manager module further redirects the requests from the interface module to the switch manager module for execution.

6. The SAN management system of claim 1, wherein the zoning of the SAN includes at least one a ts-zone that includes at least one loop and a fabric port to which the loop is connected, and wherein the at least one loop includes at least one node.

7. The SAN management system of claim 6, wherein the zone manager module further determines whether a change in the loop associated with the signal is pertaining to a node of any of the at least one ts-zone, and when the change pertains to a node of at least one ts-zone, the zone manager module maps the change to a request regarding an operation and sends the corresponding request to the switch manager module for execution.

8. The SAN management system of claim 7, wherein the request regarding an operation includes at least one of:

a node replacement, a node insertion, and a node deletion.

9. A method for executing topological operations of a SAN, comprising:

determining a change of a node in a loop of a ts-zone of the SAN, wherein the change includes at least one of;

an insertion of a public node, a deletion of a public node, or replacement of a public node;

retrieving data from an internal storage regarding the change;

wherein the retrieved data from internal storage specifies an operation for deleting a node from the ts-zone when the change is deletion of a node; and

wherein the retrieved data from internal storage specifies an operation for deleting the node to be replaced and an operation for adding a new node to replace the deleted node when the change is replacement of a node; and

updating data stored in the internal storage when the deletion operation or replacement operation is successful to reflect the change of a node in a loop of a ts-zone.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising updating a ts-zone on a GUI and communicating a deletion operation or a replacement operation is successful to reflect the change of a node in a loop of a ts-zone to a user console.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein deleting a node from the ts-zone comprises:

indicating a ts-zone is a non ts-zone when a deleted first node is defined by a fabric to fabric-loop port and there does not exist a second node in the ts-zone equal to the first node, and the second node is defined by the fabric to fabric-loop port when the ts-zone is a strict ts-zone; and

maintaining the ts-zone as a strict ts-zone when the deleted first node is defined by the fabric to fabric-loop port and there does exist the second node in the ts-zone equal to the first node, and the second node is defined by the fabric to fabric-loop port when the ts-zone is the strict ts-zone.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein deleting a node from the ts-zone comprises:

indicating a loose ts-zone is a strict ts-zone when a deleted first node is not defined by at least one of;

a fabric port, a fabric-loop port, and a port of a public device of a public loop attached to its only active switch through the fabric-loop port, and there does not exist a second node in the ts-zone equal to the first node, and the second node is not defined by at least one of;

the fabric port, the fabric-loop port, and the port of a public device of a public loop attached to its only active switch through the fabric-loop port when the ts-zone is the loose ts-zone;

indicating the loose ts-zone is a non ts-zone when the deleted first node is defined by the fabric to fabric-loop port and there does not exist the second node in the ts-zone equal to the first node, and the second node is defined by the fabric to fabric-loop port;

maintaining the loose ts-zone when having the deleted first node defined by at least one of;

the fabric port, the fabric-loop port, and the port of a public device of a public loop attached to its only active switch through the fabric-loop port, and there does exist the second node in the ts-zone equal to the first node, and the second node is defined by at least one of;

the fabric port, the fabric-loop port, and the port of a public device of a public loop attached to its only active switch through the fabric-loop port when the ts-zone is the loose ts-zone; and

maintaining the loose ts-zone when having the deleted first node not defined by the fabric to fabric-loop port and there does exist the second node in the ts-zone equal to the first node, and the second node is not defined by the fabric to fabric-loop port when the ts-zone is the loose ts-zone.

13. A method for discovering a ts-zone in a zoning including all member entities in the zoning of a SAN, comprising:

retrieving a list of a zone including the entities of the SAN within the zone;

determining the zone as a non strict ts-zone if a first member entity of the zone including the entities of the SAN within the zone is not defined by at least one of;

a fabric port, a fabric-loop port, and a port of a public device of a public loop attached to its only active switch through the fabric-loop port;

retrieving a second member entity of the zone including the entities of the SAN within the zone from the list of the zone; and

determining the zone as a loose ts-zone if the second member entity of the zone including the entities of the SAN within the zone is defined by the fabric to fabric-loop port,

wherein when the zone is a loose ts-zone, and a status of the zone remains the same for any additional member entity.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

determining a zone as a strict ts-zone if an additional zone entity is defined by a fabric to fabric-loop port;

retrieving a second additional entity from an entity list including all member entities of the zone; and

determining the zone as a loose ts-zone if the second additional entity does not belong to at least one of;

a fabric port, a fabric-loop port, and a port of a public device of a public loop attached to its only active switch through the fabric-loop port.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

determining a zone as a fabric to fabric-loop port not found if an additional zone entity is not defined either from at least one of;

a fabric port, a fabric-loop port, and a port of a public device of a public loop attached to its only active switch through the fabric-loop port, or by the fabric to fabric-loop port;

retrieving a second additional entity from the zone including the entities of the SAN of the zone;

determining the zone as a non strict ts-zone if the second additional entity does not belong to at least one of;

the fabric port, the fabric-loop port, and the port of a public device of the public loop attached to its only active switch through the fabric-loop port, or is a last zone from the entities of the SAN of the zone; and

determining the zone as a strict ts-zone if the second additional entity is defined by a fabric-fabric loop.

16. A method for adding a member to a ts-zone in a zoning of an SAN, comprising:

adding a first member to the ts-zone such that the first member belongs to at least one of;

a fabric port, a fabric-loop port, and a port of a public device of a public loop attached to its only active switch through the fabric-loop port, wherein the status of the ts-zone will be maintained; and

adding the first member to the ts-zone such that the first member does not belong to the at least one of;

the fabric port, the fabric-loop port, and the port of a public device of a public loop attached to its only active switch through the fabric-loop port, wherein the state of the ts-zone will be changed to a loose ts-zone.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein a ts-zone remains strict ts-zone.