STORAGE NETWORK AND METHOD FOR STORAGE NETWORK DEVICE MAPPING

• US 20080288627A1
• Filed: 07/31/2008
• Published: 11/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hubis, Walter A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,865,626 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: A61P 31/18 for HIV
• CPC Class Codes: A61P 35/00 Antineoplastic agents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0689 Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD
• 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]

Abstract

Structure, Structure, system, apparatus, method, and computer program for managing and configuring a computer storage system by mapping the topology and connectivity of all servers, storage devices, and storage device controllers within the storage subsystem, based on unique identifiers especially World Wide Number (WWN) identifiers. The method includes querying a server to identify host bus adapters coupled to the server, querying each host bus adapter to identify attached device controllers, issuing a read connection information command to the device controller and returning the connection results including identifying devices coupled to the device controller, and storing the returned connection results in a data structure.

Claims

1. A read connection information command comprising a memory storing data and processes executed by a processor that:

issue the read connection information command to components coupled to a server, said components selected from a group consisting of host bus adapters, device controllers, and devices coupled to said device controllers, the read connection information command comprising

a direct command operation code field identifying a command to be executed;

an allocation length field indicating a number of bytes allocated for information returned in connection with execution of said command; and

receive connection information.

2. The read connection information command of claim 1, said connection information selected from the group consisting of an identifier of an initiator issuing said read connection information command, an identifier of a component receiving said read connection information command, an identifier of a partner controller, and combinations thereof.

3. The read connection information command in claim 2, wherein said identifier of the initiator comprises a World Wide Number (WWN) of said initiator, said identifier of said component receiving said read connection information command comprises a WWN of said component, and said identifier of said partner controller comprises a WWN of said partner controller.

4. The read connection information command in claim 1, wherein the host bus adapters comprise Fibre Channel arbitrated loop host bus adapters.

5. The read connection information command in claim 1, wherein said read connection information command is issued to said components over a Fibre Channel arbitrated loop channel.

6. The read connection information command in claim 1, wherein said device controllers are configured as storage device array controllers.

7. The read connection information command in claim 1, wherein said device controllers are configured as Redundant Array of Independent Disk (RAID) storage array controllers.

8. The read connection information command in claim 1, wherein said read connection information command is issued from a server.

9. The read connection information command in claim 8, wherein said read connection information command is issued to a distributed computer system having a plurality of servers and a plurality of storage subsystems.

10. The read connection information command in claim 9, wherein said distributed computer system includes a RAID Storage Area Network (SAN).

11. A RAID storage subsystem comprising:

a RAID disk array;

a RAID storage subsystem controller controlling said RAID disk array and comprising

a host interface input/output processor in communication with a server;

a RAID storage device interface input/output processor that communicates with said RAID disk array;

a processor;

a memory coupled to said processor storing procedures and data, said data including a host interface connection table storing a host interface WWN and a RAID storage subsystem controller WWN, said procedures including a configuration client procedure, said processor processing said procedures and data, said configuration client procedure receiving a SCSI read connection information command through said host interface input/output processor from said server and returning connection results of a pointer to said host interface connection table to said server.

12. The RAID storage subsystem in claim 11, said server further storing said returned connection results in a server table having a server entry for said server, said server entry comprising said pointer to said host interface connection table.

13. The RAID storage subsystem in claim 12, said server further generating a connection topology from said server table.

14. The RAID storage subsystem in claim 13, said connection topology identifying a topology of said RAID storage subsystem including a topology of said server and said RAID storage subsystem controller coupled to said server.

15. The RAID storage subsystem in claim 11, wherein said RAID storage subsystem is configured as a SAN.

16. The RAID storage subsystem in claim 11, wherein said host interface input/output processor is in communication with said server over a Fibre Channel arbitrated loop channel.

17. A system for collecting connection information for a network computer system comprising:

a server;

at least one device controller coupled to said server by a first communication channel;

a client coupled in communication with said server;

means querying said server to identify all host bus adapters coupled thereto;

means querying each identified host bus adapter to identify all device controllers attached on said first communication channel;

means issuing a SCSI read connection information command to each said identified device controller and returning, for each said identified device controller, connection results determined by said command comprising a pointer to a host bus adapter connection table;

means storing the returned connection results in a data structure, the data structure comprising a server table having a server entry for said server, said server entry comprising said pointer to said host bus adapter connection table, said host bus adapter connection table capable of being different for each entry; and

means generating a connection topology from said data structure identifying the topology of said system including a topology of said server and all device controllers that are coupled to said server.

18. The system in claim 17, wherein said host bus adapter connection table comprises a first WWN of at least one of the host bus adapters and a second WWN of at least one of the device controllers.

19. The system in claim 17, wherein said first communication channel is a Fibre Channel arbitrated loop channel.

20. The system in claim 17, wherein said SCSI read connection information command comprises

a direct command operation code field identifying a command to be executed;

and

an allocation length field indicating a number of bytes allocated for information returned in connection with execution of said command.