STORAGE SYSTEM AND MANAGEMENT METHOD IN STORAGE SYSTEM

• US 20090006601A1
• Filed: 01/02/2008
• Published: 01/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Masuda, Haruki
• Granted Patent: US 8,473,592 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2003/0697 device management, e.g. handlers, drivers, I/O schedulers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0601 Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0604 Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. storage management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0635 by changing the path, e.g. traffic rerouting, path reconfiguration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0638 Organizing or formatting or addressing of data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]
• 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

An object of the present invention is to recognize the presence of a business-use computer that can be a management target of a management computer, and to register the recognized business-use computer as a management target host.

A storage system includes business-use hosts 12 and 14, a management server 16 and a storage subsystem 18; wherein the business-use hosts 12 and 14 are connected via a SAN 22 to the storage subsystem 18, while the management server 16 is connected via a LAN 20 to the business-use hosts 12 and 14 and the storage subsystem 18. The management server 16 for recognizing business-use hosts that can be management objects, sends a communication request to all the IP addresses/ports within a range specified by the user, and registers business-use hosts returning a response in reply to the communication request as management targets.

Claims

1. A storage system comprising:

a plurality of business-use computers;

a storage subsystem to which the plurality of business-use computers is connected; and

a management computer managing the plurality of business-use computers,

wherein the plurality of business-use computers, the storage subsystem and the management computer are connected to one another via communication means; and

wherein the management computer includes a table for registering a business-use computer that is connected to the storage subsystem, sequentially sends a communication request via the communication means to a communication target that can be a management target, and registers a reception result associated with the transmission of the communication request in a table.

2. The storage system according to claim 1, wherein the management computer registers a business-use computer returning a response in reply to the communication request as a management target host.

3. The storage system according to claim 1, wherein the management computer executes a step of registering a business-use computer returning a response in reply to the communication request as a management target host, and subsequently sends a communication request to the management target host registered in the table as a communication target;

and

if a response in reply to the communication request is not returned from the management target host in accordance with certain conditions, deletes business-use computer that does not return a response from the table.

4. The storage system according to claim 1, wherein the management computer recognizes all of one or more IP address ports within a specified range as communication targets.

5. The storage system according to claim 1, wherein the management computer registers a business-use computer returning a response in reply to the communication request as a management target host, and then periodically sends communication requests to the management target host registered in the table as a communication target;

and

if a response in reply to the communication request is not returned from the management target host in accordance with certain conditions, deletes the business-use computer that does not return a response from the table.

6. The storage system according to claim 1, wherein the management computer receives information relating to the business-use computer managed by the management computer, from another management computer managing the business-use computer, and

the management computer recognizes a business-use computer managed by that other management computer by comparing the acquired host information and the information registered in the table.

7. A management method in a storage system including:

a plurality of business-use computers;

a storage subsystem to which the plurality of business-use computers are connected; and

a management computer managing the plurality of business-use computers,

wherein the plurality of business-use computers, the storage subsystem and the management computer are connected to one another via communication means, and the management computer manages a management target via the communication means; and

wherein,

the management computer executes a first step of sequentially sending a communication request via the communication means to a communication target that can be the management target, and

a second step of registering a reception result associated with a transmission of the communication requests in a table.

8. The management method according to claim 7, wherein, in the second step, the management computer registers a business-use computer returning a response in reply to the communication request as a management target host.

9. The management method according to claim 7, wherein,

the management computer, in the second step, executes a step of registering a business-use computer returning a response in reply to the communication request in the table as a management target host, and then, further executes a third step of sending a communication request to the management target host registered in the table as a communication target, and

a fourth step of, if a response in reply to the communication request is not returned from the management target host in accordance with certain conditions, deleting a business-use computer that does not return the response from the table.

10. The storage system management method according to claim 7, wherein, in the first step,

the management computer recognizes all the IP address ports within a specified range as communication targets.

11. The management method according to claim 7, wherein

the management computer executes:

a fifth step of acquiring host information relating to a business-use computer, which is managed by the management computer, from the other management computer managing the business-use computer; and

a sixth step of recognizing a business-use computer managed by another management computer by comparing the host information acquired in the fifth step and the information registered in the table.

12. A management server managing a plurality of business-use computers that is connected via a communication means to a storage subsystem, and

comprising a processor receiving information from the computers via the communication means and processing the information,

wherein the processor sequentially sends a communication request via the communication means to communication targets that can be management targets, and

registers a reception result that is associated with the transmission of the communication request in a table.

13. The management server according to claim 13, wherein the processor registers a business-use computer returning a response in reply to the communication request as a management target.

14. The management server according to claim 13, wherein the processor registers the business-use computer returning a response in reply to the communication requests as a management target host, and then

sends a communication request to the management target host registered in the table, as a communication target, and

if a response in reply to the communication request is not returned from the management target host in accordance with certain conditions, deletes a business-use computer that does not return the response from the table.