System and Method for Enabling Storage Area Network Component Migration

• US 20090177878A1
• Filed: 01/03/2008
• Published: 07/09/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: McGimsey, Larry Steven, Gao, Zhaohui, Van Buskirk, Ronald Earl II
• Granted Patent: US 8,341,251 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/100
• 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

A system and method for enabling storage area network (SAN) component migration are provided. An end-to-end systems management console, referred to as the hardware migration assistant, is provided to simplify the migration steps for a SAN administrator to replace key SAN components. The hardware migration assistant provides a single interface suitable for stepping the SAN administrator through the reconfiguring task faster and with fewer sources of error than the known distributed manual process. The hardware migration assistant of the illustrative embodiments provides an interface through which a user may specify a type of SAN component that is being replaced and identifies the particular SAN components that are being replaced. The hardware migration assistant provides a knowledge base for guiding the user through the replacement operation and the reconfiguring of the SAN components, including the new SAN components, based on the previous configuration of the replaced components.

Claims

1. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having a computer readable program, wherein the computer readable program, when executed on a computing device, causes the computing device to:

perform a snapshot of a current configuration of an old SAN component that is to be replaced;

retrieve configuration rules for configuring a new SAN component for replacement of the old SAN component based on an identification of the old SAN component and the new SAN component;

present guidance to a user for replacing the old SAN component with the new SAN component based on the retrieved configuration rules;

obtain an initial configuration of the new SAN component;

present a comparison of the snapshot of the current configuration of the old SAN component with the initial configuration of the new SAN component; and

re-configure the new SAN component based on the presented comparison.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the computer readable program further causes the computing device to:

receive a replacement request indentifying a SAN component type for a SAN component that is to be replaced;

identify one or more existing SAN components in a SAN topology having a type matching the SAN component type in the replacement request;

present a listing of the one or more existing SAN components in the SAN topology to user; and

receive a user selection of the old SAN component from the presented listing.

3. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the computer readable program causes the computing device to obtain an initial configuration of the new SAN component by running a probe on the new SAN component following discovery of the new SAN component within a SAN topology.

4. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the comparison is a side-by-side interface representing the old SAN component in a first portion of the side-by-side interface and representing the new SAN component in a second portion of the side-by-side interface.

5. The computer program product of claim 4, wherein differences in configuration of the old SAN component and configuration of the new SAN component are accentuated in the first portion and second portion of the side-by-side interface.

6. The computer program product of claim 4, wherein the computer readable program further causes the computing device to:

provide one or more user interface items within the side-by-side interface for migrating one or more configuration items from the configuration of the old SAN component to the configuration of the new SAN component.

7. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the computer readable program causes the computing device to re-configure the new SAN component in response to a user selection of one of the one or more user interface items.

8. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the computer readable program further causes the computing device to:

verify a new configuration of the re-configured new SAN component; and

provide a troubleshooting aid to the user in response to a determination that at least one configuration item in the new configuration is not verified.

9. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the computer readable program causes the computing device to retrieve configuration rules for configuring a new SAN component for replacement of the old SAN component based on an identification of the old SAN component and the new SAN component by:

identifying at least one general configuration rule for configuring the new SAN component for replacement of the old SAN component;

identifying at least one internal mapping module having specific configuration rules for at least one of the new SAN component or the old SAN component; and

applying the at least one general configuration rule and the specific configuration rules of the at least one internal mapping module to the new SAN component.

10. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the computer readable program comprises instructions that are stored in a computer readable storage medium in a data processing system, and wherein the instructions were downloaded over a network from a remote data processing system.

11. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the computer readable program comprises instructions that are stored in a computer readable storage medium in a server data processing system, and wherein the instructions are downloaded over a network to a remote data processing system for use in a computer readable storage medium with the remote data processing system.

12. A method, in a data processing system, for providing a hardware migration service for replacing a storage area network (SAN) component, comprising:

performing a snapshot of a current configuration of an old SAN component that is to be replaced;

retrieving configuration rules for configuring a new SAN component for replacement of the old SAN component based on an identification of the old SAN component and the new SAN component;

presenting guidance to a user for replacing the old SAN component with the new SAN component based on the retrieved configuration rules;

obtaining an initial configuration of the new SAN component;

presenting a comparison of the snapshot of the current configuration of the old SAN component with the initial configuration of the new SAN component; and

re-configuring the new SAN component based on the presented comparison.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving a replacement request indentifying a SAN component type for a SAN component that is to be replaced;

identifying one or more existing SAN components in a SAN topology having a type matching the SAN component type in the replacement request;

presenting a listing of the one or more existing SAN components in the SAN topology to a user; and

receiving a user selection of the old SAN component from the presented listing.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein obtaining an initial configuration of the new SAN component comprises running a probe on the new SAN component following discovery of the new SAN component within a SAN topology.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the comparison is a side-by-side interface representing the old SAN component in a first portion of the side-by-side interface and representing the new SAN component in a second portion of the side-by-side interface.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein differences in configuration of the old SAN component and configuration of the new SAN component are accentuated in the first portion and second portion of the side-by-side interface.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

providing one or more user interface items within the side-by-side interface for migrating one or more configuration items from the configuration of the old SAN component to the configuration of the new SAN component.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein re-configuring the new SAN component is performed in response to a user selection of one of the one or more user interface items.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

verifying a new configuration of the re-configured new SAN component; and

providing a troubleshooting aid to the user in response to a determination that at least one configuration item in the new configuration is not verified.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein retrieving configuration rules for configuring a new SAN component for replacement of the old SAN component based on an identification of the old SAN component and the new SAN component comprises:

identifying at least one general configuration rule for configuring the new SAN component for replacement of the old SAN component;

identifying at least one internal mapping module having specific configuration rules for at least one of the new SAN component or the old SAN component; and

applying the at least one general configuration rule and the specific configuration rules of the at least one internal mapping module to the new SAN component.

21. A system for providing a hardware migration service for replacing a storage area network (SAN) component, comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory coupled to the at least one processor, the memory comprising instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the processor to;

perform a snapshot of a current configuration of an old SAN component that is to be replaced;

retrieve configuration rules for configuring a new SAN component for replacement of the old SAN component based on an identification of the old SAN component and the new SAN component;

present guidance to a user for replacing the old SAN component with the new SAN component based on the retrieved configuration rules;

obtain an initial configuration of the new SAN component;

present a comparison of the snapshot of the current configuration of the old SAN component with the initial configuration of the new SAN component; and

re-configure the new SAN component based on the presented comparison.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the instructions further cause the at least one processor to:

receive a replacement request indentifying a SAN component type for a SAN component that is to be replaced;

identify one or more existing SAN components in a SAN topology having a type matching the SAN component type in the replacement request;

present a listing of the one or more existing SAN components in the SAN topology to a user; and

receive a user selection of the old SAN component from the presented listing.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein:

the comparison is a side-by-side interface representing the old SAN component in a first portion of the side-by-side interface and representing the new SAN component in a second portion of the side-by-side interface, and

differences in configuration of the old SAN component and configuration of the new SAN component are accentuated in the first portion and second portion of the side-by-side interface.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the instructions further cause the at least one processor to:

provide one or more user interface items within the side-by-side interface for migrating one or more configuration items from the configuration of the old SAN component to the configuration of the new SAN component; and

re-configure the new SAN component in response to a user selection of one of the one or more user interface items.

25. The system of claim 21, wherein the instructions cause the at least one processor to retrieve configuration rules for configuring a new SAN component for replacement of the old SAN component based on an identification of the old SAN component and the new SAN component by:

identifying at least one general configuration rule for configuring the new SAN component for replacement of the old SAN component;

identifying at least one internal mapping module having specific configuration rules for at least one of the new SAN component or the old SAN component; and

applying the at least one general configuration rule and the specific configuration rules of the at least one internal mapping module to the new SAN component.