SAN IP Validation Tool

• US 20150277804A1
• Filed: 03/28/2014
• Published: 10/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Arnold, Howard Ernest, Harris, Matthew Clayton
• Granted Patent: US 9,436,411 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0617 in relation to availability
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0653 Monitoring storage devices or systems
• 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 43/06 Generation of reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0811 by checking connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• 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

The present invention is directed to a method and corresponding apparatus for verifying connectivity in a storage area network. An embodiment begins by communicating with one or more storage devices, through at least one of one or more host machines connected to one or more network switches. Based on the communication, the method may activate a test procedure at the one or more storage devices. The method may determine, through the test procedure, each state of connectivity from the one or more storage devices to each member computing device of a connectivity set. The connectivity set may include at least one of the following: at least one other storage device, at least one of the one or more network switches, and at least one of the one or more host machines. The method may provide a report to one or more users, the report including each state of connectivity.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for verifying connectivity in a storage area network, the computer-implemented method comprising:

communicating with one or more storage devices, from at least one of one or more host machines connected to one or more network switches;

based on the communication, activating a test procedure at the one or more storage devices;

determining, through the test procedure, each state of connectivity from the one or more storage devices to each member computing device of a connectivity set that includes at least one of the following;

at least one other storage device, at least one of the one or more network switches, and at least one of the one or more host machines; and

providing a report to one or more users, the report including each state of connectivity.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the connectivity includes at least one of:

interconnect, cabling, wiring, interfaces, and ports.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising automatically activating the test procedure at the one or more storage devices, further comprising automatically determining each state of connectivity from the one or more storage devices to each member computing device, and further comprising automatically providing the report.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the report is provided to the at least one of the one or more host machines, and the report includes one or more log files.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein each state of connectivity is determined, through the test procedure, by the one or more storage devices sending one or more commands to each member computing device of the connectivity set and receiving one or more status messages from each member computing device of the connectivity set.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the test procedure includes one or more ping tests from the one or more storage devices to each member computing device of the connectivity set.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the one or more storage devices is indirectly connected to at least one member computing device of the connectivity set.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the connectivity set includes one or more redundant or replicated member computing devices.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the test procedure is activated on at least one active module associated with the one or more storage devices.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising switching from the at least one active module to at least one passive module associated with the one or more storage devices, wherein the test procedure is activated on the at least one passive module.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the storage area network includes an Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) storage area network.

21. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising, within the storage area network, communicating with the one or more storage devices, from the at least one of the one or more host machines, and based on the communication, activating the test procedure.

12. An information handling system (IHS) comprising:

a data module configured to communicate with one or more storage devices from at least one of one or more host machines connected to one or more network switches;

a computing module, configured to activate, based on the communication, a test procedure at the one or more storage devices;

the computing module further configured to determine, through the test procedure, each state of connectivity from the one or more storage devices to each member computing device of a connectivity set that includes at least one of the following;

at least one other storage device, at least one of the one or more network switches, and at least one of the one or more host machines; and

a reporting module configured to provide a report to one or more users, the report including each state of connectivity.

13. The IHS of claim 12 wherein the connectivity includes at least one of:

interconnect, cabling, wiring, interfaces, and ports.

14. The IHS of claim 12 wherein the computing module is further configured to automatically activate the test procedure at the one or more storage devices, and the computing module is further configured to automatically determine each state of connectivity from the one or more storage devices to each member computing device, and the reporting module is further configured to automatically provide the report.

15. The IHS of claim 12 wherein the reporting module is further configured to provide the report to the at least one of the one or more host machines, and the report includes one or more log files.

16. The IHS of claim 12 wherein the computing module is further configured to determine, through the test procedure, each state of connectivity, by the one or more storage devices sending one or more commands to each member computing device of the connectivity set and receiving one or more status messages from each member computing device of the connectivity set.

17. The IHS of claim 12 wherein the test procedure includes one or more ping tests from the one or more storage devices to each member computing device of the connectivity set.

18. The IHS of claim 12 wherein at least one of the one or more storage devices is indirectly connected to at least one member computing device of the connectivity set, and the connectivity set includes one or more redundant or replicated member computing devices.

19. The IHS of claim 12 wherein the computing module is further configured to activate the test procedure on at least one active module associated with the one or more storage devices, and the computing module is further configured to switch from the at least one active module to at least one passive module associated with the one or more storage devices, and the test procedure is activated on the at least one passive module.

20. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a sequence of instructions which, when loaded and executed by a processor coupled to an apparatus, causes the apparatus to:

communicate with one or more storage devices, from at least one of one or more host machines connected to one or more network switches;

based on the communication, activate, at the one or more storage devices, a test procedure;

determine, through the test procedure, each state of connectivity from the one or more storage devices to each member computing device of a connectivity set that includes at least one of the following;

at least one other storage device, at least one of the one or more network switches, and at least one of the one or more host machines; and

provide a report to one or more users, the report including each state of connectivity.