DETECTING SINGLE POINTS OF FAILURE ON A STORAGE SYSTEM

• US 20200136897A1
• Filed: 10/31/2018
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Smith, Erik P., Rowlands, Scott, Westin, Vincent H., Martin, Kevin, Don, Arieh
• Granted Patent: US 11,336,509 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0677 Localisation of faults
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0686 Additional information in the notification, e.g. enhancement of specific meta-data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0816 the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0895 Configuration of virtualised networks or elements, e.g. virtualised network function or OpenFlow elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/40 using virtualisation of network functions or resources, e.g. SDN or NFV entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0811 by checking connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/25 Routing or path finding in a switch fabric
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/354 for supporting virtual local area networks [VLAN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/356 for storage area networks
• 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

Single points of failure (SPoFs) may be determined for I/O connectivity on a storage network. I/O path information may be determined for a storage device, for example, as a result of a host system logging into the storage network, and may be updated in response to events on the storage network. From this determined I/O path information, one or more SPoFs between a storage device and an application layer may be determined if, for the I/O path information collectively, it is determined that there is only one of any of the path components between the storage device and the application layer. The I/O path information may be displayed in a manner that facilitates a user identifying that there is an SPoF on an I/O path between a storage device and an application layer of a host system. Based on the determination of an SPoF, an alert may be issued.

Claims

1. For a network including one or more host systems coupled to a storage system by one or more switches, the storage system including a plurality of storage devices, and the one or more host systems hosting one or more applications of a host application layer, a method of determining whether there is a potential single point of failure between a first of the plurality of storage devices and the host application layer, the method comprising:

determining I/O path information for the first storage device, including;

determining at least a first of the one or more host systems operative to exchange I/O communications with the first storage device; and

for the at least first host system, determining one or more permitted I/O paths between the first host system and the first storage device, each determined one or more permitted I/O paths including at least one of each of the following;

a port of the first host system, a fabric of the one or more switches and a storage component of the storage system; and

determining whether the determined I/O path information collectively includes only one of any of the following;

the at least one port, the at least one fabric, and the at least one storage component,

wherein determining that collectively there is only one of any of;

the at least one port, the at least one switch fabric, and the at least one storage component is indicative of a potential single point of failure between the first storage device and the host application layer.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying the I/O path information on a user interface in a manner that enables a user to visually determine the potential single point of failure.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one storage component is one of:

a host adapter;

or a port of the host adapter.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the I/O path information further includes:

accessing a data structure that, for each storage device of the plurality of storage devices, specifies a combination of a host port of a storage system and a host adapter port of a host system over which I/O communications with the storage device are permitted.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the I/O path information further includes:

for the at least first fabric, accessing zoning information that specifies which ports of the at least first host system are communicatively coupled to which ports of the storage system.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the I/O path information further includes:

the at least first host system logging into the storage system,

wherein the storage system determining I/O path information in response to the first host system logging in.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

determining whether the determined I/O path information collectively includes only one at least first host system, and

wherein determining that there is only one at least first host system is indicative of a potential single point of failure between the first storage device and the host application layer.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein each port of the first host system is a physical port, and

wherein determining whether the determined I/O path information collectively includes only one of the at least one port includes determining whether two different virtual ports of the first host system correspond to a same physical port of the first host system.

9. A storage system in a network including one or more host systems coupled to the storage system by one or more switches, the one or more host systems hosting one or more applications of a host application layer, the storage system comprising:

a plurality of storage devices;

one or more processors; and

a memory comprising code stored thereon that, when executed, performs a method of determining whether there is a potential single point of failure between a first of the plurality of storage devices and the host application layer, the method comprising;

determining I/O path information for the first storage device, including;

determining at least a first of the one or more host systems operative to exchange I/O communications with the first storage device; and

for the at least first host system, determining one or more permitted I/O communication paths between the first host system and the first storage device, each determined one or more permitted I/O communication paths including at least one of each of the following;

a port of the first host system, a switch fabric of the one or more switches and a storage component of the storage system; and

determining whether the determined I/O path information collectively includes only one of any of following;

the at least one port, the at least one switch fabric, and the at least one storage component,

wherein determining that collectively there is only one of any of;

the at least one port, the at least one switch fabric, and the at least one storage component is indicative of a potential single point of failure between the first storage device and the host application layer.

10. The storage system of claim 9, the method further comprising:

displaying the I/O path information on a user interface in a manner that enables a user to visually determine the potential single point of failure.

11. The storage system of claim 9, wherein the at least one storage component is one of:

a host adapter;

or a port of the host adapter.

12. The storage system of claim 9, wherein determining the I/O path information further includes:

accessing a data structure that, for each storage device of the plurality of storage devices, specifies a combination of a host port of a storage system and a host adapter port of a host system over which I/O communications with the storage device are permitted.

13. The storage system of claim 9, wherein determining the I/O path information further includes:

for the at least first fabric, accessing zoning information that specifies which ports of the at least first host system are communicatively coupled to which ports of the storage system.

14. The storage system of claim 9, wherein each port of the first host system is a physical port, and

wherein determining whether the determined I/O path information collectively includes only one of the at least one port includes determining whether two different virtual ports of the first host system correspond to a same physical port of the first host system.

15. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media for a storage system in a network including one or more host systems coupled to the storage system by one or more switches, the storage system including a plurality of storage devices, and the one or more host systems hosting one or more applications of a host application layer, the computer-readable media having software stored thereon defining a method of determining whether there is a potential single point of failure between a first of the plurality of storage devices and the host application layer, the software comprising:

executable code that determines I/O path information for the first storage device, including;

executable code that determines at least a first of the one or more host systems operative to exchange I/O communications with the first storage device; and

executable code that, for the at least first host system, determines one or more permitted I/O communication paths between the first host system and the first storage device, each determined one or more permitted I/O communication paths including at least one of each of the following;

a port of the first host system, a switch fabric of the one or more switches and a storage component of the storage system; and

executable code that determines whether the determined I/O path information collectively includes only one of any of following;

the at least one port, the at least one switch fabric, and the at least one storage component,

wherein determining that there collectively is only one of any of;

the at least one port, the at least one switch fabric, and the at least one storage component is indicative of a potential single point of failure between the first storage device and the host application layer.

16. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, the software further comprising:

executable code that displays the I/O path information on a user interface in a manner that enables a user to visually determine the potential single point of failure.

17. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the at least one storage component is one of:

a host adapter;

or a port of the host adapter.

18. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the executable code that determines the I/O path information further includes:

executable code that determines accesses a data structure that, for each storage device of the plurality of storage devices, specifies a combination of a host port of a one or more non-transitory computer-readable media and a host adapter port of a host system over which I/O communications with the storage device are permitted.

19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the executable code that determines the I/O path information further includes:

executable code that, for the at least first fabric, accesses zoning information that specifies which ports of the at least first host system are communicatively coupled to which ports of the storage system.

20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein each port of the first host system is a physical port, and

wherein the executable code that determines whether the determined I/O path information collectively includes only one of the at least one port includes executable code that determines whether two different virtual ports of the first host system correspond to a same physical port of the first host system.