Method and apparatus for aiding configurating management of a computer system

• US 5,995,729 A
• Filed: 05/08/1998
• Issued: 11/30/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Inoue, Seiji, Ueoka, Atsushi, Kokunishi, Motohide, Ukai, Yoshio, Ito, Tsutomu, Hirosawa, Toshio
• Primary Examiner(s): Teska, Kevin J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fiul, Dan
• Application Number:
  US09/074,316
• Time in Patent Office: 571 Days
• Field of Search: 395/500.01, 395/123, 395/500.27, 379/29, 434/428, 364/188
• US Class Current: 703/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/00 Computer-aided design [CAD]

Abstract

In response to a variety of commands entered via a terminal unit, a configuration-management aiding apparatus directly connected to a computer system carries out various kinds of work such as laying-out of pieces of equipment, inspection of the layout of the pieces of equipment for an overlap, inspection of amounts of dissipated heat, inspection of amounts of consumed electrical power, inspection of connection of cables, creation of a cabling work specification manual, creation of a logical-configuration drawing and creation of configuration defining parameters. The configuration defining parameters are transferred to a file in the computer system. The terminal unit of the configuration-management aiding apparatus also functions as a console of the computer system.

Claims

1. A program storage medium which stores a program for aiding arrangement of a plurality of pieces of equipment into a space for a computer center, by using a computer, wherein each of the plurality of pieces of equipment comprises a processor or an auxiliary storage device, wherein said program is programmed so as to cause the following steps to be executed by said computer:

deciding appropriate installation locations of said plurality of pieces of equipment through an interactive operation with a user, by using a drawing of an installation area of said space displayed on a display screen of a display device connected to said computer;

deciding mutual connection between said plurality of pieces of equipment, based on an instruction by the user, after said installation locations of said plurality of pieces of equipment have been decided; and

generating data for aiding work to install said plurality of pieces of equipment at said computer center, based on said installation locations and said mutual connection decided for said plurality of pieces of equipment.

2. A program storage medium according to claim 1, wherein said data comprises at least data representing a connection-completed equipment layout drawing which shows arrangement and connection of said plurality of pieces of equipment.

3. A program storage medium according to claim 1,

wherein said plurality of pieces of equipment comprise at least one processor which uses a plurality of channels and a plurality of auxiliary storage devices which said at least one processor uses;

wherein said step of deciding the connection includes a step of deciding connection of said plurality of channels and said plurality of auxiliary storage devices.

4. A program storage medium according to claim 1,

wherein said plurality of pieces of equipment comprise a plurality of processors each for constituting one of a plurality of servers and a plurality of auxiliary storage devices each used by either one of said plurality of servers;

wherein said step of deciding the connection includes a step of deciding connection of said plurality of processors and said plurality of auxiliary storage devices.

13. A program storage medium according to claim 1, wherein said deciding step of installation locations includes the steps of:

displaying a drawing of a first installation area of said space on a first display area of a display screen of said display device;

displaying a first group of figures of a first group of user-specified pieces of equipment at user specified locations on said displayed drawing of said first installation area; and

inspecting to determine whether or not one of said displayed first group of figures overlaps another of said displayed first group of figures.

14. A program storage medium according to claim 13,

wherein each of said first group of figures of said pieces of equipment includes a space for opening and closing a maintenance door included in one of said pieces of equipment which said each figure represents;

wherein said inspecting step inspects whether one of said displayed first group of figures is spaced from another of said displayed first group of figures at least by amount required for opening of the maintenance door of each of said one displayed figure and said another displayed figure.

15. A program storage medium according to claim 13, wherein said deciding step of installation locations further includes sub-steps of:

moving one of said first group of displayed figures corresponding to a user-specified one of said first group of pieces of equipment to a user-specified location on said first installation area; and

executing said inspecting unit with said moved figure.

16. A program storage medium according to claim 13, wherein said deciding step of installation locations further includes the steps of:

displaying a drawing of a second installation area of said space on a second display area of said display screen;

displaying a second group of figures of a user-specified second group of pieces of equipment on said second installation area;

moving one of said first group of figures corresponding to a user-specified one of said first group of pieces of equipment, to a user-specified location on said second installation area; and

inspecting to determine whether or not said one moved displayed figure overlaps one of said displayed second group of figures.

17. A program storage medium according to claim 16, wherein said first and second display areas are manipulated by means of a multi-window function.

18. A program storage medium according to claim 13, wherein said deciding step of installation locations further includes a sub-step of displaying a relevant instruction on said display screen, when an overlap of one of said first group of figures on another thereof has been detected at said inspecting step.

19. A program storage medium according to claim 13, wherein said deciding step of installation locations further includes the sub-steps of:

creating a drawing of said first installation area in a first virtual-screen buffer;

creating said first group of figures of said first group of pieces of equipment in a second virtual screen buffer;

superimposing contents of said first and second virtual-screen buffers on each other in a real screen buffer; and

displaying contents of said real-screen buffer on said display screen.

20. A program storage medium according to claim 1, wherein said program is programmed so as to further execute a step of creating an apparatus attribute values table including characteristics of said pieces of equipment, based upon data stored in an equipment library file and installation locations of said pieces of equipment decided by said deciding step of installation locations.

21. A program storage medium according to claim 20, wherein said apparatus attribute values table includes, for said pieces of equipment, names, amounts of dissipated heat, amounts of consumed electrical power, allowable lengths of a signal cable, allowable numbers of daisy-chained units and coordinate values of installation locations decided by said deciding step of installation locations.

22. A program storage medium according to claim 1, wherein said program is programmed so as to further execute a step of creating an environment attribute values table, after installation locations of said pieces of equipment have been decided;

wherein said environment attribute values table includes data on cooling capacity of cooling equipment predetermined for said installation area and power supply capacity of a power supply device predetermined for said installation area.

23. A program storage medium according to claim 1, wherein said program is programmed so as to further execute the steps of:

comparing a total amount of heat dissipated by said pieces of equipment to a cooling capacity predetermined for said installation area; and

displaying a corresponding warning message in said display screen, if said total amount of said dissipated heat exceeds said cooling capacity for said installation area.

24. A program storage medium according to claim 23, wherein said comparing step is executed, by using data included in both said apparatus attribute values table created by said creating step of claim 20 and said environment attribute values table created by said creating step of claim 22.

25. A program storage medium according to claim 1, wherein said program is programmed so as to further execute the steps of:

comparing total amount of electrical power consumed by said pieces of equipment to power supply capacity predetermined for said installation area; and

displaying a corresponding warning message in said display screen, if said total amount of consumed electrical power exceeds said power supply capacity.

26. A program storage medium according to claim 25, wherein said comparing step is executed, by using data included in both said apparatus attribute values table created by said creating step of claim 20 and said environment attribute values table created by said creating step of claim 22.

27. A program storage medium according to claim 1, wherein said data for aiding includes data representing instructions on signal-cables which connect said plurality of pieces of equipment with each other.

28. A program storage medium according to claim 1, wherein said deciding step of mutual connection includes a step of inspecting appropriateness of connection by cables between said pieces of equipment, in response to specifying of said connection by the user, after installation locations of said pieces of equipment have been decided.

29. A program storage medium according to claim 28, wherein said data for aiding includes data representing a layout drawing of said pieces of equipment together with signal cables connecting said plurality of pieces of equipment.

30. A program storage medium according to claim 28, wherein said data for aiding includes data representing instructions on signal-cables which connect said plurality of pieces of equipment with each other.

31. A program storage medium according to claim 1, wherein said deciding step of mutual connection includes the sub-steps of:

displaying connection of signal cables which connect figures of user-specified ones of said pieces of equipment displayed on said displayed drawing of said installation area; and

inspecting appropriateness of said connection of said signal cables.

32. A program storage medium according to claim 31, wherein said data for aiding includes data representing a layout drawing of said pieces of equipment together with signal cables connecting said plurality of pieces of equipment.

33. A program storage medium according to claim 31, wherein said data for aiding includes data representing instructions on signal-cables which connect said plurality of pieces of equipment with each other.

34. A program storage medium according to claim 31, wherein said sub-step of inspecting appropriateness of said connection of signal cables includes inspecting a number of daisy-chains of each of said pieces of equipment required by the connection exceeds a maximum number of daisy-chains allowable for said each piece of equipment.

35. A program storage medium according to claim 31, wherein said sub-step of inspecting appropriateness of said connection of signal cables includes inspecting whether a sum of lengths of signal cables connected to each piece of equipment exceeds a maximum cable length allowable for said piece of equipment.

36. A program storage medium according to claim 31, wherein said inspecting step is executed, by using data included in said apparatus attribute values table created by said creating step of claim 20.

37. A program storage medium according to claim 31,

wherein said deciding step of mutual connection further includes a sub-step of creating equipment-characteristic tables each corresponding to one of pieces of equipment, after mutual connection of said pieces of equipment has been decided;

wherein one of said equipment-characteristic tables corresponding to one of said pieces of equipment including information for specifying another one of said pieces of equipment to which said corresponding one of said pieces of equipment is connected.

38. A program storage medium according to claim 31, wherein said deciding step of mutual connection further includes a sub-step of displaying connection of power-supply cables to a user-specified one of said pieces of equipment displayed on said displayed drawing of said installation area.

39. A program storage medium according to claim 38, wherein said data for aiding includes data representing a layout drawing of said pieces of equipment together with signal cables and power-supply cables connecting said plurality of pieces of equipment.

40. A program storage medium according to claim 38, wherein said data for aiding includes data representing instructions on power-supply cables which connect said plurality of pieces of equipment to a plurality of power-supply breakers.

41. A program storage medium according to claim 1, wherein said deciding step of mutual connection includes the sub-steps of:

displaying in said display screen, a drawing of said installation area and figures pieces of equipment with their installation locations already decided; and

displaying connection of power-supply cables to a user-specified one of said pieces of equipment displayed on said displayed drawing of said installation area.

42. A program storage medium according to claim 41, wherein said data for aiding includes data representing a layout drawing of said pieces of equipment together with signal cables and power-supply cables connecting said plurality of pieces of equipment.

43. A program storage medium according to claim 41, wherein said data for aiding includes data representing instructions on power-supply cables which connect said plurality of pieces of equipment to a plurality of power-supply breakers.

44. A program storage medium according to claim 41, wherein said sub-step of displaying power-supply connection includes the steps of:

selecting one of breakers provided in a distribution board that satisfies power-supply requirement set for said one user-specified piece of equipment; and

drawing a power-supply cable from said selected breaker to said user-specified piece of equipment.

45. A program storage medium according to claim 41, wherein said deciding step of mutual connection further includes the sub-steps of:

creating power-supply characteristic tables each for one of said power-supply cables, one of said tables for one of said power-supply cables including characteristic of a power-supply relevant to said one power-supply cable and the length of said one power-supply cable; and

storing in a file, said power-supply characteristic tables and information representing a drawing of an installation area including pieces of equipment connected to said power-supply cables.

46. A program storage medium according to claim 1, wherein said data for aiding includes data representing a work specification manual for use in carrying out installation work.

47. A program storage medium according to claim 46, wherein said work specification manual includes a layout drawing of said pieces of equipment together with signal cables and power-supply cables connecting said plurality of equipment, instructions on signal-cables to connect said plurality of pieces of equipment with each other and instructions on power-supply cables to connect said plurality of pieces of equipment to a plurality of power-supply breakers.

5. A program storage medium which stores a program for aiding arrangement of a plurality of pieces of equipment into a space for a computer center, by using a computer, wherein each of the plurality of pieces of equipment comprises a processor or an auxiliary storage device, wherein said program is programmed so as to cause the following steps to be executed by said computer:

deciding mutual connection between said plurality of pieces of equipment through an interactive operation with a user, by using a plurality of figures displayed on a display device connected to said computer; and

generating data representing a logical configuration drawing which shows mutual logical connection of said plurality of pieces of equipment, based on said mutual connection decided for said plurality of pieces of equipment and characteristics thereof.

6. A program storage medium according to claim 5,

wherein said plurality of pieces of equipment comprise at least one processor which uses a plurality of channels, and a plurality of auxiliary storage devices used by said at least one processor;

wherein said step of deciding the connection includes a step of deciding connection of said plurality of channels and said plurality of auxiliary storage devices;

wherein said data representing said logical configuration drawing comprises data which shows logical connection of said plurality of channels and said plurality of auxiliary storage devices.

7. A program storage medium according to claim 5,

wherein said plurality of pieces of equipment comprise a plurality of processors each for constituting one of a plurality of servers and a plurality of auxiliary storage devices each used by either one of said plurality of servers;

wherein said step of deciding the connection includes a step of deciding connection of said plurality of processors and said plurality of auxiliary storage devices;

wherein said data representing said logical configuration drawing comprises data which shows logical connection of said plurality of processors and said plurality of auxiliary storage devices.

8. A program storage medium which stores a program for aiding arrangement of a plurality of pieces of equipment into a space for a computer center, by using a computer, wherein each of the plurality of pieces of equipment comprises a processor or an auxiliary storage device, wherein said program is programmed so as to cause the following steps to be executed by said computer:

deciding appropriate installation locations of said plurality of pieces of equipment through an interactive operation with a user, by using a drawing of said space displayed on a display device connected to said computer;

deciding mutual connection between said plurality of pieces of equipment, based on an instruction by the user, after said installation locations of said plurality of pieces of equipment have been decided; and

generating data for operating said plurality of pieces of equipment, based on said mutual connection decided for said plurality of pieces of equipment and characteristics thereof.

9. A program storage medium according to claim 8,

wherein said plurality of pieces of equipment comprise at least one processor which uses a plurality of channels and a plurality of auxiliary storage devices which said at least one processor uses;

wherein said data comprises at least data for enabling said at least one processor to use said plurality of auxiliary storage devices.

10. A program storage medium according to claim 9,

wherein said data for enabling said at least one processor to use said plurality of auxiliary storage devices comprises a plurality of configuration defining parameters used in system generation processing executed by an operating system which controls said at least one processor.

11. A program storage medium according to claim 8,

wherein said plurality of pieces of equipment comprise a plurality of processors each for constituting one of a plurality of servers and a plurality of auxiliary storage devices each used by either one of said plurality of servers;

wherein said data includes data which each processor needs to use at least one auxiliary storage device connected thereto.

12. A program storage medium according to claim 11, wherein said data which each processor needs comprises data each processor needs when said each processor activates at least one auxiliary storage device connected thereto.

48. A method of aiding arrangement of a plurality of pieces of equipment into a space for a computer center, by using a computer, wherein each of the plurality of pieces of equipment comprises a processor or an auxiliary storage device, comprising the steps of:

deciding appropriate installation locations of said plurality of pieces of equipment through an interactive operation with a user, by using a drawing of said space displayed on a display device connected to said computer;

deciding mutual connection between said plurality of pieces of equipment, based on an instruction by the user, after said installation locations of said plurality of pieces of equipment have been decided; and

generating data for aiding work to install said plurality of pieces of equipment at said computer center, based on said installation locations and said mutual connection decided for said plurality of pieces of equipment.

49. A method according to claim 48, wherein said data comprises at least data representing a connection-completed equipment layout drawing which shows arrangement and connection of said plurality of pieces of equipment.

50. A method according to claim 48,

wherein said plurality of pieces of equipment comprise at least one processor which uses a plurality of channels and a plurality of auxiliary storage devices which said at least one processor uses;

wherein said step of deciding the connection includes a step of deciding connection of said plurality of channels and said plurality of auxiliary storage devices.

51. A method according to claim 48,

wherein said plurality of pieces of equipment comprise a plurality of processors each for constituting one of a plurality of servers and a plurality of auxiliary storage devices each used by either one of said plurality of servers;

wherein said step of deciding the connection includes a step of deciding connection of said plurality of processors and said plurality of auxiliary storage devices.

52. A method of aiding arrangement of a plurality of pieces of equipment into a space for a computer center, by using a computer, wherein each of the plurality of pieces of equipment comprises a processor or an auxiliary storage device, comprising the steps of:

deciding mutual connection between said plurality of pieces of equipment through an interactive operation with a user, by using a plurality of figures displayed on a display device connected to said computer; and

generating data representing a logical configuration drawing which shows mutual logical connection of said plurality of pieces of equipment, based on said mutual connection decided for said plurality of pieces of equipment and characteristics thereof.

53. A method according to claim 52,

wherein said plurality of pieces of equipment comprise at least one processor which uses a plurality of channels, and a plurality of auxiliary storage devices used by said at least one processor;

wherein said step of deciding the connection includes a step of deciding connection of said plurality of channels and said plurality of auxiliary storage devices;

wherein said data representing said logical configuration drawing comprises data which shows logical connection of said plurality of channels and said plurality of auxiliary storage devices.

54. A method according to claim 52, wherein said plurality of pieces of equipment comprise a plurality of processors each for constituting one of a plurality of servers and a plurality of auxiliary storage devices each used by either one of said plurality of servers;

wherein said step of deciding the connection includes a step of deciding connection of said plurality of processors and said plurality of auxiliary storage devices;

wherein said data representing said logical configuration drawing comprises data which shows logical connection of said plurality of processors and said plurality of auxiliary storage devices.

55. A method of aiding arrangement of a plurality of pieces of equipment into a space for a computer center, by using a computer, wherein each of the plurality of pieces of equipment comprises a processor or an auxiliary storage device, comprising the steps of:

deciding appropriate installation locations of said plurality of pieces of equipment through an interactive operation with a user, by using a drawing of said space displayed on a display device connected to said computer;

deciding mutual connection between said plurality of pieces of equipment, based on an instruction by the user, after said installation locations of said plurality of pieces of equipment have been decided; and

generating data for operating said plurality of pieces of equipment, based on said mutual connection decided for said plurality of pieces of equipment and characteristics thereof.

56. A method according to claim 55,

wherein said plurality of pieces of equipment comprise at least one processor which uses a plurality of channels and a plurality of auxiliary storage devices which said at least one processor uses;

wherein said data comprises at least data for enabling said at least one processor to use said plurality of auxiliary storage devices.

57. A method according to claim 56,

wherein said data for enabling said at least one processor to use said plurality of auxiliary storage devices comprises a plurality of configuration defining parameters used in system generation processing executed by an operating system which controls said at least one processor.

58. A method according to claim 55,

wherein said plurality of pieces of equipment comprise a plurality of processors each for constituting one of a plurality of servers and a plurality of auxiliary storage devices each used by either one of said plurality of servers;

wherein said data includes data which each processor needs to use at least one auxiliary storage device connected thereto.

59. A method according to claim 58, wherein said data which each processor needs comprises data each processor needs when said each processor activates at least one auxiliary storage device connected thereto.