Method and apparatus for graphically displaying mapping of a logical object

• US 6,329,985 B1
• Filed: 06/30/1998
• Issued: 12/11/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Torrey, James H. Jr., Chen, Charlotte C., Tamer, Philip E., Hoffman, Jane E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh, Ba
• Application Number:
  US09/107,538
• Time in Patent Office: 1,260 Days
• Field of Search: 345/501, 345/506, 345/507, 345/508, 345/509, 345/516, 345/521, 345/526, 345/326, 345/339, 345/356, 345/525, 345/515, 345/511, 711/3, 711/6, 711/127, 711/137, 711/170, 711/203, 711/204, 711/205, 711/206, 711/207, 711/208, 711/209, 711/221, 711/202
• US Class Current: 715/853
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

A method and apparatus for manipulating data in a storage device that is coupled to a host computer. Manipulations that can be performed by the storage device include moving non-contiguous blocks of data between the host computer and the storage device in a single operation. Other manipulations can be performed directly by the storage device without passing data to or from the host computer and include copying data from one logical object that is defined on the host computer to another, initializing, backing-up, transforming, or securely deleting a logical object that is defined by the host computer with a single command. In one embodiment, an application programming interface is provided that allows a relationship between logical objects on a host computer and storage locations on a storage device to be communicated between the host computer and the storage device. By providing the storage device with knowledge of the relationship between a logical object and the storage locations corresponding to that logical object, data corresponding to the logical object can be manipulated directly by the storage device, rather than by the host computer. In another embodiment, a graphical visualization routine is provided that displays the global mapping of a logical object to a set of physical blocks on the storage device for each layer of mapping below the logical object.

Claims

1. In a computer system having a host computer, a storage device and a plurality of mapping layers that map logical objects on the host computer to storage locations on the storage device, a method of representing a mapping of a logical object comprising a step of:

(A) graphically displaying a single representation of the mapping of the logical object through at least two of the plurality of mapping layers that map the logical object from an application space on the host computer to storage locations on the storage device where data forming the logical object is stored.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein step (A) includes a step of displaying the mapping of the logical object pictorially and hierarchically.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein step (A) includes a step of displaying the mapping of the logical object in tabular form.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein step (A) includes a step of displaying the mapping through at least two layers that include a first mapping layer resident on the host computer and a second layer mapping resident on the storage device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the storage device includes a plurality of storage locations and a plurality of controllers that each controls access to a subset of the plurality of storage locations, wherein step (A) includes a step of displaying a single representation of the mapping of the logical object through the at least two of the plurality of mapping layers to the storage locations wherein the logical object is stored on the storage device, and wherein the method further includes a step of displaying, in the single representation, which of the plurality of controllers controls access to the storage locations wherein the logical object is stored on the storage device.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step of:

determining an ownership of the logical object in the application space of the host computer.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the at least two of the plurality of mapping layers is disposed on the host computer, and wherein the step (A) includes a step of graphically displaying a single representation of the mapping of the logical object from the application space to a layer that the host computer perceives to correspond to a physical storage layer within the storage device.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least two of the plurality of mapping layers include a first mapping layer disposed in the host computer and a second mapping layer disposed in the storage device, and wherein the step (A) includes a step of graphically displaying a single representation of the mapping of the logical object from the application space to a layer relating to the physical storage locations on the storage device where the data forming the logical object is stored.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the logical object is a file, and wherein step (A) includes a step of graphically displaying the single representation of the mapping of the file through the at least two of the plurality of mapping layers that map the file from the application space on the host computer to the storage locations on the storage device where the data forming the file is stored.

6. A host computer for use in a computer system including a storage device, the computer system including a plurality of mapping layers that map logical objects on the host computer to storage locations on the storage device, the host computer comprising:

at least one of the plurality of mapping layers that map logical objects on the host computer to storage locations on the storage device; and

a graphical user interface to graphically display a single representation of a mapping of a logical object through at least two of the plurality of mapping layers that map the logical object from an application space on the host computer to storage locations on the storage device where data forming the logical object is stored.

7. The host computer of claim 6, wherein the graphical user interface can display the mapping of the logical object pictorially and hierarchically.

8. The host computer of claim 6, wherein the graphical user interface can display the mapping of the logical object in tabular form.

9. The host computer of claim 6, wherein the graphical user interface can display the mapping through at least two layers that include a first mapping layer resident on the host computer and a second mapping layer resident on the storage device.

10. The host computer of claim 6, wherein the storage device includes a plurality of storage locations and a plurality of controllers that each controls access to a subset of the plurality of storage locations, wherein the graphical user interface can display a single representation of the mapping of the logical object through the at least two of the plurality of mapping layers to the storage locations wherein the logical object is stored on the storage device, and wherein the graphical user interface can further display, in the single representation, which of the plurality of controllers controls access to the storage locations wherein the logical object is stored on the storage device.

19. The host computer of claim 6, wherein the host computer includes each of the at least two of the plurality of mapping layers, and the graphical user interface graphically displays a single representation of the mapping of the logical object from the application space to a layer that the host computer perceives to correspond to a physical storage layer within the storage device.

20. The host computer of claim 6, wherein the at least two of the plurality of mapping layers include a first mapping layer disposed in the host computer and a second mapping layer disposed in the storage device, and wherein the graphical user interface graphically displays a single representation of the mapping of the logical object from the application space to a layer relating to the physical storage locations on the storage device where the data forming the logical object is stored.

11. A computer readable medium encoded with a program for execution on a host computer in a computer system including the host computer and a storage device that is coupled to the host computer, the computer system including a plurality of mapping layers that map logical objects on the host computer to storage locations on the storage device, the program, when executed on the host computer, performs a method comprising a step of:

(A) graphically displaying a single representation of the mapping of a logical object through at least two of the plurality of mapping layers that map the logical object from an application space on the host computer to storage locations on the storage device where data forming the logical object is stored.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein step (A) includes a step of displaying the mapping of the logical object pictorially and hierarchically.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein step (A) includes a step of displaying the mapping through at least two layers that include a first mapping layer resident on the host computer and a second layer mapping resident on the storage device.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the storage device includes a plurality of storage locations and a plurality of controllers that each controls access to a subset of the plurality of storage locations, wherein step (A) includes a step of displaying a single representation of the mapping of the logical object through the at least two of the plurality of mapping layers to the storage locations wherein the logical object is stored on the storage device, and wherein the method further includes a step of displaying, in the single representation, which of the plurality of controllers controls access to the storage locations wherein the logical object is stored on the storage device.

21. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the method performed by the program further comprises a step of:

determining an ownership of the logical object in the application space of the host computer.

22. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the logical object is a file, and wherein step (A) includes a step of graphically displaying the single representation of the mapping of the file through the at least two of the plurality of mapping layers that map the file from the application space on the host computer to the storage locations on the storage device where the data forming the file is stored.

23. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein each of the at least two of the plurality of mapping layers is disposed on the host computer, and wherein the step (A) includes a step of graphically displaying a single representation of the mapping of the logical object from the application space to a layer that the host computer perceives to correspond to a physical storage layer within the storage device.

24. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the at least two of the plurality of mapping layers include a first mapping layer disposed in the host computer and a second mapping layer disposed in the storage device, and wherein the step (A) includes a step of graphically displaying a single representation of the mapping of the logical object from the application space to a layer relating to the physical storage locations on the storage device where the data forming the logical object is stored.