Primary and secondary management commands for a peripheral connected to multiple agents

• US 6,742,059 B1
• Filed: 02/04/2000
• Issued: 05/25/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Bauer, Andreas, Todd, Stephen, Dobberpuhl, Walter T., Spencer, David Kurt
• Primary Examiner(s): Wiley, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): NEURAUTER, GEORGE C
• Application Number:
  US09/498,287
• Time in Patent Office: 1,572 Days
• Field of Search: 710/15-19, 710/10, 709/223, 709/224, 709/219
• US Class Current: 710/19
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

There is disclosed a client-server configuration including a peripheral device wherein multiple servers interface with both the client and the peripheral. Management software for determining the operating state of the peripheral, known as server agent software, is employed in the multiple servers under control of the client. In order to avoid conflicting information reflecting multiple operating states of the peripheral, a primary/secondary algorithm is used to enable the client to determine only one peripheral operating state while allowing each server to also verify its connectivity to the peripheral and to the client.

Claims

1. A computer system including a client, a plurality of servers each being connected to said client, and a peripheral device currently participating in said system and currently being managed by said plurality of servers, said computer system comprising:

means, contained within said client for initiating a primary request through no more than one of said plurality of servers for state changes occurring in said peripheral device;

means, contained within each of said plurality of servers and capable of responding to operation of said initiating means, for reporting said state changes to said client through said one of said plurality of servers;

means, contained within said client and responsive to operation of said reporting means successfully reporting said state changes to said client through said one of said servers, for initiating at least one secondary request through other of said plurality of servers for state changes occurring in said peripheral device; and

,

said reporting means further including (a) means for differentiating said primary request from said secondary request, and (b) means responsive to operation of said differentiating means for reporting a primary level of information detail to said client if responding to said primary request and for reporting a secondary level of information detail to said client through said other of said plurality of servers if responding to said secondary request.

2. The computer system of claim 1 and wherein said primary level of information detail is complete state change information and said secondary level of information detail does not conflict with said complete state change information.

3. The computer system of claim 2 and wherein said secondary level of information detail is less than said primary level of information detail.

4. The computer system of claim 3 and wherein said secondary level of information detail is limited to particular information associated with a particular one of said plurality of servers.

5. The computer system of claim 4 and wherein said particular information is the state of the connection of said particular one of said servers to said peripheral device.

6. The computer system of claim 5 and wherein said state of connection is a connection-failure-object.

11. The computer system of claim 1:

wherein said primary request has a primary request time stamp indicating time of occurrence of last most previous primary request and each of said state changes has a respective state change time stamp indicating time of occurrence of said respective state change; and

,

wherein those of said changes are reported to said client for which said primary request time stamp is older than said respective state change time stamp.

12. The computer system of claim 11 wherein said primary level of information detail is complete state change information and said secondary level of information detail does not conflict with said complete state change information.

13. The computer system of claim 12 wherein said secondary level of information detail is less than said primary level of information detail.

14. The computer system of claim 13 wherein said secondary level of information detail is limited to particular information associated with a particular one of said plurality of servers.

15. The computer system of claim 14 wherein said particular information is state of connection of said particular one of said servers to said peripheral device.

16. The computer system of claim 15 wherein said state of connection is a connection-failure-object.

7. In a computer system including a client, a plurality of servers each having a cache memory and each of said servers being connected to said client, and a peripheral device currently participating in said system and connected to and currently being managed by each of said servers, methodology to be practiced on said computer system for assessing said peripheral device'"'"'s state change status stored in each said cache memory, said methodology comprising the following steps:

1. said client generating a request for said state change status from and through one of said servers;

2. determining if said state change status request is a primary or secondary request;

3. if primary, said one of said servers providing a complete state change status to said client;

4. if secondary, said one of said servers providing a limited state change status which does not conflict with said complete state change status, to said client; and

,

5. repeating steps (1) through (4) hereinabove until each said one of said servers has provided said complete state change status or said limited state change status to said client, with said complete state change status being provided only in response to said primary request.

8. The methodology of claim 7, and wherein said limited state change status is a connection-failure-object, further including the steps of:

detecting said connection-failure-object; and

unless said primary request had been generated and completed whereby a complete state change status was reported, generating said primary request as the next request.

9. The methodology of claim 7, and wherein said peripheral device has multiple ports, further including the step of conducting said request through each one of said ports via said each of said servers.

10. The methodology of claim 8, and wherein said peripheral device has multiple ports, further including the step of conducting said request through each one of said ports via said each of said servers.

17. The methodology of claim 7 wherein said state change status is stored in each said cache memory with a state change time stamp identifying when said state change status was entered into said cache memory and wherein said primary request has a primary request date stamp identifying when said state change status was last reported to said client, said methodology further comprising:

if said state change status request is said primary request, providing a complete state status to said client if said primary request time stamp is older than said state change time stamp.

18. The methodology of claim 17 wherein said limited state change status is a connection-failure-object, further comprising:

detecting said connection-failure-object; and

unless said primary request had been generated and completed whereby a complete state change status was reported, generating said primary request as a next request.

19. The methodology of claim 17 wherein said peripheral device has multiple ports, further including the step of conducting said request through each one of said ports via said each of said servers.

20. The methodology of claim 18 wherein said peripheral device has multiple ports, further including the step of conducting said request through each one of said ports via said each of said servers.