Pushing attribute information to storage devices for network topology access

• US 6,754,718 B1
• Filed: 05/10/2000
• Issued: 06/22/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Ericson, George M., Bauer, Andreas L., Todd, Stephen James, Hopkins, Charles H., Sykes, Timothy D., Nicoletti, Jennifer Lyn Milliken, OʼBrien, Walter A. III, Dobberpuhl, Walter T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lim, Krisna
• Application Number:
  US09/568,386
• Time in Patent Office: 1,504 Days
• Field of Search: 709/213, 709/250, 709/227, 707/200
• US Class Current: 709/250
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0635 by changing the path, e.g. traffic rerouting, path reconfiguration
• 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 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies

Abstract

A method apparatus and computer program product for providing access to host attribute information in a storage area network is disclosed. The storage area network is composed of a plurality of hosts coupled to at least one initiator. Each initiator is coupled to one or more targets and each initiator has an associated identifier. In each host, the identifier of the initiator is related to other host attribute information. The identifier may be, for example, a world wide name. The host attribute information including the identifier is sent from each of the plurality of hosts to the one or more targets and stored in memory of an associated storage array. Either a host or requestor remote from the storage array may request the collected host attribute information from the storage array. A topology of the storage area network may then be formed from the host attribute information of each host.

Claims

1. A method for providing access to host attribute information in a storage area network wherein the storage area network is composed of a plurality of hosts coupled to at least one initiator, each initiator coupled to one or more targets and each initiator having an associated worldwide name, the method comprising:

in each host, relating the worldwide name of the initiator to other host attribute information; and

sending the host attribute information including the worldwide name from each of the plurality of hosts to the one or more targets;

storing the host attribute information for each host including the associated world wide name in a memory location in a storage array coupled to the target;

from a remote location relative to the storage area network, requesting from a host a topology of the storage area network;

retrieving at a host, host attribute information from the storage array;

creating a topology based on the host attribute information retrieved from the storage array; and

sending the topology to the remote location.

2. A method for providing access to host attribute information in a storage area network wherein the storage area network is composed of a plurality of hosts coupled to at least one initiator, each initiator coupled to one or more targets and each initiator having an associated worldwide name, the method comprising:

in each host, relating the worldwide name of the initiator to other host attribute information; and

sending the host attribute information including the worldwide name from each of the plurality of hosts to the one or more targets;

storing the host attribute information for each host including the associated world wide name in a memory location in a storage array coupled to the target;

remote from the storage area network, retrieving the host attribute information from the storage array;

creating a topology of the storage area network based on the host attribute information retrieved from the storage array; and

displaying the topology of the storage area network.

3. A method for providing access to host attribute information in a storage area network wherein the storage area network is composed of a plurality of hosts coupled to at least one initiator, each initiator coupled to one or more targets and each initiator having an associated worldwide name, the method comprising:

in each host, relating the worldwide name of the initiator to other host attribute information; and

sending the host attribute information including the worldwide name from each of the plurality of hosts to the one or more targets;

storing the host attribute information for each host including the associated world wide name in a memory location in a storage array coupled to the target;

from a remote location remote from the storage area network, retrieving host attribute information from the storage array;

in a processor associated with the storage array creating a topology of the storage area network based on the host attribute information;

sending the topology to the remote location; and

displaying the topology of the storage area network.

4. A computer program product operative on a computer for providing access to host attribute information in a storage area network wherein the storage area network is composed of a plurality of hosts coupled to at least one initiator, each initiator coupled to one or more storage arrays and each initiator having an associated identifier, the computer program product comprising:

computer code, in each host, for relating the identifier of the initiator to the other host attribute information; and

computer code for sending the host attribute information from each of the plurality of hosts to the one or more storage arrays;

computer code for retrieving host attribute information from the storage array in response to a remote request from a remote processor; and

computer code for creating a topology of the storage area network; and

computer code for sending the topology to the remote processor.