Method and apparatus for storage system metrics management and archive

• US 6,886,020 B1
• Filed: 08/17/2000
• Issued: 04/26/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Arnan, Ron, Zahavi, William, Sapiro, Lee W., Thammavong, Saymai
• Primary Examiner(s): CHANNAVAJJALA, SRIRAMA T
• Application Number:
  US09/641,227
• Time in Patent Office: 1,713 Days
• Field of Search: 707 1- 10, 707100-1041, 707200-206, 711 1- 10, 711160-175, 711110-118, 711150-155, 714/1, 714/6, 714/13, 714/7, 709220-228
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3452 Performance evaluation by statistical analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3476 Data logging G06F11/14, G06F11/2205 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3485 for I/O devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/88 Monitoring involving counting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/00 Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99955 Archiving or backup

Abstract

A data management and archive method and apparatus, such as for implementation in an automated system to monitor and manage status, performance and configuration data for a plurality of networked storage components. Analysis and cross-correlation of data related to the plurality of storage components can be done individually, collectively and/or comparatively. A collection manager component of a workload analyzer is implemented to start and stop data collection in the context of a system comprising at least one storage component (or at least two networked storage components). The collection manager includes a command and control module that coordinates requests of data from at least one collection agent configured on at least one host connected to the storage component(s).

Claims

1. Apparatus for managing and archiving performance information relating to a storage system receiving/transferring data from/to a host computer, comprising:

a collection agent configured to collect storage system performance information from said storage system;

a command and control mechanism interfaced to said collection agent issuing commands to said collection agent and receiving said storage system performance information from said collection agent, said command and control mechanism issuing at least some commands to said collection agent to collect said storage system performance information according to a user defined policy;

a data manager receiving said storage system performance information from said command and control mechanism, wherein said data manager is configured to perform computation and conversion of said storage system performance information to generate computed metrics and converted metrics; and

archives receiving and storing at least one of said computed metrics and converted metrics from said data manager.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said collection agent is resident on said host computer.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said command and control mechanism is resident on an analyzer system connected to said host computer.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said user defined policy is stored in a policy file accessed by said command and control mechanism.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said command and control module issues commands to said collection agent to start or stop collection of said storage system performance information from said storage system.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said user defined policy is defined via a graphical user interface.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said user defined policy is defined via a user interface which is configured for the user to specify a storage system to be associated with a particular policy, and said particular policy including at least one of a time interval for collection of said storage system performance information, retention timing for said storage system performance information and shifts that define times for which said storage system performance information will be collected and grouped by shift association.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said shifts are defined as contiguous hours in a day and wherein a day can have more than one shift.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said data manager builds said archives selectably storing at least one of said computed metrics and converted metrics in said archives as a function of a location specified for all metrics associated with a particular storage system.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said data manager converts ASCII data received from said collection agent to binary data.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said data manager converts said storage system performance information in intervals of minutes into a base density unit of hours for storing in said archives.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said archives comprise hourly, daily, weekly and monthly archives.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least one of said computed metrics and converted metrics are stored in said archives in a format comprising a header block, a configuration block and a data block.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said header block describes types of metrics including base metrics and derived metrics computed using at least one base metrics.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 further including a performance viewing component that correlates at least one of said computed metrics and converted metrics with viewing of storage system configuration information.

16. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said storage system performance information includes at least one of system write pending count, volume number, reads per second, writes per second, director number, read misses per second, system write pending per second, device write pending per second, device name, total SCSI command per second and read comments per second.

17. A method for managing and archiving metrics relating to operation and performance of a storage system receiving/transferring data from/to a host computer, said method comprising the steps of:

collecting metrics relating to operation and performance of said storage system from said storage system at said host computer;

transferring said collected metrics from said host computer to an analysis system according to a user specified policy;

converting said collected metrics to a base density unit for time density compression; and

archiving said collected metrics according to said time density compression.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said step of collecting metrics from said storage system involves a collection agent running on said host computer.

19. The method of claim 18 further including the step of converting ASCII data received from said collection agent to binary data for archiving.

20. The method of claim 17 further including a step of specifying a collection policy including at least one of a time interval for collection of said metrics, retention timing for said metrics and shifts that define times for which metrics will be collected and grouped by shift association.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein said step of specifying a collection policy further includes designating shifts defined as contiguous hours in a day and wherein a day can have more than one shift.

22. The method of claim 17 wherein the step of archiving collected metrics involves archiving base metrics obtained from said storage system and further includes the step of computing derived metrics based on at least one base metrics.

23. The method of claim 17 wherein said step of archiving collected metrics involves archiving metrics as one of interval collected metrics, hourly collected metrics, daily collected metrics, weekly collected metrics and monthly collected metrics.