Method and apparatus for managing data caching in a distributed computer system
First Claim
1. A method for managing a data caching service from a management terminal in a distributed computer system having a host computer system with a host memory and at least one storage device connected to the computer system by driver software, the method comprising:
- (a) inserting an interface layer between the driver software and the storage device, the interface layer exporting a platform dependent API comprising a plurality of API methods that can be called to control data passing between the driver software and the storage device;
(b) running, in the host computer system, management facade software that receives calls to platform-independent methods and generates at least one API method call to the interface layer in order to execute the platform-independent method calls;
(c) running, in the host computer system, a federated bean that generates platform-independent method calls to the management facade software to control the interface layer via the plurality of API methods; and
(d) controlling the federated bean to enable a data read cache by instructing the interface layer to intercept requests for data from the storage device and, if the data is in the host memory, to retrieve the data from the host memory, and to retrieve the data from the storage device if the data is not in the host memory.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A three-tiered data caching system is used on a distributed computer system comprising hosts connected by a network. The lowest tier comprises management facade software running on each machine that converts a platform-dependent interface written with low-level kernel routines that actually implement the data caching system to platform-independent method calls. The middle tier is a set of federated Java beans that communicate with each other, with the management facades and with the upper tier of the system. The upper tier of the inventive system comprises presentation programs that can be directly manipulated by management personnel to view and control the system. In one embodiment, the federated Java beans can run on any machine in the system and communicate, via the network. A data caching management facade runs on selected hosts and at least one data caching bean also runs on those hosts. The data caching bean communicates directly with a management GUI or CLI and is controlled by user commands generated by the GUI or CLI. Therefore, a manager can configure and control the data caching system from a single location.
34 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method for managing a data caching service from a management terminal in a distributed computer system having a host computer system with a host memory and at least one storage device connected to the computer system by driver software, the method comprising:
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(a) inserting an interface layer between the driver software and the storage device, the interface layer exporting a platform dependent API comprising a plurality of API methods that can be called to control data passing between the driver software and the storage device; (b) running, in the host computer system, management facade software that receives calls to platform-independent methods and generates at least one API method call to the interface layer in order to execute the platform-independent method calls; (c) running, in the host computer system, a federated bean that generates platform-independent method calls to the management facade software to control the interface layer via the plurality of API methods; and (d) controlling the federated bean to enable a data read cache by instructing the interface layer to intercept requests for data from the storage device and, if the data is in the host memory, to retrieve the data from the host memory, and to retrieve the data from the storage device if the data is not in the host memory. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. Apparatus for managing a data caching service from a management terminal in a distributed computer system having a host computer system with a host memory and at least one storage device connected to the computer system by driver software, the apparatus comprising:
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an interface layer inserted between the driver software and the storage device, the interface layer exporting a platform dependent API comprising a plurality of API methods that can be called to control data passing between the driver software and the storage device; management facade software that runs in the host computer system and receives calls to platform-independent methods and generates at least one API method call to the interface layer in order to execute the platform-independent method calls; a federated bean that runs in the host computer system and generates platform-independent method calls to the management facade software to control the interface layer via the plurality of API methods; and a presentation program that controls the federated bean to enable a data read cache by instructing the interface layer to intercept requests for data from the storage device and, if the data is in the host memory, to retrieve the data from the host memory, and to retrieve the data from the storage device if the data is not in the host memory. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A computer program product for managing a data caching service from a management terminal in a distributed computer system having a host computer system with a host memory and at least one storage device connected to the computer system by driver software, the computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code thereon, including:
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an interface layer inserted between the driver software and the storage device, the interface layer exporting a platform dependent API comprising a plurality of API methods that can be called in order to control data passing between the driver software and the storage device; management facade software that runs in the host computer system and receives calls to platform-independent methods and generates at least one API method call to the interface layer in order to execute the platform-independent method calls; federated bean software that runs in the host computer system and generates platform-independent method calls to the management facade software to control the interface layer via the plurality of API methods; and a presentation program that controls the federated bean to enable a data read cache by instructing the interface layer to intercept requests for data from the storage device and, if the data is in the host memory, to retrieve the data from the host memory, and to retrieve the data from the storage device if the data is not in the host memory. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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25. A computer program stored in a computer readable device for managing a data caching service from a management terminal in a distributed computer system having a host computer system with a host memory and at least one storage device connected to the computer system by driver software, the computer program comprising:
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program code for creating an interface layer inserted between the driver software and the storage device, the interface layer exporting a platform dependent API comprising a plurality of API methods than can be called to control data passing between the driver software and the storage device; management facade software that runs in the host computer system and receives calls to platform-independent methods and generates at least one API method call to the interface layer in order to execute the platform-independent method calls; federated bean software that runs in the host computer system and generates method calls to the management facade software to control the interface layer via the plurality of API methods; and a presentation program that controls the federated bean to enable the data read cache by instructing the interface layer to intercept requests for data from the storage device and, if the data is in the host memory, to retrieve the data from the host memory, and to retrieve the data from the storage device if the data is not in the host memory.
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Specification