Storage area network management system, method, and computer-readable medium

• US 7,103,653 B2
• Filed: 02/09/2001
• Issued: 09/05/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Iwatani, Sawao
• Primary Examiner(s): VU, THONG H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ford, Susan
• Application Number:
  US09/779,844
• Publication Number:
  US 20010054093A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,034 Days
• Field of Search: 709/223, 709/213, 709/218, 709/221, 709/249, 709/200, 709/227, 709/206, 709/214, 709/231, 709/232, 709/246, 709/238, 709/239, 370/254, 370/352, 710/36, 710/105, 713/201, 714/6, 700/5, 711/114, 711/6
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/08 Configuration management of networks or network elements address allocation H04L61/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0816 the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0866 Checking the configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0883 Semiautomatic configuration, e.g. proposals from system

Abstract

An integrated management mechanism of a storage area network (SAN) integrates and manages a traditionally dispersed security system from a single source and automates security management in the SAN. The integrated management mechanism integrates and manages the SAN, and is configured so that access relationships of the host computers and the storage devices of the SAN are managed using the integrated management mechanism. An access path on the integrated management mechanism, including a region of the storage devices to which access is attempted from the host computer, the fiber channel adapters used when accessing that storage, and the host bus adapters (HBA) are configured. Based on the access path information configured, the integrated management mechanism establishes respective storage settings, zoning settings, and accessible region permissions for a SAN management mechanism of the host computer, a zoning settings mechanism of the switch, and a storage management mechanism of the storage device.

Claims

1. A storage area network (SAN) management system comprising:

host computers, each comprising a storage area network management mechanism;

storage devices, each comprising a storage management mechanism;

switches coupled to the host computers and to the storage devices, said switches interconnecting the host computers and the storage devices, each of the switches comprising a region-setting mechanism; and

an integrated management mechanism to manage the SAN according to a process comprising;

obtaining access route information of the host computers and the storage devices;

setting up a storage affinity for each host, a switch zoning affinity for each switch, and a host affinity for each storage device, as a SAN configuration setting information based on said obtained access route information;

transmitting access management information to the storage devices and to the storage area network management mechanisms of the host computers, based upon the set storage affinity for a host computer;

transmitting region information to the region-setting mechanisms of the switches, based upon the set switch zoning affinity; and

transmitting access limit information concerning the host computers to the storage management mechanisms of the storage devices, based upon the set host affinity for a storage device.

2. The storage area network management system as in claim 1, wherein the integrated management mechanism obtains a configuration status of the storage area network from each of the storage devices, the switches, and the host computers and stores said configuration status as the storage area network configuration settings information, and wherein at regular intervals, or when instructed by a system administrator, the integrated management mechanism gathers current configuration status of the storage area network, compares the current configuration status to the configuration settings information that was collected, and detects discrepancies based upon the comparison.

3. The storage area network management system as in claim 1, wherein the integrated management mechanism obtains information on access relationships as the access route information, from the host computer storage area network management mechanism, switches and/or the storage devices, and checks compatibility of the access route information and, if the integrated management mechanism finds any access routes which are not set up correctly, sends a notice about problems in a section corresponding thereto.

4. Host computers in a storage area network system (SAN) including storage devices and switches interconnecting the storage devices and the host computers, each host computer comprising:

an integrated management mechanism to integrate and manage the SAN according to a process comprising;

obtaining access route information of the host computers and the storage devices;

setting up a storage affinity for each host, a switch zoning affinity for each switch, and a host affinity for each storage device, as a SAN configuration setting information based on said obtained access route information;

transmitting access management information to the storage devices and to storage area network management mechanisms of the host computers, based upon the set storage affinity for a host computer;

transmitting region information to region-setting mechanisms of the switches, based upon the set switch zoning affinity; and

transmitting access limit information concerning the host computers to storage management mechanisms of the storage devices, based upon the set host affinity for a storage device.

5. A switch in a storage area network system (SAN) including storage devices, host computers, and an integrated management mechanism integrating and managing the SAN, said switch comprising:

a region-setting mechanism carrying out storage device region access path settings, according to a process comprising;

receiving storage device region access path information, from the integrated management mechanism, and

setting access path information to a storage device region, based on the storage device region access path settings received from the integrated management mechanism,

wherein said switch communicatively interconnects the storage devices and the host computers according to the setting of the access path information according to the integrated management mechanism.

6. A storage device in a storage area network system (SAN) including host computers and switches that interconnect the host computers and the storage device, and an integrated management mechanism integrating and managing the storage area network system, said storage device comprising:

a storage management mechanism to establish conditions of access restrictions for the storage device according to a process comprising;

receiving storage device access restriction information, from the integrated management mechanism, and

establishing an access restriction condition to the storage device based on the storage device access restriction information transmitted by the integrated management mechanism.

7. An apparatus provided in a storage area network (SAN) including storage devices including storage management mechanisms, host computers including storage area network management mechanisms, and switches having a region setting mechanism and interconnecting the storage devices and the host computers, said apparatus comprising:

an integrated management mechanism to integrate and manage the SAN according to a process comprising;

obtaining access route information of the host computers and the storage devices;

setting up a storage affinity for each host, a switch zoning affinity for each switch, and a host affinity for each storage device, as a SAN configuration setting information based on said obtained access route information;

transmitting access management information to the storage devices and to the storage area network management mechanisms of the host computers, based upon the set storage affinity for a host computer;

transmitting region information to the switch region-setting mechanism of the switches based upon the set switch zoning affinity, and

transmitting access restriction information concerning the host computers to the storage management mechanisms of the storage devices, based upon the set host affinity for a storage device,

wherein the integrated management mechanism transmits any combination of the one or more of the access management, region information, or access limit information.

8. A computer-readable medium including a program which program, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to execute the processes comprising:

integrating, managing, and controlling access relationships in a storage area network (SAN) including host computers and storage devices connected by switches, each switch having a region setting mechanism, through fiber channels, said processes further comprising;

obtaining access route information of the host computers and the storage devices;

setting up a storage affinity for each host, a switch zoning affinity for each switch, and a host affinity for each storage device, as a SAN configuration setting information based on said obtained access route information,

transmitting access management information to the storage devices and storage area network management mechanisms of the host computers based upon the set storage affinity for a host computer,

transmitting region information to the region setting mechanisms of the switches, based upon the set switch zoning affinity, and

transmitting access restriction information about the host computers to storage management mechanisms of the storage devices based upon the set host affinity for a storage device.

9. A storage area network (SAN) system comprising:

computers as hosts comprising a storage area network management mechanism;

storage devices, each comprising a storage management mechanism;

switches interconnecting the computers and the storage devices, each of the switches comprising a region-setting mechanism; and

an integrated management device to integrated and manage said according to a process comprising;

obtaining access path information of the host computers and the storage devices,

setting up a storage affinity for each host, a switch zoning affinity for each switch, and a host affinity for each storage device, as a SAN configuration setting information based on said obtained access path information,

transmitting access management information to the storage area network management mechanism of the host computers and to the storage devices, based upon the set storage affinity for a host computer,

transmitting region information to the region setting mechanisms of the switches, based upon the set switch zoning affinity,

transmitting access restriction information about the host computers to the storage management mechanisms of the storage devices, based upon the set host affinity for a storage device,

detecting whether fiber channel adapters mounted on the storage devices and the host computers, the host bus adapters mounted on the host computers, or the switches in said storage area network management system are replaced,

obtaining settings information following the replacement from the storage area network management mechanism of the host computers, the switch region-setting mechanism or the storage device storage management mechanism, and

reconfiguring the access paths to be equivalent to the access paths to the replacement.

10. The storage area network system as in claim 9, wherein when the host bus adapter of the host computer fails and is replaced, the integrated management mechanism detects the replacement of the host bus adapter and notifies a system administrator, wherein upon receipt of a reconfigure command from the system administrator, the integrated management mechanism passes along settings information from the new, replacement host bus adapter in the storage area network management mechanism of the host computer, and, using said new settings information, the integrated management mechanism configures the access paths to be equivalent to the access paths prior to the replacement of the host bus adapter and reconfigures the access paths of the storage area network management mechanism, the region-setting mechanism, and the storage management mechanism.

11. The storage area network system as in claim 9, wherein when the host computer fails and is replaced, the integrated management mechanism detects that the storage area network management mechanism of the host computer has no settings and notifies a system administrator, and upon receipt of a system administrator reconfigure command which passes along to the integrated management mechanism settings information of the connected host bus adapter, the integrated management mechanism uses settings information to reconfigure the access paths to be equivalent to the access paths prior to the host computer replacement and then re-establishes the access paths of the region-setting mechanism and the storage management mechanism.

12. The storage area network system as in claim 9, wherein when a switch fails and is replaced, the integrated management mechanism detects that region settings information set up in the switch is not present and notifies a system administrator, and upon receipt of a reconfigure command from the system administrator, said reconfigure command sets the access paths prior to the replacement in the new switch and reconfigures the access paths.

13. The storage area network system as in claim 9, wherein when a switch fails and is replaced, the integrated management mechanism detects that region settings information set up in the switch is not present and the integrated management mechanism automatically sets up the access routes prior to the failure in the new switch and then reconfigures the access routes.

14. The storage area network system as in claim 9, wherein when the storage device side fiber channel adapter is replaced and the fiber channel adapter settings information is changed, the integrated management mechanism detects this and notifies a system administrator, and upon receipt of a reconfigure command from the system administrator, the storage management mechanism passes along new settings information to the integrated management mechanism and the integrated management mechanism uses that new settings information to reconfigure the access paths so that the access paths are equivalent to the access paths prior to the replacement and then re-configures the access paths of the storage area network management mechanism and the region management mechanism.

15. A storage area network (SAN) system comprising:

host computers, each comprising a storage area network management mechanism;

storage devices, each comprising a storage management mechanism;

switches, each having a region setting mechanism, interconnecting the host computers and the storage devices; and

an integrated management mechanism to integrate and control the SAN according to a process comprising;

obtaining access path information of the host computers and the storage devices,

setting up a storage affinity for each host, a switch zoning affinity for each switch, and a host affinity for each storage device, as a SAN configuration setting information based on said obtained access path information,

transmitting access management information to the storage devices and to the storage area network management mechanism of the host computers, based upon the set storage affinity for a host computer,

transmitting region information to the region-setting mechanisms of the switches, based upon the set switch zoning affinity,

transmitting access restriction information concerning the host computers to the storage management mechanisms of the storage devices, based upon the set host affinity for a storage device,

wherein when the SAN is started up and the access path information has not been set up, the integrated management mechanism first sets up the region-setting mechanisms of the switches so that no access is permitted and, after that, the integrated management mechanism sets up regions on the regions setting mechanisms of the switches.

16. A storage area network (SAN) system comprising:

host computers, each comprising a storage area network management mechanism;

storage devices, each comprising a storage management mechanism;

switches, each having a region setting mechanism, interconnecting the host computers and the storage devices; and

an integrated management mechanism to integrate and control the according to a process comprising;

obtaining access path information of the host computers and the storage devices,

setting up a storage affinity for each host, a switch zoning affinity for each switch, and a host affinity for each storage device, as a SAN configuration setting information based on said obtained access path information,

transmitting access management information to the storage devices and to the storage area network management mechanisms of the host computers, based upon the set storage affinity for a host computer,

transmitting region information to the region-setting mechanisms of the switches, based upon the set switch zoning affinity,

transmitting access restriction information concerning the host computers to the storage management mechanisms of the storage devices,

establishing specified fiber channel transfer classes using the storage area network management mechanism of the host computers whose access information has been set up, and the storage management mechanism of the storage devices, such that host bus adapters of the host computers and the fiber channel adapters of the storage devices operate using same transfer class.

17. A storage area network (SAN) system comprising:

host computers, each comprising a storage area network management mechanism;

storage devices, each comprising a storage management mechanism;

switches, each having a region setting mechanism, interconnecting the host computers and the storage devices; and

an integrated management mechanism to integrate and control the SAN according to a process comprising;

obtaining access path information of the host computers and the storage devices,

setting up a storage affinity for each host, a switch zoning affinity for each switch, and a host affinity for each storage device, as a SAN configuration setting information based on said obtained access path information,

transmitting access management information to the storage devices and to the storage area network management mechanisms of the host computers, based upon the set storage affinity for a host computer,

transmitting region information to the region-setting mechanisms of the switches, based upon the set switch zoning affinity, and

transmitting access restriction information concerning the above host computers to the storage management mechanisms of the storage devices, based upon the set host affinity for a storage device,

wherein when a problem occurs in the SAN, the integrated management mechanism receives problem information and, for a specified period of time, waits to see if there are other problem reports by checking problem reports received during the specified period and investigating relationship between the received problem reports and the problem report received first, and if the integrated management mechanism determines that the received problem reports and the problem report first received are related, the integrated management mechanism transmits a single report concerning one affected area according to a problem report method definition set up in advance in the integrated management mechanism.

18. The storage area network system as in claim 17, wherein the storage area network system presents related problem reports that the storage area network system receives as related problems in addition to the single problem area.

19. The storage area network system as in claim 17, wherein in addition to the access path information, the integrated management mechanism also obtains and stores host-side logical volume information used in the access paths from the storage area network management mechanisms of the host computers, and

wherein when there is a report of a problem from within the storage area network, said access paths are used to read in the logical volume based on the access path information using said problem area, and report on the logical volumes that are affected by the problem.

20. A method of integrating and controlling a storage area network (SAN) system, comprising:

providing an integrated, manager to manage access relationships, which comprises access management information, region information, or access limit information, between host computers of the SAN and storage devices of the SAN, wherein a switch connects the host computers and the storage devices;

obtaining by the integrated manager access route information of the host computers and the storage devices;

setting, by the integrated manager, a storage affinity for each host, a switch zoning affinity for each switch, and a host affinity for each storage device, as a SAN configuration setting information based on said obtained access route information;

transmitting, by the integrated manager, the access management information to the storage devices and to the host computers, based upon the set storage affinity for a host computer;

transmitting, by the integrated manager, the region information to the switches, based upon the set switch zoning affinity; and

transmitting, by the integrated manager, the access limit information concerning the host computers to the storage devices, based upon the set host affinity for a storage device.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the access relationships comprises establishing access paths between the host computers and the storage devices, said access paths being established and controlled by the integrated manager.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the access paths control access to regions of the storage devices by the host computers.

23. The method according to claim 20, further comprises, integrating, by the integrated manager, related problems into a single problem report.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein the access relationships comprise any combinations of one or more of the access management information for the storage devices and for the host computers, the region information for the switch, or the access restriction information for the host computers and for the storage devices.