Storage operating data control system

• US 7,188,149 B2
• Filed: 04/26/2001
• Issued: 03/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Murakami, Tatsuya, Kishimoto, Toshimichi, Mitsuoka, Yoshio, Murakami, Masaharu
• Primary Examiner(s): Dharia; Rupal
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shingles; Kristie D.
• Application Number:
  US09/842,001
• Publication Number:
  US 20020129122A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,140 Days
• Field of Search: 709/219, 709/217, 709/240, 711/147, 711/6, 719/318, 719/321, 713/200, 707/10
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/08 specially adapted for terminal emulation, e.g. Telnet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A storage system for covering advantages of the “In band method” and the “Out of band method”, including an external storage device having storage data and storage operating data for operating the storage host computer connected to the external storage device on which an application is able to operate, and a storage operating server connected to the external storage device and the host computer, and having a storage operating server program, for obtaining the storage operating data from the external storage device, where the application operates the storage operating data through the storage data server program.

Claims

1. A storage operating control system, comprising:

an external storage device having storage data, storage operating data to manage a volume configuration and/or volume movement of said storage data, and a service processor for operating said storage operating data;

a host computer coupled with said external storage device via a first connection; and

a storage management server coupled with said host computer via a second connection and said service processor via a third connection,

wherein said storage management server executes a storage operating data server program to manage said storage operating data via said third connection,

wherein said host computer does not read/write said storage operating data directly from/to said external storage device, and instead executes an application program associated with said storage operating data server program so as to read/write said storage operating data indirectly from/to said external storage device through said storage management server and said third connection in order to manage the volume configuration and/or volume movement of said storage data, and wherein said host computer commands reads/writes of said storage data from/to said external storage device through said first connection, and

wherein said storage management server is adapted to acknowledge said volume configuration and/or volume movement operation back to said host computer before said volume configuration and/or volume movement operation has completed, so as to enable turn-off of said host computer during at least a portion of said volume configuration and/or volume movement operation.

2. The storage operating control system according to claim 1, wherein said host computer operates in accordance with said storage operating data which the storage management server reads from said external storage device.

3. A storage operating control system according to claim 1, comprising a switch for selectively shutting off said third connection between said service processor and said storage management server.

4. A storage operating control system according to claim 3, wherein said switch is provided in an interface of said service processor.

5. A storage operating control system according to claim 1, wherein said storage management server comprising a WWW (World Wide Web) terminal connection and a WWW server program to allow access of the storage operating data using the WWW terminal connection.

6. A storage operating control system according to claim 1, wherein communication between said host computer and said storage management server on said second connection is at least partially conducted using JAVA Remote Method Invocation (RMI) on a transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TOP/IP).

7. A storage operating control system according to claim 1, wherein communication between said service processor and said storage management server on said third connection is at least partially conducted using JAVA Remote Method Invocation (RMI) on a transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TOP/IP).

8. A storage operating control system, comprising:

an external storage device having storage data configuration information to manage a volume configuration and/or volume movement of said storage data, and a service processor for operating said configuration information;

a host computer coupled with said external storage device via a first connection; and

a storage management server coupled with said host computer via a second connection and said service processor via a third connection,

wherein said storage management server executes a storage configuration server program to manage said configuration information via said third connection,

wherein said host computer does not read/write said configuration information directly from/to said external storage device, and instead executes an application program associated with said storage configuration server program so as to read/write said configuration information indirectly from/to said external storage device through said storage management server and said third connection in order to manage the volume configuration and/or volume movement of said storage data, and wherein said host computer commands reads/writes of said storage data from/to said external storage device through said first connection, and

wherein said storage management server is adapted to acknowledge said volume configuration and/or volume movement operation back to said host computer before said volume configuration and/or volume movement operation has completed, so as to enable turn-off of said host computer during at least a portion of said volume configuration and/or volume movement operation.

9. The storage operating control system according to claim 8, wherein said host computer operates in accordance with said configuration information which the storage management server reads from said external storage device.

10. A storage operating control system according to claim 8, comprising a switch for selectively shutting off said third connection between said service processor and said storage management server.

11. A storage operating control system according to claim 10, wherein said switch is provided in an interface of said service processor.

12. A storage operating control system according to claim 8, wherein said storage management server comprising a WWW (World Wide Web) terminal connection and a WWW server program to allow access of the configuration information using the WWW terminal connection.

13. A storage operating control system according to claim 8, wherein communication between said host computer and said storage management server on said second connection is at least partially conducted using JAVA Remote Method Invocation (RMI) on a transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP).

14. A storage operating control system according to claim 8, wherein communication between said service processor and said storage management server on said third connection is at least partially conducted using JAVA Remote Method Invocation (RMI) on a transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP).