Fault notification based on volume access control information

• US 7,234,020 B2
• Filed: 07/30/2003
• Issued: 06/19/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Furukawa, Hiroshi, Akagawa, Etsutaro
• Primary Examiner(s): Choi; Woo H.
• Application Number:
  US10/629,554
• Publication Number:
  US 20040210791A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,420 Days
• Field of Search: 711/4, 711/111, 711/112, 711/114, 711/163, 714/125, 714/48, 714/57, 710/19, 710/36, 710/38, 709/214, 709/225, 709/229
• US Class Current: 711/111
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0727 in a storage system, e.g. in a DASD or network based storage system drivers for digital recording or reproducing units G06F3/06; circuits for error detection or correction within digital recording or reproducing units G11B20/18; for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0784 Routing of error reports, e.g. with a specific transmission path or data flow
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/06 Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring

Abstract

In case a fault has occurred in a volume, it was so far difficult to correctly notify a fault by using a host computer which can access the volumes managed by a management computer that integrally manages a plurality of devices constituting a network. The management program of the invention is executed by the management computer connected to computers and to a plurality of storage devices for managing the volumes connected to the computers through a SAN (storage area network). The management program executes a procedure for receiving a notice of fault in the volume from the storage devices, a procedure for receiving volume access control information from a plurality of storage devices for specifying the computers that can access the volumes, and a procedure for notifying the fault in the volume to the computers that are permitted to access the volumes based on the volume access control information.

Claims

1. A computer system comprising:

storage devices coupling to a data communication network and to a management network, said storage devices including volumes for storing data and a storage control unit configured to control data transfer between the volumes and the data communication network;

host computers coupling to the data communication network and to the management network;

client computers coupling to the host computers through an operation network; and

a management computer coupled to the management network,

wherein the storage devices hold volume access control information, said volume access control information specifying computers authorized to access the volumes,

wherein each host computer enables execution of one or more applications and holds application-setting information specifying a specific application to be provided for a specific client computer of said client computers and a specific volume of said volumes to be provided with the specified application,

wherein the management computer acquires the volume access control information from the storage devices and the application-setting information from the host computer, and

wherein the management computer correlates the volume access control information and the application-setting information to generate a management table defining a relationship between the specified volume and the specified client computer that exists via the host computer and the specified application, and sends, to the specified client computer, information related to the specified volume, and wherein the management computer sends to the specified client computer notification of a fault when the fault occurs in the specified volume.

2. A computer system according to claim 1,

wherein the storage devices further hold both performance information and status information related to the volumes, and

wherein the management computer further acquires the performance information and the status information from the storage devices via the management network, adds the performance information and status information to the information correlated in the management table.

3. A computer system according to claim 1,

wherein the management computer includes an output unit for displaying an image, and outputs to the output unit, an image data representing a correlation between the client computers and the volumes, including the host computers and the applications.

4. A computer system according to claim 1,

wherein said management table includes managing person control information, said managing person control information specifying for said volumes or said client computers management IDs for identifying a managing person or the management computer as being permitted to manage said volumes or said client computers.

5. A computer system enabling notification of a fault in a volume, comprising:

one or more storage devices able to couple to a data communication network and to a management network, each of said storage devices including volumes for storing data and a storage control unit configured to control data transfer between the volumes and the data communication network;

at least one host computer able to couple to the data communication network and to the management network;

client computers able to couple to the host computers through an operation network; and

a management computer coupled to the management network,

wherein the storage devices hold volume access control information, said volume access control information specifying computers that can access the volumes,

wherein the host computer offers for execution one or more service applications and holds application-setting information specifying a specific application to be provided for a specific client computer of said client computers and a specific volume of said volumes to be provided with the specified application,

wherein the management computer acquires the volume access control information from the storage devices and the application-setting information from the host computer,

wherein the management computer correlates the volume access control information with the application-setting information to generate a management table that defines a relationship between the specified volume and the specified client computer that exists via the host computer and specified application, and

wherein the management computer sends to the specified client computer notification of a fault when the fault occurs in the correlated specified volume.

6. A computer system according to claim 5,

wherein the management computer includes an output unit for displaying an image, and outputs to the output unit, an image data representing a correlation between the client computers and the volumes, including the host computers and the applications.

7. A computer system according to claim 5,

wherein said management table includes managing person control information, said managing person control information specifying for said volumes or said client computers management IDs for identifying a managing person or the management computer as being permitted to manage said volumes or said client computers.

8. A computer system enabling notification of a fault in a volume, comprising:

one or more storage devices able to couple to a data communication network and to a management network, each of said storage devices including volumes for storing data and a storage control unit configured to control data transfer between the volumes and the data communication network;

at least one host computer able to couple to the data communication network and to the management network;

client computers able to couple to the host computers through an operation network; and

a management computer coupled to the management network,

wherein the storage devices hold volume access control information, said volume access control information specifying computers that can access the volumes,

wherein the host computer offers for execution one or more service applications and holds application-setting information specifying a specific application to be provided for a specific client computer of said client computers and a specific volume of said volumes to be provided with the specified application,

wherein the management computer acquires the volume access control information from the storage devices, the application-setting information from the host computer, and passage access control information from the data communication and/or the operation network

wherein the management computer correlates the volume access control information with the application-setting information and the passage access control information to generate a management table that defines a relationship between the specified volume and the specified client computer that exists via the host computer, the specified application and passage access, and

wherein the management computer sends to the specified client computer notification of a fault when the fault occurs in the specified volume.

9. A computer system according to claim 8,

wherein the management computer includes an output unit for displaying an image, and outputs to the output unit, an image data representing a correlation between the client computers and the volumes, including the host computers and the applications.

10. A computer system according to claim 8,

wherein said management table includes managing person control information, said managing person control information specifying for said volumes or said client computers management IDs for identifying a managing person or the management computer as being permitted to manage said volumes or said client computers.