Method, system, and program for querying adaptors in a system to determine information on the adaptor connections

• US 7,296,099 B2
• Filed: 01/07/2004
• Issued: 11/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Davison, James Mathew
• Primary Examiner(s): Peyton; Tammara
• Application Number:
  US10/752,808
• Publication Number:
  US 20050149643A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,406 Days
• Field of Search: 710 8- 10, 710/15, 710/34, 709/203, 709/223, 709/224, 707/10, 711112-114
• US Class Current: 710/15
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/102 where the programme performs an interfacing function, e.g. device driver G06F13/105 takes precedence; scheduling within device drivers G06F9/52; contention policies within device drivers G06F9/4881
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0632 by initialisation or re-initialisation of storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

Provided are a method, system, and program for querying a plurality of adaptors in a system. A request is received to determine connection information for the adaptors in the system. A master task spawns a plurality of tasks to query the adaptors. Each spawned task updates adaptor information with information gathered from querying the adaptor. If no tasks are available to query at least one adaptor that has not been queried, then the master task queries one adaptor and updates the adaptor information with information gathered by querying the adaptor.

Claims

1. A method for querying a plurality of adaptors in a system, comprising:

receiving a request to determine connection information for the adaptors in the system;

spawning, with a master task, a plurality of tasks to query the adaptors;

updating adaptor information, by each spawned task, with information gathered from querying the adaptor; and

if no tasks are available to query at least one adaptor that has not been queried, then querying, with the master task, one adaptor and updating the adaptor information with information gathered by querying the adaptor.

2. The method of claim 1, farther comprising:

maintaining a maximum number of tasks that may concurrently be involved with querying the adaptors, wherein one or more tasks are available to query one adaptor if the number of tasks concurrently involved in querying the adaptors is less than the maximum number, and wherein the master task queries one adaptor if the total number of tasks involved in querying the adaptors equals the maximum number.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein after a task has completed, there is one additional task available to query one adaptor.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein after the master task completes querying one adaptor, the master task further performs:

determining whether there are any adaptors that have not been queried;

spawning available tasks to process the adaptors that have not been queried and update the adaptor information with information gathered from the query; and

if no tasks are available to query at least one adaptor that has not been queried, then querying, with the master task, one adaptor and updating the adaptor information with information gathered by querying the adaptor.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the adaptor information indicates for each port representing a connection on the adaptor, port status of the connection, an identity of a device attached on the connection, and a status of the attached device, wherein the device may comprise a switch or end device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the adaptors connect to nodes in a fabric network.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the tasks spawned by the master task asynchronously query the adaptors and query the adaptors and update the adaptor information concurrently and independently and wherein the master task queries one adaptor synchronously.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the master task determines whether additional adaptors need to be queried after completing the querying of one adaptor and updating the adaptor information.

9. A system, comprising:

a processor;

a plurality of adaptors;

a master task executed by the processor to perform;

(i) receiving a request to determine connection information for the adaptors in the system;

(ii) spawning a plurality of tasks to query the adaptors; and

(iii) if no tasks are available to query at least one adaptor that has not been queried, then querying one adaptor and updating the adaptor information with information gathered by querying the adaptor; and

at least one spawned task executed by the processor to update adaptor information with information gathered from querying the adaptor.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the master task is executed by the processor to further perform:

maintaining a maximum number of tasks that may concurrently be involved with querying the adaptors, wherein one or more tasks are available to query one adaptor if the number of tasks concurrently involved in querying the adaptors is less than the maximum number, and wherein the master task queries one adaptor if the total number of tasks involved in querying the adaptors equals the maximum number.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein after a task has completed, there is one additional task available to query one adaptor.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein after the master task completes querying one adaptor, the master task further performs:

determining whether there are any adaptors that have not been queried;

spawning available tasks to process the adaptors that have not been queried and update the adaptor information with information gathered from the query; and

if no tasks are available to query at least one adaptor that has not been queried, then querying one adaptor and updating the adaptor information with information gathered by querying the adaptor.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the adaptor information indicates for each port representing a connection on the adaptor, port status of the connection, an identity of a device attached on the connection, and a status of the attached device, wherein the device may comprise a switch or end device.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the adaptors connect to nodes in a fabric network.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the tasks spawned by the master task asynchronously query the adaptors and query the adaptors and update the adaptor information concurrently and independently and wherein the master task queries one adaptor synchronously.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the master task determines whether additional adaptors need to be queried after completing the querying of one adaptor and updating the adaptor information.

17. An article of manufacture for querying a plurality of adaptors in a system, wherein the article of manufacture causes operations to be performed, the operations comprising:

receiving a request to determine connection information for the adaptors in the system;

spawning, with a master task, a plurality of tasks to query the adaptors;

updating adaptor information, by each spawned task, with information gathered from querying the adaptor; and

if no tasks are available to query at least one adaptor that has not been queried, then querying, with the master task, one adaptor and updating the adaptor information with information gathered by querying the adaptor.

18. The article of manufacture of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise:

maintaining a maximum number of tasks that may concurrently be involved with querying the adaptors, wherein one or more tasks are available to query one adaptor if the number of tasks concurrently involved in querying the adaptors is less than the maximum number, and wherein the master task queries one adaptor if the total number of tasks involved in querying the adaptors equals the maximum number.

19. The article of manufacture of claim 17, wherein after a task has completed, there is one additional task available to query one adaptor.

20. The article of manufacture of claim 17, wherein after the master task completes querying one adaptor, the master task further performs:

determining whether there are any adaptors that have not been queried;

spawning available tasks to process the adaptors that have not been queried and update the adaptor information with information gathered from the query; and

if no tasks are available to query at least one adaptor that has not been queried, then querying, with the master task, one adaptor and updating the adaptor information with information gathered by querying the adaptor.

21. The article of manufacture of claim 17, wherein the adaptor information indicates for each port representing a connection on the adaptor, port status of the connection, an identity of a device attached on the connection, and a status of the attached device, wherein the device may comprise a switch or end device.

22. The article of manufacture of claim 17, wherein the adaptors connect to nodes in a fabric network.

23. The article of manufacture of claim 17, wherein the tasks spawned by the master task asynchronously query the adaptors and query the adaptors and update the adaptor information concurrently and independently and wherein the master task queries one adaptor synchronously.

24. The article of manufacture of claim 23, wherein the master task determines whether additional adaptors need to be queried after completing the querying of one adaptor and updating the adaptor information.