System and method for monitoring cluster partner boot status over a cluster interconnect

• US 7,437,423 B1
• Filed: 01/05/2007
• Issued: 10/14/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Network Appliance Incorporated (NetApp, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Network Appliance Incorporated (NetApp, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gole, Abhijeet
• Primary Examiner(s): BAROT, BHARAT
• Application Number:
  US11/650,005
• Time in Patent Office: 648 Days
• Field of Search: 709212-216, 709220-222, 713 1- 2, 714/2, 714/4, 714 47- 48
• US Class Current: 709/212
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2092 Techniques of failing over between control units
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3055 Monitoring arrangements for monitoring the status of the computing system or of the computing system component, e.g. monitoring if the computing system is on, off, available, not available error or fault processing without redundancy G06F11/0703; error detection or correction by redundancy in data representation G06F11/08; error detection or correction by redundancy in operation G06F11/14; error detection or correction by redundancy in hardware G06F11/16
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3065 Monitoring arrangements determined by the means or processing involved in reporting the monitored data error or fault reporting or logging G06F11/0766
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route

Abstract

A method for detecting an un-bootable first computer is described. A failed first computer initiates a boot procedure, and the boot procedure is controlled by boot firmware of the first computer. A virtual interface is established by the boot firmware, the virtual interface having boot status data written therein as the failed computer boots. A second computer reads the boot status data in the virtual interface using a remote direct memory access procedure to access data in the virtual interface. The second computer determines, in response to the boot status data, if the boot procedure of the first computer failed, and if it failed performing a failover routine; and if it succeeded allowing the failed computer to complete its boot procedure. Another connection between the first computer and the second computer is opened, in response to the boot procedure succeeding, using higher level software than the boot firmware.

Claims

1. A method for detecting a failed computer, comprising:

initiating a boot procedure by a first computer, the boot procedure controlled by boot firmware of the first computer;

establishing a virtual interface by the boot firmware, the virtual interface having boot status data written therein as the first computer proceeds through the boot procedure; and

reading the boot status data in the virtual interface by a second computer, the second computer using a remote direct memory access procedure to access data in the virtual interface.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

deciding by the second computer, in response to the boot status data, whether to perform a takeover of the first computer.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

deciding by the second computer, in response to the boot status data, whether to permit the first computer to continue the boot procedure.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining by the second computer if the boot procedure of the first computer failed;

performing, in response to determining that the boot procedure of the first computer failed, a failover routine.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining by the second computer if the boot procedure of the first computer failed;

allowing, in response to determining that the boot procedure of the first computer succeeded, the first computer to complete its boot procedure.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

opening, in response to the boot procedure succeeding, a connection between the first computer and the second computer using higher level software than the boot firmware.

7. A system to detect a failed computer, comprising:

a first computer, the first computer initiating a boot procedure controlled by boot firmware of the first computer;

a virtual interface established by the boot firmware, the virtual interface having boot status data written therein as the first computer proceeds through the boot procedure; and

a second computer to read the boot status data in the virtual interface by using a remote direct memory access procedure to access data in the virtual interface.

8. The system of claim 7, further comprising:

the second computer to decide, in response to the boot status data, whether to perform a takeover of the first computer.

9. The system of claim 7, further comprising:

the second computer to decide, in response to the boot status data, whether to permit the first computer to continue the boot procedure.

10. The system of claim 7, further comprising:

the second computer to determine if the boot procedure of the first computer failed, and to perform, in response to determining that the boot procedure of the first computer failed, a failover routine.

11. The system of claim 7, further comprising:

determining by the second computer if the boot procedure of the first computer failed;

allowing, in response to determining that the boot procedure of the first computer succeeded, the first computer to complete its boot procedure.

12. The system of claim 7, further comprising:

a connection between the first computer and the second computer opened, in response to the boot procedure succeeding, using higher level software than the boot firmware.

13. A computer readable media, comprising:

said computer readable media containing instructions for execution on a processor for the practice of a method of detecting a failed computer, the method having the steps of,

initiating a boot procedure by a first computer, the boot procedure controlled by boot firmware of the first computer;

establishing a virtual interface by the boot firmware, the virtual interface having boot status data written therein as the first computer proceeds through the boot procedure; and

reading the boot status data in the virtual interface by a second computer, the second computer using a remote direct memory access procedure to access data in the virtual interface.

14. A method for detecting a failed computer, comprising:

initiating a boot procedure by a first computer, the boot procedure controlled by boot firmware of the first computer;

establishing a virtual interface by the boot firmware, the virtual interface having boot status data written therein as the first computer proceeds through the boot procedure;

reading the boot status data in the virtual interface of the first computer by a second computer to ascertain whether the first computer'"'"'s boot procedure is progressing normally;

in response, if the second computer determines that the first computer'"'"'s boot procedure is progressing normally, the first computer completes its initialization routine; and

in response, if the second computer determines that the first computer'"'"'s boot procedure is not progressing normally, the second computer will perform a failover routine.

15. A method for detecting a failed computer, comprising:

assigning a first virtual interface (VI) for failure recovery to the first computer and a second VI for failure recovery to the second computer;

establishing during booting by the first computer, after a failure by the first computer, a VI for connection to the second VI of the second computer; and

reading status information by the second computer of the first computer through the first VI of the first computer, the second computer using its second VI to communicate with the first VI of the first computer.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

deciding by the second computer, in response to the reading the status information, whether to perform a takeover of the first computer.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

deciding by the second computer, in response to the reading the status information, whether to permit the first computer to continue the boot procedure.