System and method for management of a storage area network

• US 7,496,646 B2
• Filed: 09/20/2002
• Issued: 02/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Valtrus Innovations Limited (f/k/a Dolya Holdco 9 Limited) (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Dove, Kenneth F., Casper, Corene
• Primary Examiner(s): Etienne, Ario
• Assistant Examiner(s): SALL, EL HADJI MALICK
• Application Number:
  US10/251,690
• Publication Number:
  US 20030065760A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,349 Days
• Field of Search: 709/223, 709/239, 709/246, 709/39
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0709 in a distributed system consisting of a plurality of standalone computer nodes, e.g. clusters, client-server systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0793 Remedial or corrective actions recovery from an exception in an instruction pipeline G06F9/3861; by retry G06F11/1402; for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity H04L69/40
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/526 Mutual exclusion algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99938 Concurrency, e.g. lock management in shared database
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

A storage area network is managed. In one embodiment, the method comprises providing a plurality of nodes; providing a plurality of storage, wherein the plurality of storage is shared by the plurality of nodes; determining if a change in the storage area network has occurred; and dynamically adjusting to the change if the change has occurred. In another embodiment, the system comprises a processor configured to communicate with a second node and at least one storage, wherein the storage is shared by the processor and the second node; the processor also being configured to determine if a change in the storage area network has occurred; and dynamically adjusting to the change if the change has occurred; and a memory coupled with the processor, the memory configured to provide instructions to the processor.

Claims

1. A method of managing a storage area network (SAN) comprising:

providing a plurality of nodes;

providing a plurality of storage, wherein the plurality of storage is shared by the plurality of nodes;

designating an elected node to attempt to become an administrator of the plurality of nodes after detecting failure of a previous administrator of the plurality of nodes;

allowing the elected node to become the administrator when the elected node is able to acquire locks for the SAN and able to read a generation number for the SAN;

determining if a change in the storage area network has occurred;

dynamically adjusting to the change if the change has occurred, wherein the plurality of nodes includes the elected node configured to manage the dynamic adjustment to the change in the storage area network;

randomly selecting the elected node to attempt to become the administrator after the failure of the previous administrator; and

sending the elected node a message to undo becoming the administrator when a group coordinator determines that the elected node cannot become the administrator.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the change is adding a node to the plurality of nodes.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising, determining by a group coordinator whether the elected node is permitted to become the administrator, the group coordinator making global decisions for the plurality of nodes.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising, incrementing the generation number for the SAN after the elected node becomes the administrator.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising, failing to allow the elected node to become the administrator when the locks are owned by another cluster of servers in the SAN.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising, failing to allow the elected node to become the administrator when the locks are owned by another administrator in the SAN.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising, failing to allow the elected node to become the administrator when the elected node is not able to read the locks in the SAN.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising, instructing the elected node to commit to be the administrator after a group coordinator authorizes the elected node to be the administrator.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising incrementing the generation number by the elected nod.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the change is adding a storage to the plurality of storage.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising adding the storage to a database.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising incrementing a generation number.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the change is deleting a storage to the plurality of storage.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein a node of the plurality of nodes is dynamically selected as an administrator.

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

a processor configured to communicate with a second node and at least one storage, wherein the storage is shared by the processor and the second node;

the processor also being configured to determine if a change in the storage area network has occurred; and

dynamically adjusting to the change if the change has occurred, wherein the processor is associated with an elected node configured to manage the dynamic adjustment to the change in the storage area network,

wherein the elected node is randomly designated as an administrator to replace an administrator that failed, the elected node being designated as the administrator after the elected node acquires locks for the SAN, reads a generation number for the SAN, and receives approval to become the administrator from a group coordinator, and

the elected node is sent a message to undo becoming the administrator when a group coordinator determines that the elected node cannot become the administrator; and

a memory coupled with the processor, the memory configured to provide instructions to the processor.

16. A computer readable storage medium having instructions for causing a processor to execute a method comprising:

communicating with a second node;

communicating with at least one storage, wherein the storage is shared by a first node and the second node;

electing a group coordinator;

using the group coordinator to elect the first node to replace an administrator that failed after the first node successfully acquires locks for the SAN and reads a generation number for the SAN;

denying the first node to be the administrator when the first node is unable to either acquire the locks or read the generation number;

determining if a change in the storage area network has occurred;

dynamically adjusting to the change if the change has occurred, wherein the first node is an elected node configured to manage the dynamic adjustment to the change in the storage area network;

randomly selecting the elected node to attempt to become the administrator after the failure of a previous administrator; and

sending the elected node a message to undo becoming the administrator when the group coordinator determines that the elected node cannot become the administrator.