System and method for storage area network management

• US 7,506,040 B1
• Filed: 12/02/2002
• Issued: 03/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Veritas Technologies, LLC (Whitehouse Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Symantec Operating Corporation (NortonLifeLock Inc.)
• Inventors: Gan, Zafrir E., Lopilato, Joseph, Thrasher, Russell, Rabe, Bruce R., Scammell, Paul A.
• Primary Examiner(s): JEAN GILLES, JUDE
• Application Number:
  US10/307,830
• Time in Patent Office: 2,297 Days
• Field of Search: 709200-203, 709223-226, 711/110, 711/111, 707200-204
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0681 Configuration of triggering conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0847 Transmission error
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 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]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

System and method for providing a common data model for SAN discovery and/or SAN monitoring information collected from heterogeneous SAN components. In one embodiment, a SAN management server may execute on a host computer and may translate data in one or more vendor-specific languages obtained from a heterogeneous vendor population into canonical data in a uniform language. In one embodiment, the SAN management server may execute a set of rules to convert heterogeneous SAN data obtained from heterogeneous interfaces into canonical data conforming to the common data model. In one embodiment, the canonical data may be stored in a persistent store, which may be queried for information that may be provided to the requester in the canonical form of the common data model.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more memory mediums coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the one or more memory mediums store program instructions executable to implement;

a storage area network (SAN) management server comprising;

a SAN access layer configured to discover a plurality of SAN components coupled to a SAN fabric;

wherein the SAN management server is configured to monitor the discovered SAN components coupled to the SAN fabric; and

a SAN manager client coupled to said SAN management server, wherein the SAN manager client is configured to provide a centralized user interface for centralized management of the SAN through interaction with the SAN management server, wherein the SAN management server is configured to perform one or more SAN management tasks in response to interactions of said centralized user interface, and wherein said centralized management of the SAN provides management of the discovered plurality of SAN components.

2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the SAN manager client is configured to provide a graphical user interface for displaying SAN information received from the SAN management server and the SAN access layer in graphical and textual format.

3. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the SAN manager client is configured to provide a LUN security utility for performing LUN security functions including binding, masking and zoning.

4. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the SAN manager client is configured to provide a policy utility for configuring automated responses to SAN conditions.

5. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the SAN manager client is configured to provide a reporter mechanism for generating and displaying reports on aspects of the SAN.

6. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the SAN manager client is configured to provide a LUN query tool for finding and selecting Logical Unit Numbers (LUNs) on SAN storage devices.

7. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the SAN manager client is configured to launch one or more third-party tools, applications or utilities from within the SAN manager client, wherein third-party tools, applications and utilities are supplied separately from the SAN management server and the SAN manager client.

8. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the wherein the SAN management server is configured to provide a common data representation for heterogeneous SAN components.

9. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the SAN components comprise one or more fabric switches, a plurality of storage systems coupled to the SAN fabric, and one or more host systems coupled to the SAN fabric.

10. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the SAN manager client is configured to display representations of SAN components discovered by the SAN access layer.

11. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the SAN manager client is configured to display SAN monitoring information collected by the SAN management server.

12. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the SAN access layer is configured to store discovered SAN information into a data store, and wherein the SAN management server is configured to detect changes in the SAN and update the data store to include the detected changes in the SAN.

13. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the SAN access layer comprises an agent configured to translate discovered SAN information into files formatted in a mark-up language and provide the files to the SAN manager client.

14. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein, to monitor the one or more SAN components, the SAN management server is configured to collect a plurality of information items about one or more of the SAN components over a network separate from the SAN fabric.

15. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein, to monitor the discovered SAN components, the SAN management server is configured to collect a plurality of information items about one or more of the SAN components, wherein the information items collected by the SAN management server comprise one or more of an availability indication for a resource provided by the corresponding SAN component, a measurement of an environmental condition for the corresponding SAN component, error information for the corresponding SAN component, or traffic information for the corresponding SAN component.

16. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the SAN management server comprises a plurality of collectors, wherein, to monitor the discovered SAN components, each collector is configured to collect a specific type of information item for a specific type of SAN component, wherein the collectors comprise one or more of collectors for SAN component availability, collectors for SAN component environmental conditions, collectors for device errors, or collectors for SAN traffic.

17. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the SAN management server comprises an alarm service configured to monitor the SAN and collect status and performance information from the SAN, wherein the alarm service is configured to provide the status and performance information to a policy service configured to apply one or more policies to the provided information to evaluate the SAN status and performance information and perform one or more actions in accordance with the policies in response to said evaluation.

18. The system as recited in claim 17, wherein a policy is a set of user-editable rules for use in managing the SAN by automating responses to SAN events and conditions.

19. The system as recited in claim 17, wherein the SAN manager client is configured to access the policy service to view policies in effect on the SAN, to define and modify policies, and to view information on conditions monitored by the policy service using the policies.

20. The system as recited in claim 17, wherein the SAN management server comprises a plurality of collectors, wherein, to monitor the discovered SAN components, each collector is configured to collect a specific type of information item for a specific type of SAN component, wherein each policy is associated with one of the collectors, wherein the policy service is configured to obtain information collected by one of the collectors and apply an associated policy to the information to determine if one or more conditions specified by the policy are met and, if a condition is met, perform one or more actions specified by the policy and corresponding to the condition.

21. A method, comprising:

discovering one or more storage area network (SAN) components of a SAN;

monitoring the discovered SAN components;

providing the SAN discovery information and SAN monitoring information to a centralized SAN management user interface; and

managing the SAN from the centralized SAN management user interface using the provided SAN discovery information and the provided SAN monitoring information, wherein said managing the SAN comprises performing one or more SAN management tasks in response to interactions of the user interface, and wherein said managing the SAN comprises managing the discovered one or more SAN components.

22. The method as recited in claim 21, wherein said monitoring the discovered SAN components comprises:

collecting status and performance information from the SAN components; and

applying one or more polices to the collected status and performance information to evaluate the SAN status and performance information and automatically perform one or more actions in accordance with the policies in response to said evaluation.

23. The method as recited in claim 22, further comprising accessing the policies from the centralized SAN management user interface from the SAN manager client to perform one or more of viewing the policies in effect on the SAN, defining the policies, modifying the policies, viewing information on conditions monitored using the policies, or generating inventory and performance reports based on conditions monitored using the policies.

24. The method as recited in claim 21, further comprising displaying representations of discovered SAN components on the centralized SAN management user interface.

25. The method as recited in claim 21, further comprising displaying SAN monitoring information on the centralized SAN management user interface.

26. The method as recited in claim 21, further comprising accessing one or more of tools, applications, or utilities for performing one or more SAN management functions from the centralized SAN management interface, wherein the tools, applications and utilities include one or more of:

a LUN security utility for performing LUN security functions including binding, masking and zoning;

an enclosure utility for creating and managing SAN object enclosures;

a zone utility for SAN zoning management;

a policy utility for configuring automated responses to SAN conditions, a reporter mechanism for generating and displaying reports on aspects of the SAN;

a group utility for defining and naming groups of SAN objects;

a LUN query tool for finding and selecting Logical Unit Numbers (LUNs) on SAN storage devices;

or a SAN configuration utility for examining the SAN and reporting on SAN configurations including incorrect and problematic configurations.

27. The method as recited in claim 21, wherein said discovering, said monitoring, said providing and said managing use a common data representation for heterogeneous SAN components.

28. The method as recited in claim 21, further comprising performing a transactional LUN security operation to create a path between one or more addressable storage units of a storage system of the SAN and one or more host adapter ports of a host system of the SAN.

29. A computer hardware system, comprising:

means for discovering one or more storage area network (SAN) components of a SAN;

means for monitoring the discovered SAN components;

means for providing the SAN discovery information and SAN monitoring information to a centralized SAN management user interface; and

means for managing the SAN from the centralized SAN management user interface using the provided SAN discovery information and the provided SAN monitoring information, wherein said managing the SAN comprises performing one or more SAN management tasks in response to interactions of the user interface, and wherein said managing the SAN comprises managing the discovered one or more SAN components.

30. A computer accessible storage medium storing program instructions executable to implement:

discovering one or more storage area network (SAN) components of a SAN;

monitoring the discovered SAN components;

providing the SAN discovery information and SAN monitoring information to a centralized SAN management user interface; and

managing the SAN from the centralized SAN management user interface using the provided SAN discovery information and the provided SAN monitoring information, wherein said managing the SAN comprises performing one or more SAN management tasks in response to interactions of the user interface, and wherein said managing the SAN comprises managing the discovered one or more SAN components.