Universal database schema and use

• US 7,603,366 B1
• Filed: 09/27/2006
• Issued: 10/13/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Rozenman, Vitaly, Gritsay, Dmitry, Bushoy, Benjamin
• Primary Examiner(s): Mahmoudi; Tony
• Assistant Examiner(s): McCue; Brittany N
• Application Number:
  US11/528,895
• Time in Patent Office: 1,112 Days
• Field of Search: 707/100, 707/104.1, 709/224
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/284 Relational databases
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A database manager utilizes a same physical database schema to store attribute information associated with each of multiple resources in a storage area network environment. For example, the database manager maintains a fixed number of (or a relatively small number of) relational database tables to store information associated with any of multiple types of storage area network resources and corresponding attributes. The database manager uses a portion of the relational database tables (e.g., a resource type table and property type table) to store metadata such as resource types and corresponding resource attribute information. The database manager uses another portion of the relational database tables (e.g., an object instance table and one or more different data tables) to store actual data associated with storage area network resources.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method in which at least one computer system accesses instructions from storage, the computer-implemented method comprising:

utilizing a common database schema to store attribute information associated with each of multiple resources in a storage area network environment by;

populating a first table in a relational database, records in the first table specifying different possible types of resources in the storage area network environment;

populating a second table in the relational database, records in the second table specifying property types associated with each of the different possible types of resources specified in the records of the first table; and

populating at least one data table in the relational database to store data for the property types specified in the second table;

populating records in the at least one data table, records in the at least one data table including respective data values and corresponding references to the second table identifying property types associated with the respective data values; and

wherein populating the records in the at least one data table includes populating the records in the at least one data table to include respective references identifying storage area network resource types in the first table to which the respective data values pertain, the method further comprising;

populating an object instance table that includes records identifying different resources present in the storage area network environment, each record in the object instance table including;

i) a unique identifier associated with a respective resource of the storage area network environment, and ii) a reference to a record in the first table identifying a resource type associated with the respective resource;

wherein populating the records in the at least one data table includes populating records in the at least one data table to include references to records in the object instance table to identify corresponding resources in the storage area network environment to which the data in the at least one data table pertains;

populating the second table to include at least one record specifying a property type that is associated with a first resource type in the first table but is not associated with a second resource type in the first table; and

populating the second table to include at least one record specifying a property type that is associated with a second resource type in the first table but is not associated with the first resource type in the first table.

2. A computer-implemented method as in claim 1, wherein populating the first table, the second table, and the at least one data table supports utilization of a common physical schema for populating a respective set of attributes associated with each of multiple different types of storage area network resources present in the storage area network environment.

3. A computer-implemented method as in claim 1 further comprising:

populating the first table to include;

i) a first identifier representing a first type of storage area network resource, and

ii) a second identifier representing a second type of storage area network resource;

populating the second table to include;

i) a first record specifying a first property type associated with the first storage area network resource,

ii) a second record specifying a second property type associated with the first storage area network resource,

iii) a third record specifying a first property type associated with the second storage area network resource, and

iv) a fourth record specifying a second property type associated with the second storage area network resource.

4. A computer-implemented method as in claim 1 further comprising:

implementing a database management process to;

i) receive queries for collection of information stored in the tables of the relational database;

ii) utilize references in the tables to identify and retrieve record information that satisfy the queries; and

iii) forward the retrieved record information to a display manager application that populates a display medium with the retrieved record information.

5. A method as in claim 1, populating the at least one data table includes:

populating a first data table to store a first type of data associated with multiple different types of resources present in the storage area network environment;

storing the information in the first data table as a first contiguous block of searchable data in the database;

populating a second data table to store a second type of data associated with the multiple different types of resources present in the storage area network environment; and

storing the information in the second data table as a second contiguous block of searchable data in the database.

6. A method as in claim 1 further comprising:

populating a relationship identifier table in the relational database to identify associations between different resources present in the storage area network environment, the different resources being of the possible types as identified in the records of the first table.

7. A method as in claim 6 further comprising:

populating a relationship type table in the relational database to include records identifying different types of relationships between resources in the storage area network environment; and

wherein populating the relationship identifier table includes reserving a portion of the relationship identifier table to store references to records in the relationship type table in order to indicate types of relationships between resources specified in the relationship identifier table.

10. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:

populating the second table to include different property types for the resource types specified in the first table.

11. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:

populating the second table to include multiple different resource property types associated with the first resource type in the first table; and

populating the second table to include multiple different resource property types associated with the second resource type in the first table.

12. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:

populating given data in the at least one data table; and

populating the at least one data table to include a first reference and a second reference associated with the given data, the first reference specifying a resource type in the first table, the second reference specifying a property type in the second table, the property type as specified by the second reference indicating a respective resource property associated with a resource type as specified by the first reference.

13. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:

populating the first table to include the first resource type, the second resource type, and a third resource type;

populating a relationship identifier table in the relational database, the relationship identifier table specifying relationship types for groupings of the different possible types of resources in the storage area network environment; and

populating the relationship identifier table to include at least a first relationship type and a second relationship type, the first relationship type indicating a relationship type between the first resource type and the second resource type, the second relationship type indicating a relationship type between the second resource type with and third resource type.

14. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a request for given data stored in the at least one data table;

accessing a record in the at least one data table, the record including the given data, a first reference, and a second reference;

utilizing the first reference to access the first table and identify a resource type to which the given data pertains; and

utilizing the second reference to access the second table and identify a resource property type to which the given data pertains.

8. A computer system comprising:

a processor;

a memory unit that stores instructions associated with an application executed by the processor; and

an interconnect coupling the processor and the memory unit, enabling the computer system to execute the application and perform operations of;

populating a first table in a relational database, records in the first table specifying different possible types of resources in a storage area network environment;

populating a second table in the relational database, records in the second table specifying property types associated with each of the different possible types of resources specified in the records of the first table;

populating at least one data table in the relational database to store data for the property types specified in the second table;

utilizing the first table, the second table, and the at least one data table to support a common database schema for storage of attribute information associated with each of multiple types of resources in the storage area network environment;

populating records in the at least one data table, records in the at least one data table including respective data values and corresponding references to the second table identifying property types associated with the respective data values; and

wherein populating the records in the at least one data table includes populating the records in the at least one data table to include respective references identifying storage area network resource types in the first table to which the respective data values pertain;

populating an object instance table that includes records identifying different resources present in the storage area network environment, each record in the object instance table including;

i) a unique identifier associated with a respective resource of the storage area network environment, and ii) a reference to a record in the first table identifying a resource type associated with the respective resource;

wherein populating the records in the at least one data table includes populating records in the at least one data table to include references to records in the object instance table to identify corresponding resources in the storage area network environment to which the data in the at least one data table pertains;

populating the second table to include at least one record specifying a property type that is associated with a first resource type in the first table but is not associated with a second resource type in the first table; and

populating the second table to include at least one record specifying a property type that is associated with a second resource type in the first table but is not associated with the first resource type in the first table.

9. A computer program product including a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon for processing data information, such that the instructions, when carried out by a processing device, enable the processing device to perform the steps of:

populating a first table in a relational database, records in the first table specifying different possible types of resources in the storage area network environment;

populating a second table in the relational database, records in the second table specifying property types associated with each of the different possible types of resources specified in the records of the first table; and

populating at least one data table in the relational database to store data for the property types specified in the second table;

utilizing the first table, the second table, and the at least one data table to support a common database schema for storage of attribute information associated with each of multiple types of resources in the storage area network environment;

populating records in the at least one data table, records in the at least one data table including respective data values and corresponding references to the second table identifying property types associated with the respective data values; and

wherein populating the records in the at least one data table includes populating the records in the at least one data table to include respective references identifying storage area network resource types in the first table to which the respective data values pertain.