Quick deployment method

• US 7,653,901 B2
• Filed: 01/13/2005
• Issued: 01/26/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Takamoto, Yoshifumi, Tameshige, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhen; Wei Y
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wu; Junchun
• Application Number:
  US11/033,731
• Publication Number:
  US 20060123386A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,839 Days
• Field of Search: 717168-173
• US Class Current: 717/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/63 Image based installation; Cloning; Build to order

Abstract

Provided is a deployment method for a server system that includes a storage system having logical disks where disk images are stored and plural servers connected to the storage system via a storage network, the method including the step of causing a deploy management module to copy the logical disks which store the disk images to a free area of the storage system before a deployment command is received. According to this invention, disk images are quickly deployed to servers.

Claims

1. A deployment method for a server system that comprises a storage system having logical disks where disk images containing operating systems are stored and plural servers connected to the storage system via a storage network, the method comprising the steps of:

causing a deploy management module, having a Logical Unit (LU) management table to manage capacity and priority of copies of the logical disks which store the disk images, to copy the logical disks so that a copy of each disk image is stored in at least one of a plurality of logical units to a free area of the storage system before a deployment command, which requests deployment, is received in preparation for addition of a server to a service;

causing the deploy management module to receive the deployment command;

causing the deploy management module to consult, upon reception of the deployment command, the LU management table in order to judge whether or not the copies of the logical disks that store disk images to be deployed by the command are in a free area of the storage system;

causing the deploy management module to copy the logical disks that store the disk images to be deployed by the command to the free area of the storage system when the copies of the logical disks are not in the free area of the storage system;

causing the deploy management module to consult, when there is a shortage of the free area of the storage system, the LU management table in order to select a logical disk copy of low priority; and

causing the deploy management module to delete the selected logical disk copy,

wherein a number of copies of logical disks corresponding to each disk image is determined based on an importance of each disk image.

2. The deployment method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

causing the deploy management module to receive the deployment command;

causing the deploy management module to set, upon reception of the deployment command, paths between the servers in which disk images are to be deployed by the command and copies of the logical disks that store the disk images; and

causing the deploy management module to set server-specific information to the copies of the logical disks.

3. The deployment method according to claim 1, wherein the deploy management module has a license management table to manage licenses of contents contained in the disk images, and

wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

causing the deploy management module to consult, prior to the step of copying the logical disks which store the disk images, the license management table in order to judge whether or not there are unused licenses of contents contained in the disk images;

causing the deploy management module to notify a shortage of license when there are no unused licenses; and

causing the deploy management module to copy the logical disks that store the disk images to the free area of the storage system when there are unused licenses.

4. The deployment method according to claim 1, wherein the deploy management module has a policy table which shows timing of executing the step of copying the logical disks which store the disk images, and

wherein the method further comprises the step of causing the deploy management module to consult the policy table in order to judge whether or not the logical disks should be copied to the free area of the storage system.

5. The deployment method according to claim 4, wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

causing the deploy management module to obtain information on the servers; and

causing the deploy management module to change the policy table in accordance with the obtained information on the servers.

6. The deployment method according to claim 1, wherein the deploy management module has a patch management table to manage patches related to the disk images, and

wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

causing the deploy management module to retrieve from the patch management table the disk images that have no patches applied; and

causing the deploy management module to apply patches to the logical disks that store the retrieved disk images.

7. The deployment method according to claim 1, wherein the number of the copies of the logical disks corresponding to each disk image is capable to change by computing resource operation rate.

8. The deployment method according to claim 1, wherein the number of the copies of the logical disks corresponding to each disk image is capable to change by service application type.

9. A server system comprising:

a storage system having logical disks where disk images containing operating systems are stored;

plural servers connected to the storage system via a storage area network; and

a deploy management module to deploy the disk images in the servers,

wherein the deploy management module comprises;

a communication module which receives a deployment command, and

an Logical Unit (LU) management module, having a LU management table to manage capacity and priority of copies of the logical disks which store disk images, which copies the logical disks so that a copy of each disk image is stored in at least one of a plurality of logical units to a free area of the storage system before a deployment command, which requests deployment, is received in preparation for addition of a server to a service,

wherein the LU management module consults, upon reception of the deployment command, the LU management table in order to judge whether or not copies of the logical disks that store disk images to be deployed by the command are in a free area of the storage system, and the LU management module copies the logical disks that store the disk images to be deployed by the command to the free area of the storage system when copies of the logical disks are not in the free area of the storage system,

wherein the LU management module consults, when there is a shortage of the free area of the storage system, the LU management table in order to select a logical disk copy of low priority, and the LU management module deletes the selected logical disk copy, and

wherein a number of the copies of logical disks corresponding to each disk image is determined based on an importance of each disk image.

10. The server system according to claim 9, wherein the deploy management module sets, upon reception of the deployment command, paths between the servers in which disk images are to be deployed by the command and copies of the logical disks that store the disk images, and

wherein the deploy management module further sets server-specific information to the copies of the logical disks.

11. The server system according to claim 9, wherein the number of the copies of logical disks corresponding to each disk image is capable to change by computing resource operation rate.

12. The server system according to claim 9, wherein the number of the copies of logical disks corresponding to each disk image is capable to change by service application type.