Apparatus, system, and method for facilitating management of logical nodes through a single management module

• US 7,734,753 B2
• Filed: 10/12/2004
• Issued: 06/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hickman, John Edward, Van Gundy, Steven Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Bruckart; Benjamin R
• Assistant Examiner(s): LI, GUANG W
• Application Number:
  US10/963,266
• Publication Number:
  US 20060095702A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,065 Days
• Field of Search: 709/223, 711/100
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0604 Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. storage management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0659 Command handling arrangements, e.g. command buffers, queues, command scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5077 Logical partitioning of resources; Management or configuration of virtualized resources specific details on emulation or internal functioning of virtual machines G06F9/455

Abstract

An apparatus, system, and method are provided for facilitating management of logical nodes through a single management module. The present invention includes a communication module that selectively communicates a management command from a single management module to one or more logical nodes. A translation module translates the management command into one or more functionally equivalent software-layer commands recognized by one of the software layers of the one or more logical nodes. The software-layer commands are compatible with each logical node. A direction module directs the one or more software-layer commands to an appropriate one of the software layers according to a management command scope. The present invention can address management commands to a plurality of logical nodes having disparate operating systems and executing applications.

Claims

1. An apparatus to facilitate management of logical nodes through a single management module, the apparatus comprising:

a communication module configured to selectively communicate a management command from a single management module to a plurality of logical nodes, wherein the plurality of logical nodes comprises at least a first Logical Partition (LPAR), second LPAR, third LPAR, and fourth LPAR, the first and third LPARS defining a first Central Electronics Complex (CEC) operatively coupled to a hardware platform and the second and fourth LPARs defining a second CEC operatively coupled to the hardware platform, and the first and second LPARS defining a Storage Facility Image (SFI) and the third and fourth LPARs defining a Storage Application Image (SAI), wherein the first LPAR operates using computing resources of the first CEC, the second LPAR operates using computing resources of the second CEC, the third LPAR operates using computing resources of the first CEC, and the fourth LPAR operates using computing resources of the second CEC;

a plurality of translation modules, each of the first, second, third, and fourth LPARs comprising a corresponding one of the plurality of translation modules, wherein each translation module is executable by the corresponding LPAR, each translation module being configured to translate the management command into one or more functionally equivalent software-layer commands recognized by one of the software layers of the corresponding LPARs, each of the one or more software-layer commands being configured for compatibility with the corresponding LPAR, and wherein each translation module translates the management command after the management command is received by the LPAR from the communication module; and

a plurality of direction modules, each of the plurality of LPARS comprising a corresponding one of the plurality of direction modules, wherein each direction module is executable by the corresponding LPAR, each direction module configured to direct respective software-layer commands to an appropriate one of the software layers of the corresponding LPAR according to a management command scope;

wherein the communication, translation, and direction modules each comprises at least one of logic hardware and executable code, the executable code being stored on one or more non-transmissible computer readable media.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first and second LPARs are in a peer-to-peer domain with each other such that the first LPAR mirrors data processing operations of the second LPAR.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the third and fourth LPARS are in a peer-to-peer domain with each other such that the third LPAR mirrors data processing operations of the fourth LPAR.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a user interface configured to allow a user to direct the management command to a domain, the domain comprising at least two logical nodes.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the communication module, translation module, and direction module cooperate to pass the software-layer commands through a management subsystem linking the management module and the one or more logical nodes.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the management subsystem comprises an object model representative of firmware, software, hardware, and logical entities present on the logical nodes.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the software layers are selected from the group consisting of an application layer, a system layer, and a firmware layer.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the single management module comprises a dedicated management hardware device.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the communication module and management module comprise portions of a management console, and wherein the translation module and direction module comprise portions of a server, the management console being communicable with the server over a communication network.

10. A system to facilitate management of logical nodes through a single management module, comprising:

a first Central Electronics Complex (CEC) operatively coupled to a hardware platform, the first CEC comprising a plurality of symmetric multiprocessors organized into a first processor complex, a plurality of electronic memory devices, a plurality of direct access storage devices, a plurality of network Input/Output (I/O) interface devices, and a plurality of management interface devices, each of the devices of the CEC electronically coupled for exchange of data and control information;

a second CEC operatively coupled to the hardware platform, the second CEC comprising a plurality of symmetric multiprocessors organized into a second processor complex, a plurality of electronic memory devices, a plurality of direct access storage devices, a plurality of network Input/Output (I/O) interface devices, and a plurality of management interface devices, each of the devices of the CEC electronically coupled for exchange of data and control information;

at least one Storage Facility Image (SFI) comprising a first Logical Partition (LPAR) defined to operate using computing resources of the first CEC and a second LPAR defined to operate using computing resources of the second CEC, the first LPAR in a peer-to-peer domain with the second LPAR such that the second LPAR mirrors data processing operations of the first LPAR, the first LPAR and second LPAR dedicated to storage and retrieval of data;

at least one Storage Application Image (SAI) comprising a third Logical Partition (LPAR) defined to operate using computing resources of the first CEC and a fourth LPAR defined to operate using computing resources of the second CEC, the third LPAR in a peer-to-peer domain with the fourth LPAR such that the fourth LPAR mirrors data processing operations of the third LPAR, the third LPAR and fourth LPAR dedicated to data storage applications;

a management module in communication with a communication module configured to selectively communicate a management command from the management module to one or more of the at least one SFI and at least one SAI;

a plurality of translation modules, each of the first, second, third, and fourth LPAR comprising an associated one of the plurality of translation modules, wherein each translation module is configured to translate the management command into one or more functionally equivalent software-layer commands recognized by one of the software layers of the associated LPAR included in the at least one SFI and at least one SAI, the software-layer commands configured for compatibility with the associated LPAR, wherein each of the plurality of translation modules translates the management command after the management command is received by the associated LPAR from the communication module; and

a plurality of direction modules each configured to direct the one or more software-layer commands for an associated LPAR to an appropriate one of the software layers of the associated LPAR according to a management command scope.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the communication module communicates the one or more software-layer commands to corresponding software layers of a plurality of SFIs and SAIs defined for a plurality of hardware platforms.

12. The system of claim 10, further comprising a user interface configured to allow a user to direct the management command to one or more domains, each domain comprising an SFI, an SAI, or a combination of SFIs and SAIs.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the communication module communicates the one or more software-layer commands through a management subsystem linking the management module and the at least one SFI and at least one SAI.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the management subsystem comprises an object model representative of firmware, software, hardware, and logical entities present on the at least one SFI and at least one SAI.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the software layers are selected from the group consisting of an application layer, a system layer, and a firmware layer.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the management module comprises a dedicated management hardware device.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the management module and communication module comprise portions of a management console, and wherein the translation modules and the one or more of the at least one SFI and at least one SAI comprise portions of a server, the management console being communicable with the server over a communication network.

18. A non-transmissible computer readable medium tangibly embodying a program of machine-readable instructions executable by a digital processing apparatus to perform operations to facilitate management of logical nodes through a single management module, the operations comprising:

an operation to communicate a management command selectively from a single management module to a plurality of logical nodes, wherein the plurality of logical nodes comprises at least a first Logical Partition (LPAR), second LPAR, third LPAR, and fourth LPAR, the first and third LPARs defining a first Central Electronics Complex (CEC) and the second and fourth LPARs defining a second CEC, and the first and second LPARS defining a Storage Facility Image (SFI) and the third and fourth LPARS defining a Storage Application Image (SAI), wherein the first LPAR operates using computing resources of the first CEC, the second LPAR operates using computing resources of the second CEC, the third LPAR operates using computing resources of the first CEC, and the fourth LPAR operates using computing resources of the second CEC;

an operation to separately translate the management command at each of the first second, third, and fourth LPARS into one or more functionally equivalent software-layer commands recognized by one of the software layers of an associated LPAR, the software-layer commands configured for compatibility with an associated LPAR, wherein the management command is separately translated by the LPARS after the management command is communicated from the single management module to the LPARS; and

an operation to separately direct respective software-layer commands to an appropriate one of the software layers of an associated LPAR according to a management command scope.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the first and second LPARs are in a peer-to-peer domain with each other such that the first LPAR mirrors data processing operations of the second LPAR.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the third and fourth LPARS are in a peer-to-peer domain with each other such that the third LPAR mirrors data processing operations of the fourth LPAR.

21. The computer readable medium of claim 18, further comprises an operation to present a user interface configured to allow a user to direct the management command to a domain, the domain comprising at least one of the SFI and SAI.

22. The computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the operation to direct the software-layer commands further comprises an operation to pass the software-layer commands through a management subsystem linking the management module and the LPARs.

23. The computer readable medium of claim 22, wherein the management subsystem comprises an object model representative of firmware, software, hardware, and logical entities present on the LPARs.

24. The computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the software layers are selected from the group consisting of an application layer, a system layer, and a firmware layer.

25. The computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the single management module comprises a dedicated management hardware device.

26. The computer readable medium of claim 18, further comprising an operation to relay response messages from the LPARs to the single management module.

27. The computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the software-layer commands are communicated out-of band.

28. The computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the operation to communicate the management command comprises communicating the management command from a management console comprising the single management module across a communication network to a server comprising the LPARS.

29. A method for facilitating management of logical nodes through a single management module, the method comprising:

communicating a management command selectively from a single management module to a plurality of logical nodes, wherein the plurality of logical nodes comprises at least a first Logical Partition (LPAR), second LPAR, third LPAR, and fourth LPAR, the first and third LPARS defining a first Central Electronics Complex (CEC) operatively coupled to a hardware platform and the second and fourth LPARS defining a second CEC operatively coupled to the hardware platform, and the first and second LPARs defining a Storage Facility Image (SFI) and the third and fourth LPARs defining a Storage Application Image (SAI), wherein the first LPAR operates using computing resources of the first CEC, the second LPAR operates using computing resources of the second CEC, the third LPAR operates using computing resources of the first CEC, and the fourth LPAR operates using computing resources of the second CEC;

separately translating the management command at each of the first, second, third, and fourth LPARs into one or more functionally equivalent software-layer commands recognized by one of the software layers of an associated LPAR, the software-layer commands configured for compatibility with an associated LPAR, wherein the management command is separately translated by the LPARs after the management command is communicated from the single management module to the LPARS; and

separately directing respective software-layer commands to an appropriate one of the software layers of an associated LPAR according to a management command scope.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein communicating the management command comprises communicating the management command from a management console comprising the single management module across a communication network to a server comprising the LPARs.

31. An apparatus for facilitating management of logical nodes through a single management module, the apparatus comprising:

means for communicating a management command selectively from a single management module to a plurality of logical nodes, wherein the plurality of logical nodes comprises at least a first Logical Partition (LPAR), second LPAR, third LPAR, and fourth LPAR, the first and third LPARs defining a first Central Electronics Complex (CEC) and the second and fourth LPARs defining a second CEC, and the first and second LPARs defining a Storage Facility Image (SFI) and the third and fourth LPARs defining a Storage Application Image (SAI), wherein the first LPAR operates using computing resources of the first CEC, the second LPAR operates using computing resources of the second CEC, the third LPAR operates using computing resources of the first CEC, and the fourth LPAR operates using computing resources of the second CEC;

means for separately translating the management command at each of the first second, third, and fourth LPARs into one or more functionally equivalent software-layer commands recognized by one of the software layers of an associated LPAR, the software-layer commands configured for compatibility with an associated LPAR, wherein the management command is separately translated by the LPARS after the management command is communicated from the single management module to the LPARS; and

means for separately directing respective software-layer commands to an appropriate one of the software layers of an associated LPAR according to a management command scope;

wherein the means for communicating, means for translating, and means for directing each comprises at least one of logic hardware and executable code, the executable code being stored on one or more non-transmissible computer readable media.

32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the means for communicating a management command and the single management module comprise portions of a management console, and wherein the means for translating the management command and the means for directing the software-layer commands comprise portions of a server, the management console being communicable with the server over a communication network.