Management for replication of data stored in a data storage environment including a system and method for failover protection of software agents operating in the environment

• US 7,827,136 B1
• Filed: 06/27/2003
• Issued: 11/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Wang, Yun, Wang, Yao
• Primary Examiner(s): Rones; Charles
• Assistant Examiner(s): Adams; Charles D
• Application Number:
  US10/608,757
• Time in Patent Office: 2,685 Days
• Field of Search: 714/1, 714/4, 714/6, 714/42, 703/2, 370/242, 711/114
• US Class Current: 707/610
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1482 by means of middleware or OS functionality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2094 Redundant storage or storage space G06F11/2056 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2097 maintaining the standby controller/processing unit updated initialisation or re-synchronisation thereof G06F11/1658 and subgroups
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0663 Performing the actions predefined by failover planning, e.g. switching to standby network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0894 Policy-based network configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0896 Bandwidth or capacity management, i.e. automatically increasing or decreasing capacities flow or congestion control using dynamic resource allocation, e.g. in-call renegotiation, H04L47/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5019 Ensuring fulfilment of SLA
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes

Abstract

A system and method for management for data replication in a data storage environment is disclosed. The system includes an architecture, software, and methodology for recovering from failure of software agents, which are operational in the data storage environment, by an ordered allocation of non-failed software agents to compensate for the failed agents.

Claims

1. A software agent failure tolerant computer architecture for managing resources for transfer of data stored in a data storage environment including at least two data storage systems, and wherein data is replicated from one of the at least two data storage systems to at least one other data storage system of the at least two data storage systems, the architecture comprising:

a data transfer server;

one or more primary software agents hosted on said data storage system comprising independent storage devices, said primary software agent in communication with the data transfer server, the primary software agent configured to perform data transfer operations in response to commands from the data transfer server;

one or more failover software agents, each failover software agent residing on a host that is different from each other failover software agent and each primary software agent, in communication over a network with the primary software agents, the data transfer server, and at least one of the two data storage systems, the failover software agents being remote from the primary software agent and wherein each of said failover software agents is configured to execute scripts residing on a host with one of the primary software agents or one of the failover software agents to control host applications, wherein said primary software agent further represents a failover software agent for another of said primary software agents in another one of said data storage systems;

a failover protocol for determining an order in which said primary software agents and said failover software agents, within a communication path of a data transfer, are designated to take over the data transfer operation and the primary software agent or failover software agent designated to take over the data transfer executes scripts residing on a host with a failed primary software agent to control host applications residing on the host with the failed primary software agent to put the replication data in condition for the designated primary software agent or designated failover software agent to push and pull replication data during the replication in response to one or more data transfer commands when a failure of one or more of said primary software agents or said failover software agents is determined, said protocol being determined during a configuration of said computer architecture.

2. The architecture of claim 1, where the data transfer operation is a replication of data within the data storage environment.

3. The architecture of claim 1, wherein server commands to the primary software agents and failover software agents are sent over a network in accordance with an IP protocol.

4. The architecture of claim 1, wherein the primary software agents and failover software agents communicate with the at least one data storage system over the network in accordance with a Fibre Channel protocol.

5. The architecture of claim 1, wherein a predetermined hierarchal relationship is followed by the data transfer server to select the order in which the failover software agents are commanded to take over the data transfer of the one or more determined failed primary software agents or failover software agents.

6. A software agent failure tolerant computer architecture for managing resources for replication of data stored in a data storage environment including at least two data storage systems, and wherein data is replicated from one of the at least two data storage systems to at least one other data storage system of the at least two data storage systems, the architecture comprising:

a data replication management server;

one or more software agents, designated as primary software agents, hosted on said data storage system, said data storage system comprising independent storage devices, said primary software agents in communication with at least one of the two data storage systems and the data replication management server, the primary software agents configured to perform data replication operations in response to commands from the data replication management server;

one or more failover software agents, each failover software agent residing on a host that is different from each other failover software agent and each primary software agent, in communication over a network with at least one of the primary software agents, the data replication management server, and at least one of the two data storage systems, the failover software agents being remote from the primary software agents and wherein each of said failover software agents is configured to execute scripts residing on a host with one of the primary software agents or one of the failover software agents on the host to control host applications, wherein said primary software agent further represents a failover software agent for another of said primary software agents in another one of said data storage systems;

a failover protocol for determining an order in which said primary software agents and said failover software agents, within a communication path of a data transfer, are designated to take over the data transfer and the primary software agent or failover software agent designated to take over the data transfer operation executes scripts residing on the host with a failed primary software agent to control host applications residing on the host with the failed primary software agent to put the replication data in condition for the software agent to push and pull replication data during the replication in response to one or more data transfer commands when a failure of one or more of said primary software agents or said failover software agents is determined, said protocol being determined during a configuration of said computer architecture.

7. The architecture of claim 6, wherein server commands to the primary software agents and the failover software agents are sent over a network in accordance with an IP protocol.

8. The architecture of claim 6, wherein the primary software agents and the failover software agents communicate with the at least one data storage system over the network in accordance with a Fibre Channel protocol.

9. The architecture of claim 6, wherein the data replication management server uses a predetermined hierarchal relationship to select the order in which designated ones of the failover software agents are commanded to take over the data transfer of the one or more determined failed primary software agents or failover software agents.

10. A method for managing fault-tolerant resources for replication of data stored in a data storage environment including at least two data storage systems, and wherein data is replicated from one of the at least two data storage systems to at least one other data storage system of the at least two data storage systems, and at least one software agent in communication with at least one data replication management server for managing the fault tolerant resources, the method comprising:

configuring one or more software agents as failover agents, each failover software agent residing on a host that is different from each other software agent, that are in remote communication over a network with at least one other software agent designated as a primary software agent, and wherein each of said failover software agents is configured to execute scripts residing on a host with one of the primary software agents or one of the failover software agents to control host applications, the host being in communication with the data replication management server, and at least one of the two data storage systems, wherein said primary software agent further represents a failover software agent for another of said primary software agents in another one of said data storage systems;

establishing a failover protocol for determining an order in which said software agents, within a communication path of a data transfer, are designated to take over the data transfer and the primary software agent or the failover software agent designated to take over the data transfer operation executes scripts residing on the host with a failed primary software agent to control host applications residing on the host with the failed primary software agent to put the replication data in condition for the software agent to push and pull replication data during the replication in response to one or more data transfer commands when a failure of one or more of said software agents is determined, said protocol being determined during configuration of said computer architecture.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein server commands to the software agents are sent over a network in accordance with an IP protocol.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the software agents communicate with the at least one data storage system over the network in accordance with a Fibre Channel protocol.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the data replication management server uses a predetermined hierarchal relationship to select the order in which designated ones of the failover software agents are commanded to take over the data transfer of the one or more determined failed software agents.

14. A software agent failure tolerant computer system for managing resources for replication of data stored in a data storage environment including at least two data storage systems, and wherein data is replicated from one of the at least two data storage systems to at least one other data storage system of the at least two data storage systems, the system comprising:

a data replication management server;

at least one software agent, designated as a primary software agent, hosted on said data storage system, said primary software agent in communication with at least one of the two data storage systems and the data replication management server, the primary software agent configured to perform data replication operations in response to commands from the data replication management server;

one or more failover software agents, each failover software agent residing on a host that is different from each other failover software agent and each primary software agent, in communication over a network with the primary software agent, the data replication management server, and at least one of the two data storage systems, the failover software agents being remote from the primary software agent and wherein each of said failover software agents is configured to execute scripts residing on a host with one of the primary software agents or one of the failover software agents to control host applications, wherein said primary software agent further represents a failover software agent for another of said primary software agents in another one of said data storage systems; and

a computer-executable program for carrying out a failover protocol for determining an order in which said primary software agents and said failover software agents, within a communication path of a data transfer, are designated to take over the data transfer and the primary software agent or the failover software agent designated to take over the data transfer operation executes scripts residing on the host with a failed primary software agent to control host applications residing on the host with the failed primary software agent to put the replication data in condition for the software agent to push and pull replication data during the replication in response to one or more data transfer commands when a failure of one or more of said software agents is determined.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein server commands to the primary software agents and the failover software agents are sent over a network in accordance with an IP protocol.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the primary software agents and the failover software agents communicate with the at least one data storage system over the network in accordance with a Fibre Channel protocol.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the data replication management server uses a predetermined hierarchal relationship to select the order in which designated ones of the failover software agents are commanded to take over the data transfer of the one or more determined failed primary software agents or failover software agents.