Storage of administrative data on a remote management device

• US 7,899,680 B2
• Filed: 03/04/2005
• Issued: 03/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NetApp, Inc.
• Original Assignee: NetApp, Inc.
• Inventors: Insley, Mark, Gilson, Dan, Rubin, Michael, Snyder, Peter, Kalra, Pradeep
• Primary Examiner(s): Casler; Traci L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bahl; Sangeeta
• Application Number:
  US11/073,293
• Publication Number:
  US 20060200361A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,188 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 705/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the invention, a remote management device is integrated into a processing system, such as a filer or other storage server, and the remote management device and administrative data (such as console data) generated by the processing system are accessible even if the processing system becomes inoperable. The processing system includes a console port that outputs administrative data in the form of administrative data during system operation. The remote management device is accessible remotely, for example through a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, or a combination of networks. The remote management device intercepts the administrative data output by the console port and stores the data into memory on the remote management device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving administrative data from a processing system at a remote management device, the remote management device being coupled locally to the processing system to allow remote management of the processing system;

determining, in the remote management device, that a first portion of the administrative data is from a firmware of the processing system, by using first metadata appended to the first portion;

determining, in the remote management device, that a second portion of the administrative data is from an operating system of the processing system, by using second metadata appended to the second portion;

storing at least a portion of the administrative data in a memory in the remote management device, including

storing the first portion of the administrative data in a first partition of the memory; and

storing the second portion of the administrative data in a second partition of the memory; and

making the administrative data in the memory available to a remote system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving administrative data comprises receiving console data from a console port of the processing system.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving console data comprises receiving the console data through a serial universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter (UART) connection.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting the at least a portion of the administrative data to a remote server over a network.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein transmitting comprises e-mailing the at least a portion of the administrative data in response to the processing system rebooting.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein storing at least a portion of the administrative data comprises storing at least a portion of the administrative data when no terminal is monitoring the processing system.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein storing at least a portion of the administrative data comprises:

establishing a size limit for the administrative data in the memory; and

storing the administrative data in the memory.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

overwriting administrative data in the memory when the size limit is reached.

9. A storage server comprising:

a remote management device to allow remote management of the storage server by a remote terminal, the remote management device including;

a circuit substrate installed within the storage server;

a memory disposed on the circuit substrate;

an interface coupled to the memory and disposed on the circuit substrate, through which to communicate with the storage server;

a processor disposed on the circuit substrate and configured to store in the memory administrative data generated by and received from the storage server, the processor further configured to

determine that a first portion of the administrative data is from a firmware of the storage server by using first metadata appended to the first portion; and

determine that a second portion of the administrative data is from an operating system of the storage server by using second metadata appended to the second portion;

store the first portion of the administrative data in a first partition of the memory; and

store the second portion of the administrative data in a second partition of the memory; and

a network connection disposed on the circuit substrate and configured to make the administrative data remotely available to the remote terminal.

10. The storage server of claim 9, wherein the memory includes at least one partition to store the administrative data, wherein at least one of the first partition and the second partition has a fixed size.

11. The storage server of claim 9, wherein the administrative data is generated by a console port on the storage server.

12. The storage server of claim 9, wherein the remote management device operates on standby power generated by a power supply of the storage server.

13. The storage server of claim 9, wherein the administrative data is transmitted over a serial connection between the interface and the storage server.

14. The storage server of claim 13, wherein the administrative data is packetized by a packet layer when it is transmitted through the serial interface.

15. The storage server of claim 14, wherein each packet generated by the packet layer includes a metadata byte and a console byte, and wherein the metadata byte indicates whether the console byte was generated by the firmware or by the operating system.

16. A method for storing administrative data comprising:

intercepting, in a processing system, a portion of administrative data to be outputted by the processing system;

determining, in the processing system, whether a source of the portion of administrative data is firmware of the processing system or an operating system of the processing system;

in response to determining whether the source of the portion of administrative data is firmware of the processing system or an operating system of the processing system, appending metadata to the portion of administrative data to create a packet, the metadata indicating the source of the portion of administrative data; and

transmitting the packet from the processing system to a remote management device located within the processing system, the remote management device to allow remote management of the processing system.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

storing the packet in a memory of the remote management device.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

determining the source of the portion of administrative data by examining the metadata;

wherein storing the packet in a memory comprises storing the packet in a partition of the memory corresponding to the source.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

determining whether the processing system is operational; and

e-mailing a remote administrator if the processing system is not operational.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein determining whether the processing system is operational comprises monitoring a signal indicating that the processing system is operational.

21. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

determining whether the processing system has rebooted; and

e-mailing a remote administrator if the system has rebooted.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein determining whether the system has rebooted comprises examining the metadata to determine whether the portion of administrative data was generated by a firmware of the processing system.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein e-mailing a remote administrator comprises e-mailing stored administrative data to the remote administrator.

24. A machine readable storage medium having stored thereon executable program code which, when executed, causes a machine to perform a method for remotely monitoring a processing system, the method comprising:

receiving administrative data from the processing system at a remote management device, the remote management device being coupled locally to the processing system to allow remote management of the processing system;

identifying a first portion of the administrative data as being from a firmware of the processing system, by using first metadata appended to the first portion;

identifying a second portion of the administrative data as being from an operating system of the processing system, by using second metadata appended to the second portion;

storing at least a portion of the administrative data in a memory in the remote management device, including

storing the first portion of the administrative data in a first partition of a memory in the remote management device; and

storing the second portion of the administrative data in a second partition of the memory in the remote management device; and

making the administrative data in the memory available to a remote terminal.

25. The machine readable medium of claim 24, wherein storing at least a portion of the administrative data comprises:

establishing a size limit for the administrative data in the memory; and

storing the administrative data in the memory.

26. A remote management module for use in a processing system to allow management or monitoring of the processing system by a remote terminal, the remote management module comprising:

a circuit substrate designed for installation within the processing system;

a communication interface disposed on the circuit substrate, through which the remote management module can communicate with the processing system;

a network interface disposed on the circuit substrate, through which the remote management module can communicate with the remote terminal over a network;

a memory disposed on the circuit substrate; and

a processor disposed on the circuit substrate and coupled to the communication interface, the network interface and the memory, the processor configured to control operations of the remote management module, such that the remote management module receives administrative data from the processing system, the administrative data including first administrative data generated by firmware of the processing system and corresponding first metadata appended to the first administrative data to indicate that the first administrative data was generated by the firmware of the processing system, the administrative data further including second administrative data generated by an operating system of the processing system and corresponding second metadata data appended to the second administrative data to indicate that the second administrative data was generated by the operating system of the processing system, wherein the remote management module uses the first metadata to determine that the first administrative data is from the firmware and uses the second metadata to determine that the second administrative data is from the operating system, and wherein the remote management further stores the first administrative data in a first partition of the memory and stores the second administrative data in a second partition of the memory, and wherein the remote management module is operable to make the first administrative data and the second administrative data available to the remote terminal even when the processing system is inoperable.

27. The remote management module of claim 26, wherein the processing system is a storage server for providing network storage services to a plurality of clients.

28. The remote management module of claim 26, wherein the remote management module is configured to store administrative data from a plurality of boot sessions of the processing system in separate partitions of the memory.