Network configuration history tracking

• US 7,984,131 B1
• Filed: 06/28/2007
• Issued: 07/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Tiruveedi, Venkata R., Gandhi, Rajesh K.
• Primary Examiner(s): PHILLIPS, HASSAN A
• Application Number:
  US11/769,790
• Time in Patent Office: 1,482 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0856 by backing up or archiving configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0859 by keeping history of different configuration generations or by rolling back to previous configuration versions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

A SAN management application maintains configuration information in a near real-time (RT) manner for timely and accurate responses to queries. A database manager responsive to the management application aggregates information concerning both current and historical configurations by combining current and historical information sets as a common (DB) database portal responsive to an individual query for configuration data from both current and historical data. The common portal avoids redundant and duplicative entries between the current and historical information sets, and is responsive to the management application for maintaining each change on only one of the current and historical information sets. Configuration changes add, update and move data items between the current and historical information sets, but need not store a configuration change in both the current and history information sets.

Claims

1. A method of maintaining a change record comprising:

receiving an indication of a change for recordation in a repository, the repository for monitoring configuration of a storage area network (SAN);

identifying a current table of the repository and a history table of the repository;

storing the received change in the current table, the current table reflective of a current configuration of the network, storing further comprising recording only current entries in the current table;

moving, if the received change supercedes an item in the current table, the superceded item from the current table to the history table, the history table reflective of previous configuration states, further comprising recording only historical entries in the history table, the historical entries written previously as entries in the current table, each item in the current table not duplicative of the superceded item in the history table;

selectively updating if the received change is indicative of a previous state of a SAN element, the history table to reflect a previous state of the network configuration affected by the received change;

instantiating a view operable to combine the history table and the current table for access by a common query; and

directing preexisting applications to look to the instantiated view instead of the history table and the current table, thereby providing for retrofitting the preexisting applications for using common queries with a common portal provided by the instantiated view.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the indication of change includes at least one of add, delete and update operations to the entries, wherein the add operation requires only modifications to the current table.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the indication of change includes at least one of add, delete and update operations to the entries, and the delete operation avoids finding previous entries in the history table.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising storing an entry in the history table with an end time indicative of the termination of the state represented by the entry, the end time being other than a null value.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the current table is devoid of a termination time value, the presence of an entry in the current table being representative of a current state.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the indication of change is an add operation, further comprising:

aggregating fields pertaining to a new entry to be added;

storing the aggregated fields in the new entry; and

storing the entry in the current table without modifying the history table.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the indication of change is an update operation, further comprising:

aggregating fields pertaining to the entry to be updated;

storing the aggregated fields in a new update entry

indexing, using the aggregated fields, an entry for update in the current table;

copying the indexed entry to the history table;

storing the new update entry in the current table; and

adding a termination time to the copied entry in the history table, the termination time indicative of an effective time of the stored new update, wherein indexing the entry for update does not examine a preexisting field indicative of the effective time.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the indication of change is a delete operation, further comprising:

aggregating fields pertaining to the entry to be updated;

indexing, using the aggregated fields, an entry for delete in the current table;

copying the indexed entry to the history table; and

deleting the indexed entry from the current table, the indexing avoiding a preexisting effective time value.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the common portal established by the instantiated view executes queries configured for the current table or the history table provided by the preexisting applications to operate on the instantiated view for accessing both the current table and the history table.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the view invokes the common portal operable to combine the history table and the current table for access by a common query.

11. A management server for tracking configuration changes in a storage area network (SAN) comprising:

a first table having entries indicative of a current storage area network (SAN) configuration for storing current configuration data;

a second table having historical entries for storing historical configuration data, each of the historical entries derived from a previous entry in the first table, storing further comprising recording only current entries in the first table, the historical entries not including current entries;

a trigger processor operable to receive a change request to the SAN configuration;

a view processor operable to selectively update an entry in the second table to reflect a previous state of the network configuration affected by the received change if an entry in the first table is rendered obsolete by the change request, the received change indicative of a previous state of a SAN element, and further operable to delete the entry in the first table from which the entry in the second table was derived and instantiate a view operable to combine the history table and the current table for access by a common query; and

the trigger processor further configured to direct preexisting applications to look to the instantiated view instantiated by the view processor instead of the first table and the second table, thereby providing for retrofitting the preexisting applications for using common queries with a common portal provided by the instantiated view.

12. The server of claim 11 wherein the view processor is operable to selectively update the second table if the received change is indicative of a previous state of a network element, storing further comprising recording only current entries in the first table, such that the view processor records only historical entries in the second table, the historical entries written previously as entries in the current table, and recording only current entries in the first table.

13. The server of claim 12 wherein the change request includes at least one of add, delete and update operations to the entries, wherein the add operation requires only modifications to the first table.

14. The server of claim 12 wherein the change request includes at least one of add, delete and update operations to the entries, and the delete operation avoids finding previous entries in the second table.

15. The server of claim 11 further comprising storing an entry in the second table with an end time indicative of the termination of the state represented by the entry, the end time being other than a null value, wherein the first table is devoid of a termination time value, the presence of an entry in the first table being representative of a current state.

16. The server of claim 11 wherein the change request is an add operation, the view processor further operable to:

aggregate fields pertaining to a new entry to be added;

store the aggregated fields in the new entry; and

store the entry in the current table without modifying the history table.

17. The server of claim 11 wherein the change request is an update operation, the view processor further operable to:

aggregate fields pertaining to the entry to be updated;

store the aggregated fields in a new update entry;

index, using the aggregated fields, an entry for update in the current table;

copy the indexed entry to the history table;

store the new update entry in the current table; and

add a termination time to the copied entry in the history table, the termination time indicative of an effective time of the stored new update, wherein indexing the entry for update does not examine a preexisting field indicative of the effective time.

18. The server of claim 11 wherein the change request is a delete operation, the view processor further operable to:

aggregate fields pertaining to the entry to be updated;

index, using the aggregated fields, an entry for delete in the current table;

copy the indexed entry to the history table; and

delete the indexed entry from the current table, the indexing avoiding a preexisting effective time value.

19. A computer program product having a non-transitory computer readable storage medium operable to store computer program logic embodied in computer program code encoded as a set of processor based instructions thereon for maintaining a change record history of a storage area network (SAN) comprising:

computer program code for instantiating a view operable to combine a history table and a current table for access by a common query;

computer program code for defining a trigger responsive to a change to the current table, the trigger operable for moving, if the received change supercedes an item in the current table, the superceded item from the current table to the history table, moving further comprising recording only current entries in the current table, each item in the current table not duplicative of the superceded item in the history table and recording only historical entries in the history table, the historical entries written previously as entries in the current table;

computer program code for selectively updating, if the received change is indicative of a previous state of a SAN element, the history table to reflect a previous state of the storage area network (SAN) configuration affected by the received change; and

computer program code for directing preexisting applications to look to the instantiated view instead of the history table and the current table, thereby providing for retrofitting the preexisting applications for using common queries with a common portal provided by the instantiated view.