Methods and systems for predictive change management for access paths in networks
First Claim
1. A system for determining the effects of one or more planned change tasks on an access path policy of a network, comprising:
- a management server for;
receiving configuration information from one or more physical network components in the network and constructing a representation of the access paths and access path attributes in the network,specifying one or more planned change tasks, wherein specifying a planned change task includes at least one of adding, removing and configuring a physical network component, a physical link between network components, a port configuration, or a logical unit number (LUN) mapping,forecasting the effects of the planned change tasks according to the access path policy of the network, wherein forecasting the effects includes predicting the effects of the changes to the network, and wherein access paths in the network represent end-to-end access relationships between an application on a server and data LUNs stored on storage devices in the network, and wherein the access path policy comprises a set of access paths and access path attributes,implementing the one or more planned change tasks,tracking implementation of the one or more changes, anddetermining the effects of the implemented changes for conformance with the access path policy, wherein determining the effects includes detecting a nonconformance of the implemented change with the access path policy.
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Abstract
Methods and systems for predictive change management in a network are provided. A configuration change can be specified and pre-validated according to the access path policy, before the actual changes are implemented. The conformance of the implemented configuration change with the access path policy is validated after implementation, because of possible consequential effects of the configuration change. If a change in one or more access paths is specified, then associated component events can be simulated before implementation, so that root causes for resulting access path violations can be detected and remedied before the changes are made.
79 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A system for determining the effects of one or more planned change tasks on an access path policy of a network, comprising:
a management server for; receiving configuration information from one or more physical network components in the network and constructing a representation of the access paths and access path attributes in the network, specifying one or more planned change tasks, wherein specifying a planned change task includes at least one of adding, removing and configuring a physical network component, a physical link between network components, a port configuration, or a logical unit number (LUN) mapping, forecasting the effects of the planned change tasks according to the access path policy of the network, wherein forecasting the effects includes predicting the effects of the changes to the network, and wherein access paths in the network represent end-to-end access relationships between an application on a server and data LUNs stored on storage devices in the network, and wherein the access path policy comprises a set of access paths and access path attributes, implementing the one or more planned change tasks, tracking implementation of the one or more changes, and determining the effects of the implemented changes for conformance with the access path policy, wherein determining the effects includes detecting a nonconformance of the implemented change with the access path policy. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system for managing an access path change in a network, comprising:
a management server for; receiving configuration information from one or more physical network components and constructing a representation of the access paths and access path attributes in the network, specifying a change in an access path policy in the network, wherein specifying a change includes modifying an access path attribute, wherein access paths in the network represent end-to-end access relationships between an application on a server and data (logical units (LUNs) stored on storage devices in the network, and wherein the access path policy comprises a set of access paths and access path attributes, associating with the specified change at least one component event, forecasting the effects of the at least one component event by evaluating conformance of the changed access path policy, and in the event of nonconformance, determining a root cause for the nonconformance, wherein forecasting the effects includes predicting the effects of the changes to the network, and wherein determining the root cause includes determining a logical order and a temporal order of the at least one component event, and generating an event sequence based on the logical and temporal order. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
Specification