Redirecting data generated by network devices

• US 8,219,662 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2000
• Issued: 07/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Daedalus Blue LLC
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Tindal, Glen, Schenk, Jeffery A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wang, Liangche A
• Application Number:
  US09/730,680
• Publication Number:
  US 20020069340A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,234 Days
• Field of Search: 709220-224, 714/4, 707/111, 707/203, 711/111, 711/203
• US Class Current: 709/224
• 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 system and method for efficiently and easily capturing data dumps generated by a network device is disclosed. In one embodiment, a storage management device is disposed between a network device and a storage device. The network device is programmed with a virtual address that is associated with the storage management device. Upon generating a data dump, the network device writes the data dump to the virtual address where the storage management device receives the data dump and redirects it to a long-term storage location. Additionally, the storage management device can generate a record of each data dump that indicates the network device that generated the data dump and where the data dump was stored.

Claims

1. A method for capturing error data generated by a router, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving, at a location remote from the router, the error data generated by the router;

recording an identity indicator for the router from which the error data was received;

redirecting the received error data to a storage location; and

recording, in a configuration record for the router, the identity of the storage location to which the error data was transferred.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

writing the error data to a virtual address.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the error data comprises a core dump from the router.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

storing the received error data in the storage location.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

recording an indicator for the error data in a configuration record that is unique to the router.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the configuration record is stored remotely from the router.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of redirecting comprises the step of:

redirecting the received error data to a remote storage location.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

posting an error data indicator to a network manager.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of posting an error data indicator further comprises the steps of:

posting the identity indicator to the network manager; and

posting the identity of the storage location to the network manager.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of:

executing a predefined action responsive to the error data indicator being posted to the network manager.

11. A system for capturing error data generated by a router, the system comprising:

means for receiving the error data from the router;

means for routing the received error data to a storage location;

means for recording, in a configuration record for the router, the identity of the router from which the error data was received; and

means for recording the address of the storage location in association with the recorded identity of the router.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

means for storing the routed error data.

13. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

means for generating an indication that the error data was received from the router.

14. The system of claim 13, further comprising:

means for determining a response to the generated indication.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the determined response comprises at least one of resetting the router and taking the router offline.

16. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

means for writing the error data to a virtual address.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising:

means for determining the virtual address to which the error data should be written.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein the means for receiving the error data is addressable via a virtual address.

19. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

means for determining the address of the storage location.

20. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

means for buffering the error data.

21. A method for capturing error data generated by a network-traffic device, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving the error data from the network-traffic device;

recording an identity indicator for the network-traffic device from which the error data was received;

redirecting the received error data to a storage location; and

recording, in a configuration record corresponding to the network-traffic device, an indication of the error data and an indication of the storage location to which the error data was transferred;

wherein the identity of the storage location is recorded in association with the recorded identity indicator for the network-traffic device.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the network-traffic device comprises a router.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein the network-traffic device comprises a switch.