Single communication connection for managing a system with multiple service processors

• US 8,234,380 B1
• Filed: 09/29/2008
• Issued: 07/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Tetreault, Brian R., Cox, Timothy J., Parenti, Mark A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Moise, Emmanuel L
• Assistant Examiner(s): KIM, EDWARD J
• Application Number:
  US12/286,427
• Time in Patent Office: 1,401 Days
• Field of Search: 709/225, 709/226, 709208-211
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• 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

Described are techniques for processing data storage system management requests. A single one of a plurality of service processors of a data storage system is designated as an active service processor and a remainder of the plurality of service processors are passive service processors. Each of the service processors executes data storage system management server code including a web server. A data storage system management request is received from a client and is processed by the active service processor. When a first service processor currently designated as the active service processor becomes unhealthy, a second of said plurality of service processors which is designated as passive and is healthy is automatically selected as the active processor. Subsequent communications for data storage system management are transmitted over the network connection between the client and a web server executing on whichever service processor is currently designated as active.

Claims

1. A method of processing data storage system management requests comprising:

providing a data that is a single data storage array including a plurality of service processors for processing data storage system management requests, each of said plurality of service processors executing data storage system management server code, said data storage system management server code including a web server;

designating a single one of said plurality of service processors as an active service processor and a remainder of said plurality of service processors as passive service processors;

receiving, at said data storage system, a data storage system management request for status information about a first of said plurality of service processors from a client on a network connection, said data storage system management request being processed by the active service processor, wherein, said first service processor currently designated as the active service processor becomes unhealthy and a second of said plurality of service processors which is designated as passive and is healthy is automatically selected as the active service processor replacing the first service processor, subsequent communications for data storage system management being transmitted over the network connection between the client and a web server executing on whichever service processor is currently designated as the active service processor, wherein tile client communicates over a same single network connection, the network connection, with whichever one of the plurality of service processors is designated as the active service processor thereby using the same single network connection for transmission of data storage management requests between the client and the data storage array when the first service processor is designated as the active service processor and also when the second service processor is designated as the active service processor;

processing;

by the second service processor, the data storage system management request requesting status information about said first service processor;

issuing a request for the status information from the second service processor to the first service processor;

executing;

in response to receiving said request at the first service processor, a command on the first service processor to obtain the status information;

returning the status information from the first service processor to the second service processor; and

returning the status information to the client from the second service processor;

wherein, each service processor that is healthy executes a first instance of a first type of web server, and wherein each service processor that is unhealthy executes a second instance of a second type of web server, said second type of web server being able to process only a portion of a set of commands, said first type of web server being able to process said set of commands.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said first service processor transitions to healthy and said second service processor transitions to unhealthy and a first web server executing on said first service processor acts as a proxy for data storage system management requests directed to said second service processor.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

sending a first data storage system management request for said second service processor to said first web server, wherein said first web server sends said first data storage system management request to a second web server executing on said second service processor.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said first data storage system management requestis transmitted between the first service processor and the second processor using an inter-service processor communication connection of the data storage system.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein a healthy service processor is able to process a set of data storage system management requests and said second web server is able to process a predetermined portion of said set of data storage system management requests used to service said second service processor when said second service processor is unhealthy.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein code executing on said first service processor automatically forwards, to the second service processor, received data storage system management requests that are directed to said second service processor.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein, in response to receiving a data storage system management request directed to said second service processor, code executing on said first service processor issues instructions to said second service processor in accordance with the data storage system management request directed to the second service processor to cause said second service processor to execute a command in the data storage system management request directed to the second service processor.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said portion includes commands used to diagnose problems on an unhealthy service processor and take corrective actions to transition a service processor which is an unhealthy state to a healthy state.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said portion includes a first command to collect information regarding a service processor on which said second instance is executing, a second command to reboot the service processor on which said second instance is executing, a third command to re-image code used by the service processor on which said second instance is executing, and a fourth command to perform reinitialization in connection with the data storage system management server code executing on the service processor on which the second instance is executing.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein said first service processor transitions to healthy and said second service processor transitions to unhealthy, and a first web server of said first type executing on said first service processor acts as a proxy for data storage system management requests directed to said second service processor.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said first web server communicates with a second web server of said second type executing on said second service processor.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of service processors transitions to unhealthy and one of the plurality of service processors that is unhealthy is designated as the active service processor and communicates with the client until one of the plurality of service processors becomes healthy.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein a service processor is determined as healthy in accordance with one or more criteria, a service processor determined as healthy being able to service a set of expected data storage system management requests over the network connection used for data storage management and a service processor determined as unhealthy being able to service a portion of said set.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said one or more criteria for determining whether a service processor is healthy include at least one of:

whether a web server of said first type which is able to service any request in the set is loaded and running on the service processor, whether the web server of the first type is able to successfully communicate over an external network connection which is said network connection used for data storage system management transmissions, whether data storage system management server code executing on the service processor is able to communicate with other peer service processors using an inter-service processor communication connection of the data storage system, and whether code for proxying to a peer service processor is executing on the service processor.

15. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising executable code stored thereon for processing data storage system management requests, the computer readable medium comprising:

executable code for;

designating a single one of a plurality of service processors as an active service processor and a remainder of said plurality of service processors as passive service processors, said plurality of service processors being included in a data storage system that is a single data storage array, said plurality of service processors processing data storage system management requests, each of said plurality of service processors executing data storage system management server code, said data storage system management server code including a web server; and

receiving, at the data storage system, a data storage system management request from a client on a network connection for status information about a first of said plurality of service processors, said data storage system management request being processed by the active service processor, wherein, said first service processor currently designated as the active service processor becomes unhealthy and a second of said plurality of service processors which is designated as passive and is healthy as the active service processor replacing the first service processor, subsequent communications for data storage system management being transmitted over the network connection between the client and a web server executing on whichever service processor is currently designated as the active service processor, wherein the client communicates over a same single network connection, the network connection, with whichever one of the plurality of service processors is designated as the active service processor thereby using the same single network connection for transmission of data storage management requests between the client and the data storage array when the first service processor is designated as the active service processor and also when the second service processor is designated as the active service processor;

processing, by the second service processor, the data storage system management request requesting status information about said first service processor;

issuing a request for the status information from the second service processor to the first service processor;

executing, in response to receiving said request at the first service processor, a command on the first service processor to obtain the status information;

returning the status information from the first service processor to the second service processor; and

returning the status information to the client from the second service processor;

wherein, each service processor that is healthy executes a first instance of a first type of web server, and wherein each service processor that is unhealthy executes a second instance of a second type of web server, said second type of web server being able to process only a portion of a set of commands, said first type of web server being able to process said set of commands.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein said first service processor transitions to healthy and said second service processor transitions to unhealthy and a first web server executing on said first service processor acts as a proxy for data storage system management requests directed to said second service processor, and wherein a first data storage system management request for said second service processor is received by said first web server, wherein said first web server sends said first data storage system management request to a second web server executing on said second service processor.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein said first data storage system management request is transmitted between the first service processor and the second processor using an inter-service processor communication connection of the data storage system, and wherein said second web server is able to process a predetermined portion of data storage system management requests used to service said second service processor when said second service processor is unhealthy.

18. A method for processing data storage, system management requests comprising:

designating a single one of a plurality of service processors as an active service processor and a remainder of said plurality of service processors as passive service processors, said plurality of service processors being included in a data storage system that is a single data storage array, said plurality of service processors processing data storage system management requests, each of said plurality of service processors executing data storage system management server code, said data storage system management server code including a web server;

receiving, at the data storage system, a data storage system management request from a client on a network connection, said data storage system management request being processed by the active service processor, wherein, a first service processor currently designated as the active service processor becomes unhealthy and a second of said plurality of service processors which is designated as passive and is healthy is automatically selected as the active service processor replacing the first service processor, wherein the client communicates over a same single network connection, the network connection, with whichever one of the plurality of service processors is designated as the active service processor thereby using the same single network connection for transmission of data storage management requests between the client and the data storage array when the first service processor is designated as the active service processor and also when the second service processor is designated as the active service processor; and

processing, by the second service processor, the data storage system management request requesting status information about said first service processor, wherein said processing further includes;

issuing a request for the status information from a first web server of the second service processor to a second web server of the first service processor;

executing, in response to receiving said request, a command on the first service processor to obtain the status information;

returning, from the second web server to the first web server, the status information; and

returning, from the first web server to the client, the status information;

wherein, each service processor that is healthy executes a first instance of a first type of web server, and wherein each service processor that is unhealthy executes a second instance of a second type of web server, said second type of web server being able to process only a portion of a set of commands, said first type of web server being able to process said set of commands.