Failure recovery method, failure recovery program and management server

• US 8,307,242 B2
• Filed: 10/20/2011
• Issued: 11/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Arata, Shigeki, Tameshige, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Lottich, Joshua P
• Application Number:
  US13/277,700
• Publication Number:
  US 20120036393A1
• Time in Patent Office: 383 Days
• Field of Search: 714/4.11, 714/4.12, 714/4.2, 714/6.3, 714/13
• US Class Current: 714/6.3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2025 using centralised failover control functionality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2033 switching over of hardware resources
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2038 with a single idle spare processing component
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2046 where the redundant components share persistent storage G06F11/2043 takes precedence

Abstract

In a computer system including server apparatuses such as an active server and a standby server connected to a storage apparatus, when the active server fails, a management server changes over connection to the storage apparatus from the active server to standby server to thereby hand over operation to the standby server. The management server refers to a fail-over strategy table in which apparatus information of the server apparatuses is associated with fail-over methods to select fail-over strategy in consideration of apparatus information of the active and standby servers.

Claims

1. A server change-over method in a management server to manage accesses of a plurality of server apparatuses and a memory device in a storage apparatus, wherein

the plurality of server apparatuses include an active server and one or more standby servers, and

the method comprises the following steps performed by the management server:

storing in a memory unit change-over strategy information associating apparatus information related to the server apparatuses with change-over methods defining how to change over from one of the server apparatuses to another server apparatus in access of the memory device in the storage apparatus and priorities of the change-over methods;

getting from the memory unit first apparatus information which is the apparatus information for the active server previously stored in the memory unit;

getting at least one change-over method for the active server from the change-over strategy information in the memory unit on the basis of the gotten first apparatus information;

getting a second apparatus information for the one or more standby servers from the memory unit;

selecting one of the one or more standby servers which is enabled to execute a change-over method having a highest priority from among the gotten at least one change-over method based on the second apparatus information; and

changing over access of the storage apparatus from the active server to the selected standby server in accordance with the change-over method having the highest priority.

2. The server change-over method according to claim 1, wherein

the memory unit further stores therein change-over condition information containing permissible change-over time in operation being executed by each server apparatus and

the change-over strategy information further contains necessary change-over time for each change-over method,

the method further comprises the following steps performed by the management server:

getting, when plural change-over methods are gotten, the necessary change-over time for each of the change-over methods from the change-over strategy information and the permissible change-over time from the change-over condition information; and

excluding the change-over method having the gotten necessary change-over time longer than the gotten permissible change-over time from the change-over methods.

3. The server change-over method according to claim 1, wherein

there are a plurality of the standby servers,

the management server selects as the one standby server a standby server having a lowest performance from the plurality of the standby servers.

4. The server change-over method according to claim 1, wherein

there are a plurality of the standby servers,

the memory unit further stores therein change-over condition information containing performance necessary for operations executed by the server apparatuses and

the management server excludes from candidates at least one of the standby servers which does not satisfy performance necessary for operation executed by the active server, contained in the change-over condition information from among the plurality of the standby servers.

5. The server change-over method according to claim 1, wherein

the management server sets a deploy method as the change-over method when the memory device in the storage apparatus cannot access the active server.

6. The server change-over method according to claim 1, wherein

the management server sets a deploy method as the change-over method when the storage apparatus accessible to the active server is different from the storage apparatus accessible to the one standby server or when an HBA(host bus adapter) in the active server is different from an HBA in the one standby server.

7. The server change-over method according to claim 1, wherein

the management server deletes an adapter succession method from the change-over methods when a failure occurs in the active server.

8. The server change-over method according to claim 1, wherein

the apparatus information contains an identifier and a port number of an access apparatus in the server apparatuses.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, comprising computer-readable program code embodied therein, that when executed, performs the server change-over method according to claim 1.

10. A management server to manage accesses of a plurality of server apparatuses and a memory device in a storage apparatus, wherein

the plurality of server apparatuses include an active server and one or more standby servers and

the management server comprises:

a memory unit in which change-over strategy information associating apparatus information related to the server apparatuses with change-over methods defining how to change over from one of the server apparatuses to another server apparatus in access of the memory device in the storage apparatus and priorities of the change-over methods;

an apparatus information getting unit configured to get from the memory unit first apparatus information which is the apparatus information for an active server previously stored in the memory unit and second apparatus information which is the apparatus information for

one of the one or more standby servers;

a change-over selection method unit configured to get at least one change-over method for the active server from the change-over strategy information in the memory unit on the basis of the gotten first apparatus information and select one of the one or more standby servers which is enabled to execute a change-over method having a highest priority from among the gotten at least one change-over method based on the second apparatus information; and

a server changing-over unit configured to change over access of the storage apparatus from the active server to the selected standby server in accordance with the change-over method having the highest priority.

11. The management server according to claim 10, wherein

the memory unit stores therein change-over condition information containing permissible change-over time in operation being executed by each server apparatus and

the change-over strategy information further contains necessary change-over time for each change-over method,

the management server further comprising a change-over condition management unit configured to get, when plural change-over methods are gotten, the necessary change-over time for each of the change-over methods from the change-over strategy information and the permissible change-over time from the change-over condition information and exclude the change-over method having the gotten necessary change-over time longer than the gotten permissible change-over time from the change-over methods.

12. The management server according to claim 10, wherein there are a plurality of the standby servers, and

further comprising

a change-over condition management unit configured to select as the one standby server a standby server having a lowest performance from the plurality of the standby servers.

13. The management server according to claim 10, wherein

there are a plurality of the standby servers,

the memory unit further stores therein change-over condition information containing performance necessary for operations executed by the server apparatuses and

the management server further comprising

a change-over condition management unit configured to exclude from candidates at least one of the standby servers which does not satisfy performance necessary for operation executed by the active server, contained in the change-over condition information from among the plurality of the standby servers.

14. The management server according to claim 10, wherein

the change-over method selection unit further comprises means to set a deploy method as the change-over method when the memory device in the storage apparatus cannot access the active server.

15. The management server according to claim 10, wherein

the change-over method selection unit further comprises means to set a deploy method as the change-over method when the storage apparatus accessible to the active server is different from the storage apparatus accessible to the one standby server or when an HBA (host bus adapter) in the active server is different from an HBA in the one standby server.

16. The management server according to claim 10, wherein

the change-over method selection unit further comprises means to delete an adapter succession method from the change-over methods when a failure occurs in the active server.

17. The management server according to claim 10, wherein

the apparatus information in the memory unit contains an identifier and a port number of an access apparatus in the server apparatuses.