Single management point for a storage system or storage area network

• US 6,839,750 B1
• Filed: 03/03/2001
• Issued: 01/04/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Nordin, Richard J., Bauer, Andreas L., Campbell, Brian G., Laporte, Russell R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Peikari, B. James
• Application Number:
  US09/798,571
• Time in Patent Office: 1,403 Days
• Field of Search: 707/100, 707/102, 707/103.Y, 707/103.R, 707/103, 707/103.Z, 711/111, 711/112, 709/218, 709/223, 709/225, 709/252
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2206/1008 Graphical user interface [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0653 Monitoring storage devices or systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0233 Object-oriented techniques, for representation of network management data, e.g. common object request broker architecture [CORBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• 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]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure

Abstract

There is disclosed a system, method, apparatus and computer program product for managing a storage system including a SAN within a computer network. The storage system can be managed in object-oriented computer language. Object trees of each component in the storage system or SAN are obtained and combined on each storage processor in the storage system. The user interface (UI) can therefore select one storage processor within the storage system, and request such combined object tree information for the entire storage system or SAN from only that singular storage processor on which such combined information is stored. This eliminates a severe computational drain on the UI, which otherwise would be required to make these object tree combinations, and further allows a single point of storage management contact between UI and storage system or SAN by way of that singular storage or portal processor. Commands from the UI destined for any node within the storage system or SAN are thus always addressed to that same single point of contact or portal processor allowing for ease of use and other advantages.

Claims

1. In an object oriented computer network including a user interface and a storage system, said storage system including both a plurality of storage processors each having object tree information defining itself and its relationship to all of its directly coupled nodes and at least one disk drive, apparatus for managing said storage system comprising:

first means for communicating between said user interface and each one of said plurality of storage processors;

said each one of said plurality of storage processors including second means for communicating with both all other of said plurality of storage processors and said at least one disk drive;

said second means including third means for obtaining said object tree information from each of said all other of said plurality of storage processors whereby said each one of said plurality of storage processors contains all said object tree information in said storage system; and

,

said user interface including means for selecting a particular one of said plurality of storage processors, whereby a single management point of ingress to and egress from said storage system is established for said user interface.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 and wherein said storage system is operatively coupled to at least one server, said storage system and said at least one server thereby forming a SAN, and wherein said third means includes fourth means for obtaining said object tree information from said at least one server whereby said each one of said plurality of storage processors contains all said object tree information in said SAN.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 and wherein said user interface sends commands destined for nodes in said SAN to said particular one of said plurality of storage processors which includes means for both responding to any of said commands destined for itself and for sending all other of said commands along SAN routes to other said nodes in said SAN to which said other of said commands were destined by said user interface.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 and wherein said user interface includes means for selecting a different one of said plurality of storage processors for various reasons including malfunctioning of said particular one of said plurality of processors.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 further including an Internet web server and wherein said selecting means utilizes said Internet web server for addressing said particular one of said storage processors via an IP address over the Internet.

6. In an object oriented computer network including a user interface and a storage system, said storage system including both a plurality of storage processors each having object tree information defining itself and its relationship to all of its directly coupled nodes and at least one disk drive, a method for managing said storage system comprising:

communicating between said user interface and each one of said plurality of storage processors;

said each one of said plurality of storage processors communicating with both all other of said plurality of storage processors and said at least one disk drive;

obtaining said object tree information from each of said all other of said plurality of storage processors whereby said each one of said plurality of storage processors contains all said object tree information in said storage system; and

,

said user interface selecting a particular one of said plurality of storage processors, whereby a single management point of ingress to and egress from said storage system is established for said user interface.

7. The method of claim 6 and wherein said storage system is operatively coupled to at least one server, said storage system and said at least one server thereby forming a SAN, and further including:

obtaining said object tree information from said at least one server whereby said each one of said plurality of storage processors contains all said object tree information in said SAN.

8. The method of claim 7 and wherein said user interface sends commands destined for nodes in said SAN to said particular one of said plurality of storage processors and further including:

responding to any of said commands destined for itself; and

,

sending all other of said commands along SAN routes to other said nodes in said SAN to which said other of said commands were destined by said user interface.

9. The method of claim 6 and wherein said user interface includes:

selecting a different one of said plurality of storage processors for various reasons including malfunctioning of said particular one of said plurality of processors.

10. The method of claim 6 further including an Internet web server and wherein said selecting includes:

utilizing said Internet web server for addressing said particular one of said storage processors via an IP address over the Internet.

11. In a computer network including a user interface and a storage system having a plurality of storage processors and at least one disk drive, a method for managing said storage system comprising:

selectively communicating between said user interface and each one of said storage processors;

said each one of said storage processors learning and storing information about itself and about all other nodes in said network including all other of said storage processors, about its relationship with said all other nodes, and about inter-relationships between any one of said other nodes and any other of said other nodes to thereby obtain and have available complete network node information; and

,

said user interface requesting said complete network node information from a particular one of said plurality of storage processors and thereby establishing a single management point of ingress to and egress from said storage system through said particular one of said storage processors for said user interface.

12. The method of claim 11 and further including:

said user interface forwarding commands to said particular one of said storage processors.

13. The method of claim 12 and further including said particular one of said storage processors:

determining if any of such commands are for itself to obtain particular commands to be processed;

processing said particular commands; and

,

forwarding said commands other than said particular commands to their respective destinations within the network.

14. In a computer network including a user interface and a storage system having a plurality of storage processors and at least one disk drive, a system for managing said storage system comprising:

means for selectively communicating between said user interface and each one of said storage processors;

said each one of said storage processors including means for learning and storing information about itself and about all other nodes in said network including all other of said storage processors, about its relationship with said all other nodes, and about inter-relationships between any one of said other nodes and any other of said other nodes to thereby obtain and have available complete network node information; and

,

said user interface including means for requesting said complete network node information from a particular one of said plurality of storage processors and thereby establishing a single management point of ingress to and egress from said storage system through said particular one of said storage processors for said user interface.

15. The system of claim 14 and wherein:

said user interface includes means for forwarding commands to said particular one of said storage processors.

16. The system of claim 15 and wherein said particular one of said storage processors includes;

means for determining if any of such commands are for itself to obtain particular commands to be processed;

means for processing said particular commands; and

,

means for forwarding said commands other than said particular commands to their respective destinations within the network.

17. In a computer network including a user interface and a storage system having a plurality of storage processors and at least one disk drive, a computer program product for managing said storage system comprising:

programmable code for selectively communicating between said user interface and each one of said storage processors;

said each one of said storage processors including programmable code for learning and storing information about itself and about all other nodes in said network including all other of said storage processors, about its relationship with said all other nodes, and about inter-relationships between any one of said other nodes and any other of said other nodes to thereby obtain and have available complete network node information; and

,

said user interface including programmable code for requesting said complete network node information from a particular one of said plurality of storage processors and thereby establishing a single management point of ingress to and egress from said storage system through said particular one of said storage processors for said user interface.

18. The computer program product of claim 17 and wherein:

said user interface includes programmable code for forwarding commands to said particular one of said storage processors.

19. The computer program product of claim 18 and wherein said particular one of said storage processors includes:

programmable code for determining if any of such commands are for itself to obtain particular commands to be processed;

programmable code for processing said particular commands; and

,

programmable code for forwarding said commands other than said particular commands to their respective destinations within the network.

20. In an object-oriented computer network including a user interface and a storage system having a plurality of storage processors each having object tree information defining itself and its relationship to all of its directly coupled nodes and at least one disk drive, a method for managing said storage system comprising:

establishing techniques for directly communicating between said user interface and each one of said storage processors;

said each one of said storage processors learning and storing;

(1) object tree information about itself and about all other nodes in said network including all other of said storage processors, (2) object tree information about its relationship with said all other nodes, and (3) object tree information about inter-relationships between any one of said other nodes and any other of said other nodes, to thereby obtain and have available complete network object tree information; and

,

said user interface requesting said complete network object tree information from a particular one of said plurality of storage processors and thereby establishing a single management point of ingress to and egress from said storage system through said particular one of said storage processors for said user interface.

21. The method of claim 20 and further including:

said user interface sending commands destined for nodes in said storage system to said particular one of said plurality of storage processors; and

,

said particular one of said plurality of storage processors responding to any of said commands destined for itself and sending all other of said commands to other said nodes to which said other of said commands were destined by said user interface.

22. The method of claim 21 and wherein said storage system is included within a SAN.

23. In an object-oriented computer network including a user interface and a storage system having a plurality of storage processors each having object tree information defining itself and its relationship to all of its directly coupled nodes and at least one disk drive, a computer program product for managing said storage system comprising:

programmable code for establishing techniques for directly communicating between said user interface and each one of said storage processors;

said each one of said storage processors including programmable code for learning and storing;

(1) object tree information about itself and about all other nodes in said network including all other of said storage processors, (2) object tree information about its relationship with said all other nodes, and (3) object tree information about inter-relationships between any one of said other nodes and any other of said other nodes, to thereby obtain and have available complete network object tree information; and

,

said user interface including programmable code for requesting said complete network object tree information from a particular one of said plurality of storage processors and thereby establishing a single management point of ingress to and egress from said storage system through said particular one of said storage processors for said user interface.

24. The computer program product of claim 23 and wherein:

said user interface includes programmable code for sending commands destined for nodes in said storage system to said particular one of said plurality of storage processors; and

,

said particular one of said plurality of storage processors including programmable code for responding to any of said commands destined for itself and sending all other of said commands to other said nodes to which said other of said commands were destined by said user interface.

25. The computer program product of claim 24 and wherein said storage system is included within a SAN.