Storage area network methods and apparatus with centralized management

Abstract

Novel storage area networks (SANs) and methods of operation thereof utilize a plurality of hosts coupled via an interconnect with one or more storage units. A manager device, process or other functionality in communication with a plurality of agent processes, devices or other functionality, each of which is associated with a host. The agents identify attributes of (i) their associated hosts, (ii) interconnect to which that host is coupled, and/or (iii) storage units to which that host is coupled via the interconnect. The manager responds to these attributes identified by the agents to manage the SAN. The manager can be implemented on a first digital data processor and the hosts on further digital data processors. These digital data processors can be coupled via a first network, e.g., an IP or other network, to support communications between the manager and the agents. A second network, e.g., SCSI and/or fiber channel based fabric, separate from the first network, can be utilized as the interconnect between the hosts and the storage devices.

1 . In a storage area network (SAN) of the type having a plurality of hosts coupled via an interconnect with one or more storage units, the improvement comprising 
 a manager,    a plurality of agents in communication with the manager, each agent associated with a host,    the agents identifying attributes of any of (i) the host with which it is associated, (ii) the interconnect to which that host is coupled, and (iii) storage units to which that host is coupled,    the manager responding to attributes identified by the agents to manage the SAN.    
     
     
         2 . In the storage area network of  claim 1 , the further improvement wherein the manager correlates attributes identified by the plurality of agents to determine a topology of the SAN.  
     
     
         3 . In the storage area network of  claim 2 , the further improvement wherein the manager assigns storage units to hosts in accord with the topology of the SAN.  
     
     
         4 . In the storage area network of  claim 3 , the further improvement wherein 
 each of the storage units is associated with one or more logical unit numbers (LUNs), and    the manager assigns LUNs to hosts in order to effect assignment of the associated storage units to those hosts.    
     
     
         5 . In the storage area network of  claim 2 , the further improvement wherein the manager defines the assignment of storage units to host consistent with a policy defined by an operator.  
     
     
         6 . In the storage area network of  claim 2 , the further improvement wherein the manager generates a display of one or more aspects of the SAN topology.  
     
     
         7 . In the storage area network of  claim 1 , the further improvement wherein the agents notify the manager of events indicative of a change in status of one or more attributes of any of (i) the host with which it is associated, (ii) the interconnect to which that host is coupled, and (iii) storage units to which that host is coupled.  
     
     
         8 . In the storage area network of  claim 1 , the further improvement wherein at least one agent 
 monitors one or more attributes of a file system utilized by the associated host, and    selectively generates a file system event notification with respect thereto.    
     
     
         9 . In the storage area network of  claim 8 , the further improvement wherein the attributes of the file system are any of file system capacity, a percentage of the file system being utilized, comparison of the percentage utilized with respect to a predefined threshold.  
     
     
         10 . In the storage area network of  claim 8 , the further improvement wherein the manager selectively responds to the file system event notification by assigning additional storage units to the host associated with the agent that generated that notification.  
     
     
         11 . In the storage area network of  claim 1 , the further improvement wherein 
 the manager executes on a first digital data processor, and    one or more of the hosts comprise one or more respective other digital data processors.    
     
     
         12 . In the storage area network of  claim 11 , the further improvement wherein 
 the interconnect comprises a first network,    the first digital data processor and the one or more other digital data processors are coupled via a second network, and    the manager and the agents communicate via the second network.    
     
     
         13 . In the storage area network of  claim 12 , wherein the first network comprises fiber channel and wherein the second network comprises an IP network.  
     
     
         14 . A storage area network (SAN), comprising 
 one or more storage units,    one or more host digital data processors coupled to the one or more storage units via an interconnect,    one or more agents, each executing on an associated host digital data processor and each in communication with a manager digital data processor,    the one or more agents each identifying attributes of any of (i) the host digital data processor with which that agent is associated, (ii) the interconnect to which that host digital data processor is coupled, and (iii) storage units to which that host digital data processor is coupled, and communicating those attributes to the host digital data processor,    the one or more agents each responding to assignment, by the manager digital data processor, of a storage unit to the associated host digital data processor(s) by preventing access by that host digital data processor to others of said storage units in the SAN.    
     
     
         15 . The storage area network of  claim 14 , wherein the one or more agents each respond to assignment, by the manager digital data processor, of a storage unit to the associated host digital data processor(s) by facilitating access by that host digital data processor to that storage unit.  
     
     
         16 . The storage area network of  claim 14 , wherein 
 each of the storage units is associated with one or more logical unit numbers (LUNs), and    the one or more agents each mask one or more LUNs in order to prevent access by the associated host digital data processor to the storage unit associated with that LUN.    
     
     
         17 . The storage area network of  claim 14 , wherein the one or more agents effect exercise by the associated host digital data processor of a protocol of the interconnect in order to identify information regarding the storage devices.  
     
     
         18 . The storage area network of  claim 14 , wherein the one or more agents each utilize the associated host digital data processor to query at least one of the storage units to identify one or more LUNs associated therewith.  
     
     
         19 . The storage area network of  claim 14 , wherein at least one agent 
 monitors one or more attributes of a file system utilized by the associated host digital data processor, and    selectively generates an event notification to the manager digital data processor when the utilization of the file system of the associated host digital data processor exceeds a predefined threshold.    
     
     
         20 . The storage area network of  claim 19 , wherein the attributes of the file system are any of file system capacity, a percentage of the file system being utilized, comparison of the percentage utilized with respect to a predefined threshold.  
     
     
         21 . The storage area network of  claim 20 , wherein 
 each of the storage units is associated with one or more logical unit numbers (LUNs), and    the at least one agent responds to assignment, by the manager digital data processor, of an LUN to the associated host digital data processor(s) by facilitating access by that host digital data processor to the storage unit associated with that LUN.    
     
     
         22 . The storage area network of  claim 14 , wherein 
 the interconnect comprises a first network,    the manager digital data processor and the one or more host digital data processors are coupled via a second network, and    the manager and the agents communicate via the second network.    
     
     
         23 . The storage area network of  claim 22 , wherein the first network operates in accord with a fiber channel protocol and wherein the second network comprises an IP network.  
     
     
         24 . A storage area network (SAN) comprising 
 a plurality of hosts coupled via an interconnect with one or more storage units,    a manager coupled with the hosts,    a plurality of agents in communication with the manager, each agent associated with a host,    each agents generating notifications of events with respect to any of (i) the host with which that agent is associated, (ii) the interconnect to which that host is coupled, and (iii) storage units to which that host is coupled,    the manager responding to an event notification by generating an operator notification if any of (i) a prior event notification for an underlying event has not previously been generated, or (ii) a time elapsed since any prior event notification for the underlying event has exceeds a predefined time interval.    
     
     
         25 . The storage area network of  claim 24 , wherein the manager generates the operator notification via a graphical user interface.  
     
     
         26 . The storage area network of  claim 25 , wherein the manager utilizes the graphical user interface to permit an operator to set the predefined time interval.  
     
     
         27 . The storage area network of  claim 24 , wherein 
 the manager executes on a first digital data processor, and    one or more of the hosts comprise one or more respective other digital data processors.    
     
     
         28 . The storage area network of  claim 27 , wherein 
 the interconnect comprises a first network,    the first digital data processor and the one or more other digital data processors are coupled via a second network, and    the manager and the agents communicate via the second network.    
     
     
         29 . The storage area network of  claim 28 , wherein the first network comprises fiber channel and wherein the second network comprises an IP network.  
     
     
         30 . A storage area network (SAN) comprising 
 one or more hosts coupled via an interconnect with one or more storage units,    a manager coupled with the one or more hosts,    one or more agents in communication with the manager, each agent associated with a host,    each of the one or more agents generating a notification of an event with respect to any of (i) the host with which it is associated, (ii) the interconnect to which that host is coupled, and (iii) storage units to which that host is coupled,    the manager comprising 
 a policy engine,  
 a store that maintains a pre-defined policy defines any of (i) attributes of at least selected hosts, and (ii) relationships of at least selected hosts with one or more storage units,  
 the policy engine responding to notification of a least a selected event by effecting execution of an action according to the policy for that event.  
   
     
     
         31 . A storage area network according to  claim 30 , wherein an agent generates a notification of a change with respect to any of said attributes.  
     
     
         32 . A storage area network according to  claim 30 , wherein the policy engine invokes an action generator to generate one or more action objects for an event and its associated policy.  
     
     
         33 . A storage area network according to  claim 32 , wherein the action generator process generates an action object in response to a received event and its associated policy rule and passes the action object to the policy engine.  
     
     
         34 . A storage area network according to  claim 32 , wherein the policy engine dispatches action objects received from the action generator to an action handler for execution thereof.  
     
     
         35 . A storage area network according to  claim 30 , wherein an agent notifies an associated host of an event indicative of over-utilization of a file system of the associated host, and the policy engine effects execution of action for extending the file system of that host.  
     
     
         36 . A storage area network according to  claim 30 , wherein the policy engine effects execution of action for assigning one or more additional storage units to the host.  
     
     
         37 . In a storage area network (SAN) of the type having a plurality of host digital data processors coupled via an interconnect with one or more storage units, the improvement comprising 
 a manager digital data processor,    a plurality of agents in communication with the manager digital data processor, each agent associated with a host digital data processor,    the agents identifying attributes of any of (i) the host digital data processor with which it is associated, (ii) the interconnect to which that host digital data processor is coupled, and (iii) storage units to which that host digital data processor is coupled,    the manager digital data processor responding to attributes identified by the agents to generate a user display of at least host digital data processors, storage units and relationships therebetween.    
     
     
         38 . In the storage area network of  claim 37 , the further improvement wherein the manager digital data processor correlates attributes identified by the plurality of agents to determine a topology of the SAN.  
     
     
         39 . In the storage area network of  claim 38 , the further improvement wherein the manager digital data processor assigns storage units to host digital data processors in accord with the topology of the SAN.  
     
     
         40 . In the storage area network of  claim 39 , the further improvement wherein 
 each of the storage units is associated with one or more logical unit numbers (LUNs), and    the manager digital data processor assigns LUNs to host digital data processors in order to effect assignment of the associated storage units to those host digital data processors.    
     
     
         41 . In the storage area network of  claim 40 , the further improvement wherein the display identifies one or more storage units coupled to each of at least selected host digital data processors and identifies one or more storage units, if any, assigned to that host digital data processor.  
     
     
         42 . In the storage area network of  claim 37 , the further improvement wherein the manager digital data processor 
 generates on the user display graphical objects representing any of host digital data processors, storage units, and SAN functions, and    responds to selection of a graphical object representing a host digital data processor to activate display of one or more graphical objects representing storage units available for assignment to that host digital data processor.    
     
     
         43 . In the storage area network of  claim 42 , the further improvement wherein the manager digital data processor responds to selection of (i) a graphical object representing a host digital data processor and (ii) a graphical object representing a storage unit, to activate a graphical object representing a SAN function that may be executed with respect to that host digital data processor and that storage unit.  
     
     
         44 . In the storage area network of  claim 43 , the improvement wherein the manager digital data processor responds to operator selection of the activated graphical object representing the SAN function to effect execution of that function.  
     
     
         45 . In the storage area network of  claim 43 , the improvement wherein the SAN function comprises any of an assignment and an un-assignment function.  
     
     
         46 . In a storage area network (SAN) of the type having a plurality of host digital data processors coupled via an interconnect with one or more storage units, the improvement comprising 
 a manager digital data processor,    a plurality of agents in communication with the manager digital data processor, each agent associated with a host digital data processor,    the agents identifying attributes of any of (i) the host digital data processor with which it is associated, (ii) the interconnect to which that host digital data processor is coupled, and (iii) storage units to which that host digital data processor is coupled,    the manager digital data processor responding to attributes identified by the agents to generate 
 a first view for displaying one or more graphical objects representing one or more respective components of the SAN, where a component comprises any of a storage unit, host digital data processor or interconnect,  
 a second view for displaying information regarding attributes of a component whose respective graphical object is selected in the first view.  
   
     
     
         47 . In the storage area network of  claim 46 , the further improvement wherein the manager digital data processor displays the attributes of a component only upon operator selection of its respective graphical object in the first view.  
     
     
         48 . In the storage area network of  claim 46 , wherein the manager digital data processor generates at least the second view from data residing on any of a local or remote database.  
     
     
         49 . In the storage area network of  claim 48 , the further improvement wherein the manager digital data processor retrieves data for a component from the database only upon operator selection of the respective graphical object in the first view.  
     
     
         50 . A storage area network (SAN) comprising 
 a plurality of hosts coupled via an interconnect with one or more storage devices,    a manager,    a plurality of agents in communication with the manager, each agent associated with a host,    the agents each identifying attributes of any of (i) the host with which it is associated, (ii) the interconnect to which that host is coupled, and (iii) storage units to which that host is coupled,    the manager responding to attributes identified by the agents to generate    a first view for displaying one or more graphical objects representing one or more storage devices and underlying logical units connected to the SAN,    a second view for displaying information regarding attributes of any of a storage device and a logical unit whose respective graphical object is selected in the first view.    
     
     
         51 . A storage area network according to  claim 50 , wherein the manager displays the first and second views in vertically adjacent windows.  
     
     
         52 . A storage area network according to  claim 50 , wherein the manager responds to operator selection of a storage device in the first view for displaying attributes of that storage device in the second view.  
     
     
         53 . A storage area network according to  claim 53 , wherein the manager responds to operator selection of a logical unit in the first view for displaying attributes of that logical unit in the second view.  
     
     
         54 . A storage area network (SAN) comprising 
 one or more hosts coupled via an interconnect with one or more storage devices,    a manager,    one or more agents in communication with the manager, each agent associated with a host,    the agents each identifying attributes of any of (i) the host with which that agent associated, (ii) the interconnect to which that host is coupled, and (iii) storage units to which that host is coupled,    the manager determining a topology of the SAN as a function of attributes identified by the agents and storing one or more aspects of that topology to a relational database.    
     
     
         55 . A storage area network according to  claim 54 , wherein the manager instantiates an object oriented programming (OOP) object (hereinafter, “manager” object) corresponding to a component of the SAN, the component including any of a host, an interconnect and a storage unit.  
     
     
         56 . A storage area network according to  claim 55 , wherein the manager 
 instantiates one or more further OOP objects (hereinafter, “peer” objects) for at least selected manager objects, and    stores to each peer object persistable data from the corresponding manager object.    
     
     
         57 . A storage area network according to  claim 56 , wherein the manager maps each peer object into the relational database.  
     
     
         58 . The method of  claim 56 , wherein the manager 
 instantiates the manager objects and the peer objects in respective hierarchies,    generates a pointer in a root object the hierarchy of manager objects that references a peer object in the hierarchy of peer objects containing attributes of other peer objects.    
     
     
         59 . The method of  claim 56 , wherein the manager reconstructs peer objects by extracting the persistable data from the relational database, and utilizing stored methods therein to recreate the runtime mapping.  
     
     
         60 . The storage area network of  claim 54 , wherein 
 the manager executes on a first digital data processor, and    one or more of the hosts comprise one or more respective other digital data processors.    
     
     
         61 . The storage area network of  claim 60 , wherein 
 the interconnect comprises a first network,    the first digital data processor and the one or more other digital data processors are coupled via a second network, and    the manager and the agents communicate via the second network.    
     
     
         62 . The storage area network of  claim 61 , wherein the first network comprises fiber channel and wherein the second network comprises an IP network.  
     
     
         63 . A storage area network (SAN) comprising 
 one or more hosts coupled via an interconnect with one or more storage devices,    a manager,    one or more agents in communication with the manager, each agent associated with a host,    the agents each identifying attributes of any of (i) the host with which that agent is associated, (ii) the interconnect to which that host is coupled, and (iii) storage units to which that host is coupled,    the manager determining a topology of the SAN as a function of attributes identified by the agents and displaying one or more aspects of that topology that correspond to one or more predefined numerical criterion.    
     
     
         64 . The system of  claim 63 , wherein the criterion relates to a logical unit capacity being above or below a numerical threshold value.