US2012054264A1PendingUtilityA1

Techniques for Migrating Active I/O Connections with Migrating Servers and Clients

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Individually held — no corporate assignee on recordPriority: Aug 31, 2010Filed: Aug 31, 2010Published: Mar 1, 2012
Est. expiryAug 31, 2030(~4.1 yrs left)· nominal 20-yr term from priority
Inventors:Julianne Frances HaughGerald Francis Mcbrearty
G06F 9/5077G06F 3/0655G06F 3/067H04L 67/1097G06F 3/0604H04L 67/1001
49
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Claims

Abstract

A technique for modifying an input/output (I/O) connection type between a client and a server includes determining, by the client, when at least partial storage access control for the client is to be migrated from a first virtualized I/O server to a second virtualized I/O server. An I/O connection type, from among multiple available I/O connection types available between the client and the second virtualized I/O server, is then selected by the client when the at least partial storage access control for the client is to be migrated. The selected I/O connection type is then communicated, by the client, to the second virtualized I/O server, which is configured to facilitate storage access for the client using the selected I/O connection type.

Claims

exact text as granted — not AI-modified
What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for modifying an input/output (I/O) connection type between a client and a server, comprising:
 determining, by a client, when at least partial storage access control for the client is to be migrated from a first virtualized I/O server to a second virtualized I/O server;   selecting, by the client, an I/O connection type from among multiple available I/O connection types available between the client and the second virtualized I/O server when the at least partial storage access control for the client is to be migrated; and   communicating, by the client, the selected I/O connection type to the second virtualized I/O server, wherein the second virtualized I/O server is configured to facilitate storage access for the client using the selected I/O connection type.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second virtualized I/O server is a replica of the first virtualized I/O server and the method further comprises:
 accessing, by the client, storage via both the first and second virtualized I/O servers.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second virtualized I/O server resides on a different virtual host than the first virtualized I/O server and the second virtualized I/O server is further configured to facilitate storage access for the client during and following migration of the at least partial storage access control from the first virtualized I/O server to the second virtualized I/O server. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the client includes a cluster of clients and each of the clients in the cluster is configured to select respective I/O connection types in conjunction with the other clients to balance a load on the second virtualized I/O server. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the I/O connection type is a Fibre Channel connection, a small computer system interface (SCSI) connection, an Internet SCSI connection, or an InfiniBand connection. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second virtualized I/O servers are located in a same storage area network and the second virtualized I/O server is further configured to facilitate storage access for the client following migration of the at least partial storage access control from the first virtualized I/O server to the second virtualized I/O server. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the selecting, by the client, an I/O connection type from among multiple available I/O connection types available between the client and the second virtualized I/O server further comprises:
 testing, by the client, each of the multiple available I/O connection types to determine a performance level of each of the multiple available I/O connection types; and   selecting, by the client, the I/O connection type based on which of the multiple available I/O connection types yields a highest performance level, as indicated by the testing, and allows a connection between the client and the second virtualized I/O server to be maintained.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the client is included in a client cluster that includes at least one other client, and wherein storage access control for the at least one other client remains under control of the first virtualized I/O server to substantially balance a load for the client cluster between the first and second virtualized I/O servers, where I/O connection types for clients in the client cluster may be the same or different. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the client queries the second virtualized I/O server to determine the multiple available I/O connection types. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second virtualized I/O server is a replica of the first virtualized I/O server that is migrated to a new virtual host. 
     
     
         11 . A computer-readable storage medium including computer-readable code for modifying an input/output (I/O) connection type between a client and a server, the computer-readable code comprising:
 code for determining, by a client, when at least partial storage access control for the client is to be migrated from a first virtualized I/O server to a second virtualized I/O server;   code for selecting, by the client, an I/O connection type from among multiple available I/O connection types available between the client and the second virtualized I/O server when the at least partial storage access control for the client is to be migrated; and   code for communicating, by the client, the selected I/O connection type to the second virtualized I/O server, wherein the second virtualized I/O server is configured to facilitate storage access for the client using the selected I/O connection type.   
     
     
         12 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the second virtualized I/O server is a replica of the first virtualized I/O server and the code further comprises:
 code for accessing, by the client, storage via both the first and second virtualized I/O servers.   
     
     
         13 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the second virtualized I/O server resides on a different virtual host than the first virtualized I/O server and the second virtualized I/O server is further configured to facilitate storage access for the client during and following migration of the at least partial storage access control from the first virtualized I/O server to the second virtualized I/O server. 
     
     
         14 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the client includes a cluster of clients and each of the clients in the cluster is configured to select respective I/O connection types in conjunction with the other clients to balance a load on the second virtualized I/O server, and wherein the I/O connection types include a Fibre Channel connection, a small computer system interface (SCSI) connection, an Internet SCSI connection, and an InfiniBand connection. 
     
     
         15 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the first and second virtualized I/O servers are located in a same storage area network and the second virtualized I/O server is further configured to facilitate storage access for the client following migration of the at least partial storage access control from the first virtualized I/O server to the second virtualized I/O server. 
     
     
         16 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the code for selecting an I/O connection type, from among multiple available I/O connection types, available between the client and the second virtualized I/O server further comprises:
 code for testing, by the client, each of the multiple available I/O connection types to determine a performance level of each of the multiple available I/O connection types; and   code for selecting, by the client, the I/O connection type based on which of the multiple available I/O connection types yields a highest performance level, as indicated by the testing, and allows a connection between the client and the second virtualized I/O server to be maintained.   
     
     
         17 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the client is included in a client cluster that includes at least one other client and storage access control for the at least one other client remains under control of the first virtualized I/O server to substantially balance a load for the client cluster between the first and second virtualized I/O servers, and wherein the client queries the second virtualized I/O server to determine the multiple available I/O connection types, where I/O connection types for clients in the client cluster may be the same or different. 
     
     
         18 . A data processing system, comprising:
 a first virtualized server configured to facilitate storage access control;   a client configured to select an I/O connection type, from among multiple available I/O connection types, when at least partial storage access control for the client is migrated from the first virtualized server; and   a second virtualized I/O server configured to transmit the multiple available I/O connection types to the client in response to a query from the client, wherein the second virtualized I/O server is further configured to facilitate storage access control for the client during and following migration of the at least partial storage access control from the first virtualized I/O server to the second virtualized I/O server.   
     
     
         19 . The data processing system of  claim 18 , wherein the client is further configured to test each of the multiple available I/O connection types to determine a performance level of each of the multiple available I/O connection types and select the I/O connection type based on which of the multiple available I/O connection types yields a highest performance level, as indicated by the testing, and allows a connection between the client and the second virtualized I/O server to be maintained. 
     
     
         20 . The data processing system of  claim 18 , wherein the client is included in a client cluster that includes at least one other client and storage access control for the at least one other client remains under control of the first virtualized I/O server to substantially balance a load for the client cluster between the first and second virtualized I/O servers, and wherein the client queries the second virtualized I/O server to determine the multiple available I/O connection types, where I/O connection types for clients in the client cluster may be the same or different.

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