Method and apparatus of redundant path validation before provisioning

US2016127472A1 · US · A1

Patent metadata
FieldValue
Publication numberUS-2016127472-A1
Application numberUS-201614993186-A
CountryUS
Kind codeA1
Filing dateJan 12, 2016
Priority dateJul 27, 2012
Publication dateMay 5, 2016
Grant date

How to read this patent

A practical reading order for non-experts. Skip the full description unless you need deep technical detail.

  1. Title

    What the patent document calls the invention.

  2. Abstract

    A short plain-language summary of the technical disclosure.

  3. Assignees and inventors

    Who owns or filed the patent and who is credited as inventor.

  4. Key dates

    Filing, priority, publication, and grant dates set the timeline.

  5. First independent claim

    The legal scope of protection — read this for what is actually claimed.

  6. CPC / IPC classifications

    Technology tags used to group this patent with similar filings.

  7. Citations and related patents

    Prior art links and similar publications in this corpus.

Abstract

Official abstract text for this publication.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention provide a technique to validate physical cabling and logical path before provisioning volume. In accordance with an aspect, a computer comprises a memory storing software and a processor executing the software. The software is operable to: identify first server port and second server port forming redundant ports of a server and first storage port and second storage port forming redundant ports of a storage system; and check whether a redundant relationship is formed by at least one of (i) a physical connection between the first server port and the first storage port and a physical connection between the second server port and the second storage port, or (ii) a logical connection between the first server port and the first storage port and a logical connection between the second server port and the second storage port.

First claim

Opening claim text (preview).

What is claimed is: 1 . A computer comprising a memory storing a software and a processor executing the software, wherein the software is operable to: receive an identification of storage ports of a storage system corresponding to a volume to be provisioned; check whether a redundant relationship is formed by a first physical connection between a first server port of a plurality of servers and a first storage port of the identified storage ports of the storage system and a second physical connection between a second server port of the plurality of servers and a second storage port of the identified storage ports of the storage system to validate the first and second physical connections; after validating the redundant relationship of the first and second physical connections, gather preset zone information showing correspondence between zones and WWNs of server ports of the plurality of servers and storage ports of the storage system for each Domain ID of each corresponding FC-SW; check whether a redundant relationship is formed by a first logical connection between the first server port and the first storage port by matching a WWN of the first server port and a WWN of the first storage port with gathered WWNs of the server port and the storage port corresponding to the zone for each Domain ID and a second logical connection between the second server port and the second storage port by matching a WWN of the second server port and a WWN of the second storage port with gathered WWNs of the server port and the storage port corresponding to the zone for each Domain ID, to validate the first and second logical connections; and provision the volume from the storage system after validating the redundant relationship of the first and second logical connections. 2 . The computer according to claim 1 , wherein the software is operable to: gather storage information showing correspondence between the storage port, a host group and WWNs of server ports; and check whether each of the first and second storage ports has a host group with the WWNs of the first and second server ports by using the gathered storage information. 3 . The computer according to claim 1 , wherein if the software does not validate the redundant relationship of the first and second logical connections, the software is operable to repair one or both of the first and second logical connections by repairing zones by: adding the WWN of the first or second storage port to a zone having the WWN of the first or second server port; adding the WWN of the first or second server port to a zone having the WWN of the first or second storage port; or creating a zone having the WWN of the first or second server ports and the WWN of the first or second storage ports. 4 . The computer according to claim 2 , wherein the software is operable to: create a host group with the WWNs of the first and second server ports or add the first or second server port on the host group, when the first or second storage port does not have a host group with the WWNs of the first and second server ports as a result of the check. 5 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a plurality of instructions for controlling a processor to validate redundant paths, the plurality of instructions comprising: instructions that cause the processor to receive an identification of storage ports of a storage system corresponding to a volume to be provisioned; instructions that cause the processor to check whether a redundant relationship is formed by a first physical connection between a first server port of a plurality of servers and a first storage port of the identified storage ports of the storage system and a second physical connection between a second server port of the plurality of servers and a second storage port of the identified storage ports of the storage system to validate the first and second physical connections; instructions that cause the processor to, after validating the redundant relationship of the first and second physical connections, gather preset zone information showing correspondence between zones and WWNs of server ports of the plurality of servers and storage ports of the storage system for each Domain ID of each corresponding FC-SW; instructions that cause the processor to check whether a redundant relationship is formed by a first logical connection between the first server port and the first storage port by matching a WWN of the first server port and a WWN of the first storage port with gathered WWNs of the server port and the storage port corresponding to the zone for each Domain ID and a second logical connection between the second server port and the second storage port by matching a WWN of the second server port and a WWN of the second storage port with gathered WWNs of the server port and the storage port corresponding to the zone for each Domain ID, to validate the first and second logical connections; and instructions that cause the processor to provision the volume from the storage system after validating the redundant relationship of the first and second logical connections. 6 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 5 , wherein the plurality of instructions comprise: instructions that cause the processor to gather storage information showing correspondence between the storage port, a host group and WWNs of server ports; and instructions that cause the processor to check whether each of the first and second storage ports has a host group with the WWNs of the first and second server ports by using the gathered storage information. 7 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 5 , instructions that cause the processor to, if the processor does not validate the redundant relationship of the first and second logical connections, repair one or both of the first and second logical connections by repairing zones by: adding the WWN of the first or second storage port to a zone having the WWN of the first or second server port; adding the WWN of the first or second server port to a zone having the WWN of the first or second storage port; or creating a zone having the WWN of the first or second server ports and the WWN of the first or second storage ports. 8 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 6 , wherein the plurality of instructions comprise: instructions that cause the processor to create a host group with the WWNs of the first and second server ports or add the first or second server port on the host group, when the first or second storage port does not have a host group with the WWNs of the first and second server ports as a result of the check.

Assignees

Inventors

Classifications

  • Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects · CPC title

  • 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 title

  • in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors · CPC title

  • by changing the path, e.g. traffic rerouting, path reconfiguration · CPC title

  • at area level, e.g. provisioning of virtual or logical volumes · CPC title

Patent family

Related publications grouped by family.

External sources

Frequently asked questions

Answers are generated from the same data shown on this page.

What does patent US2016127472A1 cover?
Exemplary embodiments of the invention provide a technique to validate physical cabling and logical path before provisioning volume. In accordance with an aspect, a computer comprises a memory storing software and a processor executing the software. The software is operable to: identify first server port and second server port forming redundant ports of a server and first storage port and secon…
Who is the assignee on this patent?
Hitachi Ltd
What technology area does this patent fall under?
Primary CPC classification G06F9/45558. Mapped technology areas include Physics.
When was this patent published?
Publication date Thu May 05 2016 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) (A1). Legal status and post-grant events are not shown on this page.
What related patents are in patentsdb?
We list 8 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).