Method, system, and computer program product for managing shutdown and substitution of I/O enclosures

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9569376-B1
Application number	US-201514947864-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Nov 20, 2015
Priority date	Nov 20, 2015
Publication date	Feb 14, 2017
Grant date	Feb 14, 2017

Abstract

A storage controller determines a presence of an indication from an Input/Output (I/O) enclosure that the I/O enclosure will perform a shutdown after a predetermined amount of time. The storage controller determines whether the I/O enclosure provides a last path to data stored in a storage device. A request is transmitted to the I/O enclosure to perform either an orderly shutdown or abort the shutdown, based on the whether the I/O enclosure provides the last path to the data stored in the storage device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
in response to detecting, by an Input/Output (I/O) enclosure, an inability to read a status of one or more fans within the I/O enclosure, initiating a power down warning and sending an interrupt to a rack power controller that is coupled to a storage controller, wherein the power down warning is an indication that the I/O enclosure will perform a shutdown after a predetermined amount of time;
in response to receiving the interrupt, detecting by the rack power controller that the I/O enclosure has initiated the power down warning, and sending a notification to the storage controller;
in response to receiving the notification, determining, via the storage controller, a presence of the indication from the I/O enclosure that the I/O enclosure will perform a shutdown after a predetermined amount of time, and determining whether the I/O enclosure provides a last path to data stored in a storage device;
in response to determining, by the storage controller, that the I/O enclosure provides the last path to data stored in the storage device, transmitting, by the storage controller, a message to the rack power controller to request the I/O enclosure to abort the shutdown of the I/O enclosure, wherein the rack power controller relays the message to the I/O enclosure to abort the shutdown of the I/O enclosure; and
in response to determining, by the storage controller, that the I/O enclosure does not provide the last path to data stored in the storage device, performing a quiescing and fencing of the I/O enclosure to take the I/O enclosure offline, and subsequently requesting a partner I/O enclosure to take over operations of the offlined I/O enclosure to avoid I/O interruption.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the performing of the quiescing and fencing of the I/O enclosure to take the I/O enclosure offline, and subsequently requesting the partner I/O enclosure to take over operations of the offlined I/O enclosure to avoid I/O interruption comprises:
quiescing all I/O adapters of the I/O enclosure;
quiescing the I/O enclosure, in response to completion of quiescing of all of the I/O adapters of the I/O enclosure;
fencing the I/O enclosure and resources of all the I/O adapters, in response to completion of the quiescing of the I/O enclosure;
sending the I/O enclosure to an offline state by powering off the I/O enclosure, in response to quiescing the I/O enclosure; and
requesting the partner I/O enclosure to take over functions of the I/O enclosure in response to the I/O enclosure entering the offline state.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the I/O enclosure is a first I/O enclosure, wherein the partner I/O enclosure is a second I/O enclosure that is configurable to substitute the first I/O enclosure, and wherein the second I/O enclosure may or may not be operational.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein if the I/O enclosure provides the last path to the data stored in the storage controller then in response to the shutdown of the I/O enclosure, a host is unable to access the data, and wherein if the I/O enclosure does not provide the last path to the data stored in the storage controller then in response to the shutdown of the I/O enclosure, the host is able to access the data via the partner I/O enclosure.

5. A system, comprising:
a memory; and
a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor performs operations, the operations comprising:
in response to detecting, by an Input/Output (I/O) enclosure, an inability to read a status of one or more fans within the I/O enclosure, initiating a power down warning and sending an interrupt to a rack power controller that is coupled to a storage controller, wherein the power down warning is an indication that the I/O enclosure will perform a shutdown after a predetermined amount of time;
in response to receiving the interrupt, detecting by the rack power controller that the I/O enclosure has initiated the power down warning, and sending a notification to the storage controller;
in response to receiving the notification, determining, via the storage controller, a presence of the indication from the I/O enclosure that the I/O enclosure will perform a shutdown after a predetermined amount of time, and determining whether the I/O enclosure provides a last path to data stored in a storage device;
in response to determining, by the storage controller, that the I/O enclosure provides the last path to data stored in the storage device, transmitting, by the storage controller, a message to the rack power controller to request the I/O enclosure to abort the shutdown of the I/O enclosure, wherein the rack power controller relays the message to the I/O enclosure to abort the shutdown of the I/O enclosure; and
in response to determining, by the storage controller, that the I/O enclosure does not provide the last path to data stored in the storage device, performing a quiescing and fencing of the I/O enclosure to take the I/O enclosure offline, and subsequently requesting a partner I/O enclosure to take over operations of the offlined I/O enclosure to avoid I/O interruption.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the performing of the quiescing and fencing of the I/O enclosure to take the I/O enclosure offline, and subsequently requesting the partner I/O enclosure to take over operations of the offlined I/O enclosure to avoid I/O interruption comprises:
quiescing all I/O adapters of the I/O enclosure;
quiescing the I/O enclosure, in response to completion of quiescing of all of the I/O adapters of the I/O enclosure;
fencing the I/O enclosure and resources of all the I/O adapters, in response to completion of the quiescing of the I/O enclosure;
sending the I/O enclosure to an offline state by powering off the I/O enclosure, in response to quiescing the I/O enclosure; and
requesting the partner I/O enclosure to take over functions of the I/O enclosure in response to the I/O enclosure entering the offline state.

7. The system of claim 5 , wherein the I/O enclosure is a first I/O enclosure, wherein the partner I/O enclosure is a second I/O enclosure that is configurable to substitute the first I/O enclosure, and wherein the second I/O enclosure may or may not be operational.

8. The system of claim 5 , wherein if the I/O enclosure provides the last path to the data stored in a storage controller then in response to the shutdown of the I/O enclosure, a host is unable to access the data, and wherein if the I/O enclosure does not provide the last path to the data stored in the storage controller then in response to the shutdown of the I/O enclosure, the host is able to access the data via the partner I/O enclosure.

9. A computer program product, the computer program product comprising:
a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code configured to perform operations, the operations comprising:
in response to detecting, by an Input/Output (I/O) enclosure, an inability to read a status of one or more fans within the I/O enclosure, initiating a power down warning and sending an interrupt to a rack power controller that is coupled to a storage controller, wherein the power down warning is an indication that the I/O enclosure will perform a shutdown after a predetermined amount of time;
in response to receiving the interrupt, detecting by the rack power controller that the I/O enclosure has initiated the power down warning, and sending a notification to the storage controller;
in response to receiving the notification, determining, via the storage controller, a presence of the indication from the I/O enclosure that the I/O enclosure will perform a shutdown after a predetermined amount of

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Batchelor Gary W
• Carson Matthew D
• Garcia Enrique Q
• Juarez Larry
• Kirch Jay T
• Rinaldi Brian A
• Sorenson Todd C

Classifications

• G06F9/442

  Shutdown · CPC title

• G06F13/102 Primary

  where the program performs an interfacing function, e.g. device driver (G06F13/105 takes precedence; contention policies within device drivers G06F9/4881; scheduling within device drivers G06F9/52) · CPC title

• G01R31/08

  Locating faults in cables, transmission lines, or networks · CPC title