Dell Products Inc.

Joseph A Perry

Dazhi Dong

Vasudevan Subramanian

A method, computer program product, and computing system for synchronizing system software between a new storage appliance and a storage cluster having one or more pre-existing appliances. The synchronization process includes: determining a software version used by the pre-existing storage appliances in the storage cluster, determining a software version used by the new storage appliance to be added to the storage cluster, and comparing the software version used by the pre-existing storage appliances to the software version used by the new storage appliance. Moreover, in response to determining that the software version used by the new storage appliance is more recent than the software version used by the pre-existing storage appliances, the synchronization process performs a hardware check on the new storage appliance for hardware compatibility with the software version used by the pre-existing storage appliances.

System and method for synchronizing software on clustered storage appliances

Cluster management logic in a storage appliance of a storage cluster receives messages that are automatically transmitted periodically by unconfigured storage appliances. The unconfigured storage appliances do not belong to the storage cluster, and the messages contain properties of the unconfigured storage appliances. The messages may be multicast DNS (Domain Name Service) messages. The cluster management logic determines a level of compatibility of each one of the unconfigured storage appliances with regard to the storage cluster, based on the received properties. Determining the level of compatibility of each unconfigured storage appliance with the storage cluster may include assigning one of multiple compatibility level categories to each unconfigured storage appliance. The compatibility level categories may be or include a) incompatible, ii) compatible with warning, and/or c) compatible, and may be displayed in a graphical user interface that is used to add unconfigured storage appliances to the storage cluster.

Growing community of inventors

Sutton, MA, United States of America

Joseph A Perry