International Business Machines Corporation

Michael John Jones

Michael P Vageline

Matthew John Fairhurst

Vernon John Legvold

Robert Bruce Nicholson

William James Scales

Barry Douglas Whyte

David John Carr

Andrew Key

David Ray Kahler

Lokesh M Gupta

Karl Allen Nielsen

Richard Anthony Ripberger

Robert Akira Kubo

Yu-Cheng Hsu

Cheng-Chung Song

Paul Nicholas Cashman

Jonathan Ian Settle

Ajay Kumar Mahajan

Joanna Katharine Brown

Rashmi Narasimhan

David Dean Sanner

William Henry Travis

Richard B Stelmach

Atit D Patel

Daniel Morgan Crowell

Ronald J Venturi

Roderick Guy Charles Moore

John Farrugia

Tram Thi Mai Nguyen

Thomas Van Der Veen

David Lawrence Leskovec

Kenney Nian Gan Giu

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, hardware initialization code and error action information are retrieved from separate storage areas. The hardware initialization code includes code that initializes a device, and also includes placeholders corresponding to actions that are performed when the device fails initialization. Likewise, the error action information describes the actions that are performed when the device fails initialization. The error action information is converted into macros that include lines of code. As such, the error action placeholders are matched to the macros and, in turn, each of the error action placeholders is replaced with the lines of code corresponding to the matched macros.

Streamlining hardware initialization code

A method for enabling a Node Controller (NC), which claims a duplicate or invalid service processor Node Controller Identification (NCID) in a distributed service processor system, to be integrated into the system includes reading an NCID by the NC after the NC is booted, saving the NCID into a non-volatile storage and broadcasting an NC Present Message (NPM) to a System Controller (SC) repeatedly until the SC initiates communication, updating the NCID for the NC in the non-volatile storage when the NC receives an NCID change message from the SC and rating any future NPM as a new NCID, and checking a record of a new NC when the SC receives the NPM from the NC. If the SC has a record of a recorded NC with the same NCID as the new NC, then the SC checks its role as a primary SC. If the SC does not have the record of the recorded NC with the same NCID as the new NC, then the SC checks validity of the NCID.

Method of handling duplicate or invalid node controller IDs in a distributed service processor environment

A storage control apparatus, in communication with a cluster of storage devices in a storage network having plural administrator systems, comprises a cluster lock requester component, a cluster lock receiver component and a configuration component, wherein, responsive to receipt of a cluster lock by said cluster lock receiver component, the configuration component is operable to configure a logical resource object within said cluster. The apparatus may also include a cluster lock granter component operable to grant a cluster lock to the cluster lock receiver component responsive to said cluster lock requester component. A method of operating a storage control apparatus includes method steps corresponding to functional components of an apparatus and may be embodied in computer program codes.

Low-overhead storage cluster configuration locking

An apparatus for parity data management receives a write command and write data from a computing device. The apparatus also builds a parity control structure corresponding to updating a redundant disk array with the write data and stores the parity control structure in a persistent memory buffer of the computing device. The apparatus also updates the redundant disk array with the write data in accordance with a parity control map and restores the RAID controller parity map from the parity control structure as part of a data recovery operation if updating the redundant disk array with the write data is interrupted by a RAID controller failure resulting in a loss of the RAID controller parity map. In certain embodiments, the parity control structure is a RAID controller parity map.

Parity data management system apparatus and method

An architecture for error log processing is provided. Each error log is given a defined priority and mapped to an error recovery procedure (ERP) to be run if the log is seen. The system has a plurality of software layers to process the errors. Each software layer processes the error independently. Errors are reported to a higher software stack when error recovery fails from the lower stack ERPs and recovery is non-transparent. If the system host identified for error processing fails, the control of the ERP is transferred during the failover process. Non-obvious failed component isolating ERPs are grouped to be run together to assist in isolating the failed component. Prioritization of the error systems may be based on a plurality of criteria. ERPs are assigned to run within a particular software stack.

Error processing across multiple initiator network

Provided is a method, system, and program for processing Input/Output (I/O) requests to a storage network including at least one storage device and at least two adaptors, wherein each adaptor is capable of communicating I/O requests to the at least one storage device. An error is detected in a system including a first adaptor, wherein the first adaptor is capable of communicating on the network after the error is detected. In response to detecting the error, a master switch timer is started that is less than a system timeout period if the first adaptor is the master. An error recovery procedure in the system including the first adaptor would be initiated after the system timeout period has expired. An operation is initiated to designate another adaptor in the storage network as the master if the first adaptor is the master in response to detecting an expiration of the master switch timer.

System and program for error handling in a dual adaptor system where one adaptor is a master

An arrangement and method for update of configuration cache data in a disk storage subsystem in which a cache memory () is updated using two-phase () commit technique. This provides the advantage that known changes to the subsystem do not require an invalidate/rebuild style operation on the cache. This is especially important where a change will invalidate the entire cache.

Arrangement and method for update of configuration cache data

Method, system, and program for error handling in a dual adaptor system where one adaptor is a master

Provided is a system for processing Input/Output (I/O) requests to a storage network including at least one storage device and at least two adaptors, wherein each adaptor is capable of communicating I/O requests to the at least one storage device. An error is detected in a system including a first adaptor, wherein the first adaptor is capable of communicating on the network after the error is detected. In response to detecting the error, a master switch timer is started that is less than a system timeout period if the first adaptor is the master. An error recovery procedure in the system including the first adaptor would be initiated after the system timeout period has expired. An operation is initiated to designate another adaptor in the storage network as the master if the first adaptor is the master in response to detecting an expiration of the master switch timer.

System for error handling in a dual adaptor system where one adaptor is a master

Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for detecting data integrity. An indicator is written to invalidate a data block that is capable of being stored in a plurality of sectors of a storage device, wherein the indicator is written to the storage device in at least one sector that is not included in the plurality of sectors. A writing of entire contents of the data block to the plurality of sectors of the storage device is initiated, in response to the writing of the indicator. The indicator is updated to validate the data block, in response to a completion of the writing of the entire contents of the data block to the plurality of sectors of the storage device.

Detecting data integrity

A method is disclosed to locate a data storage device disposed in a data storage system. The method selects a target data storage device, identifies a target adapter port in communication with the target data storage device, and determines one or more target addresses, and determines one or more target World Wide Port Names ('WWPNs'). The method selects an enclosure, and a communication pathway disposed in that enclosure, and determines if any storage device ports interconnected with the communication pathway comprise a WWPN that matches any of said target WWPNs. If any storage device ports interconnected with the communication pathway comprise a WWPN that matches any of the target WWPNs, the method then identifies an adapter port in communication with that communication pathway, and determines if that any storage device ports in communication with the identified adapter port have claimed an address that matches a target address. If a storage device port in communication with the identified adapter port has claimed an address that matches a target address, then the method locates the target data storage device within the selected enclosure.

Apparatus and method to locate a storage device disposed in a data storage system

Provided is a method for processing Input/Output (I/O) requests to a storage network including at least one storage device and at least two adaptors, wherein each adaptor is capable of communicating I/O requests to the at least one storage device. An error is detected in a system including a first adaptor, wherein the first adaptor is capable of communicating on the network after the error is detected. In response to detecting the error, a master switch timer is started that is less than a system timeout period if the first adaptor is the master. An error recovery procedure in the system including the first adaptor would be initiated after the system timeout period has expired. An operation is initiated to designate another adaptor in the storage network as the master if the first adaptor is the master in response to detecting an expiration of the master switch timer.

Method for error handling in a dual adaptor system where one adaptor is a master

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Eastleigh, United Kingdom

Michael John Jones