Emc Corporation

Mordechai Zvi Zur

Boris Farizon

Sylvia Martin

Anoop George Ninan

Benjamin Thrift

Ilya Liubovich

Ohad Zeliger

Nigel B Hislop

Svetlana Patsenker

Ethan D Roberts

Jeffrey Louis Alexander

Eric Baize

Christopher M Barrett

Dongjun Sun

Paul Clark

Urayoan Irizarry

Terrence Lewis

Wesley A Scott

Jeffrey B Lee

A storage area network management application operates using agents for management of resources. Authenticity is verified in installing an agent on a host computer system in the storage area network. A file is identified for use in installing the agent. The file is signed to produce a digital signature for the file. A certificate is sent to a recipient for use in verifying authenticity of information. The file and digital signature are sent to the recipient. At the recipient, the certificate and the digital signature are used to verify the file. An agent installation operation is performed, using the file, to install the agent on the host computer system.

Verifying authenticity in data storage management systems

A system determines status of agent execution of a command in a network. The system identifies a command to be performed by an agent and issues the command to the agent for execution. The agent operates a status manager that tracks execution status of commands in the agent. The system sends status requests to the agent to determine a status of execution of the command by the agent and the agent responds and sends a status response indicating the status of the execution of the command by the agent. Applications are thus provided with current status of execution of long running commands in an agent.

Method and apparatus for obtaining agent status in a network management application

A bulk install which evaluates prerequisites and performs installations of agents for multiple remote host computers performs a prerequisite check to identify prerequisite files, resources, or other objects expected by each agent on the hosts, and identifies potential shortcomings or failures before installation. A GUI identifies agents for installation on a plurality of host computers, which allows agent specification on an agent type, operating system, or individual host basis. Install files for each agent are identified and retrieved from a common media repository for transport to the target host. The prerequisite checks are also performed in bulk prior to the bulk install, such that the checks prevent a failed prerequisite check from disrupting an entire install. Such bulk install operations mitigate the time-consuming, repetitive nature of the conventional single agent install by iteratively installing each of the agents on the proper host.

System and methods for SAN agent installation

A framework for defining and performing installation prerequisite checking using a generic template includes identifying a candidate agent and a corresponding prerequisite check from among a plurality of predetermined prerequisite checks. The prerequisite checks are indicative of installability of the candidate agent on a host computer. An install engine generates a prerequisite script bundle based on a set of configuration parameters corresponding to the candidate agent and the identified prerequisite check. The configuration parameters are defined in a template format adapted to define a plurality of configuration parameter sets, enabling a single generic prerequisite check format to define the configuration parameters. The install engine invokes the script bundle inclusive of the script on the host computer for computing the installation status, (i.e. prerequisite check results) of the candidate agent based on the results.

System and methods for generic installation prerequisite verification

In a storage area network (SAN), different tasks may expect different types of commands for commencing execution, such as interactive or offline, and may have different formats for reporting status and completion, such as log files or message based. A framework for defining the business logic enveloped in a particular task, and providing a common manner of deploying, or enabling invocation, of the task provides consistent operator control for scheduling, monitoring, ensuring completion, and tracking errors and other events. Business logic modules are identified as commands corresponding to a task. Transactions including a set of the commands define an ordered sequence for completing the task. The operator requests a particular set of tasks, using a selection tree, and the task manager builds a corresponding execution tree to identify and map the transactions and commands of the task to the execution tree to optimize execution and mitigate redundancies.

System and methods for task management

An agent installer operates to install an agent on a plurality of host computer systems using a bulk automated installation process that identifies at least one agent to be installed on a plurality of host computer systems and performs prerequisite checking of each of the plurality of host computer systems to determine which host computer systems of the plurality of host computer system are capable of supporting operation of the at least one agent. For each host computer system of the plurality of host computer systems that is capable of supporting operation of the at least one agent, the agent installer performs an automated bulk agent installation operation to install the at least one agent on that host computer system.

Methods and apparatus for installing agents in a managed network

Monitoring a plurality of objects in a storage area network includes assigning a plurality of primary agents to monitor the objects, assigning to the objects a plurality of secondary agents that are configured to monitor the objects, maintaining a table of agents and objects, and, in response to failure of a primary agent of an object, converting a secondary agent to a primary agent of the object according to information in the table. Monitoring a plurality of objects in a storage area network may also include assigning a cost value to each of the secondary agents, and including the cost value in the table of agents and objects. The cost value for a particular secondary agent may vary according to an amount of processing time for the particular secondary agent to perform an assigned operation with respect to an object associated with the particular secondary agent. Converting a secondary agent to a primary agent may include choosing a secondary agent having the lowest cost.

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Newton, MA, United States of America

Mordechai Zvi Zur