International Business Machines Corporation

Ophelia K Yip

Douglas Paul Dunham

Gregory John Tevis

Nancy Lott Hobbs

Tina Lynn Dunton

Brian Augustine Delaire

Daniel Graham Douglas

David W Groves

Paul Lawrence Bradshaw

Vincent Jomartin Hoang

Louis Leo Lorber

Ngoc V Nguyen

Sandy Yuen Hing McDonald

Andrew Dunn

Jason Michael Perkins

His Tai (Steve) Hsu

A storage area network (SAN) includes a plurality of digital data processors, each with a file system that effects access to one or more storage devices coupled to the SAN, for example, via an interconnect fabric. A process (e.g., executing on a manager digital data processor) responds to a file system over-extension notification from at least a selected one of the digital data processors, e.g., by assigning a further storage device to the selected digital data processor. The type of response is, more particularly, determined in accord with a hierarchically defined policy inherited, in whole or in part, from one or more hierarchical groups of which the digital data processor is a member.

Storage area network methods and apparatus with hierarchical file system extension policy

The invention provides an improved SAN of type having one or more host digital data processors, coupled to one or more storage devices. At least a selected one of the hosts includes a file system that effects access by the host to assigned storage devices. This can be, by way of non-limiting example, an AIX journal file system, a Veritas file system, a Unix file systems using Veritas volume manager or other host platform file system that oversees file and other data accesses between the host and those assigned devices. In response to a request by (or on behalf of) the selected host for extension of the file system, a manager (e.g., executing on a further digital data processor) assigns one of more further storage devices to that digital data processor. An agent associated with the first digital data processor that responds to the assignment by extending the file system to include the assigned storage device.

Storage area network methods and apparatus for automated file system extension

A storage area network (SAN), e.g., as described above, includes a one or more hosts digital data processors, each having a file system that effects access to one or more storage devices. Each processor is associated with multiple groups from respective levels of a hierarchy, e.g., a first processor group and a second processor group hierarchically descendant from the first processor group. A process, e.g., executing on a manager digital data processor, includes a graphical user interface that displays the processor groups as a hierarchical tree. Along, for example, with the identities of the processor groups, nodes of the displayed tree list attributes of the policy defined for each respective group.

Storage area network methods and apparatus for display and management of a hierarchical file system extension policy

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San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Ophelia K Yip