International Business Machines Corporation

Ronald David Martens

Todd Charles Sorenson

Gary William Batchelor

Brian Anthony Rinaldi

John Charles Elliott

Larry Juarez

Enrique Q Garcia

Robin Han

Ya-Huey Juan

Trung Ngoc Nguyen

Vernon John Legvold

Steven Douglas Johnson

Edward George Butt

Jay T Kirch

Veronica S Davila

Brian C Kraemer

Jack Harvey Derenburger

Mann Du

Su Qin

Ji Qiu Xu

Robert Beverley Basham

Kirby Grant Dahman

Ralph Thomas Beeston

Jiwu Duan

Gerard Grunow, Legal Representative

Mark Elliott Hack

Michael Paul Groover

Matthew D Carson

Tony Jing Zhang

Christopher Grunow

Keith Geoffrey Morrison

Heidi Lynn McCook

Jing Peng

Ye Na Chen

Yibo Xu

Cindy K Hoac

A method is disclosed for maintaining a current operating state of an enclosure when a controller card of the enclosure is repaired and/or replaced. In one embodiment, such a method maintains, within a controller card of an enclosure, operating parameters used to establish an operating state of the enclosure. The method further offloads, from the controller card while the controller card is installed in the enclosure, the operating parameters to a location external to the controller card. Upon removal of the controller card from the enclosure, the method maintains the operating state of the enclosure using the operating parameters stored in the external location. Upon reinstalling the controller card in the enclosure, the method optionally retrieves the operating parameters from the external location and initializes the controller card with the operating parameters. A corresponding system and computer program product are also disclosed.

Non-disruptive repair of enclosure controller components

A method for protecting data in a storage system is disclosed. In one embodiment, such a method includes detecting, by a first hardware management console, first battery-on status associated with a first uninterruptible power supply. The method further detects, by a second hardware management console, second battery-on status associated with a second uninterruptible power supply. The method communicates, from the first hardware management console to the second hardware management console, the first battery-on status. The method then triggers, by the second hardware management console, a dump of modified data from memory to more persistent storage upon detecting both the first battery-on status and the second battery-on status. A corresponding system and computer program product are also disclosed.

Hardware-management-console-initiated data protection

A method to ensure that a hardware management console powers up after a storage system loses external AC power is disclosed. In one embodiment, such a method includes detecting loss of external AC power to a storage system. The loss of external AC power causes the storage system to operate on battery power. The method further initiates, in response to the loss, shutdown of a hardware management console associated with the storage system. The method starts a timer in response to initiation of the shutdown. When the timer expires, the method power cycles the hardware management console, thereby causing the hardware management console to power up and restart. A corresponding system and computer program product are also disclosed.

Ensuring hardware-management-console powerup after external AC power loss

Provided are techniques for concurrent Input/Output (I/O) enclosure firmware/Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) update in a multi-node environment. First notifications are sent to each I/O enclosure management engine on each of a plurality of server nodes that code activation for a first set of I/O enclosures is starting. An update image is distributed to the first set of I/O enclosures. The update image on the first set of I/O enclosures is activated by sending an activate reset command to each of the first set of I/O enclosures, wherein a reset is not propagated to other devices within each I/O enclosure in the first set of I/O enclosures in response to determining that the reset is an activate reset. In response to the activate reset command completing, second notifications are sent to each I/O enclosure management engine that code activation for the first set of I/O enclosures has completed.

Concurrent I/O enclosure firmware/field-programmable gate array (FPGA) update in a multi-node environment

Power line disturbance hold up times are dynamically adjusted based on battery capacity of a plurality of batteries in a plurality of racks upon determining an amount of the power line disturbance one of the plurality of racks, having a fewest number of remaining batteries of the plurality of batteries with the battery capacity, is able to support.

Dynamically adjusting power disturbance hold up times

Power line disturbance hold up times are dynamically adjusted based on battery capacity of a plurality of batteries in a plurality of racks by determining which one of the plurality of racks has a fewest number of remaining batteries of the plurality of batteries having the battery capacity. A determination of an amount of the power line disturbance the one of the plurality of racks, having the fewest number of remaining batteries of the plurality of batteries with the battery capacity, is able to support.

Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for adjusting an extended power line disruption time and end-of-life for at least one battery backup unit used in a system. A request is received to change from a first extended power line disruption time currently used in the system to a second extended power line disruption time. A first end-of-life and a second end-of-life correspond to the first extended power line disruption time and the second extended power line disruption time, respectively. A message is sent to a power distribution unit with information on the second extended power line disruption time to cause the power distribution unit to initiate a graceful shutdown of the system after power is supplied from the at least one battery backup unit for the second extended power line disruption time.

Adjusting an extended power line disruption time and end-of-life used for at least one battery backup unit in a system

In one aspect of the present description, in a distributed node management system for a distributed computing system having multiple processor nodes, each processor node has a local data structure which contains a 'to-do tasks' synchronization table that resides on each such processor node. The 'to-do-tasks' synchronization table contains one or more actions that each processor node may perform to facilitate maintaining the operations of the associated processor node with equivalent knowledge of the system configuration, status and backup capabilities as the other processor nodes of the distributed computing system. Other features and aspects may be realized, depending upon the particular application.

Dynamic correlated operation management for a distributed computing system

Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for performing code load operations on managed components in a system. A first node group comprising at least one computational node in the computer system performs code load operations for the managed components. Status of the code load operations at the managed component is written to a status data structure while the code load operations are being performed at the managed component. The first node group transfers control of the code load operations for the managed components to a second node group comprising at least computational node in the computer system while the code load operations are occurring at the managed components. A second node group reads the status data structure for the managed components to determine the status of the code load operations and continue the code load operations at managed components.

Performing code load operations on managed components in a system

Power line disturbance hold up times are dynamically adjusted prior to the commencement of the power disturbance failover based on battery capacity of batteries in racks of the storage system as the batteries either fail, are repaired, or are added to the storage system having at least one uninterruptible power supply (UPS).

An apparatus and system are provided for communicating control messages between a first device and a second device. The apparatus and system include a communication module that directs control messages between a first device and a second device through an intermediate device. The intermediate device is coupled to the first device by a control path and to the second device by a data path. The apparatus and system also include a translation module and a transmission module that cooperate to translate control messages received over the control path at the intermediate device to transport data messages and transport data messages received over the data path at the second device to control messages. Transport data messages are sent over the data path to the second device and control messages from the second device are sent over the control path to the first device.

Apparatus, system, and method for communicating control messages between a first device and a second device

A system, method and article of manufacture are provided for the automatic recovery from errors encountered during an automated Licensed Internal Code (LIC) update on a storage controller. The present invention functions with a concurrent or nonconcurrent automated LIC update. The automated recovery from many error conditions is transparent to the attached host system and on-site service personnel, resulting an improvement in the LIC update process.

Automated error recovery of a licensed internal code update on a storage controller

A method for communicating control messages between a first device and a second device. The method includes a communication module that directs control messages between a first device and a second device through an intermediate device. The intermediate device is coupled to the first device by a control path and to the second device by a data path. The method also includes a translation module and a transmission module that cooperate to translate control messages received over the control path at the intermediate device to transport data messages and transport data messages received over the data path at the second device to control messages. Transport data messages are sent over the data path to the second device and control messages from the second device are sent over the control path to the first device.

Growing community of inventors

Benson, AZ, United States of America

Ronald David Martens