International Business Machines Corporation

Array Technology, LLC

David W. Gordon

Walter A. Hubis

David C. Stallmo

David M. Warner

William A. Brant

Walter A Hubis

William A Brant

Noel Simen Otterness

David C Stallmo

David W Gordon

William G Deitz

David M Warner

Structure, Structure, system, apparatus, method, and computer program for managing and configuring a computer storage system by mapping the topology and connectivity of all servers, storage devices, and storage device controllers within the storage subsystem, based on unique identifiers especially World Wide Number (WWN) identifiers. The method includes querying a server to identify host bus adapters coupled to the server, querying each host bus adapter to identify attached device controllers, issuing a read connection information command to the device controller and returning the connection results including identifying devices coupled to the device controller, and storing the returned connection results in a data structure.

Raid storage subsystem using read connection information command to request WWN information for server table and adapter connection table

Structure, system, apparatus, method, and computer program for managing and configuring a computer storage system by mapping the topology and connectivity of all servers, storage devices, and storage device controllers within the storage subsystem, based on unique identifiers especially WWN identifiers. The method includes querying a server to identify host bus adapters coupled to the server, querying each host bus adapter to identify attached device controllers, issuing a read connection information command to the device controller and returning the connection results including identifying devices coupled to the device controller, and storing the returned connection results in a data structure.

System using host bus adapter connection tables and server tables to generate connection topology of servers and controllers

One embodiment of the present invention provides a procedure to configure the operation of the a device controller. In particular, the procedure operates in a system that includes a controller that is connected across a first input/output (I/O) interface to at least one other controlled device. An auxiliary computer is connected to the controller by a second I/O interface. The auxiliary computer has a processor therein for executing a set of computer program instructions stored in a first memory. The computer program instructions cause the auxiliary computer to first identify a set of resources in the system. Next, the auxiliary computer determines a set of compatible configuration options that are compatible with the identified resources. Next, the auxiliary computer generates an executable procedure from a number of software procedures that are stored in the memory of the auxiliary computer to implement the compatible configuration options. Finally, the auxiliary computer communicates the executable procedure into a second memory of the controller as controller configuration code.

System, apparatus, and method for configuring an array controller

The invention provides structure and method for controlling access to a shared storage device, such as a disk drive storage array, in computer systems and networks having a plurality of host computers. A method for controlling access to a hardware device in a computer system having a plurality of computers and at least one hardware device connected to the plurality of computers. The method includes the steps of associating a locally unique identifier with each the plurality of computers, defining a data structure in a memory identifying which particular ones of the computers based on the locally unique identifier may be granted access to the device; and querying the data structure to determine if a requesting one of the computers should be granted access to the hardware device. In one embodiment, the procedure for defining the data structure in memory includes defining a host computer ID map data structure in the memory; defining a port mapping table data structure comprising a plurality of port mapping table entries in the memory; defining a host identifier list data structure in the memory; defining a volume permission table data structure in the memory; and defining a volume number table data structure in the memory. In one particular embodiment, the memory is a memory of a memory controller controlling the hardware device, and the hardware device is a logical volume of a storage subsystem. The invention also provides an inventive controller structure, and a computer program product implementing the inventive method.

Method and system for controlling access share storage devices in a network environment by configuring host-to-volume mapping data structures in the controller memory for granting and denying access to the devices

A method for providing cache coherency in a RAID system in which multiple RAID controllers provide read/write access to shared storage devices for multiple host computers. Each controller includes read, write and write mirror caches and the controllers and the shared storage devices are coupled to one another via common backend busses. Whenever a controller receives a write command from a host the controller writes the data to the shared devices, its write cache and the write mirror caches of the other controllers. Whenever a controller receives a read command from a host the controller attempts to return the requested data from its write mirror cache, write cache and read cache and the storage devices, in that order.

Full cache coherency across multiple raid controllers

The present invention is a method and system of performing a snapshot backup of a storage unit of a host system. The host system includes at least one primary system drive, a primary logic unit, a log system drive and at least one backup logic unit. A particular method is designed to perform the snapshot backup while allowing normal read operations and write operations to occur. After initializing the snapshot backup, the method processes a write operation of new data submitted to the primary logic unit to be written to the primary system drive during the snapshot backup by reading the old data that is on the primary system drive, buffering the old data, overwriting the old data and writing the old data to the log system drive if the write operation is the first write operation to a specific sector in the primary system drive for the snapshot backup. The method executes a read operation during the snapshot backup by processing the read operation submitted to the backup logic unit by accessing the requested data from the log system drive if the requested data is available from the log system drive, if not, accessing the requested data from the primary system drive.

Method and apparatus for providing a disc drive snapshot backup while allowing normal drive read, write, and buffering operations

An arrayed disk drive system for providing memory to a computer, said arrayed system having a plurality of disk drives configured to form an array, said arrayed disk drives accessed by a plurality of channels, each channel accessing a plurality of disk drives, including a means for controlling the logical configuration of the arrayed disk drives to appear to the computer as any conceivable arrangement of disk drives, whereby the arrayed disk drive may appear to the computer as the plurality of disk drives, or as one large disk drive comprised of all the arrayed disk drives, or any combination in between. A means for providing a plurality of levels of redundancy on data read or written by the computer to the arrayed disk drives is provided, as well as means controlled by the controlling means for enabling from none to the plurality of levels of redundancy to operate on data being read or written from the arrayed disk drives.

Growing community of inventors

Louisville, CO, United States of America

Walter A Hubis