Policy based alerts for networked storage systems

Methods and systems for a storage system are provided. The methods include maintaining a logical object associated with a resource of a storage system by a management console; creating a first policy associated with the logical object; selecting an annotation category associated with the logical object and assigning a value to the annotation category, where the annotation category defines an attribute associated with the logical object; providing a duration for generating an alert when the first policy is violated; assigning a threshold value for first policy violation; and setting an indicator for foregoing an alert associated with a second policy, when the first policy is violated.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to networked storage system and more particularly, to policy and threshold management in networked storage systems.

BACKGROUND

Various forms of storage systems are used today. These forms include direct attached storage (DAS) network attached storage (NAS) systems, storage area networks (SANs), and others. Network storage systems are commonly used for a variety of purposes, such as providing multiple users with access to shared data, backing up data and others.

A storage system typically includes at least one computing system executing a storage operating system for storing and retrieving data on behalf of one or more client computing systems (“clients”). The storage operating system stores and manages shared data containers in a set of mass storage devices.

Networked storage systems are used extensively in NAS, SAN and virtual environments. The infrastructure for such storage systems use various components, for example, switches, storage devices and others. To effectively manage the infrastructure i.e., a large number of logical objects that represent the storage infrastructure components' are maintained. These logical objects are associated with numerous counters and data associated with counters is collected periodically. A storage administrator can become overwhelmed if all the data associated with the various objects/counters is provided. Continuous efforts are being made to efficiently monitor information in networked storage systems and providing information to users that is helpful and desirable based on a user's operating environment and needs.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a machine implemented method is provided. The method includes maintaining a logical object associated with a resource of a storage system by a management console; creating a first policy associated with the logical object; selecting an annotation category associated with the logical object and assigning a value to the annotation category, where the annotation category defines an attribute associated with the logical object; providing a duration for generating an alert when the first policy is violated; assigning a threshold value for first policy violation; and setting an indicator for foregoing an alert associated with a second policy, when the first policy is violated.

In another aspect, a non-transitory, machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions for performing a method is provided. The storage medium includes machine executable code which when executed by at least one machine, causes the machine to: maintain a logical object associated with a resource of a storage system by a management console; create a first policy associated with the logical object; select an annotation category associated with the logical object and assigning a value to the annotation category, where the annotation category defines an attribute associated with the logical object; provide a duration for generating an alert when the first policy is violated; assign a threshold value for first policy violation; and set an indicator for foregoing an alert associated with a second policy, when the first policy is violated.

In yet another aspect, a system having a memory containing machine readable medium comprising machine executable code having stored thereon instructions is provided. A processor module of a management console coupled to the memory executes the machine executable code to: maintain a logical object associated with a resource of a storage system by the management console; create a first policy associated with the logical object; select an annotation category associated with the logical object and assigning a value to the annotation category, where the annotation category defines an attribute associated with the logical object; provide a duration for generating an alert when the first policy is violated; assign a threshold value for first policy violation; and set an indicator for foregoing an alert associated with a second policy, when the first policy is violated.

This brief summary has been provided so that the nature of this disclosure may be understood quickly. A more complete understanding of the disclosure can be obtained by reference to the following detailed description of the various aspects thereof in connection with the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As preliminary note, the terms “component”, “module”, “system,” and the like as used herein are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either software-executing general purpose processor, hardware, firmware and a combination thereof. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer.

Computer executable components can be stored, for example, on computer readable media including, but not limited to, an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), CD (compact disc), DVD (digital video disk), ROM (read only memory), floppy disk, hard disk, EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read only memory), memory stick or any other storage device type, in accordance with the claimed subject matter.

In one aspect, methods and systems for a storage system are provided. The method includes maintaining a logical object associated with a resource of a storage system by a management console; creating a first policy associated with the logical object; selecting an annotation category associated with the logical object and assigning a value to the annotation category, where the annotation category defines an attribute associated with the logical object; providing a duration for generating an alert when the first policy is violated; assigning a threshold value for first policy violation; and setting an indicator for foregoing an alert associated with a second policy, when the first policy is violated.

FIG. 1Ashows an example of an operating environment100(also referred to as system100), for implementing the various adaptive aspects of the present disclosure. In one aspect, system100may include a plurality of computing systems104A-104N (may also be referred to and shown as server system104or as host system104) that may access one or more storage systems108via a connection system116such as a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), the Internet and others. The server systems104may communicate with each other via connection system116, for example, for working collectively to provide data-access service to user consoles102A-102N.

In one aspect, in a SAN environment, one or more switch120may be used for communication between server systems104and storage device(s)114. Switch120may include a plurality of ports, for example,122A-122B and124A-124B having logic and circuitry for handling network packets. Ports122A-122B may be connected directly to server system104or via connection system116. Ports124A-124B may be connected to storage device114and storage system108.

Server systems104may be computing devices configured to execute applications106over a variety of operating systems, including the UNIX® and Microsoft Windows® operating systems. Application106may utilize data services of storage system108to access, store, and manage data in a set of storage devices110/114that are described below in detail. Application106may include an email exchange application, a database application or any other type of application. In another aspect, application106may comprise a virtual machine as described below in more detail.

Server systems104generally utilize file-based access protocols when accessing information (in the form of files and directories) over a network attached storage (NAS)-based network. Alternatively, server systems104may use block-based access protocols, for example, the Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) protocol encapsulated over TCP (iSCSI) and SCSI encapsulated over Fibre Channel (FCP) to access storage via a storage area network (SAN).

Server104may also execute a virtual machine environment105, according to one aspect. In the virtual machine environment105a physical resource is time-shared among a plurality of independently operating processor executable virtual machines (VMs). Each VM may function as a self-contained platform, running its own operating system (OS) and computer executable, application software. The computer executable instructions running in a VM may be collectively referred to herein as “guest software”. In addition, resources available within the VM may be referred to herein as “guest resources”.

The guest software expects to operate as if it were running on a dedicated computer rather than in a VM. That is, the guest software expects to control various events and have access to hardware resources on a physical computing system (may also be referred to as a host platform) which maybe referred to herein as “host hardware resources”. The host hardware resource may include one or more processors, resources resident on the processors (e.g., control registers, caches and others), memory (instructions residing in memory, e.g., descriptor tables), and other resources (e.g., input/output devices, host attached storage, network attached storage or other like storage) that reside in a physical machine or are coupled to the host platform.

The virtual execution environment105executes a plurality of VMs126A-126N. VMs126A-126A execute a plurality of guest OS128A-128N (may also be referred to as guest OS128) that share hardware resources134. As described above, hardware resources134may include CPU, memory, I/O devices, storage or any other hardware resource.

A virtual machine monitor (VMM)130, for example, a processor executed hypervisor layer provided by VMWare Inc., Hyper-V layer provided by Microsoft Corporation (without derogation of any third party trademark rights) or any other layer type, presents and manages the plurality of guest OS128a-128n. The VMM130may include or interface with a virtualization layer (VIL)132that provides one or more virtualized hardware resource134to each guest OS. For example, VIL132presents physical storage at storage devices110/114as virtual storage (for example, as a virtual hard drive (VHD)) to VMs126A-126N. The VMs use the VHDs to store information at storage devices110and114.

In one aspect, VMM130is executed by server system104with VMs126A-126N. In another aspect, VMM130may be executed by an independent stand-alone computing system, often referred to as a hypervisor server or VMM server and VMs126A-126N are presented via another computing system. It is noteworthy that various vendors provide virtualization environments, for example, VMware Corporation, Microsoft Corporation (without derogation of any third party trademark rights) and others. The generic virtualization environment described above with respect toFIG. 1Amay be customized depending on the virtual environment provider.

System100may also include a management system118for managing and configuring various elements of system100. Management system118may include one or more computing systems for performing various tasks described below in detail. Details regarding management system118are provided below in more detail.

System100may also include one or more user consoles102A-102N referred to as users. Users'102A-102nmay access server system104for storage related services provided by storage system108and also use management system118for obtaining management related services described below in detail.

In one aspect, storage system108has access to a set of mass storage devices110(may be referred to as storage devices110) within a storage subsystem112. Storage system108may also access storage devices114via switch120that may be a Fibre Channel, Fibre Channel over Ethernet or any other type of switch. Storage devices110and114are referenced interchangeably throughout this specification. As an example, storage devices110and114may be a part of a storage array within the storage sub-system.

Storage devices110are used by storage system108for storing information. The storage devices110may include writable storage device media such as magnetic disks, video tape, optical, DVD, magnetic tape, non-volatile memory devices for example, self-encrypting drives, flash memory devices and any other similar media adapted to store information. The storage devices110may be organized as one or more groups of Redundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive) Disks (RAID). The aspects disclosed herein are not limited to any particular storage device or storage device configuration.

In one aspect, to facilitate access to storage devices110, a storage operating system of storage system108“virtualizes” the storage space provided by storage devices110/114. The storage system108can present or export data stored at storage devices110to server systems104and VMM130as a storage volume or one or more qtree sub-volume units. Each storage volume may be configured to store data files (or data containers or data objects), scripts, word processing documents, executable programs, and any other type of structured or unstructured data. From the perspective of the VMS/server systems, each volume can appear to be a single disk drive. However, each volume can represent the storage space in one disk, an aggregate of some or all of the storage space in multiple disks, a RAID group, or any other suitable set of storage space.

It is noteworthy that the term “disk” as used herein is intended to mean any storage device/space and not to limit the adaptive aspects to any particular type of storage device, for example, hard disks.

The storage system108may be used to store and manage information at storage devices114based on a request generated by server system104, management system118, user102and/or a VM. The request may be based on file-based access protocols, for example, the CIFS or the NFS protocol, over TCP/IP. Alternatively, the request may use block-based access protocols, for example, iSCSI or FCP.

As an example, in a typical mode of operation, server system104(or VMs126A-126N) transmits one or more input/output (I/O) commands, such as an NFS or CIFS request, over connection system116to the storage system108. Storage system108receives the request, issues one or more I/O commands to storage devices110to read or write the data on behalf of the server system104, and issues an NFS or CIFS response containing the requested data over the connection system116to the respective server system104

In one aspect, storage system108may have a distributed architecture, for example, a cluster based system that may include a separate N-(“network”) module and D-(disk) module, described below in detail with respect toFIG. 2A. Briefly, the N-module is used to communicate with host platform server system104and management system118, while the D-module is used to communicate with the storage devices110that are a part of a storage sub-system.

Storage system108maintains various data structures for storing information related to storage devices110/114. For example, storage system108is aware of the identity and capabilities of storage device110/114. Storage system108maintains the information regarding all the VMs and server systems that use storage device110/114. This information may be kept as unique identifiers.

Because storage system108services read and write requests, it maintains information regarding the number of I/O operations that are processed within a time unit, for example, a second, referred to herein as “IOPS” by the storage device and by each storage volume. Storage system108is also aware of the identity of the sever systems that generate the I/O requests. Storage system108also maintains information on a rate at which information is transferred (also referred to as a throughput rate) from the storage devices. The throughput rate is maintained for each storage volume of the storages devices.

The VMs126A-126n, applications106and clients102may use resources within system100, for example, storage devices110/114. In some instances, the resources may become undesirably over utilized. An administrator of system100may want to be alerted when a resource usage has reached a threshold level. However, the infrastructure of system100has numerous components and tracking all the components and providing all the data to the administrator may be overwhelming for the administrator. The management system118provides an efficient system described below where the administrator is able to create a policy for a specific object/component annotate the policy based on the selected object and then define an alerting mechanism related to the policy, as described below in detail.

FIG. 1Bshows a block diagram of management system118having a plurality of modules and using a plurality of data structures, according to one aspect. The various modules may be implemented in one computing system or in a distributed environment among multiple computing systems. In the illustrated aspect, the management system118may include a graphical user interface (GUI) module136to generate a GUI for use by a storage administrator or a user using a user console102. In another aspect, management system118may present a command line interface (CLI) to a user. The GUI may be used by a user to set policies for receiving alerts related to resource performance in system100, as described below in detail.

Management system118may include a communication module146that implements one or more conventional communication protocols and/or APIs to enable the various modules of management system118to communicate with the storage system108, VMs126A-126N, switch120, server system104and clients102.

Management system118maintains information regarding storage device110and114at a storage device data structure150that stores a name of a storage device manufacturer, a storage device identifier, a maximum number of LOPS that the device can handle and a throughput rate that the storage device is able to support. This information may be hardcoded and stored at a memory storage location.

In one aspect, management system118also includes an acquisition module144that obtains information regarding storage devices110/114from storage system108and switch120. Acquisition module144may send a discovery request to storage system108and switch120seeking storage device110/114and switch120information, respectively. The format and structure of the discovery request will depend on the protocol/standard used by acquisition module144to communicate with storage system108and switch120.

The information may include an amount of data that is transferred to and from a storage device within a certain duration, a number of LOPS that are serviced by a storage device, the identity of the server systems (also referred to as host systems) that use the storage devices, transfer rates of the switch ports and other information as described below.

Management system118also includes a processor executable configuration module142that stores configuration information for storage devices110/114and switch120. The configuration information may be stored as data structures148A-148C.

Management system118maintains storage configuration data148A, switch configuration data148B and VM configuration data148C, according to one aspect. The actual data for data structures148A-148C may be acquired by acquisition module144from storage systems108, switch120and VMM130, respectively.

Storage configuration data148A identifies the storage system108that manages a storage device, the storage volumes associated with the storage device and the identity of users (for example, server systems104) that access the storage volumes. Storage configuration data148A may be obtained from storage system108.

Switch configuration data148B identifies switch120, the various ports of switch120and the identity of the devices/computing systems that are coupled to switch120. Switch configuration data148B is acquired by acquisition module144either directly from switch120or any other entity, according to one aspect.

VM configuration data148C identifies the VMM130, for example, the hypervisor that presents and controls VMs126A-126N. VM configuration data148C also identifies the various VMs and the resources that are used by the VMs at any given time, for example, VHDs. VM configuration data148C may also be acquired by acquisition module144from VMM130and storage system108.

Management system118includes a performance module140that receives performance data regarding storage devices110/114and switch120. The performance data may be stored as storage performance data152A, switch performance data1525and VM performance data152C. The storage performance data152A shows if a storage device is over utilized at a given time, the number of TOPS within certain duration, a throughput within the certain duration and other information.

Switch performance data152B includes performance of ports122A-122D. For example, switch performance data152B may show the data transfer rates for one or more of switch ports122A-122D. The switch data may be used to ascertain which of the connected hosts may be causing over utilization of a storage device, as described below in more detail.

VM performance data152C includes information regarding the various VMs, identity of the virtual disks used by the VMs and other information that is described below in more detail. It is noteworthy that the various data structures described above, namely,148A-148C and152A-152C may be integrated into a single data structure that is accessible to one or more modules of management system118.

Management system118may also include other modules138. The other modules138are not described in detail because the details are not germane to the inventive aspects.

FIG. 1Cshows an example of how performance data is maintained and collected for various resources, according to one aspect. The various resources of system100are represented logically as infrastructure objects156A-156N (maybe referred to as objects156). Data associated with the resources is collected using counters shown as158A-158N and160A-160N. If all counter data is presented to an administrator, the administrator will have an overwhelming amount of information. The processes described herein allow the administrator to assign policies for generating system alerts. Based on the policies, as described below in detail certain counter information is collected and then alerts are based on the collected information.

FIG. 1Dshows an example of how a policy associated with an infrastructure object156may be used to define user preferred alerts, according to one aspect of the present disclosure. Infrastructure object156may be associated with one or more policies162A-162N. Each policy has certain annotations164. Some of the annotations are default annotations166and others may be defined or customized by the user. Details of using annotations164are provided below.

A time window170is also associated with policy162A. The time window170provides a duration before an alert is generated based on certain defined threshold values172. The threshold values172are assigned to certain parameters for generating alerts, as described below in detail. Severity174defines the importance of an alert, for example, an alert may be critical, or it may only be a warning.

Based on the policy162A, counters156A are used to collect the appropriate data. In one aspect, counters156A are fewer than all the infrastructure counters that have been described above with respect toFIG. 1C. Thus, the policy based alert system is more efficient in using the resources of management system118and other system100components′, as described below in detail.

FIG. 1Eshows an example of various infrastructure objects, according to one aspect. For example, infrastructure objects include a data store object174with associated data store policies174A and counters174B. The data store object174is used to track a plurality of virtual disks (VMDKs) that may be used within a VM for storing information. The data store policies174A are used to select annotations associated with the data store object174.

Infrastructure objects may include a storage device object176with storage device policies176A and counters176B. The storage device object176is used for tracking attributes of different storage devices using counters176B. The storage device policies176A are used to select annotations associated with the storage device object176.

Infrastructure objects may include a hypervisor (or VMM) object178) object with policies178A and counters178B. The hypervisor object178is used for tracking attributes of the hypervisor using counters178B. The hypervisor policies178A are used to select annotations associated with the hypervisor object178.

Infrastructure objects may include a volume object180with policies180A and counters180B. The volume object180is used for tracking attributes of a volume using counters180B. Policies180A are used to select annotations associated with the volume object180. The volume object180represents a volume that is presented to a host system for storing data.

Infrastructure objects include a storage node object182with policies182A and counters182B. The storage node object182is used for tracking attributes of a storage node using counters182B. Policies182A are used to select annotations associated with the storage node object182.

Infrastructure objects include storage object (may also be referred to as storage array object)184with policies184A and counters184B. The storage object184is used for tracking attributes of a storage array using counters184B. Policies184A are used to select annotations associated with the storage object184.

Infrastructure objects include a storage pool object186A with policies186A and counters186B. The storage pool object186is used for tracking attributes of a storage pool (for example, an aggregate having a plurality of storage devices) using counters186B. Policies186A are used to select annotations associated with the storage pool object186.

Infrastructure objects include a virtual disk object (VMDK)188with policies188A and counters188B. The volume object188is used for tracking attributes of a VMDK using counters188B. Policies188A are used to select annotations associated with the VMDK object188.

Infrastructure objects include a virtual machine object190with policies190A and counters190B. The virtual machine object190is used for tracking attributes of a VM using counters190B. Policies190A are used to select annotations associated with object190.

Infrastructure objects include an internal volume object193with policies193A and counters193B. The internal volume object193is used for tracking attributes of an internal volume using counters193B. Policies193A are used to select annotations associated with object193. An internal volume is a logical representation of storage as maintained by a storage operating system.

Infrastructure objects further includes a switch port object195with associated policies195A and counters195B. The ports are used to receive and send information. Policies195A are used to select annotations associated with object195.

Infrastructure objects further includes a host system object197with associated policies197A and counters197B. The host object197is used to represent host computing systems, for example,104. Policies197A are used to select annotations associated with object197.

Table I below shows an example of various counters associated with the infrastructure objects ofFIG. 1Ethat are maintained by the management118, according to one aspect. The Column Labelled “Object” identifies the infrastructure objects ofFIG. 1E. The second column shows the “Counter” associated with the infrastructure object. The third column shows the unit associated with the performance data. For example, the unit MBS means, megabytes per second, KBS means kilobytes per second, LOPS means number of I/O (i.e. read and/or write) operations per second, and the other units that are self-explanatory. The fourth column provides a description of the performance data that is being collected for an object/counter. As one can see, if all the counter data of Table I were to be exposed to a user, the user will be overwhelmed with all the information. The adaptive aspects described herein provide a mechanism for using annotations for specific policies to present information.

TABLE IObjectCounter(s)UnitDescriptionVOLUME 180Read; Write,MBSTotal data transfer for read operations,Total andwrite operations, read and write andMaximummaximum data read and written for theThroughputobjectVOLUME 180Read, Write;MILLISECONDSThe latency of read operations; writeTotal andoperations; read and write operationsMaximumand maximum latency for the objectLatencyVOLUME 180Read, Write,IOPSThe number of read; write; read andTotal, Maximumwrite and maximum number of read andIOPSwrite request per secondVOLUME 180Total pendingNONEThe number of write requests that arewrite requestspending at any given timeVOLUME 180Read; Write;PERCENTAGEThe percentage of read; write requestsTotal Cache Hitand total requests served by a cache of aRatiostorage system nodeVOLUME 180Total PartialPERCENTAGEThe percentage of blocks not fullyBlocks Ratiowritten or read by a nodeVIRTUAL_MACHINERead; Write;MBSTotal data read; written; read and190Total; andwritten; and maximum data read andMaximum Diskwritten for the VM objectThroughputVIRTUAL_MACHINERead; Write;MILLISECONDSLatency of read; write; read and write;190Total; andand maximum read and write operationsMaximum Diskfor the VM objectLatencyV1RTUAL_MACHINERead; Write;IOPSThe number of read; write; read and190Total; andwrite requests; and a maximum of readMaximum Diskand write requests per secondIOPSVIRTUAL_MACHINETotal CPU; andPERCENTAGEThe VM CPU; and memory utilization190MemoryUtilizationVIRTUAL_MACHINEIncoming Swap;KBSAmount of data swapped between190and Outgoingmemory and disk for the VMSwap RateVIRTUAL_DISK 188Read; Write;MBSTotal data read; written; read andTotal; andwritten; and maximum data read andMaximumwritten to the objectThroughputVIRTUAL_DISK 188Read; Write;MILLISECONDSRead; write; read and write operationsTotal; andand maximum latency for read and writeMaximumoperationsLatencyVIRTUAL_DISK 188Read; Write;IOPSThe number of read; write; total; andTotal and;maximum number of read and writeMaximum IOPSrequests per secondSTORAGE_POOL 186Read; Write;PERCENTAGEThe read; write; read and write andTotal andmaximum utilization of disks in a storageMaximumpoolutilizationSTORAGE_POOL 186Read; Write;IOPSThe number of read; write; read andTotal andwrite; and maximum read and writeMaximum IOPSrequests per secondSTORAGE_POOL 186Read; Write;MBSTotal data read; written; read andTotal andwritten; maximum data read and writtenMaximumfor the objectThroughputSTORAGE_NODE 182Read; Write;MBSTotal data read; written; read andTotal andwritten and maximum data read andMaximumwritten for the objectThroughputSTORAGE_NODE 182Read; Write;MILLISECONDSLatency due to read; write; read andTotal; andwrite and maximum read and writeMaximumoperations for the objectLatencySTORAGE_NODE 182Read; Write;IOPSThe number of read; write; read andTotal andwrite and maximum read and writeMaximum IOPSrequests per secondSTORAGE_NODE 182Total ReplacedNONEThe number of disk reads replaced byDisk ReadscacheSTORAGE_NODE 182Total andPERCENTAGEThe total and maximum disk utilization ofMaximuma storage nodeUtilizationSTORAGE_NODE 182Total PortPERCENTAGEThe total port utilization at the storageUtilizationnodeSTORAGE_NODE 182Total Cache HitPERCENTAGERatio of IO requests served by a cache forRatioa nodeSTORAGE_NODE 182Total Port ErrorsNONEThe number of port errors for a storagearraySTORAGE_NODE 182Total Port TrafficMBSTotal data read and written to the objectSTORAGE ARRAY 182Read; Write;MBSTotal data read; written; read andTotal andwritten and maximum data read andMaximumwritten for the objectThroughputSTORAGE ARRAY 184Read; Write;MILLISECONDSLatency of read; write; read and writeTotal andoperations; and maximum latencyMaximumLatencySTORAGE ARRAY 184Read; Write;IOPSThe number of read; write; read andTotal andwrite; and maximum read and writeMaximum IOPSrequests per secondSTORAGE ARRAY 184Total pendingNONEThe number of write requests queued forwrite requestsa storage arraySTORAGE ARRAY 184Read; Write andPERCENTAGEThe percentage of read; write; and totalTotal Cache Hitrequests served by a cacheRatioSTORAGE ARRAY 184Total PartialPERCENTAGEThe ratio of partially written blocksBlocks RatioSTORAGE ARRAY 184Total CachePERCENTAGEThe cache utilization for a storage arrayUtilizationPORT 195Receive (Rx);PERCENTAGEThe percentage of possible receive andTransmit (Tx)transmit traffic for a portTraffic UtilizationPORT 195Maximum Rx; TxPERCENTAGEThe maximum traffic received andTraffic Utilizationtransmitted during a time period.PORT 195Sync Loss PortCOUNTNumber of times synchronization hasErrorsbeen lost.PORT 195Signal Loss PortCOUNTNumber of times a physical signal for aErrorsport has been lost.PORT 195Frame TooCOUNTNumber of times received frames thatLong; Too Shortwere too long or shortPort ErrorsPORT 195Tx Link; Rx LinkCOUNTNumber of times a port link has beenReset Port Errorsreset on transmit and receivePORT 195Tx DiscardCOUNTNumber of transmit frames discarded byTimeout Porttimeout.ErrorsPORT 195Link Failure PortCOUNTNumber of times a link has failed.ErrorsPORT 195CRC Port ErrorsCOUNTNumber of times CRC has failedPORT 195Total Port ErrorsCOUNTTotal port error countPORT 195Rx; Tx TrafficMBSThe rate of Rx and Tx traffic through aportPORT 195Tx; Rx traffic rateFRAME_SECTx and Rx rate in frames per secondPORT 195Average Tx andBYTES_FRAMEAverage frame size on Tx and Rx trafficRx Frame SizeHOST 197Read; Write;MBSData read; written; read and written andTotal andmaximum data read and written for theMaximum DiskobjectThroughputHOST 197Disk Read; WriteMILLISECONDSRead; write; total and maximum latencyLatency; Totalfor the objectand MaximumLatencyHOST 197Disk Read;IOPSThe number of read; write; total andWrite; Total andmaximum requests per secondMaximum IOPSHOST 197Total CPU;PERCENTAGEThe CPU and memory utilization of a hostMemoryCPUUtilizationDISK 176Read; Write;MBSData read; written; read and written andTotal andmaximum data read and written for theMaximumobjectThroughputDISK 176Read; Write;PERCENTAGEThe read; write; total and maximumTotal andutilization of the disksMaximumUtilizationDISK 176Read; Write;IOPSThe number of read; write; total andTotal andmaximum requests per secondMaximum IOPSDATA_STORE 174Read; Write;MBSData read; written; total and maximumTotal anddata read and written for the objectMaximumThroughputDATA_STORE 174Read; Write;MILLISECONDSRead, write, total and maximum latencyTotal andfor the objectMaximumLatencyDATA_STORE 174Read; Write;IOPSThe number of read; write; total andTotal andmaximum requests per secondMaximum IOPS

FIG. 1Fshows an example of a GUI192that is presented on a display device for defining a policy, according to one aspect. The GUI is presented on a display device of a computing device. A policy name192A is assigned to the policy. The infrastructure object to which the policy is assigned is selected and shown as192B. The object may be selected from an object list192C that is maintained and updated by the management system118. Examples of various objects are shown inFIG. 1Eand described above.

An annotation category192D is selected and a certain value192E is assigned to the selected category. The time window192F is also assigned a value to define a duration after which an alert can be generated. The severity192G defines a severity level for the alert, when the policy is breached.

The alert is created based on a threshold parameter192H and whether the parameter is greater than or less than (192I) than a threshold value192J. A number of threshold parameters may be added to the policy (192K).

The GUI also provides a selection that disables alerts if the policy in192A is violated. This essentially defines a priority for the policy.

FIG. 1Gshows an example providing annotations166associated with various infrastructure objects that are maintained by the management system118, according to one aspect. The default annotations166may be supplemented by custom annotations168. The annotations166are used to refine and narrow the parameters that are used for generating alerts, as described below in detail.

As an example, column166A lists an annotation type or category166A. Column166B provides a definition of the annotation category and is self-explanatory. Column166C shows the various objects to which the annotations can be applied, for example, host system, storage, switch, storage device, storage pool, virtual machine, virtual machine volume and others.

FIG. 1Hshows a process flow151, according to one aspect of the present disclosure. The process begins in block B151, when the management system118, the storage system108, host system104and switch120are initialized and operational. In one aspect, a user is presented with a GUI similar to the GUI192described above with respect toFIG. 1F. GUI192is provided so that a user can configure a policy for an infrastructure object to receive alerts associated with the infrastructure object.

In block B155, a unique policy name (for example,192A) is input into GUI192. The policy name is associated with an infrastructure object (192B) in block B157. As described above, management system118maintains logical infrastructure objects to manage various components, including a data store, a storage array, a storage device, a hypervisor, a volume, an internal volume, a storage node, a storage pool (for example, an aggregate), a virtual disk presented to a VM, a VM, a switch and others.

In block B159, the management system118exposes the various annotation categories that are available for the selected infrastructure object. An example of the various categories are shown inFIG. 1Gand described above.

In block B161, an annotation category192D is selected. Each category has an associated value192E that is exposed in block B163. For example, if storage is selected as the infrastructure object and data center is selected as an annotation category, then the management system exposes all the values that are associated with data center. One of the values may be chosen as part of the policy.

In block B165, an applicable value is associated with the metadata for the policy.

In block B167, a time window is selected for creating an alert. The time window provides a minimal duration for data collection for the policy, before an alert is generated.

In block B169, a severity level is assigned to the alert. The severity levels may be customized and defined by a user of system100.

In block B171, the appropriate performance counters are exposed on the GUI for the selected object. For example, the performance counters may be the number of input/output operations in a second (IOPS), ratio of read/write operations, disk utilization, switch port throughput or any other parameter as described above with respect to Table I.

A threshold value is then set for the counter in block B173. The threshold value may be set to be either greater than or less than a specific value or range of values, depending on the performance counter type.

In block B175, the process determines if there are any other remaining performance counters. If yes, the process moves back to block B171. Otherwise, in block B177, the GUI provides an option whether alerts associated with other policies for the same object selected in block B157should be generated, in case the threshold value for this policy is reached. Based on the selection, in block B179, the priority of different policies associated with the object are ordered.

In one aspect, a user is able to define a policy for alerts and based on the policy and a selected annotation value, alerts are generated. This is efficient for the management system118because it only generates alerts based on specific parameters. This is also useful for the user because the user does not have to process or review counter data involving multiple objects, some of which may not have any relevance to the user's operating environment.

FIG. 1Ishows a process181for using the policy created by the process151, according to one aspect of the present disclosure. The process starts in block B183, when the process151has been executed and a policy has been created. The policy may be stored as a data structure (for example,154,FIG. 1B) by the management system118. In block B185, the performance module140scans the policies154for a selected object. In block B187, the performance module140collects performance data based on the priority of the policies for the selected object. In one aspect, the data is collected by the acquisition module144and provided to the performance module140. Thereafter, in block B189, an alert is generated, based on the highest policy priority associated with the selected object.

In one aspect, management system118maintains a history of violations by policy. The violations by individual policies is shown as191A and the overall violation history is shown as191B inFIG. 1J. A violation table191C provides details regarding the violations. The violation history may be maintained as a data structure by the management system118. An example of violations by policy/history is provided in the GUI screen shot ofFIG. 1K. Violations by policy191A show how different policies have been violated. The violation history provides a graphical representation of the violations over time. The violation table193C provides violation details over time.

FIG. 2Adepicts an illustrative aspect of a storage environment200including a plurality of server systems204.1-204.2(similar to server systems104), a clustered storage system202and at least one computer network206communicably connecting the server systems204.1-204.2and the clustered storage system202. Management system118is used to collect and analyze information from various cluster nodes as described above in detail. In particular, storage performance data152A, storage device data150and storage configuration data148A may be obtained from the various cluster nodes.

As shown inFIG. 2A, the clustered storage system202includes a plurality of nodes208.1-208.3, a cluster switching fabric210, and a plurality of mass storage devices212.1-212.3(similar to110/114,FIG. 1A).

Each of the plurality of nodes208.1-208.3is configured to include an N-module, a D-module, and an M-host, each of which can be implemented as a separate processor executable or machine implemented module. Specifically, node208.1includes an N-module214.1, a D-module216.1, and an M-host218.1, node208.2includes an N-module214.2, a D-module216.2, and an M-host218.2, and node208.3includes an N-module214.3, a D-module216.3, and an M-host218.3.

The N-modules214.1-214.3include functionality that enables the respective nodes208.1-208.3to connect to one or more of the client systems204.1-204.2over the computer network206, while the D-modules216.1-216.3connect to one or more of the storage devices212.1-212.3.

The M-hosts218.1-218.3provide management functions for the clustered storage system202. Accordingly, each of the plurality of server nodes208.1-208.3in the clustered storage server arrangement provides the functionality of a storage server.

A switched virtualization layer including a plurality of virtual interfaces (VIFs)220is provided below the interface between the respective N-modules214.1-214.3and the client systems204.1-204.2, allowing storage212.1-212.3associated with the nodes208.1-208.3to be presented to the client systems204.1-204.2as a single shared storage pool. For example, the switched virtualization layer may implement a virtual interface architecture.FIG. 2Adepicts only the VIFs220at the interfaces to the N-modules214.1,214.3for clarity of illustration.

The clustered storage system202can be organized into any suitable number of virtual servers (VServer)222A-222N, in which each virtual storage system represents a single storage system namespace with separate network access. Each virtual storage system has a user domain and a security domain that are separate from the user and security domains of other virtual storage systems. Server systems204can access storage space via a VServer from any node of the clustered system202.

Each of the nodes208.1-208.3may be defined as a computer adapted to provide application services to one or more of the client systems204.1-204.2. In this context, a VServer is an instance of an application service provided to a client system. The nodes208.1-208.3are interconnected by the switching fabric210, which, for example, may be embodied as a Gigabit Ethernet switch or any other switch type.

AlthoughFIG. 2Adepicts three N-modules214.1-214.3, the D-modules216.1-216.3, and the M-Hosts218.1-218.3, any other suitable number of N-modules, D-modules, and M-Hosts may be provided. There may also be different numbers of N-modules, D-modules, and/or M-Hosts within the clustered storage system202. For example, in alternative aspects, the clustered storage system202may include a plurality of N-modules and a plurality of D-modules interconnected in a configuration that does not reflect a one-to-one correspondence between the N-modules and D-modules.

The server systems204.1-204.2ofFIG. 2Amay be implemented as computing devices configured to interact with the respective nodes208.1-208.3in accordance with a client/server model of information delivery. In the presently disclosed aspect, the interaction between the server systems204.1-204.2and the nodes208.1-208.3enable the provision of network data storage services. Specifically, each server system204.1,204.2may request the services of one of the respective nodes208.1,208.2,208.3, and that node may return the results of the services requested by the client system by exchanging packets over the computer network206, which may be wire-based, optical fiber, wireless, or any other suitable combination thereof. The server systems204.1-204.2may issue packets according to file-based access protocols, such as the NFS or CIFS protocol, when accessing information in the form of files and directories.

In a typical mode of operation, one of the server systems204.1-204.2transmits an NFS or CIFS request for data to one of the nodes208.1-208.3within the clustered storage system202, and the VIF220associated with the respective node receives the client request. It is noted that each VIF220within the clustered system202is a network endpoint having an associated IP address. The server request typically includes a file handle for a data file stored in a specified volume on at storage212.1-212.3.

Storage System Node:

FIG. 2Bis a block diagram of a computing system224, according to one aspect. System224may be used by a stand-alone storage system108and/or a storage system node operating within a cluster based storage system described above with respect toFIG. 2A.

System224may include a plurality of processors226A and226B, a memory228, a network adapter234, a cluster access adapter238(used for a cluster environment), a storage adapter240and local storage236interconnected by a system bus232. The local storage236comprises one or more storage devices, such as disks, utilized by the processors to locally store configuration and other information.

The cluster access adapter238comprises a plurality of ports adapted to couple system224to other nodes of a cluster as described above with respect toFIG. 2A. In the illustrative aspect, Ethernet may be used as the clustering protocol and interconnect media, although it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other types of protocols and interconnects may be utilized within the cluster architecture described herein.

System224is illustratively embodied as a dual processor storage system executing a storage operating system230that preferably implements a high-level module, such as a file system, to logically organize information as a hierarchical structure of named directories, files and special types of files called virtual disks (hereinafter generally “blocks”) on storage devices110/212. However, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the system224may alternatively comprise a single or more than two processor systems. Illustratively, one processor226executes the functions of an N-module on a node, while the other processor226B executes the functions of a D-module.

The memory228illustratively comprises storage locations that are addressable by the processors and adapters for storing programmable instructions and data structures. The processor and adapters may, in turn, comprise processing elements and/or logic circuitry configured to execute the programmable instructions and manipulate the data structures. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other processing and memory means, including various computer readable media, may be used for storing and executing program instructions described herein.

The storage operating system230, portions of which is typically resident in memory and executed by the processing elements, functionally organizes the system224by, inter alia, invoking storage operations in support of the storage service provided by storage system108. An example of operating system230is the DATA ONTAP® (Registered trademark of NetApp, Inc. operating system available from NetApp, Inc. that implements a Write Anywhere File Layout (WAFL® (Registered trademark of NetApp, Inc.)) file system. However, it is expressly contemplated that any appropriate storage operating system may be enhanced for use in accordance with the inventive principles described herein. As such, where the term “ONTAP” is employed, it should be taken broadly to refer to any storage operating system that is otherwise adaptable to the teachings of this invention.

The network adapter234comprises a plurality of ports adapted to couple the system224to one or more server systems over point-to-point links, wide area networks, virtual private networks implemented over a public network (Internet) or a shared local area network. The network adapter234thus may comprise the mechanical, electrical and signaling circuitry needed to connect storage system108to the network. Illustratively, the computer network may be embodied as an Ethernet network or a FC network.

The storage adapter240cooperates with the storage operating system230executing on the system224to access information requested by the server systems104and management system118(FIG. 1A). The information may be stored on any type of attached array of writable storage device media such as video tape, optical, DVD, magnetic tape, bubble memory, electronic random access memory, flash memory devices, micro-electro mechanical and any other similar media adapted to store information, including data and parity information.

The storage adapter240comprises a plurality of ports having input/output (I/O) interface circuitry that couples to the disks over an I/O interconnect arrangement, such as a conventional high-performance, FC link topology.

In another aspect, instead of using a separate network and storage adapter, a converged adapter is used to process both network and storage traffic.

FIG. 3illustrates a generic example of operating system230executed by storage system108, according to one aspect of the present disclosure. Storage operating system230interfaces with the management system118and provides information for the various data structures maintained by the management system118, described above in detail.

As an example, operating system230may include several modules, or “layers”. These layers include a file system manager302that keeps track of a directory structure (hierarchy) of the data stored in storage devices and manages read/write operations, i.e. executes read/write operations on disks in response to server system104requests.

Operating system230may also include a protocol layer304and an associated network access layer308, to allow system200to communicate over a network with other systems, such as server system104and management system118. Protocol layer304may implement one or more of various higher-level network protocols, such as NFS, CIFS, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), TCP/IP and others, as described below.

Network access layer308may include one or more drivers, which implement one or more lower-level protocols to communicate over the network, such as Ethernet. Interactions between server systems104and mass storage devices110/114/212are illustrated schematically as a path, which illustrates the flow of data through operating system230.

The operating system230may also include a storage access layer306and an associated storage driver layer310to communicate with a storage device. The storage access layer306may implement a higher-level disk storage protocol, such as RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks), while the storage driver layer310may implement a lower-level storage device access protocol, such as FC or SCSI.

It should be noted that the software “path” through the operating system layers described above needed to perform data storage access for a client request may alternatively be implemented in hardware. That is, in an alternate aspect of the disclosure, the storage access request data path may be implemented as logic circuitry embodied within a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an ASIC. This type of hardware implementation increases the performance of the file service provided by storage system108.

As used herein, the term “storage operating system” generally refers to the computer-executable code operable on a computer to perform a storage function that manages data access and may implement data access semantics of a general purpose operating system. The storage operating system can also be implemented as a microkernel, an application program operating over a general-purpose operating system, such as UNIX® or Windows XP®, or as a general-purpose operating system with configurable functionality, which is configured for storage applications as described herein.

FIG. 4is a high-level block diagram showing an example of the architecture of a processing system, at a high level, in which executable instructions as described above can be implemented. The processing system400can represent modules of management system118, user console102, server systems104and others. Note that certain standard and well-known components which are not germane to the present invention are not shown inFIG. 4.

The processing system400includes one or more processors402and memory404, coupled to a bus system405. The bus system405shown inFIG. 4is an abstraction that represents any one or more separate physical buses and/or point-to-point connections, connected by appropriate bridges, adapters and/or controllers. The bus system405, therefore, may include, for example, a system bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, a HyperTransport or industry standard architecture (ISA) bus, a small computer system interface (SCSI) bus, a universal serial bus (USB), or an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard 1394 bus (sometimes referred to as “Firewire”).

The processors402are the central processing units (CPUs) of the processing system400and, thus, control its overall operation. In certain aspects, the processors402accomplish this by executing programmable instructions stored in memory404. A processor402may be, or may include, one or more programmable general-purpose or special-purpose microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), programmable controllers, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), or the like, or a combination of such devices.

Memory404represents any form of random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, or the like, or a combination of such devices. Memory404includes the main memory of the processing system400. Instructions406which implements techniques introduced above may reside in and may be executed (by processors402) from memory404. For example, instructions406may include code used by performance module140, acquisition module144, configuration module142, GUI136as well as instructions for executing the process blocks ofFIGS. 1H and 1I.

Also connected to the processors402through the bus system405are one or more internal mass storage devices410, and a network adapter412. Internal mass storage devices410may be or may include any conventional medium for storing large volumes of data in a non-volatile manner, such as one or more magnetic or optical based disks. The network adapter412provides the processing system400with the ability to communicate with remote devices (e.g., storage servers) over a network and may be, for example, an Ethernet adapter, a FC adapter, or the like. The processing system400also includes one or more input/output (I/O) devices408coupled to the bus system405. The I/O devices408may include, for example, a display device, a keyboard, a mouse, etc.

The system and techniques described above are applicable and useful in the upcoming cloud computing environment. Cloud computing means computing capability that provides an abstraction between the computing resource and its underlying technical architecture (e.g., servers, storage, networks), enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. The term “cloud” is intended to refer to the Internet and cloud computing allows shared resources, for example, software and information to be available, on-demand, like a public utility.

Typical cloud computing providers deliver common business applications online which are accessed from another web service or software like a web browser, while the software and data are stored remotely on servers. The cloud computing architecture uses a layered approach for providing application services. A first layer is an application layer that is executed at client computers. In this example, the application allows a client to access storage via a cloud.

After the application layer, is a cloud platform and cloud infrastructure, followed by a “server” layer that includes hardware and computer software designed for cloud specific services. The management system118(and associated methods thereof) and storage systems described above can be a part of the server layer for providing storage services. Details regarding these layers are not germane to the inventive aspects.

Thus, a method and apparatus for managing resources within system100have been described. Note that references throughout this specification to “one aspect” or “an aspect” mean that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the aspect is included in at least one aspect of the present invention. Therefore, it is emphasized and should be appreciated that two or more references to “an aspect” or “one aspect” or “an alternative aspect” in various portions of this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same aspect. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics being referred to may be combined as suitable in one or more aspects of the present disclosure, as will be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art.

While the present disclosure is described above with respect to what is currently considered its preferred aspects, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to that described above. To the contrary, the disclosure is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.