Patent Publication Number: US-7917660-B2

Title: Consistent data storage subsystem configuration replication in accordance with port enablement sequencing of a zoneable switch

Description:
DOCUMENT INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE 
     Commonly assigned, copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/460,166, filed Jul. 26, 2006, is incorporated for its showing of a RAID controller and storage disposed in a storage blade enclosure with server blades. 
     CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/837,938, filed on even date herewith relates to a blade system configured to support a plurality of blades and a storage system, each arranged in a predetermined slot of the blade system. A management module operates the blade system to first power on the storage system, and subsequently to power on the plurality of server blades in a sequential order that matches a blade system natural boot sequence order, skipping the storage system, and the storage system is configured with the “golden” configuration file to log on the server blades in accordance with the power on sequence to logically configure the server blades in accordance with the “golden” configuration file. 
     Commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/837,966, filed on even date herewith relates to a blade system configured to support a plurality of blades and a storage system, each arranged in a predetermined slot of the blade system. A management module operates the blade system to first power on the storage system. In accordance with a “golden” configuration file, the storage system passes sequence information to the management module. The management module powers on the plurality of server blades in accordance with the sequence information. The storage system is configured with the “golden” configuration file to log on the server blades in accordance with the power on sequence to logically configure the server blades in accordance with the “golden” configuration file. 
     Commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/838,005, filed on even date herewith relates to a blade system configured to support a plurality of blades and a storage system, each arranged in a predetermined slot of the blade system. The server blade slot versus WWN information is collected and provided to the storage system. The storage system arranges a configuration of the server blades in accordance with a “golden” configuration file, converting “golden” configuration file slot information to WWNs. The server blades are logically configured as they log on with WWNs in accordance with the “golden” configuration file. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to data storage subsystems, and, more particularly, to the configurations of data storage subsystems. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Data storage subsystems, such as subsystems comprising numbers of hard disk drives, for example, in blade and in RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) arrangements, may be configured manually by or for customers who want particular files or logical volumes to be available for particular circumstances. 
     In one example, a customer with retail centers across the country or world may wish to have several applications that access certain files of the data at each retail center. Examples include a real time transaction application, a back up application, an inventory application, etc., and all will own some of the logical volumes stored by the data storage subsystem. The customer may also want the logical volumes and applications to be consistent across the country or world. 
     In accordance with the incorporated &#39;166 application, a blade system may now comprise the storage system and servers in the form of blades. 
     To meet the consistency criteria, a manual boot up may be conducted at each blade system instead of a normal boot up which may follow a particular sequence, such as slot number, in a blade arrangement, and the storage system and files manually configured with respect to the servers. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Data storage subsystems, computer program products and methods provide consistency for replicating data storage subsystem configurations. 
     In one embodiment, a “golden” configuration file is created for a data storage subsystem which comprises a blade system with a plurality of slots and at least one zoneable switch, the blade system configured to support a plurality of blades. A plurality of server blades are each arranged in a predetermined slot of the blade system; and at least one storage system is arranged in a predetermined slot of the blade system. The zoneable switch is configured to zone ports thereof, the ports coupled to the plurality of server blades and the storage system(s), and the zoneable switches&#39; zoning is disabled at power on. A management module is configured to operate the blade system to power on all slots comprising the server blades and the storage system(s). The storage system, in accordance with a “golden” configuration file, is configured to transfer port enablement sequencing to the zoneable switch, whereby the zoneable switch is configured to enable and zone the ports in the enablement sequence to connect the server blades and storage system(s) in accordance with the enablement sequence. The storage system is configured with the “golden” configuration file to log on the server blades in accordance with the log on sequence of the server blades as the result of the enablement sequence to logically configure the server blades in accordance with the “golden” configuration file. 
     In a further embodiment, the storage system is configured to employ the “golden” configuration file to create a logical configuration matching “placeholder” hosts to the expected order of log on of the server blades. 
     In a still further embodiment, the “placeholder” hosts are replaced by server blade WWNs as the server blades log on. 
     In another embodiment, the storage system is configured to allocate a set of logical volumes of the storage system to each server blade in accordance with the “golden” configuration file. 
     In still another embodiment, the management module is configured to, subsequent to the power on sequence, initiate said port zoning enablement of the at least one zoneable switch in response to “ready” from the storage system. 
     In another embodiment, a data storage subsystem comprises a blade system with a plurality of slots and a zoneable switch, a plurality of server blades, each arranged in a slot of the blade system, at least one storage system arranged in at least one slot of the blade system. The storage system configured to save a host to slot number mapping of the server blades and at least one storage system, wherein “placeholder” hosts are created in any order, and port enablement sequence for the zoneable switch, of a “golden” configuration file arranged to provide a boot order log on sequence for another blade system, the blade system configured to support a plurality of blades; a plurality of server blades, each arranged in a slot of the blade system; at least one storage system arranged in at least one slot of the blade system; and a storage system configured to save a host to slot number mapping of the server blades and at least one storage system, wherein “placeholder” hosts are created in any order, as sequence information of a “golden” configuration file arranged to provide a log on sequence for another blade system. 
     For a fuller understanding of the present invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a data storage subsystem comprising a blade system; 
         FIG. 2  is a diagrammatic illustration of the data storage subsystem of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a flow chart depicting a computer implemented method for establishing a “golden” configuration file for a blade system; and 
         FIG. 4  is a flow chart depicting a computer implemented method for conducting a configuration of the data storage subsystem of  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention is described in preferred embodiments in the following description with reference to the Figures, in which like numbers represent the same or similar elements. While this invention is described in terms of the best mode for achieving this invention&#39;s objectives, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variations may be accomplished in view of these teachings without deviating from the spirit or scope of the invention. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an embodiment of a data storage subsystem  100  comprises a blade system  115  and an external computer system  160 . As described in more detail in the incorporated &#39;166 application, a blade system  115  may comprise servers  105  and one or more storage blades  200  mounted in a blade chassis  120  having a back plane  110 . In one embodiment the blade chassis receives the server blades in slots  131 - 139  and a storage blade occupies slot  150 . A slot may comprise mounting hardware for retaining a mounted device, as well as one or more interfaces such as data bus connectors, power couplings, air flow couplings, and the like for connecting a blade to the blade chassis  120 . The mounting and connections are such that an administrator may easily replace a blade or add blades to vacant slots. 
     A server blade  105  may comprise one or more processors, one or more memory modules, interfaces and interface logic. Each server blade  105  may communicate with the back plane  110 . A storage blade  200  may comprise a storage system of a controller or controllers  210  and one or more storage modules, for example, of hard disk drives. A data storage controller may comprise logic or one or more computer processors and memory, for example, arranged in a redundant system. The storage blade may be arranged in a RAID system of any suitable type, or may comprise a system known as JBOD (Just a Bunch of Disks). Examples of RAID systems are discussed in the incorporated &#39;166 application. Alternatively, the storage system  200  may be partially arranged in a slot of the blade system, and partially arranged externally to the slots and in direct communication with the blade system. 
     The invention can take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment containing both hardware and software elements. In a preferred embodiment, the invention is implemented in software, which includes but is not limited to resident software, microcode, firmware, etc. 
     Furthermore, the invention can take the form of a computer program product accessible from a computer usable or computer readable medium providing program code for use by or in connection with a computer or any instruction execution system. For the purposes of this description, a computer usable or computer readable medium can be any apparatus that can contain, store, communicate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. 
     The medium can be an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system (or apparatus or device). Examples of a computer readable medium include a semiconductor or solid state memory, magnetic tape, a removable computer diskette, and random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a rigid magnetic disk and an optical disk. Current examples of optical disks include compact disk-read only memory (CD-ROM), compact disk-read/write (CD-R/W), DVD, and Blu-Ray. 
     A data processing system suitable for storing and/or executing program code will include at least one processor coupled directly or indirectly to memory elements through a system bus. The memory elements can include local memory employed during actual execution of the program code, bulk storage, and cache memories which provide temporary storage of at least some program code in order to reduce the number of times code must be retrieved from bulk storage during execution. 
     Input/output or I/O devices (including but not limited to keyboards, displays, pointing devices, etc.) can be coupled to the system either directly or through intervening I/O controllers. Connections to the receiver may encompass connection links including intervening private or public networks. The communication links may comprise serial interconnections, such as RS-232 or RS-422, Ethernet connections, SCSI interconnections, ESCON interconnections, FICON interconnections, a Local Area Network (LAN), a private Wide Area Network (WAN), a public wide area network, Storage Area Network (SAN), Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), the Internet, and combinations thereof. 
     The blade system  115  may comprise logic, a computer processor, etc., such as baseboard management controller function  180 , for example, provided with respect to each server blade. 
     A zoneable switch  185  may be mounted in the back plane  110  and comprises a plurality of ports coupled to the slots  131 - 139  and slot  150 . The zoneable switch selectively zones the ports so that the occupant of a slot can communicate with the occupant of another slot. For example, the zoneable switch zones a particular server occupying one particular slot with a storage system occupying another slot. The zoneable switch may comprise logic or a computer processor to generate the zoning interconnections. 
     The back plane may also comprise data bus connectors, power components including battery backup, air conditioning and flow components, and the like, indicated as element  190 . The blade system  115  may comprise a storage area network, and/or be connected to an external storage area network. 
     The server blades may comprise or support applications that communicate with the storage blade, and that use particular files or logical volumes of the storage blade. 
     External computer system  160  may comprise one or more computer processors, logic, etc., configured for example as storage blade system management software or management module  170 , configured to control much of the operation of the blade system  115 . As one example, the external computer system  160  may comprise a PC. The management module  170  may comprise an application or the dominant application of the computer system  160 . The management module  170  sets up and controls the logical configuration of the blade system, and controls and manages the blade system domain, which includes server blades, power supplies, fans, user interface, etc. Alternatively, the management module  170  may be internal to the blade system. Herein, the terms blade system storage management software and management module refer to one or more computer program products or programs for operating a blade system. Herein, the terms data storage controller or controllers, RAID controller or controllers, or controller or controllers, refer to one or more computer program products or programs for operating a storage system. The computer program product comprises a computer usable medium embodying a computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to conduct a desired operation, as discussed above. 
     Blade systems may be provided on a local basis, for example, employed with a retail center of a national or international chain. As discussed above, customers may want these uses to be consistent across the country or world. In one example, a customer with retail centers across the country or world may wish to have several applications that access certain files of the data at each retail center. Examples include a real time transaction application, a back up application, an inventory application, etc., and all will own some of the logical volumes stored by the data storage subsystem. The customer may also want the logical volumes and applications to be consistent across the country or world. 
     Referring additionally to  FIG. 3 , in one embodiment, a blade system configuration may be established which is then distributed to local retail centers, including a “golden” configuration file created in the process beginning at step  290 . In step  300 , a plurality of server blades  105  and at least one storage system  200  with at least one data storage controller  210  are each arranged in a desired slot of the blade system, for example, by the user or administrator. 
     In step  305 , an administrator, for example at the computer system  160 , starts a manual the power on of the blade system  115 , which, begins first with the storage system  200 . The power on may be conducted by having the management module first place the blades in a standby state, for example by the baseboard management controller  180 , and collect the inventory of WWNs and slot numbers for the blades. With this inventory, the user or administrator may direct the power on of the data storage controller. The user or administrator may have arranged the storage system  200  in advance, for example, to comprise one or more RAID systems employing one or more data storage controllers  210 . A data storage controller may be employed additionally to develop the “golden” configuration file. 
     In step  310 , the user or administrator arranges the various hosts in accordance with the desired storage system arrangement. As an example, the storage system may be arranged as two RAID arrays of different types and a spare drive. Each of the hosts is logically arranged to utilize volumes of one or both of the RAID arrays, perhaps having different applications which each uses the same or different volumes of the same RAID array. 
     In step  312 , the user or administrator creates the zoning of the zoneable switch, arranging the zones or interconnections of the various hosts and storage systems to be provided by zoning the ports. For example, the hosts are identified by WWNs, and the slot positions and therefore the ports are unknown. 
     In step  315 , the volumes of step  310  are manually assigned or allocated to the hosts, and mapped by the storage system, using the host WWNs. Step  315  may precede or follow step  312 . 
     In step  320 , the slot to WWN mapping is transferred to the storage system, for example, by the management module  170 . Alternatively, the user or administrator provides the slot to WWN mapping to the storage system. 
     In step  322 , the storage system creates host to slot mapping using the transferred slot to WWN mapping. “Placeholder” host names are mapped to the slots in any desired order to create the desired log on sequence. The log on sequence is key because the volume assignments or allocations are made by the storage system based on the sequence of log on. 
     Also in step  322 , the storage system translates the slot numbers to the ports of the zoneable switch  185  to which the slots are coupled. The storage system creates the desired log on sequence by creating a port enablement sequence, which is the sequence in which the ports coupled to the host slots are zoned to the ports coupled to the storage system slot(s). 
     Although some server blades may take longer than others to boot up when powered on, the port enablement sequencing of the switch  185  results in the desired log on sequence if all of the hosts are booted up at the time of the port enablement. 
     In step  330 , the storage system saves the port enablement sequence as part of a “golden” configuration file together with the zoning of the switch, identifying the ports of the switch, which are in accordance with the slot number and “placeholder” hosts of the server blades. Additionally, the allocations of sets of logical volumes of the storage system to each server blade may be saved as part of the “golden” configuration file. The “golden” configuration file of step  330  is arranged to provide the log on sequence for another blade system. The storage system may comprise special storage configuration management software that saves the “golden” configuration file and that may be separated from the remainder of the storage system module. 
     The “golden” configuration file may then be distributed to storage systems of other blade systems at the locations, for example retail centers, across the country or world that the customer wishes to be consistent. 
     Referring additionally to  FIG. 4 , in step  400 , the process to replicate the “golden” configuration is initiated, and, in step  410 , the “golden” configuration file is placed with the storage system  200 . With respect to  FIG. 4 , the data storage subsystem of  FIGS. 1 and 2  represents an “other” data storage subsystem to which the “golden” configuration file has been distributed. In step  420 , the physical hardware comprising storage system  200  and the server blades  105  are installed in a blade system  115 , for example at a customer location, in the identical slots as the original “golden” configuration. 
     The “golden” configuration is implemented, beginning at step  422 , in which the management module  170  initiates the power on of the blade system, for example the baseboard management controller  180 , to place the blades in a standby state, and disables the zoning of the zoneable switch  185 . In one embodiment, the management module comprises program code causing the management module to disable the zoning. In another embodiment, the hardware arrangement of step  420  is such that the storage system is placed in the slot  150  that is naturally powered on first, and the storage system passes code, for example over an external network, to the management module  170  before the remaining slots are powered on. Once the zoning has been disabled, the management module, in step  432 , sequences power to all the slots  131 - 139  and slot  150 , comprising the server blades  105  and the storage system(s)  200  (if the storage system has not already been powered on. 
     In step  443 , the storage system implements the “golden” configuration, creating the logical configuration from the “golden” configuration file. The logical configuration of the storage system, such as the RAID configuration, may have been preset, and the operation creating the logical configuration comprises relating the utilization of the volumes to the hosts, but using “placeholder” hosts as substitute names until the actual server blades log on. 
     The logical configuration arranges the “placeholder” hosts so that they match the desired order of log on of the server blades, given the zoneable switch port enablement sequence of the “golden” configuration file. 
     In step  447 , the storage system  200  transfers the port enablement sequence information to the zoneable switch  185 . There is no direct connection from the storage system to the zoneable switch since the zoning has been disabled such that no ports are enabled. In one embodiment, the storage system transfers the port enablement sequence to the switch over an external network interface. In another embodiment, the port enablement sequence is transferred with the code that was passed to the management module  170 , above, and the management module will be configured to transfer the port enablement sequence to the zoneable switch. 
     In step  450 , the storage system  200  reports “ready” to the management module, giving sufficient time for all of the servers to boot up after having been powered on. 
     In step  470 , in response to “ready” from the storage system, the management module operates the blade system, for example, the baseboard management controller  180 , to operate the zoneable switch  185  to enable the ports in the sequential order in accordance with the port enablement sequence. In the example, this may comprise enabling ports zoned between the storage system  200  of slot  150  and the server blades  105  of their respective slots  131 - 139  in the desired order as provided by the port enablement sequence. 
     Then in step  470 , as the server blades log on to the storage system as the result of the port enablement sequence, the storage system allocates sets of logical volumes of the storage system to each server blade. This allocation or assignment comprises replacing the “placeholder” host names with the server blade WWNs as the server blades log on after having been zoned to the storage system. The server blades thus are logged on individually in the desired sequence order of the sequence information and are thereby configured in accordance with the “golden” configuration map. 
     Those of skill in the art will understand that changes may be made with respect to the methods discussed above, including changes to the ordering of the steps. Further, those of skill in the art will understand that differing specific component arrangements may be employed than those illustrated herein. 
     While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated in detail, it should be apparent that modifications and adaptations to those embodiments may occur to one skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention as set forth in the following claims.