Patent ID: 7287063

Claim:
A system for managing a storage area network (SAN), the system comprising: (i) a first digital data processor connected to the SAN, wherein an agent associated with the first digital data processor generates an event notification indicative of an event with respect to the storage area network, the event notification further including data for use in processing the event notification, and wherein the event is indicative of: (a) a change in any of a topology of the SAN or a component of the SAN; (b) a missing device, wherein the data includes an identity of the missing device; (c) a change in utilization of a file system of the first digital data processor; and (d) connectivity of at least one storage device of a plurality of storage devices to the first digital processor; (ii) a second digital data processor coupled to the SAN and in communication with the first digital data processor, wherein the SAN comprises the plurality of storage devices in communication with the first and second digital processors, wherein a manager that maintains a model of the SAN and the topology of the SAN executes on the second digital data processor, wherein the agent associated with the first digital data processor communicates the event notification to the manager, and wherein the manager responds to the event notification; and (iii) one or more tasks, wherein the manager responds to the event notification by executing the one or more tasks, and wherein: (a) the one or more tasks process the event indicative of the missing device on the basis of the identity of the missing device included in the data included with the event notification, wherein the data is sufficient to process the event notification; (b) the one or more tasks handle the event indicative of the change in the utilization of the file system by extending the file system, wherein a logical object is used to represent an assigned storage device, wherein the logical object is added into a logical grouping of storage devices that includes the file system to be extended, and wherein a volume size of the file system is extended based on a comparison of observed utilization of the file system to a defined threshold; and (c) the one or more tasks modify the model based on the event notification and the data, wherein at least one of the one or more tasks stores the data included with the event notification in a database that represents the model of the SAN, and wherein a further event notification is made only if the current time of the further event notification follows that of a previous event notification by a specified alert interval.