Abstract Storage View for Network Resource Identification
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Solution Overview
Problem
System administrators face significant challenges in managing and identifying storage devices across large networks due to the variety of hardware and software configurations, requiring extensive time and effort to ensure adequate resources and performance for software installation and maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A storage tool is implemented within the network to provide an abstract view of storage systems, allowing identification and utilization based on performance and capabilities without regard to configuration or device details, querying the network to collect and analyze metrics such as failure rate, MTTF, and redundancy, and storing these in inventory records for efficient resource allocation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If system administrators manually identify and track storage devices in a network with diverse configurations, then they can ensure proper system configuration and performance, but the time and effort required for network management increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system consisting of storage tool, inventory database, and abstract view mechanism that mediates between administrators and the complex storage infrastructure. The storage tool automatically discovers storage devices, collects their configurations and performance metrics, and presents them through a simplified abstract view, eliminating the need for administrators to manually track diverse storage configurations while maintaining accurate system knowledge
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates an abstract copy or representation of the actual storage systems through inventory records and abstract views. Instead of administrators directly interacting with the complex reality of diverse storage devices, they work with simplified copies that capture essential information needed for management decisions, reducing the cognitive load and time required for network management
2Adaptability or versatility
If the network contains many different types of storage devices configured in variety of schemes, then the network can support diverse software programs with different storage requirements, but the complexity of identifying and managing storage devices increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal abstract view mechanism that can represent and manage multiple types of storage devices through a common interface. The inventory system is designed to handle diverse storage configurations (different devices, schemes, and parameters) using a unified data structure and query mechanism, allowing administrators to manage heterogeneous storage resources through consistent operations regardless of the underlying device complexity
3Reliability
If system administrators need detailed knowledge of storage system configurations to ensure adequate resources for software installation, then they can properly configure systems, but the ease of operation decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complexity of storage device details from the administrator's workflow by automatically collecting and storing configuration information in an inventory database. The system extracts essential information needed for software installation decisions (storage capacity, performance metrics, availability) and presents it through simplified queries, allowing administrators to ensure proper configuration without needing deep knowledge of underlying storage complexities
Data Source
AI summary
A storage tool can determine and provide an abstract view of storage systems in a network of computing system. The storage tool can utilize the abstract view in order to identify the storage systems based on the performance and capabilities of the storage systems without regard to the configuration of the storage system, storage devices in the storage system, or the details of the storage devices.