Cluster View for Storage Devices via Aggregated Node Reports
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional network storage environments provide inadequate views of storage information due to redundant and overlapping data from isolated reports from individual nodes, failing to offer a comprehensive view of the node cluster's collective storage devices.
Innovation Solution
Generating a cluster view by aggregating storage device reports from nodes within a node cluster to create storage device data structures, which provide a unified view of storage information from the perspective of the node cluster, eliminating redundant data and conflicts through a centralized storage API.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If conventional reporting tools query individual nodes for storage information, then each node can provide its local storage device data, but the resulting view contains significant redundant and overlapping information from multiple nodes reporting the same storage devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a cluster storage reporting tool as an intermediary component that sits between individual nodes and administrators. This tool receives storage device reports from multiple nodes, processes them centrally, and generates a unified cluster view. The intermediary consolidates information from scattered node reports, eliminating redundancy while maintaining completeness of storage information across the entire cluster.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges storage device reports from multiple individual nodes into a single unified cluster view. By combining reports that contain storage device information from different nodes and applying deduplication logic, the system creates a consolidated view that shows each storage device exactly once, even though multiple nodes may have access to the same storage devices.
2Ease of operation
If administrators query multiple nodes individually for storage device information, then they can obtain data from each node's perspective, but they cannot obtain a unified view of what the entire node cluster knows about storage devices
Solution Approach 1:
The cluster storage reporting tool provides universal access to storage information for the entire cluster through a single interface. Instead of requiring administrators to query each node separately to understand cluster-wide storage status, the tool consolidates information from all nodes and presents a unified view that shows the complete picture of storage devices accessible to any node in the cluster.
Solution Approach 2:
The reporting tool acts as an intermediary that aggregates storage information from multiple nodes and presents it as a unified cluster view. This mediator collects reports from individual nodes, processes them to eliminate duplicates, and generates comprehensive cluster-level reports that provide administrators with complete visibility into all storage devices known to any node in the cluster.
3Reliability
If nodes report storage information independently, then each node can maintain accurate local storage data, but the aggregate view contains conflicts and overlaps that reduce administrative efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the storage reporting function from individual nodes and centralizes it in a dedicated cluster storage reporting tool. This extraction allows nodes to maintain their local storage information independently while the centralized tool processes these reports to create a unified view. The separation enables accurate node-level data to be preserved while eliminating the administrative burden of dealing with redundant and conflicting information in aggregate views.
Data Source
AI summary
One or more techniques and/or systems are provided for generating a macroscopic cluster view of storage devices, as opposed to merely an isolated view from an individual node. For example, nodes within a node cluster may be queried for storage device reports comprising storage device information regarding storage devices with which the nodes are respectively connected (e.g., I/O performance statistics, path connections, storage device attributes, status, error history, etc.). The storage device reports may be aggregated together to define one or more storage device data structures (e.g., a storage device data structure comprising one or more tables that may be populated with storage device information). In this way, the cluster view may be generated based upon querying one or more storage device data structures (e.g., an error cluster view, a storage device cluster view, a node summary cluster view, etc.).