Data Management Agent Selective Re-caching Storage Area Network
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional storage management agents incur performance penalties and create single points of failure when managing storage area networks across different geographic locations, especially in disaster recovery scenarios, due to full discovery models and lack of inter-agent communication, which hampers high-availability and efficient data replication.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an inter-agent communication link and protocol that uses a partial discovery model, allowing data management agents to exchange heartbeat messages and notifications for selective re-caching, thereby synchronizing caches and reducing management traffic, and forming high-availability clusters to ensure redundant communication links.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a full discovery model is used for storage management agents to manage storage area networks across different geographic locations, then comprehensive storage management capability is achieved, but performance penalties occur and management traffic increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the storage management into two distinct modes: full discovery mode for initial comprehensive management and partial discovery mode for ongoing efficient management. This segmentation allows the system to achieve comprehensive storage management capability when needed while maintaining high performance during normal operation by using partial discovery.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial discovery model where agents exchange only essential information (heartbeat messages, notifications) rather than performing full discovery operations continuously. This partial action approach maintains sufficient management capability while significantly reducing performance penalties and management traffic.
2Device complexity
If conventional storage management agents operate independently without inter-agent communication, then agent independence is maintained, but single points of failure are created and high-availability is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the independence of individual agents with the reliability of clustered operation by implementing inter-agent communication links. Agents maintain their independent operational capabilities while forming high-availability clusters through heartbeat messages and notifications, ensuring redundant communication links across geographic locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms through heartbeat messages that allow agents to monitor each other's status and send notifications about storage changes. This feedback system enables agents to maintain independence while forming reliable high-availability clusters that can detect and respond to failures.
3Reliability
If storage management agents perform full data replication across geographic locations, then data redundancy and high-availability are improved, but recovery point objectives and recovery time objectives increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action through selective re-caching where agents proactively synchronize essential storage information and maintain updated caches before failures occur. By performing these actions in advance and maintaining partial discovery state, the system reduces recovery time objectives while ensuring data redundancy across geographic locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters of data replication from full replication to selective re-caching based on notifications and heartbeat messages. This parameter change allows the system to maintain data redundancy and high-availability while minimizing the time required for recovery operations.
4Loss of information
If storage management agents continuously synchronize all storage information, then cache synchronization is achieved, but management traffic increases and performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential information needed for high-availability operation from the complete storage information set. Agents exchange heartbeat messages and notifications about significant changes rather than continuously synchronizing all storage metadata, achieving sufficient cache synchronization while dramatically reducing management traffic.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial discovery model where agents perform only the minimum necessary information exchange to maintain synchronization for high-availability functions. This partial action approach achieves cache synchronization for critical operations while avoiding the performance penalties of full information synchronization.
Data Source
AI summary
A data management agent for selective storage re-caching is described. A data management agent with an inter-agent communication link and protocol updates a volume on a primary storage area network connected to the data management agent. The primary storage area network mirrors the update to the volume over a first connection to a corresponding volume on a recovery storage area network. The data management agent further transmits a notification of the update to the volume over a second connection to a recovery data management agent connected to the recovery storage area network. Upon receiving the notification, the recovery data management agent scans only the corresponding volume and selectively refreshes its cached information for the corresponding volume.