File System Metadata Summarization for Storage Area Network Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional storage area network management applications face inefficiencies in collecting and processing file system information, particularly in large environments with heavy processing loads, as they rely on agents to exhaustively collect and transfer metadata, overwhelming network bandwidth and server processing resources.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a file system data collection and processing architecture where agent processes on host computer systems collect and pre-process file system metadata, reducing the burden on central server processes by producing summary records that contain essential statistical information, thereby offloading processing requirements and improving network performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If agents exhaustively collect and transfer all file system metadata to the central server, then complete file system information is obtained, but network bandwidth is overwhelmed and server processing resources are overloaded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential statistical information (summarized file system data) from the complete file system metadata, transferring only this condensed information to the central server. This extraction principle resolves the contradiction by maintaining information completeness at the server level while dramatically reducing network bandwidth consumption during data transfer.
Solution Approach 2:
The agent creates a summarized copy of the file system metadata containing only essential statistical information rather than transferring the complete original metadata. This copying approach preserves the necessary information for server-side processing while minimizing network bandwidth usage.
2Loss of information
If agents exhaustively collect and transfer all file system metadata to the central server, then complete file system information is obtained, but server processing load increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The agent performs preliminary processing of file system metadata locally, calculating and summarizing statistical information before transfer to the server. This preliminary action resolves the contradiction by ensuring information completeness is achieved at the agent level, thereby reducing the processing burden on the server.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the file system data processing task between the agent (local summarization) and the server (received summary processing). This segmentation resolves the contradiction by distributing processing responsibilities, maintaining information completeness while improving server processing efficiency.
3Measurement precision
If agents collect detailed file system metadata, then comprehensive storage analysis is enabled, but network bandwidth is consumed excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter representation of file system data from detailed individual file metadata to aggregated statistical parameters (summarized information). This parameter transformation resolves the contradiction by maintaining measurement precision for storage statistics while dramatically reducing network bandwidth consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
A storage area network management application provides a data collection agent that processes storage information concerning storage entities such as file systems in a storage area network environment by receiving a data collection policy identifying storage information to be collected concerning a set of storage entities in a storage area network environment. The agent collects storage information concerning the set of storage entities according to the data collection policy and processes the collected storage information to produce at least one summary record of the storage information for the set of storage entities. The summary record(s) contain a summary of the collected storage information for the set of storage entities calculated according to the data collection policy. The agent transfers the summary record(s) from the data collection agent to a storage management application for presentation to a user of the storage management application. This offloads processing requirements of the management application to the agents.