Host Rescan Automation for Logical Volume Migration

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Solution Overview

Problem

Manual rescan operations for hosts to discover a path to a destination data storage appliance during logical volume migration are prone to human errors, consuming significant administrator time and leading to data unavailability issues.

Innovation Solution

Automating the rescan process by detecting managed hosts and transmitting a rescan request to a host administration server, which instructs each host to perform a rescan operation, thereby discovering the path to the logical volume on the destination data storage appliance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If manual rescan operations are performed on hosts to discover paths during logical volume migration, then hosts can discover the path to the destination data storage appliance, but human errors occur and administrator time is consumed

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemigration reliabilityVSAvoidadministrator time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs self-service by automatically detecting hosts that access the logical volume and initiating rescan operations without requiring administrator intervention. The data storage system autonomously identifies affected hosts and triggers the rescan process, eliminating manual labor while ensuring reliability through systematic automation of the migration preparation steps

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

A communication interface acts as an intermediary between the data storage system and hosts, transmitting rescan commands to discovered hosts and receiving path discovery results. This intermediary mechanism ensures reliable communication and coordination without requiring direct administrator involvement in the rescan operations

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Ease of operation

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverescan operation simplicityVSAvoiddata availability

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system autonomously performs host detection and rescan initiation without manual intervention, eliminating human errors that could lead to data unavailability. The automated process systematically ensures that all necessary rescan operations are performed correctly, maintaining data availability while simplifying the operation for administrators

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback mechanisms by monitoring host responses to rescan commands and verifying path discovery success. This feedback loop ensures that data availability is maintained by confirming that hosts have successfully discovered paths to the destination appliance before completing the migration

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS11073996B2Host rescan for logical volume migration

Publication Date: 2021.07.27 EMC IP HLDG CO LLC

AI summary

During preparation for migration of a logical volume from a source data storage appliance to a destination data storage appliance, a determination is made as to whether at least one host that accesses a copy of the logical volume contained in the source data storage appliance is managed by a host administration server. In response to determining that at least one host that accesses the copy of the logical volume contained in the source data storage appliance is managed by the administration server, a rescan request is transmitted to the administration server. The rescan request causes the host administration server to instruct each host that is managed by the host administration server that accesses the copy of the logical volume contained in the source data storage appliance to perform a rescan operation to discover at least one new path to the logical volume.