Host Status Determination via Shared Storage Proxy
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Solution Overview
Problem
It is challenging for management servers to determine whether a communication failure with a host is due to a network problem or a problem within the host, as existing methods lack efficiency in distinguishing between the two scenarios.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a shared storage space that acts as a backup communication channel, allowing hosts to write and retrieve operating status data, and enabling commands to be executed and results stored on this shared space, thereby allowing the management server to determine the host's status through another host acting as a proxy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a management server assumes a host is still running when communication fails, then network resources may be unnecessarily released, but the host cannot be properly monitored or managed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a shared storage space as an intermediary communication channel between the management server and hosts. When direct network communication fails, the management server can still access host status information through this shared storage medium, enabling reliable status determination without requiring complex alternative communication paths
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-establishes a shared storage space that hosts can write status information to at any time. This preliminary setup ensures that status data is already available in the shared storage before communication failure occurs, allowing the management server to immediately retrieve accurate status information without needing to initiate complex diagnostic procedures
2Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If the management server uses traditional network communication methods, then the system is simple to implement, but it cannot distinguish between network problems and host problems when communication fails
Solution Approach 1:
The shared storage space serves as a mediator that carries host status information independently of network communication. The management server retrieves status data from this shared storage rather than relying solely on network responses, enabling immediate determination of host status without waiting for network communication to succeed or fail
Solution Approach 2:
Hosts continuously write their status information to the shared storage space in advance. This preliminary action ensures that when the management server needs to determine host status, the information is already prepared and available, eliminating the time required for diagnostic probing or assumption-based determination
Data Source
AI summary
Methods for monitoring operating statuses of hosts are described herein. Operating statuses for one or more hosts are monitored by a management server over a network using a network management protocol. In response to a failure to obtain an operating status of a first host over the network using the network management protocol, the management server instructs a second host to access a predetermined storage location to obtain the operating status of the first host. The predetermined storage location is specifically allocated for the first host from a storage space shared by all the hosts. Thereafter, the management server is configured to determine an operating condition of the first host based on the operating status obtained via the second host.