Multi-pathing Management Appliance Synchronizes Cluster Node Settings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing storage systems face challenges in maintaining consistent multi-pathing settings across nodes in a cluster environment, leading to potential downtime and inefficiencies during failover and retry situations due to inconsistencies in pseudo name mappings and policy settings.
Innovation Solution
A multi-pathing management appliance synchronizes multi-pathing settings across nodes in a cluster by identifying a master node and delivering its settings to remaining nodes, ensuring consistent storage device to pseudo name mappings and policy settings, thereby reducing user intervention and errors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multi-pathing settings are manually configured on each node, then settings can be customized per node, but consistency across nodes deteriorates leading to downtime and inefficiencies
Solution Approach 1:
A management appliance is introduced as an intermediary system that collects, manages, and distributes multi-pathing settings to all nodes in the cluster. The appliance receives settings from any node, determines cluster membership, identifies a master node, and automatically propagates settings to ensure consistency across all nodes, eliminating manual configuration while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system copies multi-pathing settings from the master node to all other nodes in the cluster through the management appliance. This ensures that identical settings are replicated across all nodes, maintaining consistency and reliability without requiring manual intervention on each node.
2Ease of operation
If manual updates of multi-pathing settings are performed, then changes can be made, but user intervention increases leading to errors and reduced productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The management appliance implements self-service functionality by automatically collecting settings from nodes, determining cluster membership, identifying the master node, and distributing settings without requiring user intervention. This automates the previously manual process, eliminating errors and significantly improving productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where nodes report their settings and cluster information to the management appliance, which then automatically processes and distributes updated settings. This closed-loop approach eliminates manual intervention while maintaining ease of operation through automated response to configuration changes.
3Reliability
If settings are synchronized across all nodes, then consistency is improved, but system complexity increases due to additional synchronization mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The management appliance serves as a centralized intermediary that handles all synchronization logic, eliminating the need for complex peer-to-peer synchronization mechanisms between nodes. This centralization simplifies the overall system architecture while ensuring reliable settings consistency across all nodes.
4Productivity
If cluster failover scenarios are handled without synchronized settings, then node independence is maintained, but downtime increases during failover events
Solution Approach 1:
The management appliance performs preliminary synchronization of multi-pathing settings to all nodes before failover events occur. This ensures that all nodes have identical, pre-configured settings ready for immediate activation during failover, eliminating configuration delays and reducing downtime significantly.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus comprises a processing device configured to receive multi-pathing settings from a plurality of nodes of one or more clusters, and to identify at least one group of the plurality of nodes belonging to a same cluster of the one or more clusters. The processing device is further configured to identify a master node of the at least one group of nodes, and to deliver at least a portion of the multi-pathing settings of the master node to one or more remaining nodes of the at least one group of nodes.