Storage Area Network Resource Traversal for Impact Assessment

Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional systems for managing actions in computing environments, such as storage area networks, lack the ability to identify resources that may be dependent on other resources before allowing a management action, leading to unpredictable and potentially harmful impacts on the system.

Innovation Solution

The system performs resource discovery using traversal functions to identify all resources affected by a management action, presenting this information to the administrator to ensure informed decision-making and prevent adverse effects.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If management actions are applied to resources in storage area networks, then resource management functionality is improved, but unpredictable harmful effects may occur on dependent resources

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveresource management functionalityVSAvoidunpredictable harmful effects on dependent resources

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary resource discovery by traversing relationship paths to identify all resources that would be affected by a management action before the action is executed. This allows administrators to see the full impact scope in advance and make informed decisions about whether to proceed with the action.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system provides feedback to the administrator by presenting the complete set of affected resources before the management action is applied. This feedback mechanism enables the administrator to understand the consequences and modify their decision accordingly, preventing unintended harmful effects.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Productivity

If conventional management applications are used without resource dependency analysis, then operation speed is maintained, but system reliability deteriorates due to unintended consequences

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveoperation speedVSAvoidsystem reliability

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary resource discovery by traversing relationship paths to identify all resources that would be affected by a management action before the action is executed. This allows administrators to see the full impact scope in advance and make informed decisions about whether to proceed with the action.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system provides feedback to the administrator by presenting the complete set of affected resources before the management action is applied. This feedback mechanism enables the administrator to understand the consequences and modify their decision accordingly, preventing unintended harmful effects.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Measurement precision

If resource discovery and relationship traversal are performed, then accuracy of management action impact assessment is improved, but processing time increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccuracy of management action impact assessmentVSAvoidprocessing time for resource discovery

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary resource discovery by traversing relationship paths to identify all resources that would be affected by a management action before the action is executed. This allows administrators to see the full impact scope in advance and make informed decisions about whether to proceed with the action.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS7401137B1Methods and apparatus for application of management actions to resources sharing relationships

Publication Date: 2008.07.15 EMC IP HLDG CO LLC

AI summary

In a network management application, a system applies a management action to a resource by receiving a selection of a resource representation in a network environment that represents a resource to which a management action is to be applied. The system applies a series of resource traversal functions to a repository containing objects representative of network resources in the network environment. The traversal functions identify a set of action affected resources in the network environment existing along a set of relationship paths extending to at least one storage device that have a current allocation relationship to the selected resource. The system presents a representation of the set of allocated resources in the network environment to a user of the management application. The representation of action-affected resources informs the user of resources within the storage area network that are currently in an functional relationship with the selected resource to which a management action is to be applied and that may be affected if the management action is to be applied to the selected resource.