Storage Cluster Visualization via Segmentation and Intermediary
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Solution Overview
Problem
Administrators of storage cluster systems face challenges in diagnosing and maintaining complex systems due to the unique configurations and high complexity of interactions among various components, making it difficult to grasp component interactions and automated responses.
Innovation Solution
An administration system that collects and organizes data on storage cluster systems as objects with properties, allowing for the generation of visualizations that help administrators understand system states and changes over time, enabling better diagnosis and oversight through an ingest server, database server, and visualization server.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If storage cluster systems use a wide range of hardware and software components to meet diverse client requirements, then system adaptability and storage capacity are improved, but system complexity and difficulty in diagnosing problems increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the complex storage cluster system into distinct visualizable components including nodes, storage devices, networks, and clients. Each component type is represented as a separate object in the visualization interface, allowing administrators to break down and analyze individual parts rather than being overwhelmed by the entire system's complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an administration system as an intermediary between administrators and the complex storage cluster system. This intermediary provides automated discovery, monitoring, and visualization capabilities that translate complex system states into comprehensible graphical representations, reducing the cognitive burden on administrators.
2Reliability
If storage cluster systems geographically disperse components to increase capacity and redundancy, then system reliability and storage capacity are improved, but difficulty in grasping component interactions increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds a spatial visualization dimension to represent geographically dispersed components. The graphical user interface displays nodes, storage devices, and networks in a spatial layout that reflects their physical or logical arrangement, allowing administrators to visually trace interactions across geographic boundaries without mentally reconstructing the system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements automated monitoring and event notification systems that provide continuous feedback about component states and interactions. When events occur in geographically dispersed components, the system automatically notifies administrators and displays relevant information in the visualization interface, eliminating the need for administrators to actively track interactions across multiple locations.
3Speed
If storage cluster systems increase the quantity and complexity of network connections to improve access speed and redundancy, then system performance and reliability are improved, but difficulty in diagnosing problems increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts network connection information from the complex system architecture and presents it as a separate, visualizable layer in the graphical interface. Network topologies, connection states, and data flow patterns are displayed independently, allowing administrators to focus on network-specific diagnostics without being distracted by other system components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses color-coding to indicate network connection states, performance metrics, and event conditions. Different colors represent different statuses such as healthy, degraded, or failed connections, enabling administrators to quickly identify problematic network links amidst complex topologies without analyzing numerical data.
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments are generally directed to techniques for generating effective visualizations of some or all of a storage cluster system. An apparatus includes a processor component; a rendering component to generate a visualization of at least a portion of a storage cluster system for presentation on a display, the visualization to comprise a depiction of an object that corresponds to a component of the storage cluster system; and an interpretation component to interpret received indications of operation of an input device to select the depicted object and to select a first time and a second time along a timeline presented on the display, and to generate a command to request information indicating a change in state of the object between the first and second times.