Robert Joseph Nicholson

US Patent:

62532405, Jun 26, 2001

Filed:

Oct 30, 1998

Appl. No.:

9/183647

Inventors:

Gary Thomas Axberg - Minneapolis MN
Duane Mark Baldwin - Kasson MN
Allen Robert Heitman - Rochester MN
Uma Devi Immaneni - Huntington Beach CA
Greg Knight - Rochester MN
David Lynn Merbach - Rochester MN
Robert Bruce Nicholson - San Jose CA
William Roy Yonker - Rochester MN

Assignee:

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

International Classification:

G06F 15173
G06F 300

US Classification:

709223

Abstract:

A distributed storage management program manages a network comprising multiple data storage devices attached to multiple host computer systems. The management program includes a separate agent in each host, and a central manager. The agents gather data and communicate with the manager across a communications path which is independent of the storage network. The manager collates the data from different agents to produce a coherent view of the network. Preferably, each local agent actively builds an internal topological view of the network as seen by its host and collects data such as error events, which it stores in internal data structures. The manager is able to resolve gaps in the information of each agent from information provided by other agents. Preferably, the manager represents the network as a collection of objects of different classes in an object-oriented class library. This collection is graphically displayed in a logical and understandable manner to a user on a display device.