Methods and apparatus for providing data storage access
US6526521B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 18, 1999 |
| Grant date | Feb 25, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 18, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F11/2046
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A technique provides access to data storage pathways that connect a cluster of nodes to a data storage system in a manner that enables a failover operation to occur from a first node to a second node when the first node suffers pathway degradation forcing the first node to operate significantly slower than previously, even when the first node retains access to the data storage system through one or more available data storage pathways. Such a failover operation from the degraded first node to a second node allows the cluster as a whole to continue performing operations at a rate that is superior to that provided by the degraded first node. In one arrangement, a cluster of nodes connects to the data storage system through multiple sets of data storage pathways. A cluster framework and a set of pathway resource agents operate on the cluster of nodes. In particular, a respective portion of the cluster framework and a respective pathway resource agent operate on each node. The pathway resource agents receive, from the cluster framework, instructions for controlling the pathway sets and, in response, determine which of the pathway sets are available for transferring data between the clu…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.