Apparatus, system, and method for facilitating storage management

An apparatus to facilitate storage management, the apparatus comprising:

• a configuration module that configures a first Logical Partition (LPAR) and a second LPAR to interact with each other in a peer-to-peer domain such that each LPAR mirrors operations of, and is in direct communication with, the other LPAR;
• an information module configured to expose local resource definitions of the first LPAR and local resource definitions of the second LPAR to a management node such that the local resources of the first LPAR and the second LPAR are available as target resources of a management command from the management node;
• and
• an address module configured to selectively address a management command from the management node towards a local resource of the first LPAR and a local resource of the second LPAR.

A system to facilitate storage management, the system comprising:

• a first Central Electronics Complex (CEC) operatively coupled to a hardware platform, the first CEC comprising a plurality of symmetric multiprocessors organized into a first processor complex, a plurality of electronic memory devices, a plurality of direct access storage devices, a plurality of network Input/Output (I/O) interface devices, and a plurality of management interface devices, each of the devices of the CEC electronically coupled for exchange of data and control information;
• a second CEC operatively coupled to the hardware platform, the second CEC comprising a plurality of symmetric multiprocessors organized into a second processor complex, a plurality of electronic memory devices, a plurality of direct access storage devices, a plurality of network Input/Output (I/O) interface devices, and a plurality of management interface devices, each of the devices of the CEC electronically coupled for exchange of data and control information;
• at least one Storage Facility Image (SFI) comprising a first Logical Partition (LPAR) defined to operate using computing resources of the first CEC and a second LPAR defined to operate using computing resources of the second CEC, the first LPAR and second LPAR dedicated to storage and retrieval of data;
• at least one Storage Application Image (SAI) comprising a third Logical Partition (LPAR) defined to operate using computing resources of the first CEC and a fourth LPAR defined to operate using computing resources of the second CEC, the third LPAR and fourth LPAR dedicated to data storage applications;
• a configuration module that configures the first LPAR and the second LPAR to interact with each other in a peer-to-peer domain such that each LPAR mirrors operations of, and is in direct communication with, the other LPAR and further configure the third LPAR and the fourth LPAR to interact with each other in a peer-to-peer domain such that each LPAR mirrors operations of, and is in direct communication with, the other LPAR;
• an information module configured to expose local resource definitions of the at least one SFI and the at least one SAI to a management node such that the local resources of the at least one SFI and the at least one SAI are available as target resources of a management command from the management node;
• and
• an address module configured to selectively address a management command from the management node towards a local resource of the at least one SFI and the at least one SAI.

A signal bearing medium tangibly embodying a program of machine-readable instructions executable by a digital processing apparatus to perform operations to facilitate storage management, the operations comprising:

• an operation to configure a first logical entity and a second logical entity to interact with each other in a peer-to-peer domain such that each logical entity mirrors operations of, and is in direct communication with, the other logical entity;
• an operation to expose local resources of the first logical entity and local resources of the second logical entity to a management node such that the local resources of the first logical entity and the second logical entity are available as target resources of a management command from the management node;
• and
• an operation to selectively address a management command from the management node towards a local resource of the first logical entity and a local resource of the second logical entity.

A method for facilitating storage management, the method comprising:

• configuring a first logical entity and a second logical entity to interact with each other in a peer-to-peer domain such that each logical entity mirrors operations of, and is in direct communication with, the other logical entity;
• exposing local resources of the first logical entity and local resources of the second logical entity to a management node such that the local resources of the first logical entity and the second logical entity are available as target resources of a management command from the management node;
• and
• selectively addressing a management command from the management node towards a local resource of the first logical entity and a local resource of the second logical entity.

An apparatus for facilitating storage management, the apparatus comprising:

• means for configuring a first logical entity and a second logical entity to interact with each other in a peer-to-peer domain such that each logical entity mirrors operations of, and is in direct communication with, the other logical entity;
• means for exposing local resources of the first logical entity and local resources of the second logical entity to a management node such that the local resources of the first logical entity and the second logical entity are available as target resources of a management command from the management node;
• and
• means for selectively addressing a management command from the management node towards a local resource of the first logical entity and a local resource of the second logical entity.