Methods and apparatus for managing devices within storage area networks

A method for managing elements in a storage area network, the method comprising the steps of:

• initializing a plurality of access wrappers, each access wrapper defining operations for management of a respective class of elements operating within the storage area network;
• providing, to a management client, connection data associated with a specific element associated with one of the plurality of access wrappers, the connection data identifying connection data parameters for performing management of the specific element in the storage area network;
• receiving at least one generic management command for the specific element, the at least one generic management command including at least a portion of the associated connection data for the specific element;
• and
• translating the at least one generic management command into an operation of at least one vendor-specific command, including the at least a portion of the associated connection data, to manage the specific element in the storage area network;
• wherein translating the at least one generic management command includes translating a given generic management command into two different types of vendor-specific commands for a purpose of managing a related set of devices including a first vendor type of device and a second vendor type of device, the related set of devices being used to convey data between hosts and storage systems of a storage area network, one of the two different types of vendor-specific commands being used to manage the first type of vendor device, another of the two different types of vendor-specific commands being used to manage the second type of vendor device.

A method for managing elements in a storage area network, the method comprising the steps of:

• initializing a plurality of access wrappers, each access wrapper defining operations for management of a respective class of elements operating within the storage area network;
• providing, to a management client, connection data associated with a specific element associated with one of the plurality of access wrappers, the connection data identifying connection data parameters for performing management of the specific element in the storage area network;
• receiving at least one generic management command for the specific element, the at least one generic management command including at least a portion of the associated connection data for the specific element;
• and
• translating the at least one generic management command into an operation of at least one vendor-specific command, including the at least a portion of the associated connection data, to manage the specific element in the storage area network;
• wherein receiving the at least one generic management command for the specific element includes receiving access control data required to establish a connection between the management client and the specific element for management of the specific element via the at least one generic management command, the access control data including authentication information enabling the management client to communicate with and manage the specific element via use of the at least one vendor specific command which is translated from the at least one generic management command.

A method for managing elements in a storage area network, the method comprising the steps of:

• initializing a plurality of access wrappers, each access wrapper defining operations for management of a respective class of elements operating within the storage area network;
• providing, to a management client, connection data associated with a specific element associated with one of the plurality of access wrappers, the connection data identifying connection data parameters for performing management of the specific element in the storage area network;
• receiving at least one generic management command for the specific element, the at least one generic management command including at least a portion of the associated connection data for the specific element;
• translating the at least one generic management command into an operation of at least one vendor-specific command, including the at least a portion of the associated connection data, to manage the specific element in the storage area network;
• identifying a given access wrapper of the plurality of access wrappers to perform translation of a given generic management command;
• forwarding the given generic management command to the given access wrapper for translation to a first type of vendor-specific command and a second type of vendor-specific command;
• and
• on behalf of the management client:
• forwarding the first type of vendor-specific command to a first type of vendor-specific element in the storage area network to manage the first type of vendor-specific element;
• and
• forwarding the second type of vendor-specific command to a second type of vendor-specific element in the storage area network to manage the second type of vendor-specific element.

A computer program product having a computer-readable medium including computer program logic encoded thereon that when performed on a computer system provides a method for controlling management of elements within a storage area network, and wherein when the computer program logic is performed on a processor in the computer system, the computer program logic causes the processor to perform the operations of:

• initializing a plurality of access wrappers, each access wrapper defining operations for management of a respective class of elements operating within the storage area network;
• providing, to a management client, connection data associated with a specific element associated with one of the plurality of access wrappers, the connection data identifying connection data parameters for performing management of the specific element in the storage area network;
• receiving at least one generic management command for the specific element, the at least one generic management command including at least a portion of the associated connection data for the specific element;
• and
• translating the at least one generic management command into an operation of at least one vendor-specific command, including the at least a portion of the associated connection data, to manage the vendor specific element in the storage area network;
• and
• wherein each access wrapper maintains a set of connection data groups, each connection data group identifying connection data parameters required to address and communicate with a respective vendor specific element associated with that access wrapper that operates in the storage area network;
• and
• wherein the step of providing, to a management client, connection data associated with a specific element associated with one of the plurality of access wrappers comprises the steps of:
• providing, to the management client, a respective connection data group for each element in a set of elements operating in the storage area network;
• and
• providing, to the management client, an interface handle to each element in the set of elements.

A computer system comprising:

• a processor;
• an application programming interface enabling communication with a storage area network containing a plurality of manageable vendor-specific elements;
• and
• an interconnection mechanism coupling the memory, the processor and the interface;
• wherein the memory is encoded with instructions that form a multi-vendor management application including a plurality of functional components that each provide functional interface and that interoperate with a plurality of access wrappers;
• and
• wherein when the processor performs the multi-vendor management application, the processor forms a multi-vendor management process for managing the elements in the storage area network by performing the steps of:
• initializing the plurality of access wrappers in the memory, each access wrapper defining operations for management of a respective class of elements operating within the storage area network;
• providing, to a management client, connection data associated with a specific element associated with one of the plurality of access wrappers, the connection data identifying connection data parameters for performing management of the specific element in the storage area network;
• receiving, from the management client, at least one generic management command for the specific element, the at least one generic management command including at least a portion of the associated connection data for the specific element;
• and
• translating the at least one generic management command into an operation of at least one vendor-specific command, including the at least a portion of the associated connection data, to manage the specific element via the interface in the storage area network;
• wherein each access wrapper maintains, in the memory, a set of connection data groups, each connection data group identifying connection data parameters required to address and communicate with a respective vendor specific element associated with that access wrapper that operates in the storage area network;
• and
• wherein when the processor performs the step of providing, to a management client, connection data associated with a specific element associated with one of the plurality of access wrappers, the processor performs the steps of:
• providing, to the management client, a respective connection data group for each element in a set of elements operating in the storage area network;
• and
• providing, to the management client, an interface handle to each element in the set of elements.