Mapping discovered devices to SAN-manageable objects using configurable rules

A method, comprising:

• discovering device description information for a plurality of components in a storage area network (SAN);
• accessing a rules file comprising rules corresponding to a plurality of device attributes, wherein the rules specify information for each device attribute for mapping the device description information to a management object for collecting management data from a corresponding device;
• in response to discovering device description information for a particular component of said plurality of components:
• detecting that a portion of the device description information that corresponds to the particular component of said components matches one or more particular attributes of said plurality of device attributes;
• in response to said detecting, determining one or more particular rules that correspond to said one or more particular attributes as specified by the rules of the rules file;
• for the particular component, generating a management object according to the particular rules;
• and
• collecting respective management data for the particular components according to the management object.

A storage area network (SAN), comprising:

• a plurality of SAN components coupled to a SAN fabric, wherein the SAN components comprise a proxy agent and a plurality of proxied SAN components proxied by the proxy agent, wherein the proxy agent is configured to provide management information for each proxied SAN component for monitoring the proxied SAN components over a network separate from the SAN fabric;
• a SAN management server configured to obtain device discovery information for the SAN components coupled to the SAN fabric;
• and
• a data store comprising a rules file comprising rules for correlating the device discovery information for the proxied SAN components to the management information provided by the proxy agent;
• wherein the SAN management server is configured to:
• access, according to one or more rules of the rules file, the management information corresponding to a particular proxied SAN components to obtain additional information about the particular proxied SAN component;
• and
• monitor the particular proxied SAN component according to the additional information as specified by said one or more rules.

A method, comprising:

• receiving device discovery information for a plurality of storage area network (SAN) components coupled to a SAN fabric, wherein the SAN components comprise a proxy agent and a plurality of proxied SAN components proxied by the proxy agent;
• and
• applying a rules file to the device discovery information, wherein the rules file comprises rules for correlating the device discovery information for the proxied SAN components to management information provided by the proxy agent for each proxied SAN component, wherein the management information comprises management information for monitoring the proxied SAN components over a network separate from the SAN fabric;
• wherein said applying the rules file comprises:
• using one or more particular rules to correlate a particular proxied SAN component to a portion of the management information to obtain additional information about the particular proxied SAN component;
• and
• monitoring the particular proxied SAN component according to the additional information.

A system, comprising:

• a storage area network (SAN) management server configured to discover a plurality of SAN components coupled to a SAN fabric;
• wherein each of the SAN components is configured to be monitored over a network separate from the SAN fabric according to management information provided for each SAN component, wherein the SAN management server is configured to collect a plurality of information items about the SAN components over the network;
• a data store comprising a rules file comprising one or more rules for mapping management information provided for each of a plurality of SAN components coupled to the SAN fabric to the information items collected by the SAN management server;
• wherein the rules file further comprises an attribute for each SAN component for which information items are to be collected, wherein the SAN management server is further configured to:
• in response to discovering a particular SAN component of said plurality of SAN components;
• determine respective management information collected for the particular SAN component of said plurality of SAN components;
• detect that a portion of the respective management information matches a particular attribute of said plurality of attributes within the rules file;
• in response to detecting that a portion of the respective management information matches a particular attribute of said plurality of attributes within the rules file, determine one or more particular rules of said rules for mapping that correspond to said particular attribute as specified by the rules file;
• generate a management object for the particular SAN component according to the one or more particular rules;
• and
• use the management object to collect the information items specified by the one or more particular rules corresponding to the matching attribute in the rules file.

A computer-accessible storage medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are configured to implement:

• discover device description information for a plurality of components in a storage area network (SAN);
• accessing a rules file comprising rules corresponding to a plurality of device attributes, wherein the rules specify information for each device attribute for mapping the device description information to a management object for collecting management data from a corresponding device;
• in response to discovering device description information for a particular component of said plurality of components:
• detecting that a portion of the device description information that corresponds to the particular component of said components matches one or more particular attributes of said plurality of device attributes;
• in response to said detecting determining one or more particular rules that correspond to said one or more particular attributes as specified by the rules of the rules file;
• for the particular component generating a management object according to the particular rules;
• and
• collecting respective management data for the particular component according to the management object.

A computer-accessible storage medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are configured to implement:

• receiving device discovery information for a plurality of storage area network (SAN) components coupled to a SAN fabric, wherein the SAN components comprise a proxy agent and a plurality of proxied SAN components proxied by the proxy agent;
• and
• applying a rules file to the device discovery information, wherein the rules file comprises rules for correlating the device discovery information for the proxied SAN components to management information from the proxy agent for each proxied SAN component, wherein the management information comprises management information for monitoring the proxied SAN components over a network separate from the SAN fabric;
• wherein said applying the rules file comprises:
• using the one or more particular rules to correlate particular proxied SAN component to a portion of the management information to obtain additional information about the particular proxied SAN component;
• and
• monitoring the particular proxied SAN component according to the additional information.