System and method for path saturation for computer storage performance analysis

#1. Technical Field

#The present invention is generally directed to performance monitoring of storage area networks (SANs). More specifically, the present invention is directed to a system and method for path saturation in a storage area network so that a maximum throughput of the storage area network is determinable.

#2. Description of Related Art

#The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

#FIG. 1 is a diagram of a modern virtualized storage area network;

#FIG. 2 is an exemplary diagram illustrating the deployment of the software suite of the present invention on a plurality of server computing devices for use in path saturation and throughput testing of a storage area network, in accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

#The present invention provides a system and method for performing path saturation in a shared data storage system, such as a storage area network (SAN), to determining the throughput of the storage area network under various loading conditions. The present invention, in a preferred embodiment, includes a suite of software tools that are installed on one or more computing devices. This suite of software tools perform functions to identify the resources of the shared data storage system, generate a load on one or more components of the shared data storage system, and obtain a response measurement to the generated load. These measurements may be used to determine what other loading should be tested with regard to the one or more components and may be used to generate reports, graphs, and other output useable by a user to determine the performance of the shared data storage system and possible areas of the shared data storage system that should be modified to achieve a desired performance of the shared data storage system.

#FIG. 2 is an exemplary diagram illustrating the deployment of the software suite of the present invention on a plurality of server computing devices for use in path saturation and throughput testing of a storage area network, in accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of server computing devices 210-218 are provided and are coupled to the shared data storage system infrastructure 220 in a manner generally known in the art. These servers 210-218, in one exemplary embodiment, represent existing business servers upon which testing software has been installed. However, these servers 210-218 may be special-purpose or dedicated servers installed specifically for testing the storage infrastructure. Additionally, these servers 210-218 may be a mix of business servers and dedicated test servers.

#The plurality of server computing devices 210-218 access physical storage devices 230-250 via the storage infrastructure 220 which may include, as shown in FIG. 2, a server storage area network (SAN), a virtualization server, a storage SAN, and other infrastructure components. Caches 222-226 are provided for caching data written to and read from the physical storage devices 230-250 prior to or immediately after the data is written to or read from the physical storage devices 230-250.