Generalized virtualizer IO path model and general virtual transformation model for storage assets

A computer system comprising:

• a memory;
• a processor;
• a display;
• and
• an interconnection mechanism coupling the memory, the processor and the display allowing communication there between;
• wherein the memory of the computer system is encoded with a data path analysis and modeling application, that when executed in the processor, provides a data path analysis and modeling process that analyzes and models data paths of a storage area network, by causing the computer system to perform operations of:
• identifying components at a source location of a data path, at a target location of the data path, and connections there between, wherein the network environment comprises a plurality of domains, and the data path traverses the plurality of domains;
• assigning components and the connections there between to one of:
• an input-output path pattern, a virtualizer pattern, and a meta pattern, wherein the patterns represent common elements of components of the network environment, wherein the patterns and relationships between patterns are defined to repeat within and across domains in the network environment, wherein the virtualizer pattern expresses the many-to-many mapping from disk address to disk through an extent, the input-output path pattern provides for the importation of a disk through an associated initiator in one domain from a disk exported from a target of another domain, and the meta pattern indicates that a disk can be composed of zero, one, or more disks;
• creating a model of the data path from the assigned patterns and the defined relationships between patterns, wherein the application of the meta pattern and the virtualizer pattern in sequence describes the data path in one domain and a subsequent application of the input-output path pattern describes the data path from a disk in one domain to a disk in another domain;
• creating a model of the storage area network by:
• repeating the steps of identifying, assigning, and creating from each data path present in the storage area network;
• and
• combining each created model of each data path present in the storage area network according to connections between the data paths;
• and
• presenting the created model of the storage area network.

A computer program product, stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, to model data paths of a storage area network, the computer program product comprising:

• computer program code for identifying components at a source location of a data path, at a target location of the data path, and connections there between, wherein the network environment comprises a plurality of domains, and the data path traverses the plurality of domains;
• computer program code for assigning components and the connections there between to one of:
• an input-output path pattern, a virtualizer pattern, and a meta pattern, wherein the patterns represent common elements of components of the network environment, wherein the patterns and relationships between patterns are defined to repeat within and across domains in the network environment, wherein the virtualizer pattern expresses the many-to-many mapping from disk address to disk through an extent, the input-output path pattern provides for the importation of a disk through an associated initiator in one domain from a disk exported from a target of another domain, and the meta pattern indicates that a disk can be composed of zero, one, or more disks;
• computer program code for creating a model of the data path from the assigned patterns and the defined relationships between patterns, wherein the application of the meta pattern and the virtualizer pattern in sequence describes the data path in one domain and a subsequent application of the input-output path pattern describes the data path from a disk in one domain to a disk in another domain;
• creating a model of the storage area network by:
• repeating the steps of identifying, assigning, and creating from each data path present in the storage area network;
• and
• combining each created model of each data path present in the storage area network according to connections between the data paths;
• and
• computer program code for presenting the created model of the storage area network.