Fail-Over In A Multi-Computer System

Abstract

System and method for managing data fail-over for a computing system comprising a plurality of computers, e.g., computer blades, coupled through a network. A fail-over condition may indicate a component failure, an imminent failure, and/or a need to modify or replace some aspect of a computer. Computers in the system may back up their information to other computers in the system. If a fail-over condition is detected on a first computer, a replacement computer may be loaded with the information from the first computer, optionally from a backup copy stored on another computer (or distributed across multiple computers), and the first computer's peripheral devices (human interface) switched over to the replacement computer. The method may be used to replace a single computer, swap two computers, and/or perform a cascade move among multiple computers, and may be performed automatically in response to the fail-over condition, or initiated by a system administrator.

1 . A computer-based method, comprising: 
 storing a copy of at least a portion of information stored on a storage medium of a first computer onto a storage medium of a second computer, wherein the first computer is coupled to at least one human interface device through a switch, and wherein the switch is configured to route signals between the at least one human interface device and the first computer;    monitoring the first computer for a fail-over condition;    detecting the fail-over condition for the first computer; and    in response to said detection, configuring the switch to switch the signal routing from the first computer to the second computer, thereby routing signals between the at least one human interface device and the second computer.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said storing the copy of at least a portion of the information onto the storage medium of the second computer is performed prior to said detection.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein, storing the copy further comprises implementing a delta-based back-up scheme to store the at least a portion of the information from the storage medium of the first computer onto the storage medium of the second computer.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein, storing the copy with a delta-based back-up scheme further comprises: 
 noting each of one or more incremental backups for the first computer in a catalog; and    sending the catalog to at least one other computer, wherein the at least one other computer compares the catalog to the incremental backups stored on the second computer, and wherein if the at least one other computer determines that at least one incremental backup is missing from the storage medium of the second computer, the second computer receives and stores the at least one missing incremental backup from the first computer.    
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 providing a graphical user interface for two or more of a login screen, a list of local computers, a configuration screen, a scheduling interface, an information recovery screen, an archive view screen, and an information recovery screen.    
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one computer of the plurality of computers comprises one or more of the first computer and the second computer.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one computer of the plurality of computers comprises one or more of the first computer, the second computer, and a third computer of the plurality of computers.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least a subset of said storing, said monitoring, said detecting, and said configuring are performed without human input.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said storing the copy of at least a portion of the information onto the storage medium of the second computer is performed after said detection.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein, configuring the switch to switch the signal routing in response to said detection comprises: 
 indicating said detection to a human;    receiving input from the human specifying said configuring; and    configuring the switch in response to the received input.    
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the storage medium of at least one of the plurality of computers stores program instructions implementing a virtual storage area network.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the storage medium of at least one of the plurality of computers stores program instructions implementing management software to manage one or more of processor usage, physical memory usage, hard drive usage, and network information usage for the plurality of computers.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the storage medium of at least one of the plurality of computers stores program instructions executable to create and maintain a location file, wherein the location file indicates one or more locations of the information.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of computers comprise blade computers.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one human interface device is comprised in a human interface, and wherein said routing signals between the at least one human interface device and the first computer of the plurality of computers comprises the switch associating the human interface with the first computer, and wherein, after the switch switches the signal routing from the first computer to the second computer the human interface is associated with the second computer.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first computer and the second computer are coupled to a storage network, wherein the storage network comprises a storage area network server, the method further comprising: 
 the storage network server making the storage medium of the first computer accessible by the processor of the second computer, and making the storage medium of the second computer accessible by the processor of the first computer.    
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the first computer and the second computer are coupled to a storage medium, the method further comprising: 
 the storage network server making the storage medium accessible by the first processor and the second processor.    
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said storing, said monitoring, said detecting, and said configuring are performed without operation of a central server.  
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 detecting an identity of the first computer and/or the second computer in the plurality of computers;    wherein the identity is used by the at least one computer to assign the second computer to the first computer, such that the at least a portion of information from the storage medium of the first computer is stored onto the storage medium of the second computer.    
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the fail-over condition indicates one or more of: 
 a need to switch the first computer with the second computer; or    a need to upgrade to a higher performance computer; wherein the second computer is a higher performing computer than the first computer.    
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 1 , 
 wherein the switch is further coupled to a second at least one human interface device, wherein the switch is further configured to route signals between the second at least one human interface device and the second computer;    wherein storing a copy of at least a portion of the information onto the storage medium of a second computer further includes: 
 storing at least a portion of the information from the storage medium of the second computer onto the storage medium of the first computer; and  
 wherein configuring the switch to switch the signal routing from the first computer to the second computer further includes configuring the switch to switch the signal routing from the second computer to the first computer, thereby routing signals between the second human interface device and the first computer.  
   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 1 , 
 wherein the switch is further coupled to a second at least one human interface device, wherein the switch is further configured to route signals between the second at least one human interface device and the second computer;    wherein storing a copy of at least a portion of the information onto the storage medium of a second computer of the plurality of computers comprises: 
 storing at least a portion of the information from the storage medium of the second computer onto the storage medium of a third computer; and  
   wherein configuring the switch to switch the signal routing from the first computer to the second computer further includes configuring the switch to switch the signal routing from the second computer to the third computer, thereby routing signals between the second human interface device and the third computer.    
     
     
         23 . A data fail-over system for a plurality of computer systems, the system comprising: 
 a plurality of computers, wherein each computer comprises: 
 a processor; and  
 a storage medium coupled to the processor;  
   at least one human interface device; and    a switch coupled to at least two of the plurality of computers, and further coupled to the at least one human interface device, wherein the switch is configured to route signals between the at least one human interface device and a first computer of the plurality of computers;    wherein the storage medium of the first computer stores information;    wherein the storage medium of at least one computer of the plurality of computers stores program instructions which are executable by the processor of said at least one computer to: 
 store a copy of at least a portion of the information onto the storage medium of a second computer of the plurality of computers; and  
   wherein the program instructions are further executable to: 
 monitor the first computer for a fail-over condition;  
 detect the fail-over condition for the first computer; and  
 in response to said detection, configure the switch to switch said signal routing from the first computer to the second computer, thereby routing signals between the at least one human interface device and the second computer.  
   
     
     
         24 . A computer-based system, comprising: 
 means for storing a copy of at least a portion of information stored on a storage medium of a first computer onto a storage medium of a second computer, wherein the first computer is coupled to at least one human interface device through a switch, and wherein the switch routes signals between the at least one human interface device and the first computer;    means for monitoring the first computer for a fail-over condition;    means for detecting the fail-over condition for the first computer; and    means for configuring the switch to switch the signal routing from the first computer to the second computer in response to said detection, thereby routing signals between the at least one human interface device and the second computer.    
     
     
         25 . A computer-accessible memory medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are computer executable to perform: 
 storing a copy of at least a portion of information stored on a storage medium of a first computer onto a storage medium of a second computer, wherein the first computer is coupled to at least one human interface device through a switch, and wherein the switch routes signals between the at least one human interface device and the first computer;    monitoring the first computer for a fail-over condition;    detecting the fail-over condition for the first computer; and    in response to said detection, configuring the switch to switch the signal routing from the first computer to the second computer, thereby routing signals between the at least one human interface device and the second computer.