Storage management system and method

Abstract

In a storage management system and method which virtualizes a plurality of storage devices distributed over a network to be managed, a storage state manager, in a storage management server, manages a storage usage state in each storage device, a network state manager manages a traffic state of each network device, and a path searching/setup portion determines a storage data path to be set up in the network device based on the storage usage state and the traffic state. In a host, a virtualization mapper associates a storage space replied from the storage management server with a virtual storage, and a path information setup portion transmits/receives storage data with the storage data path.

1 . A storage management server comprising:
 a storage state manager managing a storage usage state in each storage device;   a network state manager managing a traffic state of a network by monitoring each network device; and   a path searching/setup portion determining a storage data path to be set up in the network device based on the storage usage state and the traffic state.   
   
   
       2 . The storage management server as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a virtual storage manager/controller selecting a storage suitable for a storage capacity requested from a host or a system manager based on the storage usage state, wherein   the path searching/setup portion determines the storage data path base don the selected storage space and the traffic state.   
   
   
       3 . The storage management server as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the storage usage state comprises a used bandwidth of a link or a number of communication channels. 
   
   
       4 . The storage management server as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein when determining a storage data path of a single host, the path searching/setup portion monitors a path usage state of another host as the traffic state, and determines the storage data path of the host based on the traffic state. 
   
   
       5 . The storage management server as claimed in  claim 2 , wherein the virtual storage manager/controller notifies the selected storage space and the determined storage data path to the host. 
   
   
       6 . The storage management server as claimed in  claim 2 , wherein the path searching/setup portion prestructures a plurality of spanning trees between the host and the storage device, and selects the storage data path from among the spanning trees based on a number of iSCSI sessions or hops of the spanning trees upon a storage capacity request from the host. 
   
   
       7 . The storage management server as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the path searching/setup portion notifies the determined storage data path to the host. 
   
   
       8 . The storage management server as claimed in  claim 2 , wherein when a plurality of storage spaces are selected, the path searching/setup portion selects a storage data path by which a deviation of a delay time of the storage data paths connecting the host to the selected storage space is reduced. 
   
   
       9 . The storage management system as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the storage data path is determined by a VLAN or an MPLS system. 
   
   
       10 . The storage management system as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the network device comprises an IP network device. 
   
   
       11 . The storage management system as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein when a fault occurs or a fault occurrence is predicted respectively in the storage device and the network device, the path searching/setup portion searches and determines, based on the storage usage state and the traffic state, a substitute storage for a storage space in the storage device in which the fault occurs or the fault occurrence is predicted, or searches and determines a substitute path for a storage data path related to the network device in which the fault occurs or the fault occurrence is predicted.