Abstract: A method, apparatus and computer program product for handling secure information (e.g., a password, an account number, a personal identification number (PIN), a user identifier, an encryption key, and a path where said secure information is stored) is presented. Secure information is stored in a software container. A plurality of representations of the secure information is provided, each of the plurality of representations for use under different conditions. Dependent on the particular condition, at least one of the plurality of representations of the secure information is provided by the container. The container holds the secure information during all stages of processing in a manner that prevents unauthorized parties from gaining access to the secret in clear form.

Abstract: A system provides of data islands of a federated environment storing scalable data used to efficiently search for data and/or other objects across the federated environment and access details of any objects while minimizing the data replicated across all of the data islands. The scalable data may be replicated across all of the data islands and allow a local search for any object across the federated environment. The scalable data may be a subset of data and/or configured meta data that stores a limited subset of data that enables the local search, at each data island, for objects stored in the federated environment.

Abstract: A system receives managed resource data collected by an agent from a managed resource in a storage area network. The system evaluates conditions associated with the managed resource data to select a read mechanism based on the conditions, and applies the read mechanism to read managed object data from the managed object database. The managed object data corresponds to the managed resource data. After application of the read mechanism, the system synchronizes the managed object data from the managed object database with the managed resource data collected from the managed resource.

Abstract: Techniques disclosed herein describe a data retrieval process for storing management data from a network environment using an efficient polling-based approach without sacrificing the real-time aspect of data retrieval that a push model provides. The process is highly scalable and reliable, and is useful in Network Address Translation (NAT) environments because the number of holes in a NAT firewall is minimized. The data retrieval component uses intelligent polling to retrieve data and store the data in a central database without overloading the system. A data retrieval component polls a data collection agent for a dataset. The data collection agent transfers the data set and a poll indication of when a subsequent data set will be ready for transfer. Subsequent polling is based on a processor load at a data retrieval component.

Abstract: A SAN management agent computes a validator corresponding to a full data set from which a relative (change) data set is derived. The validator, such as a checksum, identifies the full data set to which the relative data set is applicable. The validator is transmitted with the relative data set, and the store process compares the validator with the previous validator stored with the full data set in a database. If the validators correspond (i.e. match), then the received relative data set is applicable to the full data set stored at the database, and the relative data set may be processed as a change set. The remote agent therefore computes the validator on a full data set at a remote node, and transmits the validator with the change set. Subsequent relative data sets may then compare the current validator of the DB data set with the validator from which the relative set was derived.

Abstract: A system receives identification of at least one data structure to contain the network management data associated with the managed resource. The system receives notification that at least one type adapter structure has been created. The type adapter is associated with the data structure. The system receives identification of at least one key common to the data structure, and the network management data. The system receives notification that methods within the at least one type adapter structure have been implemented to enable the network management data to be mapped from the at least one data structure to a managed object database.

Abstract: A system provides a store process and method of operation that stores network management data collected from a managed resource by obtaining agent data collected by an agent from a managed resource in a network. The store process populates a set of adapters with the agent data, the set of adapters determined from the agent data collected from the managed resource. Based on the set of adapters populated with the agent data, the store process selects and applies at least one of a plurality of read mechanisms to read corresponding managed object data from a management database into managed objects that are to be synchronized with the agent data collected from the managed resource. The store process then synchronizes the agent data populated in the set of adapters with the managed object data in the management database.

Abstract: In a storage area network, agents provide transactions of data sets containing updates to manageable entities in a SAN. A SAN server avoids intermittent dissemination of events pertaining to a single transaction by storing events in a cache until completion of all subtransactions in the transaction, and then disseminating all events pertaining to the transaction. Transactions are broken down into update sections, each containing one or more subtransactions collectively defining the entire transaction. Update sections corresponding to the transaction are tagged with a section ID. Events indicating completion of processing of the update section are identified by the section ID, and suppressed temporarily by storing them in the event cache pending completion of the transaction. Other events not matching a tagged section ID are allowed to disseminate. Upon completion of the transaction, events for all section IDs corresponding to the transaction are disseminated from the cache.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for managing a transaction in a storage area network is presented. A request is received from an agent process at a management server. The management server provides a ticket relating to the request. The ticket is sent to the agent process. The management server identifies a storage process related to the ticket. The storage process contacts the agent process and receives the information from the agent process.

Abstract: A system receives, from an agent, an agent timestamp associated with a production of a collection of data. The system creates a history associated with the collection of data and the agent timestamp. The system receives an indication that processing the collection of data is complete, and associates the collection of data and the agent timestamp with at least one resource referenced within the collection of data.

Abstract: A SAN management agent performs hierarchical based partitioning. Partitions expressed as a hierarchy of related manageable entities allow partitioning based on the relations in the hierarchy. Related manageable entities often trigger updates to database elements common to both of the related manageable entities. The related manageable entities often take the form of a hierarchy (tree) indicative of these relations. Grouping the updates affecting related manageable entities together in the same partition allows the database elements affected by the related updates to occur from a single retrieval of the common database element. By partitioning updates of related manageable entities together, the common database elements are more likely to be paged or cached in memory at the time the update processing updates the common database element. Accordingly, tree-based partitioning identifies relations between manageable entities, and designates related manageable entities by traversing the relations.

Abstract: In a storage area network, agents provide transactions of data sets containing updates to manageable entities in a SAN. A SAN server avoids intermittent dissemination of events pertaining to a single transaction by storing events in a cache until completion of all subtransactions in the transaction, and then disseminating all events pertaining to the transaction. Transactions are broken down into update sections, each containing one or more subtransactions collectively defining the entire transaction. Update sections corresponding to the transaction are tagged with a section ID. Events indicating completion of processing of the update section are identified by the section ID, and suppressed temporarily by storing them in the event cache pending completion of the transaction. Other events not matching a tagged section ID are allowed to disseminate. Upon completion of the transaction, events for all section IDs corresponding to the transaction are disseminated from the cache.

Abstract: A method, apparatus and computer program product for handling secure information (e.g., a password, an account number, a personal identification number (PIN), a user identifier, an encryption key, and a path where said secure information is stored) is presented. Secure information is stored in a software container. A plurality of representations of the secure information is provided, each of the plurality of representations for use under different conditions. Dependent on the particular condition, at least one of the plurality of representations of the secure information is provided by the container. The container holds the secure information during all stages of processing in a manner that prevents unauthorized parties from gaining access to the secret in clear form.

Abstract: A system detects an event suggesting a data discrepancy between a staging database and a production database that maintain network management data within a network management system. The staging database is logically separate from the production database. The system prevents modification to the production database, and replaces data in the staging database with data from the production database. The system then allows modification to the production database.

Abstract: A SAN management agent performs range based partitioning according to subranges of a set of storage devices. Partitions expressed as a range of storage objects (e.g. storage devices), based on device Ids, rather than static partition labels, allows the partitions to dynamically change to suit a current SAN configuration and number of storage devices in the storage arrays. Typically, management information is in the form of updates to a particular storage object. Accordingly, each update record in an update set is attributable to a device ID of the storage object to which it pertains. Identification of partitions by a range of storage devices allows the update records to be indexed, or grouped, to a particular partition without persisting a fixed partition ID with the data. The device ID range defines a partition that remains a logical quantity which may change upon SAN reconfiguration by avoiding persisting a fixed partition ID to the update records.

Abstract: Mechanisms and techniques for processing information in a management application, such as a storage area network management application, include a load manager, a set of distributed agents that collect information, and a set of store process that store the agent-collected information. The load manager receives load information from a plurality of store processes. The load information indicates a relative processing load for respective store processes. The load manager determines store process availability based on the received load information. The load manager receives a store assignment request from an agent that has an agent transaction to perform with a store process and assigns a store process of the plurality of store processes for the agent to use to perform the agent transaction based on the determined store process availability.

Abstract: A system receives a dataset for storing in a staging database. The dataset contains network management data collected from a managed resource. The system disengages a connection between the staging database and a production database, and stores the dataset in the staging database. The system then re-engages the connection between the staging database and the production database.

Abstract: A system allows software not equipped to work with remote location alert reporting software to obtaining alert data indicating an alert associated with a first managed resource in a storage area network. The system identifies a top-level resource in the storage area network to which the first managed resource indicated by the alert data is related and performs remote alert notification analysis to determine if the top-level resource is a managed resource in the storage area network for which remote location alert reporting software is not operational. If the top-level resource is a managed resource for which remote location alert reporting software is not operational, the system proxy engages operation of remote location alert reporting software on behalf of the top-level resource to report the alert data via the communications interface to the remote location.

Abstract: A custom host naming mechanism that allows a user to define a custom host name as a virtual name for the hosts in the managed information environment, such as the storage area network, overcomes the shortcomings of the use of a network assigned machine name during a failover operation. The custom host naming mechanism allows the operator to define a mnemonic virtual name for each host in the managed information environment, thereby facilitating failover switching. Further, such secondary hosts may undertake offline, lower priority executing tasks while not in failover mode, and rapidly reconfigure as the failover secondary host should the need arise. Therefore, secondary hosts at a hot site deploy with a mnemonically descriptive name indicative of their status as a secondary host for a corresponding primary host, and further, need not remain idle pending a disaster recovery scenario, but rather are employable for offloading of other, lower priority tasks pending failover response.