Abstract: A method is disclosed for maintaining a current operating state of an enclosure when a controller card of the enclosure is repaired and/or replaced. In one embodiment, such a method maintains, within a controller card of an enclosure, operating parameters used to establish an operating state of the enclosure. The method further offloads, from the controller card while the controller card is installed in the enclosure, the operating parameters to a location external to the controller card. Upon removal of the controller card from the enclosure, the method maintains the operating state of the enclosure using the operating parameters stored in the external location. Upon reinstalling the controller card in the enclosure, the method optionally retrieves the operating parameters from the external location and initializes the controller card with the operating parameters. A corresponding system and computer program product are also disclosed.

Abstract: A secondary storage controller determines one or more tracks of one or more volumes in which data loss has occurred in the secondary storage controller. The secondary storage controller suspends a peer to peer remote copy operation between the secondary storage controller and a primary storage controller. Information on the one or more tracks of the one or more volumes in which the data loss has occurred is transmitted to the primary storage controller.

Abstract: A secondary storage controller determines one or more tracks of one or more volumes in which data loss has occurred in the secondary storage controller. The secondary storage controller suspends a peer to peer remote copy operation between the secondary storage controller and a primary storage controller. Information on the one or more tracks of the one or more volumes in which the data loss has occurred is transmitted to the primary storage controller.

Abstract: A method for protecting data in a storage system is disclosed. In one embodiment, such a method includes detecting, by a first hardware management console, first battery-on status associated with a first uninterruptible power supply. The method further detects, by a second hardware management console, second battery-on status associated with a second uninterruptible power supply. The method communicates, from the first hardware management console to the second hardware management console, the first battery-on status. The method then triggers, by the second hardware management console, a dump of modified data from memory to more persistent storage upon detecting both the first battery-on status and the second battery-on status. A corresponding system and computer program product are also disclosed.

Abstract: A secondary storage controller determines one or more tracks of one or more volumes in which data loss has occurred in the secondary storage controller. The secondary storage controller suspends a peer to peer remote copy operation between the secondary storage controller and a primary storage controller. Information on the one or more tracks of the one or more volumes in which the data loss has occurred is transmitted to the primary storage controller.

Abstract: A method for protecting data in a storage system is disclosed. In one embodiment, such a method includes detecting, by a first rack power controller, first battery-on status associated with a first uninterruptible power supply. The method further detects, by a second rack power controller, second battery-on status associated with a second uninterruptible power supply. The method communicates, from the first rack power controller to the second rack power controller, the first battery-on status. The method then triggers, by the second rack power controller, a dump of modified data from memory to more persistent storage upon detecting both the first battery-on status and the second battery-on status. A corresponding system and computer program product are also disclosed.

Abstract: A method is disclosed to identify a port that is associated with a faulty cable. In one embodiment, such a method identifies a cable to replace. The cable provides a path between a first port, residing on a first component, and a second port, residing on a second component. The method further identifies whether an alternative path, bypassing the first cable, exists between the first component and the second component. In the event the alternative path exists, the method sends, over the alternative path, from the first component to the second component, a command to activate an indicator on the second port. This command is received and executed by the second component to activate the indicator. A corresponding apparatus and computer program product are also disclosed.

Abstract: Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for a computer program product, system, and method for determining an availability score based on available resources of different resource types in a distributed computing environment of storage servers to determine whether to perform a failure operation for one of the storage servers. A health status monitor program deployed in the storage servers performs: maintaining information indicating availability of a plurality of storage server resources for a plurality of resource types; calculating an availability score as a function of a number of available resources of the resource types; and transmitting information on the availability score to a management program. The management program uses the transmitted information to determine whether to migrate services from the storage server from which the availability score is received to at least one of the other storage servers in the distributed computing environment.

Abstract: A method to ensure that a hardware management console powers up after a storage system loses external AC power is disclosed. In one embodiment, such a method includes detecting loss of external AC power to a storage system. The loss of external AC power causes the storage system to operate on battery power. The method further initiates, in response to the loss, shutdown of a hardware management console associated with the storage system. The method starts a timer in response to initiation of the shutdown. When the timer expires, the method power cycles the hardware management console, thereby causing the hardware management console to power up and restart. A corresponding system and computer program product are also disclosed.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method, according to one embodiment, includes: in response to experiencing a power loss event, resupplying power to NVRAM which includes a write cache. In response to detecting that the NVRAM has experienced a failure event, the NVRAM is temporarily guarded from further use. Moreover, a portion of volatile memory is allocated to serve as a temporary write cache. The allocated portion of volatile memory is also cleared. A determination is made as to whether data is present in the write cache in the NVRAM, and in response to determining that data is present in the write cache, one or more volumes in memory which correspond to the data present in the write cache in the NVRAM are marked as having experienced data loss. Furthermore, a warning is sent which indicates that data loss has been experienced by the one or more marked volumes in the memory.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes determining a plurality of hardware components of a system. The method also includes power cycling a first hardware component of the plurality of hardware components of the system according to a dynamic schedule. A period of time in which power cycling of the first hardware component takes place is shortened as the age of the first hardware component approaches the expected lifespan of the first hardware component. Also, the method includes determining whether the first hardware component experienced a power-up failure resulting from the power cycling. Moreover, the method includes outputting an indication to replace and/or repair the first hardware component in response to a determination that the first hardware component experienced the power-up failure resulting from the power cycling. Other systems, methods, ad computer program products for preventing unexpected power-up failures of individual hardware components are described in accordance with more embodiments.

Abstract: Provided are techniques for detecting a type of storage adapter connected to an Input/Output (I/O) bay and miscabling of a microbay housing the storage adapter. Under control of an Input/Ouput (I/O) bay, cable sidebands are driven high for a predetermined period of time. It is determined whether a cable sidebands response has been detected that indicates that the cable sidebands have been driven low. In response to determining that the cable sidebands response has been detected, it is determined that the I/O bay is connected to a first storage adapter supporting a first protocol for the cable sidebands. In response to determining that the cable sidebands response has not been detected, it is determined that the I/O bay is connected to a second storage adapter supporting a second protocol for the cable sidebands. Moreover, I/O bay and port numbers stored by the microbay are used to determine miscabling.

Abstract: Provided are techniques for concurrent Input/Output (I/O) enclosure firmware/Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) update in a multi-node environment. First notifications are sent to each I/O enclosure management engine on each of a plurality of server nodes that code activation for a first set of I/O enclosures is starting. An update image is distributed to the first set of I/O enclosures. The update image on the first set of I/O enclosures is activated by sending an activate reset command to each of the first set of I/O enclosures, wherein a reset is not propagated to other devices within each I/O enclosure in the first set of I/O enclosures in response to determining that the reset is an activate reset. In response to the activate reset command completing, second notifications are sent to each I/O enclosure management engine that code activation for the first set of I/O enclosures has completed.

Abstract: A method is disclosed to identify a port that is associated with a faulty cable. In one embodiment, such a method identifies a cable to replace. The cable provides a path between a first port, residing on a first component, and a second port, residing on a second component. The method further identifies whether an alternative path, bypassing the first cable, exists between the first component and the second component. In the event the alternative path exists, the method sends, over the alternative path, from the first component to the second component, a command to activate an indicator on the second port. This command is received and executed by the second component to activate the indicator. A corresponding apparatus and computer program product are also disclosed.

Abstract: Methods that can access a shared computing resource are provided. One method includes determining, by a processor, a level of stress for a shared computing resource during each increment of time in a predetermined period of time, determining an optimized block of time within the predetermined period of time to perform a set of background operations on the shared computing resource based on the determined level of stress, and performing the set of background operations during the optimized block of time. Apparatus and computer program products that can include, perform, and/or implement the methods are also provided.

Abstract: A method for improving I/O response times in a data replication environment is disclosed. In one embodiment, such a method includes receiving, at a primary storage system, a request to read data on the primary storage system. The method starts a timer upon receiving the request. In the event the data cannot be retrieved from the primary storage system by the time the timer expires, the method requests the data from a secondary storage system. In the event the primary storage system returns the data before the secondary storage system, the method returns data retrieved from the primary storage system to a host system. In the event the secondary storage system returns the data before the primary storage system, the method returns the data retrieved from the secondary storage system to the host system. A corresponding system and computer program product are also disclosed.

Abstract: In accordance with one aspect of the present description, a node of the distributed computing system has multiple communication paths to a data processing resource lock which controls access to shared resources, for example. In this manner, at least one redundant communication path is provided between a node and a data processing resource lock to facilitate reliable transmission of data processing resource lock signals between the node and the data processing resource lock. Other features and aspects may be realized, depending upon the particular application.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for maintaining a current operating state of an enclosure when a controller card of the enclosure is repaired and/or replaced. In one embodiment, such a method maintains, within a controller card of an enclosure, operating parameters used to establish an operating state of the enclosure. The method further offloads, from the controller card while the controller card is installed in the enclosure, the operating parameters to a location external to the controller card. Upon removal of the controller card from the enclosure, the method maintains the operating state of the enclosure using the operating parameters stored in the external location. Upon reinstalling the controller card in the enclosure, the method optionally retrieves the operating parameters from the external location and initializes the controller card with the operating parameters. A corresponding system and computer program product are also disclosed.

Abstract: A method to ensure that a hardware management console powers up after a storage system loses external AC power is disclosed. In one embodiment, such a method includes detecting loss of external AC power to a storage system. The loss of external AC power causes the storage system to operate on battery power. The method further initiates, in response to the loss, shutdown of a hardware management console associated with the storage system. The method starts a timer in response to initiation of the shutdown. When the timer expires, the method power cycles the hardware management console, thereby causing the hardware management console to power up and restart. A corresponding system and computer program product are also disclosed.

Abstract: Event detection logic detects events which may be associated with a change in risk of potential data loss in a data replication system. Mode selection logic is responsive to detection of such an event to select a data replication mode such as a synchronous data replication mode, for example, as a function of a detected event for initiation of a switch to the selected mode. In one embodiment, upon detecting that the event which lead to initiation of a switch to the synchronous mode has been completed or otherwise resolved, the mode selection logic can initiation of a switch of the data replication mode of multi-mode data replication logic back to an asynchronous mode so that data is replicated in the asynchronous data replication mode. Other features and aspects may be realized, depending upon the particular application.