IP Library › Granted Patent US 11,892,929
Granted Patent B2
US 11,892,929 · App. 17/078,804 · Granted Feb 6, 2024

Malfunctioning system identification mechanism

Inventors: Charles Randall (Longmont, CO); Michael Keith Nunez (Lyons, CO)
Assignee: NetApp, Inc.
G06F11/327G06F11/3034G06F11/325G06F11/328
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,892,929
App. No.
17/078,804
Granted
Feb 6, 2024
Kind
B2
Abstract

A management system is described. The management system includes an interface coupled to a plurality of infrastructure appliances and one or more processors to monitor each of the plurality of infrastructure appliances, detect a malfunction at a first of the infrastructure appliances, and transmit a display message to one or more of the plurality of infrastructure appliances that are adjacent to the first infrastructure appliance, wherein a display message indicates one or more activity light indicators to be activated at an adjacent infrastructure appliance.

Claims (31)

1. A management system, comprising:

an interface coupled to a plurality of infrastructure appliances; and

one or more processors to monitor each of the plurality of infrastructure appliances in a plurality of data center racks, detect a malfunction at a first infrastructure appliance in a first data center rack having a first plurality of activity light indicators, access a table to determine infrastructure appliances adjacent to the first infrastructure appliance, transmit a first display message to a second infrastructure appliance having a second plurality of activity light indicators in a second data center rack indicated in the table as being adjacent to the first infrastructure appliance and transmit a second display message to a third infrastructure appliance in the second data center rack having a third plurality of activity light indicators, wherein the first display message indicates a first shape to be displayed by the second plurality of activity light indicators to identify the first infrastructure appliance and the second display message indicates a second shape to be displayed by the third plurality of activity light indicators to identify the first infrastructure appliance.

2. The management system of claim 1 , wherein the first shape displayed by the second plurality of activity light indicators is different than the second shape displayed by the third plurality of activity light indicators.

3. The management system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors further transmit a third display message to a fourth infrastructure appliance having a fourth plurality of activity light indicators in the first data center rack indicated in the table as being adjacent to the first infrastructure appliance.

4. The management system of claim 3 , wherein the one or more processors further transmit a fourth display message to a fifth infrastructure appliance having a fifth plurality of activity light indicators in a third data center rack indicated in the table as being adjacent to the first infrastructure appliance.

5. The management system of claim 1 , wherein detecting the malfunction at the first infrastructure appliance comprises receiving a message from the first infrastructure appliance indicating the malfunction.

6. The management system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of infrastructure appliances comprise storage devices.

7. A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

monitor each of a plurality of infrastructure appliances in a plurality of data center racks;

detect a malfunction at a first infrastructure appliance in a first data center rack having a first plurality of activity light indicators;

access a table to determine infrastructure appliances adjacent to the first infrastructure appliance;

transmit a first display message to a second infrastructure appliance having a second plurality of activity light indicators in a second data center rack indicated in the table as being adjacent to the first infrastructure appliance; and

transmit a second display message to a third infrastructure appliance in the second data center rack having a third plurality of activity light indicators, wherein the first display message indicates a first shape to be displayed by the second plurality of activity light indicators to identify the first infrastructure appliance and the second display message indicates a second shape to be displayed by the third plurality of activity light indicators to identify the first infrastructure appliance.

8. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 7 , wherein the first shape displayed by the second plurality of activity light indicators is different than the second shape displayed by the third plurality of activity light indicators.

9. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 8 , storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, further cause the processor to transmit a third display message to a fourth infrastructure appliance having a fourth plurality of activity light indicators in the first data center rack indicated in the table as being adjacent to the first infrastructure appliance.

10. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 9 , storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, further cause the processor to transmit a fourth display message to a fifth infrastructure appliance having a fifth plurality of activity light indicators in a third data center rack indicated in the table as being adjacent to the first infrastructure appliance.

11. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein detecting the malfunction at the first infrastructure appliance comprises receiving a message from the first infrastructure appliance indicating the malfunction.

12. A method comprising:

monitoring each of a plurality of infrastructure appliances in a plurality of data center racks;

detecting a malfunction at a first infrastructure appliance in a first data center rack having a first plurality of activity light indicators;

accessing a table to determine infrastructure appliances adjacent to the first infrastructure appliance;

transmitting a first display message to a second infrastructure appliance having a second plurality of activity light indicators in a second data center rack indicated in the table as being adjacent to the first infrastructure appliance; and

transmitting a second display message to a third infrastructure appliance in the second data center rack having a third plurality of activity light indicators, wherein the first display message indicates a first shape to be displayed by the second plurality of activity light indicators to identify the first infrastructure appliance and the second display message indicates a second shape to be displayed by the third plurality of activity light indicators to identify the first infrastructure appliance.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the first shape displayed by the second plurality of activity light indicators is different than the second shape displayed by the third plurality of activity light indicators.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising transmitting a third display message to a fourth infrastructure appliance having a fourth plurality of activity light indicators in the first data center rack indicated in the table as being adjacent to the first infrastructure appliance.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising: transmitting a fourth display message to a fifth infrastructure appliance having a fifth plurality of activity light indicators in a third data center rack indicated in the table as being adjacent to the first infrastructure appliance.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein detecting the malfunction at the first infrastructure appliance comprises receiving a message from the first infrastructure appliance indicating the malfunction.

17. The management system of claim 1 , wherein the first display message is different than the second display message.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 7 , wherein the first display message is different than the second display message.

19. The method of claim 14 , wherein the first display message is different than the second display message.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 23, 2020
From: RANDALL, CHARLES; NUNEZ, MICHAEL KEITH
To: NETAPP, INC.
Reel/Frame 054151/0760 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20220129361A1 · Apr 28, 2022