Method and apparatus for a storage server to automatically discover and join a network storage cluster

摘要

A method and system for automatic configuration and installation of network storage server to a network storage cluster is described. When the first storage server is installed, the automatic configuration process extracts from the user information necessary for configuration of the cluster. Upon entering all the configuration information, the storage server is rebooted and the new cluster is created. For a network storage server attempting to join an existing cluster, broadcast packets are sent by the joining storage server on its cluster port requesting a response from all available clusters. If a single response is received the joining storage server initiates the configuration process and joins the cluster. If multiple responses are received the joining storage server let the operator choose the cluster to join. If no responses are received the joining storage server retries the broadcast request repeatedly until a response is received.

主权项

1. A method comprising:
inputting a range of network addresses for a management application of a network storage server; broadcasting a discovery request in a UDP packet to a network storage cluster from the network storage server; waiting to receive a response from the network storage cluster; processing the discovery request by dynamically assigning attributes to the network storage server, wherein the attributes are used by the network storage server to join the network storage cluster; and joining the network storage server to the network storage cluster without any user input being required to accomplish the joining, based on the response to the discovery request.